god, named Karuvandaraya Bommadeva. He has no temple, but all the
Uppiliyans in a village join in offering him an annual sacrifice in Tai
(January-February), before the earth is scraped for the first time in
the season for making saltpetre. They use avaram (Cassia auriculata)
flowers and river sand in this worship. They also have three special
caste goddesses, called Tippanjal, who are supposed to be women who
committed sati. They have also Brahman gurus, who visit them every
year, and bless their salt pits."
Concerning the caste organisation of the Uppiliyans, Mr. Hemingway
writes that "when a complaint of a caste offence is made, notice is
sent to the Pattakkaran (headman), and to the whole Uppiliyan community
in the neighbourhood, notifying the accusation and the provisional
expulsion of the accused. A second notice summons the community to
a panchayat (council), which is presided over by at least two or
three Pattakkarans, the caste god being represented by some avaram
flowers, a pot of water, and margosa (Melia Azadirachta) leaves. If
acquitted, the accused is made to touch the water pot in token of his
innocence. If he is convicted, both he and the complainant are fined,
the latter for the purification of his house, if it has been polluted
by the offence. The purification is performed by a man of the Marudur
Nadu called Rettai Vilakkukaran (man of two lights), who eats a meal
in the polluted house, with his hands held behind his back."
It was recently noted that the Upparas are, as a rule, uneducated, and
their ignorance of the three R's often leads to bitter disputes among
themselves and with their employers in disbursing their wages. Some
years ago, one of the Madras Missions opened a school for the benefit
of this backward caste. In 1906, the Hindu Educational Mission of
Madras started a night and day school, Upparapalaiyam Arya Pathasala,
in the Upparapalaiyam quarter of Madras.
There is a Telugu proverb to the effect that one is ruined both ways,
like an Uppara who has turned Sanyasi (ascetic), in reference to
the fact that he neither follows his ancestral occupation, nor is
tolerated in his new calling. The usual caste title is Chetti.
Uppara occurs as a synonym of Kusa Holeya.
Uppu (salt).--A sub-division of Balijas and Koravas, who trade in
salt, which they carry about the country in panniers on donkeys or
bullocks. It is also an occupational sub-division of Komati. The
equivalent Uppa is an exogamous sept of Kelasi. Uppukottei occurs as
a division of Maravan, Upputholuvaru (salt-carriers) as an exogamous
sept of Odde, and Uppiri (salt-earth) as a sept of Kuruba.
Urali.--In the Madras Census Report, 1891, the Uralis are described as
"a caste of agricultural labourers found chiefly in the districts
of Madura and Trichinopoly. The word Urali means a ruler of a
village. Like the Ambalakkarans, they trace their descent from
one Mutturaja, and the only sub-division returned by any number
is Mutracha. They also assert that they were formerly employed as
soldiers. In the Wynad there is a section of Kurumbas called Urali
Kurumbas, and it is not improbable that these Uralis of the Tamil
country are an offshoot of the great Kurumba race." The Uralis are
further summed up in the same report, as "agricultural labourers in
Coimbatore, Trichinopoly, and Madura. There seems to be some connection
between the Uralis and the Ambalakkarans or Muttiriyans. Muttiriyan
is a sub-division of both Urali and Ambalakkaran, and both of these
are found in the same districts. Perhaps the Uralis are an offshoot
of the Tamil Valaiyans, which by change of occupation has transformed
itself into a distinct caste (see Ambalakkaran). The caste is split up
into a number of sub-divisions, called after the name of the tract or
nadu in Trichinopoly which each inhabits. To get back into the caste,
an excommunicated man has to kill a sheep or goat before the elders,
and mark his forehead with the blood. He then gives a feast to the
assembly, and puts part of the food on the roof of his house. If
the crows eat this, he is received back into the caste. [Brahmans
always put out portions of the sraddha offerings in the same way,
and judge whether they are acceptable or not by noting if the crows
eat them or not.] Marriage is infant or adult. A man detected in
an intrigue with an unmarried woman is fined, and has to marry her,
and at the wedding his waist string is tied round her neck instead
of a tali. The well-to-do people of the caste employ Brahmans as
priests, but others content themselves with their own elders. Widows
and divorced women may marry again. The dead are either burned or
buried. The richer members of the caste perform sraddha (memorial
service for the dead). They drink alcohol, and eat fowls, mutton,
pork, fish, rats, etc. In social position they come below the Idaiyans,
Tottiyans, and Kallans. Their title is Kavandan."
For the following note on the Uralis of the Trichinopoly district, I am
indebted to Mr. F. R. Hemingway. "They say that they were originally
Kshatriyas living in 'Alipuram near Oudh,' and left that place in
search of adventure, or in consequence of disputes at home, leaving
their wives behind them, and finally settled in the south, where they
married serving women (pulukkachis). They say that they belong to
the Mutturaja Kuttam, a phrase they cannot explain, and protest that
the Ambalakkarans, who make a similar claim, have no ground for so
doing. They seem to eat with no other caste on equal terms, but will,
of course, accept separate meals from Vellalans. They are split into
seven nadus, which are in effect endogamous sub-divisions. These are
called after villages in the country inhabited by the caste, namely,
Vadaseri, Pilluru, Sengudi, Kadavangudi or Virali, Talakka, Paluvinji
or Magali, and Marungi. The members of the first three of these nadus
are called Vadaseri Uralis, and those of the other four Nattu-simai
Uralis, Kunduva-nattu-tokkadus, or Nandutindis. All of them will
mess together. They say that the nadus were originally intended
to facilitate the decision of caste disputes, and they are still
the unit of self-government. Each nadu has a headman, who exercises
supreme control over the villages included within it. The Uralis also
have a number of exogamous septs called karais by the Vadaseris and
kaniyacchis by the Nattu-simais, which are called after the names of
places. They are generally cultivators, but are said sometimes to be
given to crime. They wear the sacred thread on occasions of marriages
and funerals. The women can be recognised by their dress, the kusavam
being spread out behind, and a characteristic pencil-shaped ornament
(kuchu) being suspended from the neck. Some of their marriage and
funeral customs are peculiar. Among the Nattu-simais, the betrothal is
ratified by the maternal uncle of each of the pair solemnly measuring
out three measures of paddy (rice) in the presence of the other party
at their house. At their funerals, the bier is not brought into the
village, but left outside, and the corpse is carried to it. Among
the Vadaseris, while preparations are being made for the removal of
the body, a Paraiyan woman performs a dance. Among the Nattu-simais
this is done on the Ettu day. On the second day after the funeral,
the relatives of the deceased dip their toes in a mortar full of
cow-dung water placed in front of his house, and put sacred ashes
on the head. The karumantaram, or final death ceremony, is only
performed by the rich. It can take place at any time after the third
day. The Ettu ceremony is similarly performed at any time after the
third day, and is attended with a curious ritual. Both sections of
the caste erect a booth, in which three plantain trees are planted,
and the chief mourner and his cousins stand there all day to receive
the condolences of their friends. From this point the practice of the
two sections differs in small points of detail. Among the Vadaseris,
the friends come one by one, and are asked by the chief mourner,
"Will you embrace, or will you strike your forehead?" In reply, the
friend either closes the open hand of the chief mourner with his own
as a form of embrace, or flings himself on the ground in the booth,
and weeps. Each visitor then goes to a meeting of the nadu which
is being held outside the village, and a Paraiyan and three Uralis
inform the headman who have visited the booth and who have not, and
ask if it may be removed. Permission being given, the plantains are
cut down, and the woman-folk wail round a chembu (vessel) placed
there. All then proceed to the nadu meeting, where a turban is
put on a Paraiyan, a dancing-girl and a Pandaram, and the Paraiyan
(called Nattu Samban) beats his drum, and pronounces a blessing on
the nadu. Finally all repair to the house of the deceased, where the
headman puts three handfuls of kambu (millet) into the cloth of his
wife or some other member of the family, and throws a mortar on the
ground. Punishments for caste offences take some curious forms. A
margosa (Melia Azadirachta) leaf is put on the house of anyone who is
excommunicated. If a man seduces a girl of the caste, an enquiry is
held, and the pair are married. The waist-string of the man is tied
round the neck of the woman, and a Tottiyan is called in to take away
the pollution which they and their relatives have incurred. They are
taken to a tank (pond), where 108 holes have been made by the Tottiyan,
and are made to bathe in every hole, sprinkling the water over their
heads. A sheep is then killed by a Tottiyan and a Chakkiliyan, its
head is buried, and the couple and their relatives are made to walk
over the spot. The blood of the animal is then smeared on their
foreheads, and they all have to bathe again. They are next given
cow's urine to drink, and then once more bathe. After that they are
given milk, and are made to prostrate themselves before the panchayat
(council). Finally they have to give a feast to the panchayat, at which
a part of the food is offered to the crows, and the purification is
not complete till the birds have partaken thereof. The Uralis are
fond of shikar (hunting). On the Sivaratri night, sacrifices are
offered to their family gods, and, on the following day, all the men
of the village go out hunting. They have a head shikari (huntsman),
called Kavettaikaran, who receives every animal which is killed,
cuts off its head, and breaks its legs. The head is given to the man
who killed the animal, and the rest is shared among the castemen."
Of the Uralis who inhabit the hill country of Travancore, the following
account is given in the Travancore Census report, 1901. "The Uralis
are a class of hill tribes resident in the Cardamom Hills. They are
chiefly found in the tracts known as Kunnanat, Velampan, Kurakkanat,
Mannukat, Kalanat, and Periyur. The headman of the Uralis in each
of these areas is called a Kanikkaran. Tradition tells us that they
were the dependents of the kings of Madura, and that their duty was
to hold umbrellas in times of State processions. In ancient times,
many of the parts now included in the Todupuzha taluk belonged to
the kingdom of Madura. Once, when the king came to Neriyamangalam,
the ancestors of these Uralis are said to have accompanied him,
and to have been left there to rule (ali) that locally (ur). The
males dress like the low-country people, with cloths about four
cubits long extending from the hip to the knee. Another cloth, about
one or two cubits in length, is put over the back, one end of which
passes under their right arm and the other over the shoulder, both
meeting in front over the chest, where they are tied together in a
peculiar knot by folding the extremities, thus forming a bag wherein to
contain their wayside necessaries. Females wear two pieces of cloth,
nine and two and a half cubits in length respectively, and folded in
the middle. The larger is the lower garment, and the smaller upper
garment is worn with two ends tied around the neck. Males wear brass
finger and toe-rings, sometimes of silver. Some adorn their necks
with wreaths of beads, from fifteen to thirty in number. Females wear
ear-ornaments known as katumani, which are rings of metal wire, four
or five in number. Males generally allow their hair to grow, the face
alone being now and then shaven. The Uralis eat rice for six months
of the year, and subsist on roots, fruits, and other forest produce
during the remaining half. A large portion of the paddy (rice) that
the Uralis gather by cultivation goes to the low country in exchange
for clothing and salt. The flesh of most animals is eaten, but the
elephant and buffalo are held in such great respect that no Urali ever
ventures to hurt them. Even the approach of the buffalo is religiously
avoided. They begin to fell forest trees in Dhanu (December-January),
and seeds are sown by the end of Metam (April-May). They have
only a katti, which is a kind of chopping knife, for purposes of
ploughing. After cultivation they change their abodes. They put up
huts in the vicinity of the cultivated areas, and use bamboo and
reeds as materials. After leaving the old, and before putting up the
new hut, they live for several days in caves or under trees. They are
very good watchmen, and take great care in putting up fences, weeding,
and protecting cultivation from wild animals. They make excellent mats
of reed. They are clever huntsmen, and are passionately attached to
their hunting dogs. They hoard their grains in wicker baskets called
virivallam. They possess copper and brass vessels, mortar, chopping
knives, sickles, spades, flint and steel. A man after marriage lives
with his wife, apart from his parents. Pollution of a very aggravated
kind is observed during the menstrual and puerperal periods. On these
occasions a separate matam (hut), called the pattu-pandal, is put up
at a distance from the dwelling hut. Here the woman stays for three
days. After bathing on the fourth day, she shifts to another matam
still nearer, and stays there for one or two days. On the seventh day
she rejoins the family. In cases of confinement, twelve days are spent
in the remotest hut, and five days in the nearer one. But for another
period of twenty days the woman is not permitted to touch any one in
the house, or even the roofing of the hut. During these days food is
prepared by others, and given to her. The water in which those who are
confined, and those who are in their menses bathe, is considered to be
defiled beyond remedy. Hence, for bathing purposes some secluded and
out-of-the-way pool, called pattuvellam, is selected. Uralis coming
to the low country hesitate to drink water, on the score that it might
be thus polluted. When the woman delivers herself of her first child,
her husband observes three days' pollution, but none for subsequent
confinements. On all such occasions, the maternal relations of the
woman have to observe five days' pollution. On the eighteenth day after
birth, the eldest member of the family names the child, and bores the
ear. The head of the child is shaved as soon as it is able to walk,
and a tuft of hair is left in front. The corpses of the Uralis are not
burnt, but buried at a sufficient distance from the house. A new cloth
is put into the grave by each relative. After filling in the grave,
they erect a shed over it, within which the chopping knife of the
deceased, a quantity of boiled rice, and some chewing materials (betel
and nuts) are placed. After the lapse of seven years, an offering
of food and drink is made to the departed soul. Death pollution
lasts for sixteen days. The Uralis address their father as appan,
and maternal uncle as achchan. Marumakkathayam is the prevailing
form of inheritance (in the female line). Marriage is settled by the
parents. There is no tali symbol to indicate the wedded state. After
the marriage is settled, the girl is merely sent to the pandal or
hut of the husband. The Uralis intermarry with the Ulladans, and in
rare cases with Muduvans. Remarriage is permitted. An Urali, wishing
to get married into a particular family, has to wed into the family
a girl belonging to his own. The Uralis have a fine ear for music,
and sing many songs in the night before going to bed. Like the Kanis
(Kanikars), they resort to enchantments called cheppuka and chattuka
for the cure of diseases. Their would-be sorcerers have to leave the
community, and wander alone in the forest for a number of months. They
are said to then get into a trance, when their forefathers appear
before them as maidens, and teach them the mystic arts. The Uralis
bear their loads only on the back, and never on the head. They never
go to distant places without their chopping knife. They are good
forest guides." The Uralis are stated by the Rev. S. Mateer [82]
to practice polyandry like the Todas.
Urali is further a synonym of the Tandans of Travancore, in reference,
it is said, to their having been guardians of villages (ur) in former
times. It is also the title of the headman of the Kuravas of Travancore
and a synonym of the Kolayans of Malabar.
Urali.--The Uralis, who form the subject of the present note,
dwell at an altitude of 1,800 feet in the jungles of Dimbhum in the
Coimbatore district, where a forest bungalow, situated on a breezy
ridge overlooking the plains, formed a convenient centre from which
to study both Uralis and the more primitive Sholagas.
The Uralis are familiar with the Badagas, who have a settlement
not many miles distant; the Todas, who occasionally migrate across
the adjacent Nilgiri frontier in search of grazing land for their
buffaloes; and the Kurumbas and Irulas, who inhabit the lower slopes
of the Nilgiris, which run down to Coimbatore. With the civilised
world they are acquainted, as they carry loads to the plains, and run
down to market at the town of Sathyamangalam, which is only seventeen
miles distant from Dimbhum. Like the Nilgiri Badagas, they are clad
in turban, and long flowing body-cloth, white (when new), or striped
with red and blue. The hair is worn long and unkempt, or shaved á
la Hindu with kudimi in mimicry of the more civilised classes. A man
was introduced to us as an expert mimic of the note of the paroquet,
peacock, jungle-fowl and other forest birds; and a small party
improvised, in front of the bungalow, a bird trap cleverly constructed
out of stones, an iron plate from the camp kitchen, bamboo, and rope
made on the spot from the bark of Ficus Tsiela. The making of fire
with flint and steel is fast disappearing in favour of safety matches.
The Uralis say that they are men of seven kulams (i.e., having seven
posts to the marriage booth), and are children of Billayya, while
they describe the Sholagas as men of five kulams and children of
Karayya. They call themselves Uralis or Irulas, and, when questioned,
say that, as Billayya and Karayya are brothers, they may also be called
Sholagas. But there is no intermarriage between Uralis and Sholagas,
though members of the two tribes sometimes interdine. According
to another legend, the Uralis and Sholagas are both descended from
Karayan, and the Sivacharis (Lingayats) from Billaya or Madheswaram
(see Sholaga). They speak a patois of mixed Tamil and Canarese, and
have a number of exogamous septs, the meaning of the names of which is
not clear. They indulge in a large repertoire of nicknames, for the
most part of a personal nature, such as donkey-legged, big-navelled,
pot-bellied, hare-lipped, hairy like a bear or the tail of a mungoose,
toothless, lying, brought up on butter-milk. One man was named Kothe
Kallan (kotha, a stone), because he was born on a rock near Kotagiri.
The majority of the tribe earn a modest livelihood by collecting minor
forest produce, such as myrabolams, wax and honey, and poles for use
as primitive breaks for country carts during the ascent of the ghat
road. These poles are tied to the carts by ropes, and trail behind on
the ground, so that, when the cart stops, the backward course of the
wheels is arrested. Some till the soil, and cultivate various kinds
of food-grains. Others are sheep and cattle owners. A few families
possess land, which is given free of rent by the Forest Department,
on condition that they work for the department whenever their services
are required. As a class they are not inclined to do hard work, and
they appear to get into the clutches of money-lending Chettis. Their
staple food is ragi (Eleusine Coracana). But they eat also sheep,
fowls, goat, deer, pigeons and doves, black monkeys, wild boar,
hare, hedgehogs, paroquets, quails and partridges, jungle-fowl,
woodcock, woodpeckers, and other denizens of the jungle. A man who
was asked whether they eat beef, cats, toads, bears, or white monkeys,
expectorated violently at the mention of each, and the suggestion of
the first three produced the most explosive oral demonstration.
Tribal disputes are referred to a headman, called Yejamana, who must
belong to the exogamous sept called Sambe, and whose appointment is an
hereditary one. To assist him, three others, belonging to the Kalkatti,
Kolkara and Kurinanga septs, whose hereditary titles are Pattagara,
Gouda and Kolkara, are appointed. The Kolkara has to invite people to
the panchayat (tribal council), collect the fines inflicted, and be
present on the occasion of marriages. A woman who, after marriage,
refuses to live with her husband, is punished thus. She is tied to
a tree, and the Kolkaran empties the contents of a hornet or wasp's
nest at her feet. After a few minutes the woman is questioned, and,
if she agrees to live with her husband, she must, in token of assent,
lick a mark made on his back by the Kolkara with fowl's excrement,
saying "You are my husband. In future I shall not quarrel with you,
and will obey you." Even after this ordeal has been gone through,
a woman may, on payment of a fine, leave her husband in favour of
another man of the tribe.
When a girl reaches puberty, she is anointed, decorated with jewelry,
and made to occupy a separate hut for seven days, during which time two
young girls keep her company. On the eighth day, all three bathe in a
pond or stream, and return in their wet clothes to the girl's home,
where they sit on a pestle placed in front of the door. A plantain
leaf is then placed in front of them, on which cooked rice and curry
are spread. A child, aged about eight or nine months, is set in the
girl's lap, and she feeds the infant with a small quantity of rice,
of which she herself swallows a few mouthfuls. Those assembled then
sit down to a meal, at the conclusion of which they wash their hands
in a dish, and the girl throws the water away. The feast concluded,
the spot is sprinkled with cowdung water, and cleaned up by the girl.