the rice fields, and diverts the water-courses to the various fields,
according to the rights of the ryots (agriculturists). The Vettiyan
beats the drum for public notices and ceremonies. As a servant of
Government, he has to carry the revenue which has been collected to
the treasury. He is sometimes entrusted with large sums of money, and
has never been known to abscond with it. It is said that the Village
Munsiff will trust the Vettiyan, but not the Taliari, who is never
sent alone with money. The Vettiyan is in charge of the burial ground,
and those who repair thither have to pay him for his services. He is
also the grave-digger, and officiates when a Paraiyan corpse is burnt
or buried. Hence the Tamil proverb against meddling in what ought
to be left to some one else:--"Let the Vettiyan and corpse struggle
together." At a Paraiyan funeral, the Vettiyan, in some places, carries
the pot of fire to the grave. To bring down rain, some of the lower
classes, instead of addressing their prayers to the rain-god Varuna,
try to induce a spirit or devata named Kodumpavi (wicked one) to send
her paramour Sukra to the affected area. The belief seems to be that
Sukra goes away to his concubine for about six months, and, if he does
not return, drought ensues. The ceremony consists in making a huge
figure of Kodumpavi in clay, which is placed on a cart, and dragged
through the streets for seven to ten days. On the last day, the final
death ceremonies of the figure are celebrated. It is disfigured,
especially in those parts which are usually concealed. Vettiyans,
who have been shaved, accompany the figure, and perform the funeral
ceremonies. This procedure is believed to put Kodumpavi to shame,
and to get her to induce Sukra to return and stay the drought.
At Paraiyan marriages certain pots are worshipped, and it is, in some
places, the Vettiyan who says "The sun, the moon, the pots, and the
owner of the girl have come to the marriage booth. So make haste,
and fill the pots with water."
The office of the Vettiyan village official is hereditary, and the
holder of it is entitled to some respect among his brethren, and to
certain emoluments in kind, e.g., grain at the harvest season. There
is a proverb that "whatever may be the wealth of the lord who comes
to rule over him, his duty of supplying him with a bundle of grass
is not to cease." This relates to the demands which were, and perhaps
are still, made on him in rural parts of the country. In some places,
lands, called Vettiyan Maniyam, are given rent-free to Vettiyans.
The Vettiyan is said to possess the right of removing dead cattle from
villages, and in return to supply leather for agricultural purposes. He
is further said to make drum heads and tom-toms from raw hides. [148]
The Vettiyans belong to the right-hand section during disputes between
the right and left hand factions.
Vettuvan.--The Tamil Vettuvans are described, in the Madras Census
Report, 1901, as "an agricultural and hunting caste, found mainly in
Salem, Coimbatore, and Madura. The name means 'a hunter.' They are
probably of the same stock as the Vedans, though the exact connection
is not clear, but they now consider themselves superior to that caste,
and are even taking to calling themselves Vettuva Vellalas. Tradition
says that the Konga kings invited Vettuvans from the Chola and Pandya
countries to assist them against the Keralas. Another story says that
the caste helped the Chola king Aditya Varma to conquer the Kongu
country during the latter part of the ninth century. In paragraph 538
of the Census Report, 1891, reference is made to the belief that the
Vedans are identical with the Veddahs of Ceylon. In connection with
this supposition, it is reported that the Vettuvans worship a goddess
called Kandi-Amman, which may possibly mean 'the goddess of Kandy' (in
Ceylon). Of the endogamous sections into which the caste is divided,
the most numerically important are Venganchi, Kilangu (root), Pasari,
Viragu (firewood), Pannadai (sheath of the cocoanut leaf), and Villi
(bow). They have their own barbers, who seem also to form a separate
sub-division, and are called Vettuva Ambattans or Navidans, both of
which words mean barber. They are said to refuse to serve any one
lower than a Konga Vellala. Nominally they are Hindus, but they are
said to worship the seven Kannimars, or aboriginal goddesses, to whom
the Irulas also pay homage. They eat meat and drink alcohol, though
some of those who are endeavouring to increase their social repute
are taking to vegetarianism. Widow marriage is forbidden. They either
burn or bury the dead, but no ceremonies are performed for deceased
ancestors. Their customs are thus a curious mixture of those followed
by high castes and low ones. Their ordinary title is Kavandan."
Of the Malayalam Vettuvans, who live in Malabar and the southern
portion of the South Canara district, it is recorded, in the Madras
Census Report, 1901, that they are "agricultural serfs, shikaris
(hunters), and collectors of forest produce, who live in the Malabar
jungles. They have two endogamous sub-divisions, called Kodi and
Peringala. The former keep their hair long, and their women wear a
cloth. The latter have top-knots, and their women dress in leaves,
which they wear only round their waists, and renew daily. The latter
are an unclean set of people, who live in rude bamboo and reed huts,
and will eat anything down to carrion. Yet they consider themselves
superior to Cherumans and Pulaiyans, and are careful not to be
polluted by them. This same name is also borne by a class of masons
and salt-workers in the low country in Malabar."
The Malabar Vettuvans are said to have a fantastic legend, showing that
they were not originally as low as they are at the present day in the
social scale. "It is related that one of their tribe went and asked a
high-caste Nayar to give him a daughter in marriage. The Nayar offered
to do so on condition that the whole tribe would come to his place
and dance on berries, each one who fell to be shot with arrows. The
tribe foolishly agreed to the condition, and went and danced, with the
result that, as each one tripped and fell, he or she was mercilessly
shot dead with arrows. A little girl who survived this treatment was
secretly rescued, and taken away by a compassionate Nayar, who married
her into his family. From this union, the present day Vettuvans affirm
their origin is to be traced. Up to this day they hold the caste of
that particular Nayar in very great veneration." [149] The costume of
these Vettuvans has been described as follows. [150] "The men wear a
short loin-cloth, secured round the waist by a belt which is also used
as a sling during hunting expeditions. They also wear brass ear-rings,
and grow a bit of moustache, and a little stumpy beard. The dress of
the women consists of three clusters of long leaves, suspended from
the waist and tied on by a cheap girdle. According to a tribal legend,
when, in the morning of time, costumes were being distributed by the
deity to the various races of the earth, the Vettuva women, being
asked to choose between a costume which needed to be changed daily,
and one which needed to be changed only yearly, readily expressed
a preference for the former, and the deity, considering this an
unpardonable piece of vanity, decreed that thenceforth the women
should dress in leaves gathered fresh every morning. Whenever it is
suggested to them that they should adopt some more lasting apparel,
the Vettuva women answer that they are carrying out the mandate of
the deity, and can abandon their present dress only if the deity
appears in person, and sanctions a change."
On the occasion of a recent visit of the Governor of Madras to South
Canara, a party of Vettuvans was paraded before him. One of the men
was wearing an aluminium coronation medal, and, on being asked by the
Collector who had given it to him, he folded his arms obsequiously,
and replied 'My Tamburan' (landlord).
In a recent note on the leaf-wearing Vettuvans, it is stated that
"they believe that the sun travels, after it has set, through a hole
in the bowels of the earth, and emerges at morning in the east. The
way they calculate time is interesting. A Vettuvan says that his
children were born when his master sowed paddy (rice) on such and
such hills. They are a very truthful lot, of good moral character,
the chastity of their womankind being held very sacred."
The Malabar Vettuvans are summed up by Mr. T. K. Gopal Panikkar [151]
as being "not exactly slaves, but their social position justifies their
classification amongst the slave races. They live on the cocoanut
plantations of the Nairs, and other well-to-do classes. They lead a
hand-to-hand existence on the wages which they obtain for hedging and
fencing cocoanut plantations, plucking cocoanuts, tilling, and other
allied work. They live, with their wives and children, and sometimes
other relations as well, in houses small but more decent-looking
than the mere huts of the other lower classes. In point of caste
restrictions they are certainly better circumstanced; and their
daily contact with the higher classes in the ordinary concerns
of life affords them greater facilities for increased knowledge
and civilisation than their brother citizens of the slave races
enjoy. They are much addicted to toddy-drinking, but their principal
food is rice. Their condition is never so intolerably wretched as that
of the other classes. They are sometimes employed by cultivators for
agricultural purposes. Their females occupy themselves in the fields
during the harvest season, but they also make thatch for houses of
cocoanut leaves woven after a set model during the thatching season
about December or January. Their males wear ear-rings of brass, and
their females adorn themselves with nose, finger, and neck ornaments
of brass or beads. The one piece of cloth supplied annually by the
masters, to whose plantations they are attached, forms the dress both
for males and females, which they tie round their waists. They do
not eat carrion, but are exceedingly fond of fish, the flesh of the
civet, and the rat, and of some other animals not generally eaten by
other classes. They observe death pollution like the higher classes
of Malabar, and the period of observance varies according to the
particular class or caste, to which their masters belong. For instance,
if they belong to a Nair's plantation, such period is fifteen days,
and, if to a Brahmin's, it is ten days; Nairs and Brahmins observing
pollution for these periods respectively. The priests who officiate
at their ceremonials are selected from among their own tribesmen or
Enangers, whose express recognition is necessary to give validity
to the performance of the ceremony. Their marriage customs are very
like those of the Tiyyars, excepting that the feasting and revelry
are not so pompous in their case. Like the Nairs, they retain the
front knot. The only offences of general occurrence among them are
petty cases of theft of cocoanuts, plantains, areca nuts, and roots
of common occurrence. The Vettuvans believe in a Supreme Creator,
whom they name and invoke as Paduchathampuram, i.e., the king who
created us. Likewise, they believe in certain evil deities, to whom
they make offerings at particular times of the year. They are not,
like the other classes, distinguished by loyalty to their masters,
but are a very ungrateful sect, and their very name, viz., Nambu
Vettuvan, has passed into a bye-word for ingratitude of all kinds."
It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that "the Vettuvans of
Chirakkal taluk are a low caste of jungle cultivators and basket
makers, distinguished by the survival amongst their women of the
custom of dressing in leaves, their only clothing being a kind
of double fan-shaped apron of leaves tied round the waist with a
rolled cloth. They live in huts made of split bamboo and thatched
with elephant grass, called kudumbus. The Vettuvans are divided
into fourteen illams, which seem to be named after the house names
of the janmis (landlords) whom they serve. Their headmen, who are
appointed by their janmis, are called Kiran, or sometimes Parakutti
(drummer). Amongst the Vettuvans, when labour begins, the woman is put
in a hole dug in a corner of the hut, and left there alone with some
water till the cry of the child is heard." For the following note on
the Vettuvans of the Cochin State, I am indebted to Mr. L. K. Anantha
Krishna Aiyar. [152]
"The Vettuvans are also called Vettuva Pulayas. They are pure
agricultural labourers, taking part in every kind of work connected
with agriculture, such as ploughing, sowing, weeding, transplanting,
pumping water, and reaping. They are more day labourers. The males
get two edangazhis of paddy (hardly worth 2 annas), and the females
an edangazhi and a half. In times of scarcity, they find it difficult
to support themselves.
"When an unmarried woman becomes pregnant, her parents, as soon as
they become aware of the fact, inform their local headman (Kanakkan
or Kuruppan), who convenes a meeting of the elderly members of
the community for the purpose of summoning the secret lover, and
prosecuting the necessary enquiries. In the event of the confession
of the charge, he is asked to marry her. The matter does not end
there. They go to the local Thandan, and relate to him the incident,
who thereupon gives him water in a vessel (kindi vellam). The woman
is asked to drink this as well as some cow-dunged water, and is then
made to let flow a few drops of blood from the body. After this he
says 'dhosham thirnu' (free from guilt). Should, however, the lover
be unwilling to marry her, he is thrashed and placed under a ban. If
they are related to each other, they are both turned out of caste. The
woman who is freed from guilt can marry again. The Thandan gets as
his perquisite four annas out of the fine imposed, four packets of
betel leaf, eight areca nuts, and three tobacco leaves. Their headman
also has a share of the fine, etc. The balance which then remains is
spent on toddy, and beaten rice for those assembled.
"The Vettuvans profess the lower forms of Hinduism. Their chief gods
are Chevva, Chathan, Karinkutti, Parakutti, Kappiri and Kandakaranan,
and also Namburi Thamburan. They give regular offerings to them,
lest the gods should become angry, and cause serious calamities to the
members of their families. Images of gods are made of bell-metal, and
worshipped in their huts. The deceased ancestors are also worshipped
as gods, to whom are given a different kind of offerings. Toddy is
an indispensable item in their offerings to them. In Ooragam and
its neighbourhood, when I took my notes on the Vettuvans, I was told
that there was no tree-tapping, and that toddy brought to them for
sale was largely adulterated with water, and very costly. Their
gods were very angry, for they were not satisfied with it. They
caused fever, deafness, blindness, and other disorders. They worship
Kali also. Kumbhom Bharani is an important festival to them. On the
morning of this day, tunes are played in honour of the goddess. There
are special songs called Thottampattu. Sacrifices are offered to the
deity very early. A puja (worship) is also performed for the sword,
anklets, and bells worn round the loins, all placed in front of the
deity, and songs are again sung. One of them turns a Velichchapad
(oracle), who speaks as if by inspiration. Wearing the above ornaments,
they go to a temple, in front of which they empty out on a mat a few
paras of paddy, and again play and sing.
"The funeral ceremonies of the Vettuvans are somewhat elaborate. When
a member of the caste breathes his last, his relations, friends,
and other castemen of the kara (settlement) are all informed of
the event. They attend, and take part in the obsequies. The dead
body is bathed, and dressed in a piece of new cloth. Some gold,
rubbed on a stone in water, is poured into his mouth by his sons
and daughters. Karuvanguka, or Gurutvam Vanguka, is an important
ceremony performed by his sons and daughters. It consists in taking
sixteen small bits of plantain leaves, with some rice on each, and
placing them on the forehead, neck, chest, loins, thighs, hands,
legs, feet, etc., washing the last two, and collecting the water,
which is taken in by the members junior to him in the family. After
this, the dead body is placed on the bier, which is carried by four
persons to the grave. The nearest relatives of the family, four in
number, called Bhedakars, with a mundu (cloth) tied round their heads,
walk in front of the procession. The grave is dug, and a new cloth
is spread, and the corpse laid on it. It is filled in with layers of
earth and stones, to prevent dogs and jackals from disturbing the
dead body. All those who have accompanied the chief mourner bathe,
and return home. The members of the family fast for the night. The
eldest son, who is the chief mourner, bathes in the early morning,
and offers the pinda bali (offering of rice) to the spirit of the
departed for fifteen days. On the seventh day, the chief mourner,
and the Enangan, go to the graveyard, and level the slightly raised
part of the grave. A piece of stone, kept near the foot, is taken,
and placed on a leaf. Some toddy, arrack (alcoholic liquor) and water
of the tender cocoanut, are poured over it as offerings. By some
magic, the spirit is supposed to be living in it. It is brought home,
and placed in a cocoanut shell containing oil mixed with turmeric,
and kept outside the hut until the pollution is over. The pollution
lasts for fifteen days, and on the night of the fifteenth day
they fast. On the morning of the sixteenth day, all the castemen
of the kara who are invited bring with them rice, curry-stuffs,
and toddy. Rubbing themselves with oil, they all go to bathe, after
which the Enangan sprinkles cowdunged water, to show that they are
freed from pollution. The stone is also purified by a dip in water,
and then brought home. Those who have assembled are fed, and then
depart. The chief mourner, who has to perform the diksha, does not
shave for a year, bathes in the early morning, and offers the bali
before going to work. This he continues for a year, at the end of
which he gets himself shaved, and celebrates a feast called masam
in honour of the departed. The stone, representing the deceased, is
placed on a seat in a conspicuous part of the hut. An image of wood or
copper sometimes takes its place. It is thenceforward worshipped, and
believed to watch over the welfare of the family. Regular offerings
are given to it on Karkadagom and Thulam Sankranthi, Onam, Vishu,
and the festival day of the local temple.
"The castes below the Vettuvans are Pulayan, Nayadi, and Ullatan. They
consider themselves superior to Pulayas, and are careful not to be
polluted by them. A Vettuvan who is polluted by a Nayadi or Ulladan
fasts for seven days, subsisting on water, tender cocoanuts, and
toddy. On the eighth day he bathes, and takes his regular meals. As the
Vettuvans are Chandalars, any distance less than sixty-four feet will
pollute the higher castes. They stand at a distance of twenty-four feet
from Kammalar. Nayadis and Ullatans stand far from them. Owing to their
disabilities and low wages, many turn either Christians or Muhammadans,
and work for wages of two and a half to three annas a day."
There is a class of people in Malabar called Vettan or Vettuvan, which
must not be confused with the jungle Vettuvan. These people were, it
is said, [153] "once salt-makers, and are now masons, earth-workers,
and quarrymen. They are said to be divided into two classes, the
marumakkattayam (with inheritance in the female line) regarded as
indigenous to Malabar, and the makkattayam (with inheritance from
father to son), said to be immigrants from the south."
Vibhaka Gunta.--Recorded in the Madras Census Report as "a low class of
wandering beggars; clubbed with Mala." Some Malas in the Vizagapatam
district possess gunta manyams, or petty fields, and supplement their
income by begging.
Vignesvara.--A synonym for the elephant god Ganesa, which occurs as
a gotra of Nagaralu. The equivalent Vinayaka is a gotra of Medara.
Vilkurup.--The Vilkuruppu or Vilkollakuruppu are the priests and
barbers of the Malayalam Kammalans, and also makers of umbrellas
and bows (vil) and arrows. In former times they supplied the latter
articles for the Malabar Infantry. Malabar and Travancore are, par
excellence, the home of the palm-leaf umbrella, which still holds
its own against umbrellas of European manufacture, which were, in
1904-1905, imported into India to the value of Rs. 18,95,064. A native
policeman, protecting himself from the sun with a long-handled palm
umbrella, is a common object in towns and villages on the west coast.
Concerning the Vilkurups of the Cochin State, Mr. L. K. Anantha
Krishna Aiyar writes as follows. [154] "In former times, their
occupations were training low caste men to arms and athletic feats,
to use sticks in fighting, and also to the use of bows and arrows, and
pial school teaching. In these days of civilisation, their services
are no longer required for these purposes, and they are employed
in shampooing, umbrella making, and quarrying laterite stones for
building purposes. In Nayar families, during tali-tying ceremonies,
they have to give a bow and a few arrows. During the Onam festival
also, they have to give a bow and arrows to every Nayar house, for
which they get some paddy (rice), curry stuffs, a cocoanut, and some
oil. When they are called in for shampooing, three oils are well
boiled, and cooled. The patient lies on a plank, oil is poured over
him, and every part of his body is well shampooed, and afterwards
he is bathed in water boiled with medicinal herbs. The Vilkurups
eat at the hands of Brahmans, Nayars, Izhuvans, and Kammalans, but
abstain from taking the food of barbers, washermen, Panans, Kaniyans,
and other low castes. They have to stand at a distance of thirty-two
feet from Brahmans and Nayars. Pulayans and Parayans have to stand at a
great distance. They live in localities occupied by the Izhuvans. They
cannot approach the Brahman temples, but have to stand far away from
the outer wall. They are their own barbers and washermen."
Villasan (bowmen).--A synonym of Malayalam Kammalans, who formerly
had to supply bows and arrows for the Travancore army.
Villi.--Villi (bow) or Villiyan (bowmen) has been recorded as a synonym
of the Irulas of Chingleput. Villi also occurs as a sub-division of
Vettuvan, a hunting caste of the Tamil country.
Villu Vedan (huntsmen using bows).--A synonym of Eravallar.
Vilyakara.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "a
sub-caste of Servegara or Kotegara." Vilyakara, Valekara and Olekara
are names indicating the occupation of a servant under Government or
a private individual.
Vinka (white-ant: Termites).--An exogamous sept of Jatapu.
Vipravinodi.--In a note on the Vipravinodis, Mr. C. Hayavadana
Rao writes that they are said to be the descendants of a Brahman
by a Lingayat woman. They are Lingayats, and are called Vipravinodi
because they perform acrobatic feats before Vipras, or Brahmans. They
generally travel about the country with their wives and children. One
of their favourite feats is throwing up three stone or wooden balls
in the air, and catching them, or rolling them over various parts
of the body. When they perform before a mixed audience, they call
themselves Naravidya varu, which is said to be an abbreviated form of
Narulu Mechche Vidyalu Chese varu, or those who perform feats which
men praise. The dead are buried in a sitting posture.
Virabhadra.--A synonym of the Tamil washermen (Vannan), whose patron
deity is Virabhadra, from whom they claim descent.
Viragu (firewood).--A sub-division of Vettuvan.
Virakudiyan.--A synonym of Panisavans, who are engaged in blowing
the conch shell on ceremonial occasions.
Virala (heroes).--An exogamous sept of Golla and Kapu.
Vira Magali (a god).--An exogamous section of Kallan.
Viramushti.--For the following account of the Viramushtis in the
Vizagapatam district, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao.