high or low. The Vaidyan diagnoses all diseases by feeling the pulse,
and, after doing this for a sufficiently long time, remarks that there
is an excess of vatham, pitham, ushnam, and so on. His stock phrases
are vatham, pitham, ushnam, sleshmam, karakam, megham or meham,
saithyam, etc. Orthodox men and women do not allow the Vaidyan to
feel the pulse by direct contact of the fingers, and a silk cloth
is placed on the patient's wrist. The pulse of males is felt with
the right hand, and that of females with the left. Some Vaidyans
crack the finger and wrist-joints before they proceed to feel the
pulse. Some are general practitioners, and others specialists in the
treatment of fever, piles, jaundice, syphilis, rheumatism, and other
diseases. The specialists are generally hereditary practitioners. In
the treatment of cases, the Vaidyan prescribes powders and pills,
and a decoction or infusion (kashayam) of various drugs which can
easily be obtained at the village drug-shop, or with the help of the
village herbalist. Among these are ginger, pepper, Abies Webbiana,
Acorus calamus, nim (Melia Azadirachta), or Andrographis paniculata
sticks, Alpinia Galanga, etc. If the medicine has to be taken for a
long time, the drugs are compounded together in the form of a lehyam,
e.g., bilvadi, kushpanda, and purnadi lehyam. Some Vaidyans prepare
powders (basmam), such as swarna (gold) basmam, pavala (coral powder)
basmam, or sankha (chank shell powder) basmam. Special pills (mathre),
prepared at considerable cost, are sometimes kept by Vaidyans, and
passed on from generation to generation as heirlooms. Such pills
are usually intended for well-known specific diseases. These pills
are used in very minute quantities, and consequently last for a long
time. A drop of honey or butter is placed on a slab of sandstone, on
which the pill is rubbed. The honey or butter is then administered to
the patient. A standing rule of the Vaidyan is to keep his patient on
a very low diet, such as rice gruel without salt. His usual saying is
"Langanam paramoushadam," i.e., fasting is an excellent medicine. A
well-known treatment in cases of jaundice is the drinking of curds,
in which twigs of Phyllanthus Niruri have been well mashed.
In a very interesting note [88] on couching of the lens as practiced
by native practitioners, Major R. H. Elliot, I.M.S., writes as
follows. "The ignorance and stupidity of the ryot (villager) is so
great that he will not very infrequently try one eye in an English
hospital, and one in a Vaithyan's hands. It is a very common thing for
a native patient to deny ever having visited a native doctor, when he
first comes to hospital. After the other eye has been successfully
operated on, he will sometimes own up to the fact.... Here in the
south, there appear to be two classes of operators, the resident men
who live for long periods in one bazaar, and the travellers who move
continuously from place to place. Both are Mahomedans. The former
appear to get somewhat better results than the latter, and are spoken
of as 'men of experience.' The latter seem never to stop long in one
place. They collect a number of victims, operate on them, and then
move on before their sins can find them out. Both kinds of operators
seem to be innocent of any attempt at securing asepsis or antisepsis;
they use a dirty needle or a sharp wooden skewer; no anæsthetic is
employed; a bandage is kept on for ten days, and counter-irritation
is freely resorted to, to combat iritis, etc. Many of the victims
are ashamed to come to a European hospital after the failure of their
hopes. It has been said that, if the Vaithyan did not get good results,
he would be dropped, and the practice would die out. This remark can
only have come from one who knew nothing of the Indian character, or
the crass ignorance of the lower classes of the people. It is hard
for those who have not lived and worked among them to realise how
easily the ryot falls a dupe to impudent self-advertisement. He is a
simple kindly person, whose implicit trust in confident self-assertion
will bring him to grief for many another generation. The vision of
these poor unfortunate people sitting down in a dusty bazaar to
let an ignorant charlatan thrust a dirty needle into their blind
eyes has evoked the indignation of the English surgeon from the
time of our first occupation of the country. Side by side with a
well-equipped English hospital, which turns out its ninety odd per
cent. of useful vision, there sits in the neighbouring bazaar even
to-day the charlatan, whose fee is fixed at anything from 3d. to 8
shillings, plus, in every case, a fowl or other animal. The latter is
ostensibly for sacrificial purposes, but I understand ends uniformly
in the Vaithyan's curry-pot. Weirdest, perhaps, of all the Vaithyan's
methods is the use of the saffron-coloured rag, with which pus is wiped
away from the patient's inflamed eye. On this colour, the pus, etc.,
cannot be seen, and therefore all is well. It is the fabled ostrich
again, only this time in real life, with vital interests at stake."
It is noted [89] in connection with the various classes of Nambutiri
Brahmans that "the Vaidyans or physicians, known as Mussads, are to
study the medical science, and to practice the same. As the profession
of a doctor necessitates the performance of surgical operations
entailing the shedding of blood, the Mussads are considered as
slightly degraded."
Further information concerning native medicine-men will be found in
the articles on Kusavans and Mandulas.
Vaikhanasa.--Followers of the Rishi Vaikhanasa. They are Archaka
Brahman priests in the Telugu country.
Vairavan Kovil.--An exogamous section or kovil (temple) of Nattukottai
Chetti.
Vairavi.--The equivalent of Bairagi or Vairagi. Recorded, in the Madras
Census Report, 1901, as "a sub-caste of Pandaram. They are found
only in the Tinnevelly district, where they are measurers of grain,
and pujaris in village temples." In the Madura district, Vairavis
are members of the Melakkaran caste, who officiate as servants at
the temples of the Nattukottai Chettis.
Vaisya.--Vaisya is the third of the traditional castes of Manu. "It
is," Mr. Francis writes, [90] "doubtful whether there are any true
Dravidian Vaisyas, but some of the Dravidian trading castes (with
the title Chetti), notably the Komatis, are treated as Vaisyas by
the Brahmans, though the latter do not admit their right to perform
the religious ceremonies which are restricted by the Vedas to the
twice-born, and require them to follow only the Puranic rites. The
Muttans (trading caste in Malabar) formerly claimed to be Nayars,
but recently they have gone further, and some of them have returned
themselves as Vaisyas, and added the Vaisya title of Gupta to their
names. They do not, however, wear the sacred thread or perform
any Vedic rites, and Nayars consider themselves polluted by their
touch." Some Vellalas and Nattukottai Chettis describe themselves
as being Bhu (earth) Vaisyas, and some Gollas claim to be regarded
as Go(cow) Vaisyas. [90] Some Ganigas and Nagartas call themselves
Dharmasivachar Vaisyas, [91] and, like the Canarese Ganigas
(oil-pressers), the Tamil oil-pressers (Vaniyan) claim to rank
as Vaisyas. Vaisya Brahman is noted [92] as being a curious hybrid
name, by which the Konkani Vanis (traders) style themselves. A small
colony of "Baniyans," who call themselves Jain Vaisyas, is said
[93] to have settled in Native Cochin. Vaisya is recorded as the
caste of various title-holders, whose title is Chetti or Chettiyar,
in the Madras Quarterly Civil List.
Vajjira (diamond).--An exogamous sept of Toreya.
Vakkaliga.--See Okkiliyan.
Valagadava.--An occupational name for various classes in South
Canara, e.g., Sappaligas, Mogilis, and Patramelas, who are engaged
as musicians.
Valai (net).--The name, said to indicate those who hunt with nets, of a
section of Paraiyans. The Ambalakkarans, who are also called Valaiyans,
claim that, when Siva's ring was swallowed by a fish in the Ganges,
one of their ancestors invented the first net made in the world.
Valaiyal.--A sub-division of Kavarai, i.e., the Tamil equivalent of
Gazula (glass bangle) Balija.
Valaiyan.--The Valaiyans are described, in the Manual of Madura
district (1868), as "a low and debased class. Their name is supposed
to be derived from valai, a net, and to have been given to them from
their being constantly employed in netting game in the jungles. Many
of them still live by the net; some catch fish; some smelt iron. Many
are engaged in cultivation, as bearers of burdens, and in ordinary
cooly work. The tradition that a Valaiya woman was the mother of
the Vallambans seems to show that the Valaiyans must be one of the
most ancient castes in the country." In the Tanjore Manual they are
described as "inhabitants of the country inland who live by snaring
birds, and fishing in fresh waters. They engage also in agricultural
labour and cooly work, such as carrying loads, husking paddy (rice),
and cutting and selling fire-wood. They are a poor and degraded
class." The Valaiyans are expert at making cunningly devised traps
for catching rats and jungle fowl. They have "a comical fairy-tale
of the origin of the war, which still goes on between them and the
rat tribe. It relates how the chiefs of the rats met in conclave,
and devised the various means for arranging and harassing the enemy,
which they still practice with such effect." [94] The Valaiyans say
that they were once the friends of Siva, but were degraded for the
sin of eating rats and frogs.
In the Census Report, 1901, the Valaiyans are described as "a shikari
(hunting) caste in Madura and Tanjore. In the latter the names
Ambalakaran, Servaikaran, Vedan, Siviyan, and Kuruvikkaran are
indiscriminately applied to the caste." There is some connection
between Ambalakarans, Muttiriyans, Mutrachas, Uralis, Vedans,
Valaiyans, and Vettuvans, but in what it exactly consists remains
to be ascertained. It seems likely that all of them are descended
from one common parent stock. Ambalakarans claim to be descended
from Kannappa Nayanar, one of the sixty-three Saivite saints, who
was a Vedan or hunter by caste. In Tanjore the Valaiyans declare
themselves to have a similar origin, and in that district Ambalakaran
and Muttiriyan seem to be synonymous with Valaiyan. Moreover, the
statistics of the distribution of the Valaiyans show that they are
numerous in the districts where Ambalakarans are few, and vice versâ,
which looks as though certain sections had taken to calling themselves
Ambalakarans. The upper sections of the Ambalakarans style themselves
Pillai, which is a title properly belonging to Vellalas, but the others
are usually called Muppan in Tanjore, and Ambalakaran, Muttiriyan,
and Servaikaran in Trichinopoly. The usual title of the Valaiyans,
so far as I can gather, is Muppan, but some style themselves Servai
and Ambalakaran."
The Madura Valaiyans are said [95] to be "less brahmanised than those
in Tanjore, the latter employing Brahmans as priests, forbidding
the marriage of widows, occasionally burning their dead, and being
particular what they eat. But they still cling to the worship of all
the usual village gods and goddesses." In some places, it is said,
[96] the Valaiyans will eat almost anything, including rats, cats,
frogs and squirrels.
Like the Pallans and Paraiyans, the Valaiyans, in some places, live
in streets of their own, or in settlements outside the villages. At
times of census, they have returned a large number of sub-divisions,
of which the following may be cited as examples:--
Monathinni. Those who eat the vermin of the soil.
Pasikatti (pasi, glass bead).
Saragu, withered leaves.
Vanniyan. Synonym of the Palli caste.
Vellamputtu, white-ant hill.
In some places the Saruku or Saragu Valaiyans have exogamous kilais
or septs, which, as among the Maravans and Kallans, run in the female
line. Brothers and sisters belong to the same kilai as that of their
mother and maternal uncle, and not of their father.
It is stated, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that "the
Valaiyans are grouped into four endogamous sub-divisions, namely,
Vahni, Valattu, Karadi, and Kangu. The last of these is again
divided into Pasikatti, those who use a bead necklet instead of a
tali (as a marriage badge), and Karaikatti, those whose women wear
horsehair necklaces like the Kallans. The caste title is Muppan. Caste
matters are settled by a headman called the Kambliyan (blanket man),
who lives at Aruppukottai, and comes round in state to any village
which requires his services, seated on a horse, and accompanied by
servants who hold an umbrella over his head and fan him. He holds
his court seated on a blanket. The fines imposed go in equal shares
to the aramanai (literally palace, i.e., to the headman himself),
and to the oramanai, that is, the caste people.
It is noted by Mr. F. R. Hemingway that "the Valaiyans of
the Trichinopoly district say that they have eight endogamous
sub-divisions, namely, Sarahu (or Saragu), Ettarai Koppu, Tanambanadu
or Valuvadi, Nadunattu or Asal, Kurumba, Vanniya, Ambunadu,
and Punal. Some of these are similar to those of the Kallans and
Ambalakarans."
In the Gazetteer of the Tanjore district, it is recorded that the
Valaiyans are said to possess "endogamous sub-divisions called Vedan,
Sulundukkaran and Ambalakkaran. The members of the first are said to
be hunters, those of the second torch-bearers, and those of the last
cultivators. They are a low caste, are refused admittance into the
temples, and pollute a Vellalan by touch. Their occupations are chiefly
cultivation of a low order, cooly work, and hunting. They are also said
to be addicted to crime, being employed by Kallans as their tools."
Adult marriage is the rule, and the consent of the maternal uncle is
necessary. Remarriage of widows is freely permitted. At the marriage
ceremony, the bridegroom's sister takes up the tali (marriage badge),
and, after showing it to those assembled, ties it tightly round the
neck of the bride. To tie it loosely so that the tali string touches
the collar-bone would be considered a breach of custom, and the woman
who tied it would be fined. The tali-tying ceremony always takes
place at night, and the bridegroom's sister performs it, as, if it
was tied by the bridegroom, it could not be removed on his death, and
replaced if his widow wished to marry again. Marriages generally take
place from January to May, and consummation should not be effected
till the end of the month Adi, lest the first child should be born
in the month of Chithre, which would be very inauspicious. There
are two Tamil proverbs to the effect that "the girl should remain in
her mother's house during Adi," and "if a child is born in Chithre,
it is ruinous to the house of the mother-in-law."
In the Gazetteer of the Madura district, it is stated that "at
weddings, the bridegroom's sister ties the tali, and then hurries the
bride off to her brother's house, where he is waiting. When a girl
attains maturity, she is made to live for a fortnight in a temporary
hut, which she afterwards burns down. While she is there, the little
girls of the caste meet outside it, and sing a song illustrative of
the charms of womanhood, and its power of alleviating the unhappy
lot of the bachelor. Two of the verses say:--
What of the hair of a man?
It is twisted, and matted, and a burden.
What of the tresses of a woman?
They are as flowers in a garland, and a glory.
What of the life of a man?
It is that of the dog at the palace gate.
What of the days of a woman?
They are like the gently waving leaves in a festoon.
"Divorce is readily permitted on the usual payments, and divorcées
and widows may remarry. A married woman who goes astray is brought
before the Kambliyan, who delivers a homily, and then orders the man's
waist-string to be tied round her neck. This legitimatises any children
they may have." The Valaiyans of Pattukkottai in the Tanjore district
say that intimacy between a man and woman before marriage is tolerated,
and that the children of such a union are regarded as members of the
caste, and permitted to intermarry with others, provided the parents
pay a nominal penalty imposed by the caste council.
In connection with the Valaiyans of the Trichinopoly district,
Mr. Hemingway writes that "they recognise three forms of marriage,
the most usual of which consists in the bridegroom's party going to the
girl's house with three marakkals of rice and a cock on an auspicious
day, and in both parties having a feast there. Sometimes the young
man's sister goes to the girl's house, ties a tali round her neck, and
takes her away. The ordinary form of marriage, called big marriage,
is sometimes used with variations, but the Valaiyans do not like it,
and say that the two other forms result in more prolific unions. They
tolerate unchastity before marriage, and allow parties to marry even
after several children have been born, the marriage legitimatising
them. They permit remarriage of widows and divorced women. Women
convicted of immorality are garlanded with erukku (Calotropis gigantea)
flowers, and made to carry a basket of mud round the village. Men
who too frequently offend in this respect are made to sit with their
toes tied to the neck by a creeper. When a woman is divorced, her
male children go to the husband, and she is allowed to keep the girls."
The tribal gods of the Valaiyans are Singa Pidari (Aiyanar) and
Padinettampadi Karuppan. Once a year, on the day after the new-moon
in the month Masi (February to March), the Valaiyans assemble to
worship the deity. Early in the morning they proceed to the Aiyanar
temple, and, after doing homage to the god, go off to the forest to
hunt hares and other small game. On their return they are met by the
Valaiyan matrons carrying coloured water or rice (alam), garlands of
flowers, betel leaves and areca nuts. The alam is waved over the men,
some of whom become inspired and are garlanded. While they are under
inspiration, the mothers appeal to them to name their babies. The
products of the chase are taken to the house of the headman and
distributed. At a festival, at which Mr. K. Rangachari was present,
at about ten o'clock in the morning all the Valaiya men, women, and
children, dressed up in holiday attire, swarmed out of their huts,
and proceeded to a neighbouring grove. The men and boys each carried
a throwing stick, or a digging stick tipped with iron. On arrival at
the grove, they stood in a row, facing east, and, throwing down their
sticks, saluted them, and prostrated themselves before them. Then all
took up their sticks, and some played on reed pipes. Some of the women
brought garlands of flowers, and placed them round the necks of four
men, who for a time stood holding in their hands their sticks, of which
the ends were stuck in the ground. After a time they began to shiver,
move quickly about, and kick those around them. Under the influence of
their inspiration, they exhibited remarkable physical strength, and
five or six men could not hold them. Calling various people by name,
they expressed a hope that they would respect the gods, worship them,
and offer to them pongal (boiled rice) and animal sacrifices. The
women brought their babies to them to be named. In some places, the
naming of infants is performed at the Aiyanar temple by any one who
is under the influence of inspiration. Failing such a one, several
flowers, each with a name attached to it, are thrown in front of
the idol. A boy, or the pujari (priest) picks up one of the flowers,
and the infant receives the name which is connected with it.
The Valaiyans are devoted to devil worship, and, at Orattanadu in
the Tanjore district, every Valaiyan backyard is said to contain
an odiyan (Odina Wodier) tree, in which the devil is supposed to
live. [97] It is noted by Mr. W. Francis [98] that "certain of the
Valaiyans who live at Ammayanayakkanur are the hereditary pujaris to
the gods of the Sirumalai hills. Some of these deities are uncommon,
and one of them, Papparayan, is said to be the spirit of a Brahman
astrologer whose monsoon forecast was falsified by events, and who,
filled with a shame rare in unsuccessful weather prophets, threw
himself off a high point on the range."
According to Mr. Hemingway, the Valaiyans have a special caste god,
named Muttal Ravuttan, who is the spirit of a dead Muhammadan, about
whom nothing seems to be known.
The dead are as a rule buried with rites similar to those of the
Kallans and Agamudaiyans. The final death ceremonies (karmandhiram)
are performed on the sixteenth day. On the night of the previous day,
a vessel filled with water is placed on the spot where the deceased
breathed his last, and two cocoanuts, with the pores ('eyes') open,
are deposited near it. On the following morning, all proceed to
a grove or tank (pond). The eldest son, or other celebrant, after
shaving and bathing, marks out a square space on the ground, and,
placing a few dry twigs of Ficus religiosa and Ficus bengalensis
therein, sets fire to them. Presents of rice and other food-stuffs
are given to beggars and others. The ceremony closes with the son
and sapindas, who have to observe pollution, placing new cloths on
their heads. Mr. Francis records that, at the funeral ceremonies,
"the relations go three times round a basket of grain placed under
a pandal (booth), beating their breasts and singing:--
For us the kanji (rice gruel): kailasam (the abode of Siva)
for thee;
Rice for us; for thee Svargalokam,
and then wind turbans round the head of the deceased's heir, in
recognition of his new position as chief of the family. When a
woman loses her husband, she goes three times round the village
mandai (common), with a pot of water on her shoulder. After each
of the first two journeys, the barber makes a hole in the pot, and
at the end of the third he hurls down the vessel, and cries out an
adjuration to the departed spirit to leave the widow and children in
peace." It is noted, in the Gazetteer of the Tanjore district, that
"one of the funeral ceremonies is peculiar, though it is paralleled
by practices among the Paraiyans and Karaiyans. When the heir departs
to the burning-ground on the second day, a mortar is placed near the
outer door of his house, and a lamp is lit inside. On his return,
he has to upset the mortar, and worship the light."
Valan.--For the following note on the Valan and Katal Arayan fishing
castes of the Cochin State, I am indebted to Mr. L. K. Anantha
Krishna Aiyar.
The name Valan is derived from vala, meaning fish in a tank. Some
consider the word to be another form of Valayan, which signifies
a person who throws a net for fishing. According to the tradition
and current belief of these people, they were brought to Kerala by
Parasurama for plying boats and conveying passengers across the rivers
and backwaters on the west coast. Another tradition is that the Valans
were Arayans, and they became a separate caste only after one of the
Perumals had selected some of their families for boat service, and
conferred on them special privileges. They even now pride themselves
that their caste is one of remote antiquity, and that Vedavyasa,
the author of the Puranas, and Guha, who rendered the boat service
to the divine Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana, across the Ganges in the
course of their exile to the forest, were among the caste-men.
There are no sub-divisions in the caste, but the members thereof are
said to belong to four exogamous illams (houses of Nambutiris), namely,
Alayakad, Ennalu, Vaisyagiriam, and Vazhapally, which correspond to
the gotras of the Brahmans, or to four clans, the members of each
of which are perhaps descended from a common ancestor. According
to a tradition current among them, they were once attached to the
four Nambutiri illams above mentioned for service of some kind,
and were even the descendants of the members of the illams, but
were doomed to the present state of degradation on account of some
misconduct. Evidently, the story is looked up to to elevate themselves
in social status. I am inclined to believe that they must have been
the Atiyars (slaves) of the four aforesaid Brahman families, owing
a kind of allegiance (nambikooru) like the Kanakkans to the Chittur
Manakkal Nambutripad in Perumanam of the Trichur taluk. Even now,
these Brahman families are held in great respect by the Valans, who,
when afflicted with family calamities, visit the respective illams
with presents of a few packets of betel leaves and a few annas, to
receive the blessings of their Brahman masters, which, according to
their belief, may tend to avert them.