Mysore
Kurubas, 162.7 175.4 153.4 74.9 92.2 63.3
Bellary
Kurumbas, 157.5 163.6 149.6 88.8 111.1 79.1
Nilgiris
Kadirs 157.7 169.4 148.6 89.8 115.4 72.9
Mala 154.2 163.8 140.8 84.9 102.6 71.1
Vedars
In this table, the wide gap which separates the domesticated Kurubas
of the Mysore Province and the adjacent Bellary district from the
conspicuously platyrhine and short-statured Kurumbas and other jungle
tribes, stands out prominently before any one who is accustomed to deal
on a large scale with bodies and noses. And I confess that I like to
regard the Kurumbas, Mala Vedars, Kadirs, Paniyans, and other allied
tribes of short stature with broad noses as the most archaic existing
inhabitants of the south of the Indian peninsula, and as having
dwelt in the jungles, unclothed, and living on roots, long before
the seventh century. The question of the connection between Kurubas
and Kurumbas is further discussed in the note on the latter tribe.
The popular tradition as to the origin of the caste is as
follows. Originally the Kurubas were Kapus. Their ancestors were Masi
Reddi and Nilamma, who lived on the eastern ghats by selling firewood,
and had six sons. Taking pity on their poverty, Siva came begging to
their house in the disguise of a Jangam, and gave Nilamma some sacred
ashes, while promising prosperity through the birth of another son,
who was called Undala Padmanna. The family became prosperous through
agriculture. But, unlike his six brothers, Undala Padmanna never went
out to work in the fields. They accordingly contrived to get rid of him
by asking him to set fire to some brushwood concealing a white-ant
hill, in the hope that the snake within it would kill him. But,
instead of a snake, an innumerable host of sheep appeared. Frightened
at the sight of these strange black beasts, Undala Padmanna took to
his heels. But Siva appeared, and told him that they were created
for his livelihood, and that he should rear them, and live by their
milk. He taught him how to milk the sheep and boil the milk, and sent
him to a distant town, which was occupied by Rakshasas, to fetch
fire. There the giants were keeping in bondage a Brahman girl, who
fell in love with Undala Padmanna. They managed to escape from the
clutches of the Rakshasas by arranging their beds over deep pits,
which were dug for their destruction. To save her lover, the girl
transformed him into a lizard. She then went with him to the place
where his flock was, and Undala Padmanna married a girl of his own
caste, and had male offspring by her as well as the Brahman. At the
marriage of these sons, a thread kankanam (bracelet) was tied to the
wrist of the caste woman's offspring, and a woollen kankanam to that
of the Brahman girl's sons. The sons of the former were, therefore,
called Atti (cotton) Kankanadavaru, and those of the latter Unni
(woollen) Kankanadavaru. The latter are considered inferior, as they
are of hybrid origin. A third sub-division is that of the Ande Kurubas,
named after the small vessel (ande) used in milking goats. In a note
on the Kurubas of Alur, Thikka, meaning a simpleton, is given as
the name of an important division. It is noted in the Mysore Census
Report, 1901, that the Kurubas have not taken kindly to education,
and are by nature so simple that Kuruba has, in some places, become
a byword for a simpleton. The Kurubas are also known as Halu Mata,
or milk caste, as they believe that they were created out of milk
by Revana Siddeswara. In Hindustani they are called Dhangars, or
rich people. Some, in spite of their poor dress and appearance,
are well-to-do. At the Madras census, 1901, Kavadiga, Kumpani,
and Rayarvamsam (Raja's clan) were returned by some members of the
community. In Mysore, the Kurubas are said [49] to be divided into
Hande Kurubas and Kurubas proper, who have no intercourse with one
another. The latter worship Bire Devaru, and are Saivites. According
to another account, the Halu Kurubas of Mysore have sub-divisions
according to the day of the week, on which they offer puja to their
god, e.g., Aditya Varada (Sunday), Brihaspati Varada (Thursday),
Soma Varada (Monday).
"The Kurubas," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, "are again sub-divided into
clans or gumpus, each having a headman or guru called a gaudu, who
gives his name to the clan. And the clans are again sub-divided
into gotras or septs, which are mostly of totemistic origin, and
retain their totemistic character to this day. The Arisana gotram is
particularly worthy of notice. The name means saffron (turmeric),
and this was originally taboo; but, as this caused inconvenience,
the korra grain has been substituted, although the old name of the
sept was retained."
Exogamous septs.
Agni, fire.
Alige, drum.
Andara, booth.
Ane, elephant.
Arashina or Arisana, turmeric.
Arathi, wave offering.
Ari, ebony.
Ariya, noble.
Avu, snake.
Bandi, cart.
Banni (Prosopis spicigera).
Basale (Basella rubra).
Batlu, cup.
Belata (Feronia elephantum).
Belli, silver.
Belu (Ægle Marmelos).
Bende (Hibiscus esculentus).
Benise, flint.
Bevu or Bevina (Melia Azadirachta).
Binu, roll of woollen thread.
Bola, bangle.
Chandra, moon.
Chelu, scorpion.
Chilla (Strychnos potatorum).
Chinna or Sinnata, gold.
Deva, a tree.
Emme, buffalo.
Gali, devil.
Gauda, headman.
Gulimi, pick-axe.
Halu, milk.
Hatti, hut.
Honnungara, gold ring.
Ibabire, tortoise.
Irula, darkness.
Iruvu, black ant.
Jelakuppa, a fish.
Jirige, cummin.
Jivala, an insect.
Kalle, bengal gram.
Kanchu, bell-metal.
Kavada, coloured border of a cloth.
Kombu, stick.
Kori, blanket.
Mana, measure.
Malli, jasmine.
Menusu, pepper.
Minchu, metal toe-ring.
Mise, moustache.
Mugga, loom.
Muttu, pearl.
Nali, bamboo tube.
Nayi, dog.
Othu, goat.
Putta, ant-hill; snake hole.
Ratna, precious stones.
Samanti or Savanti (Chrysanthemum).
Same (millet: Panicum miliare).
Samudra, ocean.
Sankhu, conch-shell.
Sarige, lace.
Surya, sun.
Thuppa, clarified butter.
Turaka, Muhammadan.
Ungara, ring.
Uppiri, earth-salt.
The titles of members of the caste are Gauda or Heggade, and
the more prosperous go by the name of Kaudikiaru, a corruption
of Gaudikiaru. Many, at the present day, have adopted the title
Nayakkan. Some are called Gorava Vandlu.
According to Mr. Stuart, "each community of Kurubas, residing in a
group of villages, has a headman or Gaudu. He acts the part of pujari
or priest in all their ceremonies, presides over their tribal meetings,
and settles disputes. He is paid four annas, or, as they call it,
one ruka per house per annum. He is a strict vegetarian, and will not
eat with other Kurubas." The headman or guru of the caste in Bellary
goes by the name of Revana Siddeswara, and he wears the lingam, and
follows the Lingayat creed. Sometimes he dines with his people, and,
on these occasions, new cooking pots must be used. He exercises the
power of inflicting fines, excommunicating those who have had illicit
intercourse with Boyas, Muhammadans, and others, etc. The Kurubas
in Bellary and Anantapur are said to pay three pies to their guru
for every blanket which they sell. The name of the tribal headman at
Alur is Kattaiyintivadu, i.e., shed with a pial or raised verandah
in front of it. Among both Kurubas and Bedars, a special building,
built by public subscription, and called the katta-illu or chavadi, is
set apart for council meetings, at which tribal affairs are discussed
and decided.
When a girl reaches puberty, she is kept in a corner of the house for
eight days. On the ninth day she bathes, and food is taken to her by
an old woman of the house. Kuruba women are invited to be present in
the evening. The girl, covered with a blanket, is seated on a raised
place. Those assembled throw rice over her feet, knees, shoulders,
and head, and into her lap. Coloured turmeric and lime water is then
waved three or five times round her, and ravikes (body-cloths) are
presented to her.
The following account of the marriage ceremonial was recorded in
Western Bellary. When a marriage has been settled between the parents
of the young people, visits are exchanged by the two families. On
a fixed day, the contracting couple sit on a blanket at the bride's
house, and five women throw rice over five parts of the body as at
the menstrual ceremony. Betel leaves and areca-nuts are placed before
them, of which the first portion is set apart for the god Birappa,
the second for the Gauda, another for the house god, and so on up
to the tenth. A general distribution then takes place The ceremony,
which is called sakshi vilya or witness betel-leaf, is brought to a
conclusion by waving in front of the couple a brass vessel, over the
mouth of which five betel leaves and a ball of ashes are placed. They
then prostrate themselves before the guru. For the marriage ceremony,
the services of the guru, a Jangam, or a Brahman priest, are called
into requisition. Early on the wedding morning, the bridal couple are
anointed and washed. A space, called the irani square, is marked out
by placing at the four corners a pot filled with water. Round each pot
a cotton thread is wound five times. Similar thread is also tied to
the milk-post of the marriage pandal (booth), which is made of pipal
(Ficus religiosa) wood. Within the square a pestle, painted with
red and white stripes, is placed, on which the bride and bridegroom,
with two young girls, seat themselves. Rice is thrown over them, and
they are anointed and washed. To each a new cloth is given, in which
they dress themselves, and the wrist-thread (kankanam) is tied on all
four. Presents are given by relations, and arathi (red water) is waved
round them. The bridegroom is decorated with a bashingam (chaplet
of flowers), and taken on a bull to a Hanuman shrine along with his
best man. Cocoanuts, camphor, and betel are given to the priest as
an offering to the god. According to another account, both bride and
bridegroom go to the shrine, where a matron ties on their foreheads
chaplets of flowers, pearls, etc. At the marriage house a dais has
been erected close to the milk-post, and covered with a blanket, on
which a mill-stone and basket filled with cholum (Andropogon Sorghum)
are placed. The bridegroom, standing with a foot on the stone and
the bride with a foot on the basket, the gold tali, after it has been
touched by five married women, is tied round the bride's neck by the
officiating priest, while those assembled throw rice over the happy
pair, and bless them. According to another version, a bed-sheet is
interposed as a screen, so that the bride and bridegroom cannot see
each other. On the three following days, the newly-married couple sit
on the blanket, and rice is thrown over them. In Western Bellary, the
bridegroom, on the third day, carries the bride on his waist to Hanuman
temple, where married women throw rice over them. On the fifth morning,
they are once more anointed and washed within the irani square, and,
towards evening, the bride's father hands her over to her husband,
saying "She was till this time a member of my sept and house. Now I
hand her over to your sept and house." On the night of the sixth day,
a ceremony called booma idothu (food placing) is performed. A large
metal vessel (gangalam) is filled with rice, ghi (clarified butter),
curds, and sugar. Round this some of the relations of the bride and
bridegroom sit, and finish off the food. The number of those, who
partake thereof must be an odd one, and they must eat the food as
quickly as possible. If anything goes wrong with them, while eating
or afterwards, it is regarded as an omen of impending misfortune. Some
even consider it as an indication of the bad character of the bride.
Concerning the marriage ceremony of the Kurubas of North Arcot,
Mr. Stuart writes as follows. "As a preliminary to the marriage,
the bridegroom's father observes certain marks or curls on the
head of the proposed bride. Some of these are believed to forebode
prosperity, and others only misery to the family, into which the girl
enters. They are, therefore, very cautious in selecting only such
girls as possess curls (suli) of good fortune. This curious custom,
obtaining among this primitive tribe, is observed by others only in
the case of the purchase of cows, bulls, and horses. One of the good
curls is the bashingam found on the forehead; and the bad ones are the
peyanakallu at the back of the head, and the edirsuli near the right
temple. But widowers seeking for wives are not generally particular
in this respect. [As bad curls are supposed to cause the death of
the man who is their possessor, she is, I am informed, married to a
widower.] The marriage is celebrated in the bridegroom's house, and,
if the bride belongs to a different village, she is escorted to that
of the bridegroom, and is made to wait in a particular spot outside
it, selected for the occasion. On the first day of the marriage,
purna kumbam, a small decorated vessel containing milk or ghi, with
a two-anna piece and a cocoanut placed on the betel leaf spread over
the mouth of it, is taken by the bridegroom's relations to meet the
bride's party. Therethe distribution of pan supari takes place,
and both parties return to the village. Meanwhile, the marriage
booth is erected, and twelve twigs of naval (Eugenia Jambolana)
are tied to the twelve pillars, the central or milk post, under
which the bridal pair sit, being smeared with turmeric, and a yellow
thread being tied thereto. At an auspicious hour of the third day,
the couple are made to sit in the booth, the bridegroom facing the
east, and the bride facing west. On a blanket spread near the kumbam,
2 1/2 measures of rice, a tali or bottu, one cocoanut, betel leaf and
camphor are placed. The Gaudu places a ball of vibhuti (sacred ashes)
thereon, breaks a cocoanut, and worships the kumbam, while camphor
is burnt. The Gaudu next takes the tali, blesses it, and gives it to
the bridegroom, who ties it round the bride's neck. The Gaudu then,
throwing rice on the heads of the pair, recites a song, in which
the names of various people are mentioned, and concluding 'Oh! happy
girl; Oh! prosperous girl; Basava has come; remove your veil.' The
girl then removes her veil, and the men and women assembled throw
rice on the heads of the bridal pair. The ends of their garments are
then tied together, and two girls and three boys are made to eat out
of the plates placed before the married couple. A feast to all their
relations completes the ceremony. The Gaudu receives 2 1/2 measures
of rice, five handfuls of nuts and betel leaf, and twelve saffrons
(pieces of turmeric) as his fee. Even though the girl has attained
puberty, the nuptial ceremony is not coincident with the wedding, but
is celebrated a few months later." In like manner, among the Kammas,
Gangimakkulu, and other classes, consummation does not take place
until three months after the marriage ceremony, as it is considered
unlucky to have three heads of a family in a household during the
first year of marriage. By the delay, the birth of a child should
take place only in the second year, so that, during the first year,
there will be only two heads, husband and wife. At a marriage among
the Kurubas of the Madura district, a chicken is waved in front of
the contracting couple, to avert the evil eye. The maternal uncle's
consent to a marriage is necessary, and, at the wedding, he leads the
bride to the pandal. A Kuruba may, I am informed, marry two sisters,
either on the death of one of them, or if his first wife has no issue,
or suffers from an incurable disease. Some twenty years ago, when
an unmarried Kuruba girl was taken to a temple, to be initiated as
a Basavi (dedicated prostitute), the caste men prosecuted the father
as a protest against the practice.
In the North Arcot district, according to Mr. Stuart, "the mother
and child remain in a separate hut for the first ten days after
delivery. On the eleventh day, all the Kuruba females of the village
bring each a pot of hot water, and bathe the mother and child. Betel
and nuts are distributed, and all the people of the village eat in
the mother's house. On the next market-day, her husband, with some of
his male friends, goes to a neighbouring market, and consults with
a Korava or Yerukala what name is to be given to the child, and the
name he mentions is then given to it." In a case which came before
the police in the Bellary district in 1907, a woman complained that
her infant child had been taken away, and concealed in the house of
another woman, who was pregnant. The explanation of the abduction was
that there is a belief that, if a pregnant woman keeps a baby in her
bed, she will have no difficulty at the time of delivery.
Remarriage of widows is permitted. The ceremony is performed in
a temple or dark room, and the tali is tied by a widow, a woman
dedicated to the deity, or a Dasayya (mendicant) of their own
caste. According to another account, a widow is not allowed to wear a
tali, but is presented with a cloth. Hence widow marriage is called
Sire Udiki. Children of widows are married into families in which
no widow remarriage has taken place, and are treated like ordinary
members of the community.
In Western Bellary I gathered that the dead are buried, those
who have been married with the face upwards, others with the face
downwards. The grave is dug north and south, and the head is placed
to the south. Earth is thrown into the grave by relations before it
is filled in. A mound is raised over it, and three stones are set up,
over the head, navel, and feet. The eldest son of the deceased places
on his left shoulder a pot filled with water, in the bottom of which
three small holes are made, through which the water escapes. Proceeding
from the spot beneath which the head rests, he walks round the grave,
and then drops the pot so that it falls on the mound, and goes home
without looking back. This ceremony is a very important one with both
Kurubas and Bedars. In the absence of a direct heir, he who carries the
pot claims the property of the deceased, and is considered to be the
inheritor thereof. For the propitiation of ancestors, cooked rice and
sweetmeats, with a new turban and cloth or petticoat, according to the
sex of the deceased, are offered up. Ancestors who died childless,
unless they left property, do not receive homage. It is noted,
in the Bellary Gazetteer, that "an unusual rite is in some cases
observed after deaths, a pot of water being worshipped in the house
on the eleventh day after the funeral, and taken the next morning and
emptied in some lonely place. The ceremony is named the calling back
of the dead, but its real significance is not clear."
Of the death ceremonies in the North Arcot district, Mr. Stuart
writes that "the son, or, in his absence, a near relative goes round
the grave three times, carrying a pot of water, in which he makes
a hole at each round. On the third round he throws down the pot,
and returns home straight, without turning his face towards the
direction of the grave. For three days, the four carriers of the bier
are not admitted into their houses, but they are fed at the cost of
the deceased's heir. On the the third day, cooked rice, a fowl and
water are taken to the burial-ground, and placed near the grave, to
be eaten by the spirit of the dead. The son, and all his relations,
return home, beating on their mouths. Pollution is observed for ten
days, and, on the eleventh day, sheep and fowls are killed, and a
grand feast is given to the Kurumbas of the village. Before the feast
commences, a leaf containing food is placed in a corner of the house,
and worshipped. This is removed on the next morning, and placed over
the roof, to be eaten by crows. If the deceased be a male, the glass
bangles worn by his wife on her right arm are broken on the same day."
The patron saint of the Kurubas is Birappa or Biradevaru, and they
will not ride on horses or ponies, as these are the vehicles of the
god. But they worship, in addition, various minor deities, e.g.,
Uligamma, Mallappa, Anthargattamma, Kencharaya, and have their house
gods, who are worshipped either by a house or by an entire exogamous
sept. In some places, Mariamma and Sunkulamma are worshipped on Tuesday
and Friday, and the sheep and other offerings are the perquisite of
Boyas, Malas, and Madigas. Some families of Kuruba Dasaris reverence
a goddess called Hombalamma, who is worshipped secretly by a pujari
(priest) at dead of night. Everything used in connection with the rite
is buried or otherwise disposed of before morning. The Kurubas show
reverence for the jammi tree (Prosopis spicigera) and ashwatham (Ficus
religiosa) by not cutting them. It was noticed by Mr. F. Fawcett that,
at the temples of the village goddesses Wannathamma and Durgamma in the
Bellary district, an old Kuruba woman performs the daily worship. In
the mantapam of the temple at Lepakshi, in the Anantapur district,
"is the sculptured figure of a man leaning his chin upon his hands,
which is said to represent a Kuruba who once acted as mediator between
the builder of the temple and his workmen in a dispute about wages. The
image is still bathed in oil, and worshipped by the local Kurubas,
who are proud of the important part played by their caste-man." [50]
In Mysore, the Kurubas are said to worship a box, which they believe
contains the wearing apparel of Krishna under the name of Junjappa. One
of the goddesses worshipped by the Kurubas is named Kelu Devaru or Mane
Hennu Devaru, the pot or household deity. She is worshipped annually
at the Dasara festival, and, on occasions of marriage, just before
the tali is tied. The pot is made by a Kumbara (potter), who is well
paid for his work. During its manufacture, he has to take only one
meal daily, and to avoid pollution of all kinds. The clay should be
kneaded with the hands, and wetted with milk, milk of tender cocoanuts,
and water. When at work on it, the potter should close his mouth with
a bandage, so that his breath may not defile the pot. The Kurubas who
are settled in the Madura district reverence Vira Lakkamma (Lakshmi)
as their family deity, and an interesting feature in connection with
the worship of their goddess is that cocoanuts are broken on the head
of a special Kuruba, who becomes possessed by the deity.
The Kurubas are ancestor worshippers, and many of them have in their
possession golden discs called hitharadha tali, with the figures of one
or more human beings stamped on them. The discs are made by Akasales
(goldsmiths), who stamp them from steel dies. They are either kept
in the house, or worn round the neck by women. If the deceased was
a celebrity in the community, a large plate is substituted for a disc.
Concerning the religion of the Kurubas, Mr. Francis writes as
follows. "The most striking point about the caste is its strong
leaning towards the Lingayat faith. Almost everywhere, Jangams are
called in as priests, and allegiance to the Lingayat maths (religious
institutions) is acknowledged, and in places (Kamalapuram for example),
the ceremonies at weddings and funerals have been greatly modified
in the direction of the Lingayat pattern." [51] "In the North Arcot
district, the Gaudu is entrusted with the custody of a golden image
representing the hero of the clan, and keeps it carefully in a small
box filled with turmeric powder. There are also some images set up in
temples built for the purpose. Once a year, several neighbouring clans
assemble at one of their bigger temples, which is lighted with ghi,
and, placing their images in a row, offer to them flowers, cocoanuts,
milk, etc., but they do not slay any victim. On the last day of
their festival, the Kurumbas take a bath, worship a bull, and break
cocoanuts upon the heads of pujaris who have an hereditary right to
this distinction, and upon the head of the sacred bull. Some Kurumbas
do not adopt this apparently inhuman practice. A pujari or priest,
supposed to have some supernatural power, officiates, and begins by
breaking a few nuts on the heads of those nearest to him, and then the
rest go on, the fragments belonging by right to those whose skulls have
cracked them, and who value the pieces as sacred morsels of food. For
a month before this ceremony, all the people have taken no meat, and
for three days the pujaris have lived on fruits and milk alone. At
the feast, therefore, all indulge in rather immoderate eating, but
drink no liquor, calling excitedly upon their particular god to grant
them a prosperous year. The temples of this caste are usually rather
extensive, but rude, low structures, resembling an enclosed mantapam
supported upon rough stone pillars, with a small inner shrine, where
the idols are placed during festival time. A wall of stone encloses
a considerable space round the temple, and this is covered with
small structures formed of four flat stones, three being the walls,
and the fourth the roof. The stone facing the open side has a figure
sculptured upon it, representing the deceased Gaudu, or pujari, to
whom it is dedicated. For each person of rank one of these monuments
is constructed, and here periodically, and always during the annual
feasts, puja is made not only to the spirits of the deceased chiefs,
but also to those of all who have died in the clan. It seems impossible
not to connect this with those strange structures called by the natives
Pandava's temples. They are numerous where the Kurumbas are now found,
and are known to have been raised over the dead. Though the Kurumbas
bury, they do not now raise their monuments over the resting place of
the corpse. Nor can they build them upon anything approaching to the
gigantic scale of the ancient kistvaen or dolmen." [52] It was noted
by a correspondent of the Indian Antiquary [53] that, in the Kaladgi
'district,' he "came across the tomb of a Kuruba only four years
old. It was a complete miniature dolmen about eighteen inches every
way, composed of four stones, one at each side, one at the rear, and
a cap-stone. The interior was occupied by two round stones about the
size of a man's fist, painted red, the deceased resting in his mother
earth below." In the open country near Kadur in Mysore, is a shrine
of Biradevaru, which consists of four stone pillars several feet
in height surmounted by flat slabs as a cap-stone, within which the
deity is represented by round stones, and stones with snakes carved
on them are deposited. Within the Kuruba quarter of the town, the
shrine of Anthargattamma is a regular dolmen beneath a margosa (Melia
Azadirachta) tree, in which the goddess is represented by rounded
stones imbedded in a mound of earth. Just outside the same town,
close to a pipal tree (Ficus religiosa) are two smaller dolmen-like
structures containing stones representing two Kuruba Dasaris, one a
centenarian, who are buried there.
"The village of Maliar, in the Hadagalli taluk of the Bellary district,
contains a Siva temple, which is famous throughout the district
for an annual festival held there in the month of February. This
festival has now dwindled more or less into a cattle fair. But the
fame of the temple continues as regards the karanika, which is a
cryptic sentence uttered by a priest, containing a prophecy of the
prospect of the agricultural season of the ensuing year. The pujari
of the temple is a Kuruba. The feast in the temple lasts for ten
days. On the last day of the feast, the god Siva is represented as
returning victorious from the battlefield after having slain Malla
with a huge bow. He is met half-way from the field of battle by the
goddess. The huge wooden bow is brought, and placed on end before
the god. The Kuruba priest climbs up the bow as it is held up by
two assistants, and then gets on the shoulders of these men. In
this posture he stands rapt in silence for a few minutes, looking
in several directions. He then begins to quake and quiver from head
to foot. This is the sign of the spirit of the Siva god possessing
him--the sign of the divine afflatus upon him. A solemn silence
holds the assembly, for the time of the karanika has approached. The
shivering Kuruba utters a cryptic sentence, such as Akasakke sidlu
bodiyuttu, or thunder struck the sky. This is at once copied down,
and interpreted as a prophecy that there will be much rain in the year
to come. Thus every year, in the month of February, the karanika of
Mailar is uttered and copied, and kept by all in the district as a
prophecy. This karanika prognostication is also pronounced now at the
Mallari temple in the Dharwar district, at Nerakini in the Alur taluk,
and at Mailar Lingappa in the Harapanahalli taluk." [54]
The rule of inheritance among the Kurubas is said [55] to differ
very little from that current among Hindus, but the daughters, if
the deceased has no son, share equally with the agnates. They belong
to the right-hand faction, and have the privilege of passing through
the main bazars in processions. Some Mudalis and 'Naidus' are said
to have no objection to eat, drink, and smoke with Kurubas. Gollas
and some inferior flesh-eating Kapus will also do so.
Kuruhina Setti Viraisaivar.--A synonym of Kurni. Kuruhina means
literally a sign, mark, or token. Kuruvina Banajiga occurs as a
synonym of Bilimagga.
Kurukkal.--See Gurukkal (Brahman).
Kurukula Vamsam.--The name, derived from Kuru, the ancestor of the
Kauravas, assumed by some Pattanavans.
Kurumba or Kuruman.--As bearing on the disputed question of the
connection between the Kurumbas who dwell in the jungle, and the
Kurubas (shepherds and weavers) who live in the plains and open
country, I may quote the evidence of various witnesses:--
Madras Census Report, 1891.--"The Kurumbas or Kurrubas are the modern
representatives of the ancient Kurumbas or Pallavas, who were once
so powerful throughout Southern India, but very little trace of their
greatness now remains. In the seventh century, the power of the Pallava
kings seems to have been at its zenith; but, shortly after this,
the Kongu, Chola, and Chalukya chiefs succeeded in winning several
victories over them. The final overthrow of the Kurumba sovereignty
was effected by the Chola king Adondai about the seventh or eighth
century A.D., and the Kurumbas were scattered far and wide. Many
fled to the hills, and in the Nilgiris and the Wynad, in Coorg and
Mysore, representatives of this ancient race are now found as wild
and uncivilised tribes. Elsewhere the Kurumbas are more advanced,
and are usually shepherds, and weavers of coarse woollen blankets."
"Kuruman.--This caste is found in the Nilgiris and the Wynad, with a
slight sprinkling in the Nilambur and Attapadi hills in Malabar. Their
principal occupations are wood-cutting, and the collection of forest
produce. The name is merely another form of Kurumban, but, as they
differ from the ordinary Kurumbas, it seemed better to show them
separately. I think, however, that they were originally identical with
the shepherd Kurumbans, and their present separation is merely the
result of their isolation in the fastnesses of the Western Ghats,
to which their ancestors fled, or gradually retreated after the
downfall of the Kurumba dynasty. The name Kurumbranad, a sub-division
of Malabar, still bears testimony to their once powerful position."
Madras Census Report, 1901--"Kuruba; Kurumban.--These two have always
been treated as the same caste. Mr. Thurston (Madras Mus. Bull. II,
i) thinks they are distinct. I have no new information, which will
clearly decide the matter, but the fact seems to be that Kurumban is
the Tamil form of the Telugu or Canarese Kuruba, and that the two
terms are applied to the same caste according to the language in
which it is referred to. There was no confusion in the abstraction
offices between the two names, and it will be seen that Kuruba is
returned where Canarese and Telugu are spoken, and Kurumban where
the vernacular is Tamil. There are two sharply defined bodies of
Kurumbans--those who live on the Nilgiri plateau, speak the Kurumba
dialect, and are wild junglemen; and those who live on the plains,
speak Canarese, and are civilised."
Mysore Census Report, 1891--Kadu Kuruba or Kurumba.--"The tribal name
of Kuruba has been traced to the primeval occupation of the race,
viz., the tending of sheep, perhaps when pre-historic man rose to
the pastoral stage. The Uru or civilised Kurubas, who are genuine
tillers of the soil, and who are dotted over the country in populous
and thriving communities, and many of whom have, under the present
'Pax Britannica,' further developed into enterprising tradesmen and
withal lettered Government officials, are the very antipodes of the
Kadu or wild Kurubas or Kurumbas. The latter, like the Iruligas and
Soligas, are the denizens of the backwoods of the country, and have
been correctly classed under the aboriginal population. The Tamilised
name of Kurumba is applied to certain clans dwelling on the heights
of the Nilgiris, who are doubtless the offshoots of the aboriginal
Kadu Kuruba stock found in Mysore."
W. R. King. Aboriginal Tribes of the Nilgiri Hills--"Kurumbas.--This
tribe is of another race from the shepherd Kurumbas. The Nilgiri tribe
have neither cattle nor sheep, and in language, dress, and customs,
have no affinity whatever with their namesakes."
G. Oppert. Original Inhabitants of India--"Kurubas or
Kurumbas.--However separated from each other, and scattered among the
Dravidian clans with whom they have dwelt, and however distant from
one another they still live, there is hardly a province in the whole
of Bharatavarasha which cannot produce, if not some living remnants
of this race, at least some remains of past times which prove their
presence. Indeed, the Kurumbas must be regarded as very old inhabitants
of this land, who can contest with their Dravidian kinsmen the priority
of occupation of the Indian soil. The terms Kuruba and Kurumba are
originally identical, though the one form is, in different places,
employed for the other, and has thus occasionally assumed a special
local meaning. Mr. H. B. Grigg appears to contradict himself when,
while speaking of the Kurumbas, he says that 'in the low country they
are called Kurubas or Curubaru, and are divided into such families
as Ane or elephant, Naya or dog, Male or hill Kurumbas.' [56] Such
a distinction between mountain Kurumbas and plain Kurumbas cannot be
established. The Rev. G. Richter will find it difficult to prove that
the Kurubas of Mysore are only called so as shepherds, and that no
connection exists between these Kurubas and the Kurumbas. Mr. Lewis
Rice calls the wild tribes as well as the shepherds Kurubas, but
seems to overlook the fact that both terms are identical, and refer
to only the ethnological distinction."
The above extracts will suffice for the purpose of showing that
the distinction between the jungle Kurumbas and the more civilised
Kurubas, and their relationship towards each other, call for a
'permanent settlement.' And I may briefly place on record the results
of anthropometric observations on the jungle Kurumbas of the Nilgiris,
and the domesticated Kurubas of Mysore and the Bellary district,
whose stature and nasal index (two factors of primary importance)
are compared with those of the jungle Paniyans of Malabar and Kadirs
of the Anaimalai mountains--
===================+==========+===============+=============
| Stature. | Nasal index. | Nasal index.
==== | Average. | Average. | Maximum.
===================+==========+===============+=============
| cm. | |
Kurubas, Bellary | 162.7 | 74.9 | 92
Kurubas, Mysore | 163.9 | 73.2 | 86
Kurumbas, Nilgiris | 157.5 | 88.8 | 111
Paniyans | 157.4 | 95.1 | 108
Kadirs | 151.7 | 89 | 115
===================+==========+===============+=============
A glance at the above table at once shows that there is a closer
affinity between the three dark-skinned, short, platyrhine jungle
tribes, than between the jungle Kurumbas and the lighter-skinned,
taller, and more leptorhine Kurubas.
The domesticated Kurubas are dealt with separately, and, in the
remarks which follow, I am dealing solely with the jungle Kurumbas.
The Kadu, or wild Kurumbas of Mysore are divided into "(a) Betta
or hill Kurumbas, with sub-divisions called Ane (elephant), Bevina
(nim tree: Melia Azadirachta), and Kolli (fire-brand)--a small
and active race, capable of great fatigue, who are expert woodmen;
(b) Jenu or honey Kurumbas, said to be a darker and inferior race,
who employ themselves in collecting honey and bees-wax." [57]
For the following note on the Kadu Kurumbas I am indebted to the Mysore
Census Report, 1891. "There are two clans among them, viz., Bettada
and Jenu. The former worship the forest deities Narali and Mastamma;
eat flesh and "drink liquor, a favourite beverage being prepared from
ragi (Eleusine Coracana) flour. Some of their habits and customs are
worth mentioning, as indicating their plane of civilization. They have
two forms of marriage. One is similar to the elaborate ceremony among
the Vakkaligas, while the other is the simple one of a formal exchange
of betel leaves and areca nuts, which concludes the nuptials. The
Kadu Kurubas can only eat meals prepared by members of the higher
castes. During their periodical illnesses, the females live outside
the limits of the Hadi (group of rude huts) for three days. And, in
cases of childbirth, none but the wet nurse or other attendant enters
the room of the confined woman for ten days. In cases of sickness, no
medical treatment is resorted to; on the other hand, exorcisms, charms,
incantations, and animal sacrifices are more generally in vogue. The
male's dress consists of either a bit of cloth to cover their nudity,
or a piece of coarse cloth tied round the waist, and reaching to the
knees. They wear ornaments of gold, silver, or brass. They are their
own barbers, and use broken glass for razors. The females wear coarse
cloth four yards long, and have their foreheads tattooed in dots of
two or three horizontal lines, and wear ear-rings, glass bangles,
and necklaces of black beads. Strangers are not allowed to enter
their hadis or hamlets with shoes or slippers on. In case of death,
children are buried, whilst adults are burned. On the occurrence of
any untoward event, the whole site is abandoned, and a new hadi set
up in the vicinity. The Kadu Kurubas are very active, and capable of
enduring great fatigue. It is said that they are revengeful, but,
if treated kindly, they will do willing service. The Jenu Kurubas
live in small detached huts in the interior of thick jungles, far
away from inhabited places. Their habits are no less wild. The male
dress consists of either a woollen kambli or coarse cloth, and a skull
cap. The female's sadi is white coarse cloth, their wonted ornaments
being a pair of brass ear-rings, strings of black beads tied round
the neck, and glass bangles on the wrist. These people do not allow
to outcasts and Musalmans access to their premises, or permit shoes
being brought into their houses or streets. They eat flesh, and take
meals from Vakkaligas, Lingayats, and other superior castes. They
subsist on wild bamboo seed, edible roots, etc., found in the jungle,
often mixed with honey. They are said not unfrequently to make a
dessert out of bees in preference to milk, ghi (clarified butter),
etc. They are engaged chiefly in felling timber in the forests, and
other similar rude pursuits, but they never own or cultivate land for
themselves, or keep live-stock of their own. They are very expert in
tracking wild animals, and very skilfully elude accidental pursuits
thereby. Their children, more than two years old, move about freely
in the jungle. They are said to be hospitable to travellers visiting
their place at any unusual hour. They are Saivites, and Jangams are
their gurus. The ceremonial pollution on account of death lasts for
ten days, as with the Brahmans. Children are buried, while adults,
male or female, are cremated. A curious trait of this primitive race
is that the unmarried females of the village or hadi generally sleep
in a hut or chavadi set apart for them, whilst the adult bachelors
and children have a separate building, both under the eye of the head
tribesman. The hut for the latter is called pundugar chavadi, meaning
literally the abode of vagabonds." The Jenu Kurumbas are said to eat,
and the Betta Kurumbas to abstain from eating the flesh of the 'bison'
(Bos gaurus).
In a note on the Jenu and Betta Kurumbas of Mysore,
Mr. M. Venkatanarnappa writes as follows. "The Betta are better clothed
and fed than the Jen Kurumbas. Their occupation is kumri (burning and
shifting) cultivation. Their women are clever at basket-making. They
can be distinguished by the method of dress which their women have
adopted, and the way in which the men wear their hair. A Betta woman
covers her body below the shoulders by tying a long cloth round
the arm-pits, leaving shoulders and arms bare, whereas a Jen woman
in good circumstances dresses up like the village females, and, if
poor, ties a piece of cloth round her loins, and wears another to
partially conceal the upper part of her body. Among males, a Betta
Kurumba leaves his hair uncut, and gathers it from fore and aft into
a knot tied on the crown of the head. A Jen Kurumba shaves like the
ryots, leaving a tuft behind, or clips or crops it, with a curly or
bushy growth to protect the head from heat and cold. The Betta and
Jen Kurumbas never intermarry." The Betta Kurumbas are, I am told,
excellent elephant mahauts (drivers), and very useful at keddah
(elephant-catching) operations.
Of the Kadu and Betta Kurumbas, as they were at the beginning of the
nineteenth century, the following account is given by Buchanan. [58]
"The Cad Curubaru are a rude tribe, who are exceedingly poor and
wretched. In the fields near the villages, they build miserable low
huts, have a few rags only for clothing, and the hair of both sexes
stands out matted like a mop, and swarms with vermin. Some of them
hire themselves out as labouring servants to the farmers, and receive
monthly wages. Others, in crop seasons, watch the fields at night,
to keep off elephants and wild hogs. In the intervals between crops,
they work as daily labourers, or go into the woods, and collect the
roots of wild yams (Dioscorea), part of which they eat, and part
exchange with the farmers for grain. Their manner of driving away
the elephant is by running against him with a burning torch made of
bamboos. The animal sometimes turns, waits till the Curubaru comes
close up; but these poor people, taught by experience, push boldly
on, dash their torches against the elephant's head, who never fails
to take to immediate flight. Should their courage fail, and should
they attempt to run away, the elephant would immediately pursue, and
put them to death. The Curubaru have no means of killing so large
an animal, and, on meeting with one in the day-time, are as much
alarmed as any other of the inhabitants. During the Sultan's reign
they caught a few in pitfalls. [I have heard of a clever Kurumba,
who caught an elephant by growing pumpkins and vegetable marrow,
for which elephants have a partiality, over a pit on the outskirts
of his field.--E.T.] The wild hogs are driven out of the fields
by slings, but they are too fierce for the Curubaru to kill. These
people frequently suffer from tigers, against which their wretched
huts are a poor defence; and, when this wild beast is urged by hunger,
he is regardless of their burning torches. These Curubaru have dogs,
with which they catch deer, antelopes, and hares; and they have the
art of taking in snares, peacocks, and other esculent birds. They
believe that good men, after death, will become benevolent Devas,
and bad men destructive Devas. They are of such known honesty that
on all occasions they are entrusted with provisions by the farmers,
who are persuaded that the Curubaru would rather starve than take one
grain of what was given to them in charge. The spirits of the dead
are believed to appear in dreams to their old people, and to direct
them to make offerings to a female deity named Bettada Chicama,
that is, the mother of the hill. Unless these offerings are made,
this goddess occasions sickness. In cases of adultery, the husband
flogs his wife severely, and, if he is able, beats her paramour. If
he be not able, he applies to the gaudo (headman), who does it for
him." The Betta Curubaru, Buchanan continues, "live in poor huts near
the villages, and the chief employment of the men is the cutting of
timber, and making of baskets. With a sharp stick they also dig up
spots of ground in the skirts of the forest, and sow them with ragi
(Eleusine Coracana). The men watch at night the fields of the farmers,
but they are not so dexterous at this as the Cad Curubaru. In this
class, the Cutigas are women that prefer another man to their husband,
or widows, who do not wish to relinquish carnal enjoyment. Their
children are not considered as illegitimate."
Of the casual system of clearing the jungle in vogue among the
Kurumbas, I may quote the following description. [59] "In their search
for food, this wild tribe naturally prefers a forest cleared of all
undergrowth, in which to move about, and the ingenuity with which
they attain this end, and outwit the vigilant forest subordinates,
is worthy of a better object. I have heard of a Kurumba walking miles
from his hadi or hamlet, with a ball of dry smouldering elephant
dung concealed in his waist-cloth. This he carried to the heart of
the forest reserve, and, selecting a suitable spot, he placed the
smouldering dung, with a plentiful supply of dry inflammable grass
over it, in such a position as to allow the wind to play upon it,
and fan it into a flame with the pleasing certainty that the smoke
from the fire would not be detected by the watchers on the distant
fire-lines until the forest was well alight, the flames beyond all
control, and the Kurumba himself safe at home in his hadi, awaiting
the arrival of the forest subordinate to summon the settlement to
assist in the hopeless task of extinguishing the fire."
Of the Kurumbas who are found in the Wynad, Calicut, and Ernad taluks
of Malabar, the following account is given in the Gazetteer of that
district. "They are sub-divided into Mullu (bamboo) Kurumbans, Jen or
Ten (honey) Kurumbans, also called Kadu or Shola Nayakkans (or Jenu
Koyyo Shola Nayakas, i.e., honey-cutting lords of the woods), and
Urali or Bet Kurumbans; of which the first-named class, who consider
themselves superior to the others, are cultivators and hunters; the
second wood-cutters and collectors of honey; and the third make baskets
and implements of agriculture. The Mullu and Ten Kurumbans have headmen
with titles of Muppan and Mudali respectively conferred by their janmis
(landlords). The Kurumbans, like many of the other hill-tribes, use
bows and arrows, with which they are expert. The caste deity of the
Ten Kurumbans is called Masti. It is perhaps worth remarking that
the Urali Kurumbans of the Wynaad differ from the other two classes
in having no headmen, observing a shorter period of pollution after
a birth than any other Malabar tribe and none at all after a death,
and in not worshipping any of the Malabar animistic deities."
The chief sub-divisions of the Kurumbas on the Nilgiris, and in
the Wynad, are said, in the Madras Census Report, 1891, to be "Mullu
(thorn), Betta or Vetta (hill), Urali (Ur, a village), Ten (honey), and
Tac'chanadan Muppan (carpenter headman). Of these, the first and last
speak Malayalam, and wear a lock in front of their head in the Malabar
fashion. The rest speak Canarese. Urali Kurumbas work in metals."
The villages of the Kurumbas on the Nilgiri hills are, Mr. Grigg
writes, [60] called mottas. They consist generally of only four or
five huts, made of mud and wattle, with thatched roofs. The front of
the house is sometimes whitewashed, and ornamented with rude drawings
of men and animals in red earth or charcoal. They store their grain
in large oval baskets, and for bottles they use gourds. They clear a
patch round about the village, and sow the ground with ragi (Eleusine
Coracana), tenne (Setaria italica), or kiri (Amarantus). They dig up
roots (called gasu) for food, and collect the jungle produce, honey,
resin, gall-nuts, etc., which they barter with low-country traders,
and they are clever in catching game in nets, and dispose of the flesh
in a surprisingly short time. Kurumbas occasionally take work on coffee
plantations, and some earn a livelihood by officiating as priests to
the Badagas. They are also employed as musicians at wedding feasts
and funerals of the other tribes, where they play on clarionets,
drums, and tambourines, as well as the buguri. They make baskets of
rattan and milk vessels out of a joint of bamboo, as well as nets
of a thread called oilhatti. Their women confine themselves to the
limited work of their households, fetching water, cooking, etc. The
following extract embraces all that can be said of the religion of
the Kurumbas. "Some profess to worship Siva, and occasionally women
mark their foreheads with the Siva spot. Others, living near Barliar,
worship Kuribattraya (lord of many sheep) and the wife of Siva under
the name of Musni. They worship also a rough stone under the name of
Hiriadeva, setting it up either in a cave, or in a circle of stones
like the so-called Kurumba kovil of the Badagas, which the latter
would seem to have borrowed from the Kurumbas. To this they make
puja, and offer cooked rice at the sowing time. They also profess to
sacrifice to Hiriadeva a goat, which they kill at their own houses,
after sprinkling water, and eat, giving a portion of flesh to the
pujari (priest). Others say that they have no pujari: among such a
scattered tribe customs probably vary in each motta"--(Breeks). It
is recorded by Dr. Rivers, in connection with the Toda legendary
stories of Kwoten, that "one day Kwoten went with Erten of Keadr,
who was spoken of as his servant to Poni, in the direction of Polkat
(Calicut). At Poni there is a stream called Palpa, the commencement of
which may be seen on the Kundahs. Kwoten and Erten went to drink water
out of the stream at a place where a goddess (teu) named Terkosh had
been bathing.... Finally, they came to Terkosh, who said to Kwoten,
"Do not come near me, I am a teu." Kwoten paid no heed to this, but
said "You are a beautiful woman," and went and lay with her. Then
Terkosh went away to her hill at Poni, where she is now, and to this
day the Kurumbas go there once a year and offer plantains to her,
and light lamps in her honour."
It is further recorded by Dr. Rivers that "two ceremonial objects are
obtained by the Todas from the Kurumbas. One is the tall pole called
tadrsi or tadri, which is used in the dance at the second funeral
ceremonies, and afterwards burnt. Poles of the proper length are said
to grow only on the Malabar side of the Nilgiris, and are probably
most easily obtained from the Kurumbas. The other is the teiks,
or funeral post at which the buffalo is killed." Besides supplying
the Badagas with the elephant-pole required at their funerals, the
Kurumbas have to sow the first handful of grain for the Badagas every
season. The ceremony is thus described by Harkness. [61] "A family
of the Burghers (Badagas) had assembled, which was about to commence
ploughing. With them were two or three Kurumbas, one of whom had set
up a stone in the centre of the spot on which we were standing, and,
decorating it with wild flowers, prostrated himself to it, offered
incense, and sacrificed a goat, which had been brought there by the
Burghers. He then took the guidance of the plough, and, having ploughed
some ten or twelve paces, gave it over, possessed himself of the head
of the sacrificed animal, and left the Burghers to prosecute their
labours.... The Kurumba, sowing the first handful, leaves the Burgher
to go on with the remainder, and, reaping the first sheaf, delivers it
with the sickle to him, to accomplish the remainder of the task. At
harvest time, or when the whole of the grain has been gathered in,
the Kurumba receives his dues, or proportion of the produce." The
relations of the Kurumbas with the Badagas at the present day, and
the share which the former take in the ceremonies of the latter,
are dealt with in the account of the Badagas.
I am informed that, among the Kurumbas of the Nilgiris, it is the
custom for several brothers to take one wife in common (adelphogamy),
and that they do not object to their women being open to others
also. There is said to be no marriage rite. A man and woman will mate
together, and live as husband and wife. And, if it happens that, in
a family, there has been a succession of such wives for one or two
generations, it becomes an event, and is celebrated as such. The pair
sit together, and pour water over each other from pots. They then put
on new cloths, and a feast is partaken of. Among the Shola Nayakkars,
a feature of the marriage ceremony is said to be for the bride to roll
a cheroot of tobacco leaves, which both parties must smoke in turn.
Writing concerning the Irulas and Kurumbas, Mr. Walhouse says [62]
that "after every death among them, they bring a long water-worn stone
(devva kotta kallu), and put it into one of the old cromlechs sprinkled
over the Nilgiri plateau. Some of the larger of these have been found
piled up to the cap-stone with such pebbles, which must have been the
work of generations. Occasionally, too, the tribes mentioned make small
cromlechs for burial purposes, and place the long water-worn pebbles
in them. Mr. Breeks reports that the Kurumbas in the neighbourhood
of the Rangasvami peak and Barliar burn their dead, and place a
bone and a small round stone in the savu-mane (death-house)--an old
cromlech." The conjecture is hazarded by Fergusson [63] that the
Kurumbas are the remnant of a great and widely spread race, who may
have erected dolmens. As bearing on the connection between Kurumbas
and Kurubas, it is worthy of note that the latter, in some places,
erect dolmens as a resting-place for the dead. (See Kuruba.)
It is noted, in the Gazetteer of the Nilgiris, that the Kurumbas
"trade largely on the extraordinary dread of their supposed magical
powers which possesses the Todas and the Badagas--the latter
especially. Stories are told of how they can summon wild elephants
at will, and reduce rocks to powder merely by scattering mystic herbs
upon them."
"The Kurumbas," Harkness writes, "have a knowledge of herbs and
medicinal roots, and the Burghers (Badagas) say that they limit their
knowledge thereof to those which are noxious only, and believe that,
with the assistance of their magic, they are able to convey them into
the stomachs of those to whom they have any dislike. The violent
antipathy existing between the Burghers and the Kurumbas, and the
dread and horror which the former entertain of the preternatural
powers of the latter, are, perhaps, not easily accounted for; but
neither sickness, death, nor misfortune of any kind, ever visit
the former, without the latter having the credit of producing it. A
few years before, a Burgher had been hanged by the sentence of the
provincial court for the murder of a Kurumba. The act of the former
was not without what was considered great provocation. Disease had
attacked the inhabitants of the hamlet, a murrain their cattle. The
former had carried off a great part of the family of the murderer,
and he himself had but narrowly escaped its effects. No one in
the neighbourhood doubted that the Kurumba in question had, by his
necromancy, caused all this misfortune, and, after several fruitless
attempts, a party of them succeeded in surrounding him in open day,
and effecting their purpose." In 1835 no less than forty-eight
Kurumbas were murdered, and a smaller number in 1875 and 1882. In
1900 a whole family of Kurumbas was murdered, of which the head,
who had a reputation as a medicine-man, was believed to have brought
disease and death into a Badaga village. The sympathies of the whole
country-side were so strongly with the murderers that detection was
made very difficult, and the persons charged were acquitted. [64] In
this case several Todas were implicated. "It is," Mr. Grigg writes,
"a curious fact that neither Kota, Irula, or Badaga will slay a Kurumba
until a Toda has struck the first blow, but, as soon as his sanctity
has been violated by a blow, they hasten to complete the murderous
work, which the sacred hand of the Toda has begun." The Badaga's
dread of the Kurumba is said to be so great that a simple threat of
vengeance has proved fatal. My Toda guide--a stalwart representative
of his tribe--expressed fear of walking from Ootacamund to Kotagiri,
a distance of eighteen miles along a highroad, lest he should come
to grief at the hands of Kurumbas; but this was really a frivolous
excuse to get out of accompanying me to a distance from his domestic
hearth. In like manner, Dr. Rivers records that, when he went to
Kotagiri, a Toda who was to accompany him made a stipulation that
he should be provided with a companion, as the Kurambas were very
numerous in that part. In connection with the Toda legend of Ön, who
created the buffaloes and the Todas, Dr. Rivers writes that "when Ön
saw that his son was in Amnodr (the world of the dead), he did not like
to leave him there alone, and decided to go away to the same place. So
he called together all the people, and the buffaloes and the trees,
to come and bid him farewell. All the people came except a man of
Kwodrdoni named Arsankutan. He and his family did not come. All the
buffaloes came except the Arsaiir, the buffaloes of the Kwodroni ti
(sacred dairy). Some trees also failed to come. Ön blessed all the
people, buffaloes and trees present, but said that, because Arsankutan
had not come, he and his people should die by sorcery at the hands
of the Kurumbas, and that, because the Arsaiir had not come, they
should be killed by tigers, and that the trees which had not come
should bear bitter fruit. Since that time the Todas have feared the
Kurumbas, and buffaloes have been killed by tigers."
On the Nilgiri hills, honey-combs are collected by Jen Kurumbas
and Sholagas. The supply of honey varies according to the nature
of the season, and is said to be especially plentiful and of good
quality when Strobilanthes flowers. [65] The Kurumbas are said to
have incredibly keen eye-sight, gained from constantly watching
the bee to his hive. When they find a hive not quite ready to take,
they place a couple of sticks in a certain position. This sign will
prevent any other Kurumba from taking the honey, and no Badaga or
other hillman would meddle with it on any account, for fear of being
killed by sorcery.
Fortified by a liberal allowance of alcohol and tobacco, the Kurumbas,
armed with bamboo torches, will follow up at night the tracks of
a wounded 'bison' (Bos gaurus), and bring back the head and meat to
camp. A European sportsman recounts that he has often seen his Kurumba
shikari (tracker) stop, and, with the one word "honey," point to the
top of an adjacent tree. "How do you know?" he asked, "Oh! I saw
a bee" was the answer given with the greatest nonchalance. On one
occasion he found himself close to a swarm of bees. The Kurumba,
seeing him hesitate, thrust his stick clean through the swarm,
and, with the bare remark "No honey," marched on. The District
Forest Officer, when out shooting, had an easy shot at a stag, and
missed it. "There," said the Kurumba, pointing to a distant tree,
"is your bullet." His trained sense of hearing no doubt enabled him
to locate the sound of the bullet striking the tree, and his eyes,
following the sound, instantly detected the slight blaze made by the
bullet on the bark. The visual acuity of a number of tribes and castes
inhabiting the mountains, jungles, and plains, has been determined
by Dr. W. H. R. Rivers and myself, by means of the Cohn letter E
method. And, though the jungle man, who has to search for his food
and mark the tracks or traces of wild beasts, undoubtedly possesses
a specially trained keenness of vision for the exigencies of his
primitive life, our figures show that, as regards ordinary visual
acuity, he has no advantage over the more highly civilised classes.
"The Kurumbas of the Mysore forests," Mr. Theobald writes, "make fire
by friction. They follow the same method as the Todas, as described
by Mr. Thurston, but never use the powdered charcoal in the cavity
of the horizontal piece of wood which is held down by their feet,
or by a companion. The fine brown powder, formed during the rotation
of the longer vertical piece, gives sufficient tinder, which soon
ignites, and is then placed on a small piece of cotton rag, rolled
loosely, and gently blown until it is ignited. The vertical stick
is held between the palms, and has a reciprocal motion, by the palms
being moved in opposite directions, at the same time using a strong
downward pressure, which naturally brings the palms to the bottom,
when they are at once raised to their original position, and the
operation continued till the naturally formed tinder ignites."
In his report on Forest Administration in Coorg, 1902-1903,
Mr. C. D'A. McCarthy writes as follows concerning the Kurumbas, who
work for the Forest department. "We experienced in connection with the
Kurumbas one of those apparent aberrations of sense and intellect,
the occurrence of which amongst this peculiar race was foreshadowed
in the last report. The Chief Commissioner is aware that, in the
interests of the Kurubas themselves, we substitute for a single cash
payment distributions to the same value of food-grains, clothes and
cash, in equal proportions of each. Now, seventy years ago, before
the annexation of Coorg, the Kurubas and similar castes were prædial
slaves of the dominant Coorgs, receiving no other remuneration for
service than food and clothing. In fact, this institution, nothing less
than real slavery, was not entirely broken up until the great demand
for local labour created by the opening up of the country for coffee
cultivation so late as 1860-1870, so that the existing generation are
still cognisant of the old state of affairs. Last year, during the
distribution of rewards for the successful protection of the reserves
that season from fire, it seems that the idea was put into the heads
of these people that our system of remuneration, which includes the
distribution of food and clothing, was an attempt to create again
at their expense a system of, as it were, forest slavery; with the
result that for a time nothing would induce many of them to accept
any form of remuneration for the work already performed, much less
to undertake the same duties for the approaching season. It was some
time, and after no little trouble, that the wherefore of this strange
conduct was discovered, and the suspicions aroused put at rest." In
his report, 1904-1905, Mr. McCarthy states that "the local system
of fire protection, consisting of the utilisation of the Kuruba
jungle population for the clearing of fire lines and patrolling,
and the payment of rewards according to results, may now be said to
be completely established in Coorg. The Kurubas appear to have gained
complete confidence in the working of the system, and, provided the
superior officers personally see to the payment of the rewards, are
evidently quite satisfied that the deductions for failures are just
and fair."
The Kurumbas are said to have been very useful in the mining operations
during the short life of the Wynad gold-mines. A few years ago, I
received the skulls of two Kurumbas, who went after a porcupine into
a deserted tunnel on the Glenrock Gold-mining Company's land in the
Wynad. The roof fell in on them, and they were buried alive.
In a note on the 'Ethnogénie des Dravidiens', [66] Mr. Louis Lapicque
writes as follows. "Les populations caractéristiques du Wainaad sont
les Panyer, les négroides les plus accusés et les plus homogenes que
j'ai vus, et probablement qui existent dans toute l'Inde. D'autre
part, les tribus vivant de leur côté sur leurs propres cultures,
fortement négroides encore, mais plus mélangées. Tels sont les Naiker
et les Kouroumbas."
===================+==========+=============+========
==== | Indice | Indice |
| nasal. | céphalique. | Taille.
===================+==========+=============+========
54 Panyer | 84 | 74 | 154
28 Kouroumbas | 81 | 75 | 157
12 Naiker | 80 | 76.9 | 157
===================+==========+=============+========
Concerning Nayakas or Naikers and Kurumbas, Mr. F. W. F. Fletcher
writes to me as follows from Nellakotta, Nilgiris. "It may be that
in some parts of Wynaad there are people known indifferently as
Kurumbas and Shola Nayakas; but I have no hesitation in saying that
the Nayakas in my employ are entirely distinct from the Kurumbas. The
two classes do not intermarry; they do not live together; they will not
eat together. Even their prejudices with regard to food are different,
for a Kurumba will eat bison flesh, and a Nayaka will not. The latter
stoutly maintains that he is entirely distinct from, and far superior
to, the Kurumba, and would be grievously offended if he were classed
as a Kurumba. The religious ceremonies of the two tribes are also
different. The Nayakas have separate temples, and worship separate
gods. The chief Kurumba temple in this part of the country is close to
Pandalur, and here, especially at the Bishu feast, the Kurumbas gather
in numbers. My Nayakas do not recognise this temple, but have their
place of worship in the heart of the jungle, where they make their puja
(worship) under the direction of their own priest. The Nayakas will
not attend the funeral of a Kurumba; nor will they invite Kurumbas to
the funeral of one of their own tribe. There is a marked variation in
their modes of life. The Kurumba of this part lives in comparatively
open country, in the belt of deciduous forest lying between the ghats
proper and the foot of the Nilgiri plateau. Here he has been brought
into contact with European Planters, and is, comparatively speaking,
civilised. The Nayaka has his habitat in the dense jungle of the ghats,
and is essentially a forest nomad, living on honey, jungle fruits, and
the tuberous roots of certain jungle creepers. By constant association
with myself, my Nayaka men have lost the fear of the white man, which
they entertained when I first came into the district; but even now,
if I visit the village of a colony who reside in the primæval forest,
the women and children will hide themselves in the jungle at sight of
me. The superstitions of the two tribes are different. Some Nayakas
are credited with the power of changing themselves at will into a
tiger, and of wreaking vengeance on their enemies in that guise. And
the Kurumba holds the Nayaka in as much awe as other castes hold
the Kurumba. Lower down, on the flat below the ghats I am opening a
rubber estate, and here I have another Nayaka colony, who differ in
many respects from their congeners above, although the two colonies
are within five miles as the crow flies. The low-country Nayaka does
his hair in a knot on one side of his head, Malayalam fashion, and his
speech is a patois of Malayalam. The Nayaka on the hills above has
a mop of curly hair, and speaks a dialect of his own quite distinct
from the Kurumba language, though both are derived from Kanarese. But
that the low-country people are merely a sept of the Nayaka tribe
is evident from the fact that intermarriage is common amongst the
two colonies, and that they meet at the same temple for their annual
puja. The priest of the hill colony is the pujari for both divisions
of the Nayakas, and the arbiter in all their disputes."
Kurumo.--The Kurumos are a caste of Oriya agriculturists, found mainly
in the Russellkonda taluk of Ganjam. They are called Kurumo by Oriyas,
and Kudumo by Telugus. There is a tradition that their name is derived
from Srikurmam in the Vizagapatam district, where they officiated as
priests in the Siva temple, and whence they were driven northward. The
Kurumos say that, at the present day, some members of the caste are
priests at Saivite temples in Ganjam, bear the title Ravulo, and wear
the sacred thread. It is noted in the Madras Census Report, 1901,
that "some of them wear the sacred thread, and follow Chaitanya,
and Oriya Brahmans will accept drinking-water at their hands. They
will eat in Brahmans' houses, and will accept drinking-water from
Gaudos, Bhondaris, and Ravulos." Bhondaris wash the feet of Kurumos
on ceremonial occasions, and, in return for their services, receive
twice the number of cakes given to other guests at feasts.
In addition to the Kurumos proper, there is a section called Kuji
Kurumo, which is regarded as lower in the social status. The caste
titles are Bissoyi, Behara, Dudi, Majhi, Nayako, Podhano, Ravulo,
Ravuto, Senapati, and Udhdhandra. Those who bear the title Dudi are
priests at the temples of the village deities. The title Udhdhandra
was conferred by a zamindar, and is at present borne by a number of
families, intermarriage among members of which is forbidden. Every
village has a headman entitled Adhikari, who is under the control of
a chief headman called Behara. Both these appointments are hereditary.
Among other deities, the Kurumos worship various Takuranis
(village deities), such as Bodo Ravulo, Bagha Devi, Kumbeswari, and
Sathabhavuni. In some places, there are certain marriage restrictions
based on the house-gods. For example, a family whose house-god is
Bodo Ravulo may not intermarry with another family which worships the
same deity. Every family of Kurumos apparently keeps the house-god
within the house, and it is worshipped on all important occasions. The
god is usually represented by five areca nuts, which are kept in a
box. These nuts must be filled with pieces of gold, silver, iron,
copper, and lead, which are introduced through a hole drilled in the
base of the nut, which is plugged with silver.
Infant marriage is the rule, and, if a girl does not secure a husband
before she reaches maturity, she has to go through the mock-marriage
rite, called dharma bibha, with her grandfather or other elder. On
the evening of the day previous to that of the real marriage, called
gondo sona, the paternal aunt of the bridegroom goes to a tank (pond),
carrying thither a brass vessel. This is placed on the tank bund
(embankment), and worshipped. Some cowry (Cypræa arabica) shells
are then thrown into the tank, and the vessel is filled with water,
and taken to the house. At the entrance thereto, a Sullokhondia
Gaudo stands, holding a vessel of water, from which a little water
is poured into the vessel brought from the tank. The bride's aunt
then goes to three or five houses of members of her own caste, and
receives water therefrom in her vessel, which is placed near the
house-gods, and eventually kept on the marriage dais throughout the
wedding ceremonies. Over the marriage dais (bedi) at the bridegroom's
house, four brass vessels, and four clay lamps fed with ghi (clarified
butter), are placed at the four corners. Round the four posts thereof
seven turns of thread are made by a Brahman purohit. The bridegroom,
wearing mokkuto (forehead chaplet) and sacred thread, after going
seven times round the dais, breaks the thread, and takes his seat
thereon. After Zizyphus Jujuba leaves and rice have been thrown
over him, he is taken in procession to a temple. On his return home,
he is met by five or seven young girls and women at the entrance to
the house, and Zizyphus leaves are again thrown over him. A Bhondari
woman sprinkles water from mango leaves over him, and he proceeds
in a palanquin to the home of the bride. At the marriage ceremony,
the bride throws rice on the head of the bridegroom over a screen
which is interposed between them. After their hands have been tied
together, a grinding-stone and roller are placed between them, and
they face each other while their fingers are linked together above the
stone. On the seventh day, the newly married couple worship seven posts
at the bride's house. The various articles used in connection with
the marriage ceremonies, except one pot, are thrown into a tank. On
his return thence, the bridegroom breaks the pot, after he has been
sprinkled with the water contained in it by a Bhondari. At times of
marriage, and on other auspicious occasions, the Kurumos, when they
receive their guests, must take hold of their sticks or umbrellas,
and it is regarded as an insult if this is not done.
On the fifth and eighth days after the birth of a child, a new cloth
is spread on the floor, on which the infant is placed, with a book
(bagavatham) close to its head, and an iron rod, such as is used
by Oriya castes for branding the skin of the abdomen of newly-born
babies, at its side. The relations and friends assemble to take part
in the ceremonial, and a Brahman purohit reads a puranam. Betel leaves
and areca nuts are then distributed. On the twenty-first day, the
ceremonial is repeated, and the purohit is asked to name the child. He
ascertains the constellation under which it was born, and announces
that a name commencing with a certain letter should be given to it.
Like other Oriya castes, the Kurumos are particular with regard to
the observation of various vratams (fasts). One, called sudasa vratam,
is observed on a Thursday falling on the tenth day after new moon in
the month of Karthika (November-December). The most elderly matron
of the house does puja (worship), and a puranam is read. Seven cubits
of a thread dyed with turmeric are measured on the forearm of a girl
seven years old, and cut off. The deity is worshipped, and seven knots
are made in the piece of thread, which is tied on to the left upper
arm of the matron. This vratam is generally observed by Oriya castes.
Kurup.--In a note on the artisan classes of Malabar, it is recorded
[67] that "the Kolla-Kurups combine two professions which at first
sight seem strangely incongruous, shampooing or massage, and the
construction of the characteristic leather shields of Malabar. But
the two arts are intimately connected with the system of combined
physical training, as we should now call it, and exercise in arms,
which formed the curriculum of the kalari (gymnasium), and the title
kurup is proper to castes connected with that institution. A similar
combination is found in the Vil-Kurups (bow-Kurups), whose traditional
profession was to make bows and arrows, and train the youth to use
them, and who now shampoo, make umbrellas, and provide bows and arrows
for some Nayar ceremonies. Other classes closely connected are the
Kollans or Kurups distinguished by the prefixes Chaya (colour), Palissa
(shield), and Tol (leather), who are at present engaged in work in
lacquer, wood, and leather." Kurup also occurs as a title of Nayars,
in reference to the profession of arms, and many of the families
bearing this title are said [68] to still maintain their kalari.
Kuruvikkaran.--The Kuruvikkarans are a class of Marathi-speaking
bird-catchers and beggars, who hunt jackals, make bags out of the
skin, and eat the flesh thereof. By Telugu people they are called
Nakkalavandlu (jackal people), and by Tamilians Kuruvikkaran
(bird-catchers). They are also called Jangal Jati and Kattu
Mahrati. Among themselves they are known as Vagiri or Vagirivala. They
are further known as Yeddu Marige Vetagandlu, or hunters who hide
behind a bullock. In decoying birds, they conceal themselves behind a
bullock, and imitate the cries of birds in a most perfect manner. They
are said to be called in Hindustani Paradhi and Mir Shikari.
As regards their origin, there is a legend that there were once
upon a time three brothers, one of whom ran away to the mountains,
and, mixing with Kanna Kuruvans, became degraded. His descendants
are now represented by the Dommaras. The descendants of the second
brother are the Lambadis, and those of the third Kuruvikkarans. The
lowly position of these three classes is attributed to the fact
that the three brothers, when wandering about, came across Sita,
the wife of Rama, about whose personal charms they made remarks,
and laughed. This made Sita angry, and she uttered the following
curse:--"Malitho shikar, naitho bhikar," i.e., if (birds) are found,
huntsmen; if not, beggars. According to a variant of the legend,
[69] many years ago in Rajputana there lived two brothers, the elder
of whom was dull, and the younger smart. One day they happened to
be driving a bullock along a path by the side of a pool of water,
when they surprised Sita bathing. The younger brother hid behind his
bullock, but the elder was too stupid to conceal himself, and so both
were observed by the goddess, who was much annoyed, and banished
them to Southern India. The elder she ordered to live by carrying
goods about the country on pack-bullocks, and the younger to catch
birds by means of two snares, which she obligingly formed from hair
plucked from under her arm. Consequently the Vagirivalas never shave
that portion of the body.
The Kuruvikkarans are nomadic, and keep pack-bullocks, which convey
their huts and domestic utensils from place to place. Some earn their
living by collecting firewood, and others by acting as watchmen in
fields and gardens. Women and children go about the streets begging,
and singing songs, which are very popular, and imitated by Hindu
women. They further earn a livelihood by hawking needles and glass
beads, which they may be seen in the evening purchasing from Kayalans
(Muhammadan merchants) in the Madras bazar.
One of the occupations of the Kuruvikkarans is the manufacture and sale
of spurious jackal horns, known as narikompu. To catch the jackals,
they make an enclosure of a net, inside which a man seats himself,
armed with a big stick. He then proceeds to execute a perfect imitation
of the jackal's cry, on hearing which the jackals come running to
see what is the matter, and are beaten down. A Kuruvikkaran, whom
the Rev. E. Löventhal interviewed, howled like a jackal, to show his
skill as a mimic. The cry was quite perfect, and no jackal would have
doubted that he belonged to their class. Sometimes the entire jackal's
head is sold, skin and all. The process of manufacture of the horn is
as follows. After the brain has been removed, the skin is stripped off
a limited area of the skull, and the bone at the place of junction of
the sagittal and lambdoid sutures above the occipital foramen is filed
away, so that only a point, like a bony outgrowth, is left. The skin
is then brought back, and pressed over the little horn, which pierces
it. The horn is also said to be made out of the molar tooth of a dog or
jackal, introduced through a small hole in a piece of jackal's skin,
round which a little blood or turmeric paste is smeared, to make it
look more natural. In most cases only the horn, with a small piece
of skull and skin, is sold. Sometimes, instead of the skin from the
part where the horn is made, a piece of skin is taken from the snout,
where the long black hairs are. The horn then appears surrounded by
long black bushy hairs. The Kuruvikkarans explain that, when they see
a jackal with such long hairs on the top of its head, they know that
it possesses a horn. A horn-vendor, whom I interviewed, assured me
that the possessor of a horn is a small jackal, which comes out of
its hiding-place on full-moon nights to drink the dew. According to
another version, the horn is only possessed by the leader of a pack of
jackals. The Sinhalese and Tamils alike regard the horn "as a talisman,
and believe that its fortunate possessor can command the realisation of
every wish. Those who have jewels to conceal rest in perfect security
if, along with them, they can deposit a narricomboo." [70] The ayah
(nurse) of a friend who possessed such a talisman remarked "Master
going into any law-court, sure to win the case." This, as has been
pointed out, does not show much faith in the British administration of
justice, if a so-called jackal's horn can turn the scale. Two spurious
horns, which I possessed, were promptly stolen from my study table,
to bring luck to some Tamil member of my establishment.
Some Kuruvikkarans carry suspended from their turban or body-cloth a
small whistle, with which they imitate the song of birds, and attract
them. Young boys often have with them a bundle of small sticks strung
together, and with a horse-hair noose attached to them. The sticks are
driven into the ground, and grain is strewn around to entice birds,
which get caught in the noose.
The women wear a petticoat and an ill-fitting bodice. Among other
classes "Wearing the bodice like a Kuruvikkaran woman" is used as
a taunt. The petticoat may never be taken off till it is tattered
and torn, and replaced by a new one; and, when a woman bathes, she
has to do so with the garment on. Anything which has come in contact
with the petticoat, or rice husked with a woman's feet, is polluted,
and may not be used by men. Women adorn themselves with necklaces of
beads and cowry shells, or sometimes, like the Lambadis, wear shell
bracelets. Both men and women stain their teeth with a preparation
of myrabolams, Acacia arabica pods, and sulphates of copper and
iron. Females may not blacken their teeth, or wear a necklace of
black beads before marriage.
A young married woman, wherever she may be during the daytime,
must rejoin her husband at night. If she fails to do so, she has
to go through the ordeal of grasping a red-hot iron bar or sickle,
and carrying it sixteen paces without dropping it. Another form
of ordeal is dipping the hands in a pot containing boiling cowdung
water, and picking out therefrom a quarter-anna piece. If the woman
is innocent, she is able to husk a small quantity of paddy (rice)
by rubbing it between her hands immediately after the immersion in
the liquid. If a man has to submit to trial by ordeal, seven arka
(Calotropis gigantea) leaves are tied to his palm, and a piece of
red-hot iron placed thereon. His innocence is established if he is
able to carry it while he takes seven long strides.
The Kuruvikkarans have exogamous septs, of which Ranaratod seems to
be an important one, taking a high place in the social scale. Males
usually add the title Sing as a suffix to their names.
Marriage is always between adults, and the celebration, including
the betrothal ceremony, extends over five days, during which meat is
avoided, and the bride keeps her face concealed by throwing her cloth
over it. Sometimes she continues to thus veil herself for a short time
after marriage. On the first day, after the exchange of betel, the
father of the bride says "Are you ready to receive my daughter as your
daughter-in-law into your house? I am giving her to your son. Take care
of her. Do not beat her when she is ill. If she cannot carry water,
you should help her. If you beat her, or ill-treat her in any way,
she will come back to us." The future father-in-law having promised
that the girl will be kindly treated, the bridegroom says "I am true,
and have not touched any other woman. I have not smiled at any girl
whom I have seen. Your daughter should not smile at any man whom she
sees. If she does so, I shall drive her back to your house." In the
course of the marriage ceremonies, the bride is taken to the home of
her mother-in-law, to whom she makes a present of a new cloth. The
Nyavya (headman) hands a string of black beads to the mother-in-law,
who ties it round the bride's neck, while the assembled women sing. At
a marriage of the first daughter of a member of the Ranaratod sept,
a Brahman purohit is invited to be present, and give his blessing,
as it is believed that a Gujarati Brahman was originally employed
for the marriage celebration.
The principal tribal deity of the Kuruvikkarans is Kali or Durga,
and each sept possesses a small plate with a figure of the goddess
engraved on it, which is usually kept in the custody of the headman. It
is, however, frequently pledged, and money-lenders give considerable
sums on the security of the idol, as the Kuruvikkarans would on no
account fail to redeem it. When the time for the annual festival of
the goddess draws nigh, the headman or an elder piles up Vigna Catiang
seeds in five small heaps. He then decides in his mind whether there is
an odd or even number of seeds in the majority of heaps. If, when the
seeds are counted, the result agrees with his forecast, it is taken
as a sign of the approval of the goddess, and arrangements are made
for the festival. Otherwise it is abandoned for the year. On the day
of the festival, nine goats and a buffalo are sacrificed. While some
cakes are being cooked in oil, a member of the tribe prays that the
goddess will descend on him, and, taking some of the cakes out of the
boiling liquid, with his palm rubs the oil on his head. He is then
questioned by those assembled, to whom he gives oracular replies,
after sucking the blood from the cut throat of a goat. It is noted
in the North Arcot Manual that the Vagirivalas assemble two or three
times in the year at Varadareddipalli for worship. The objects of
this are three saktis called Mahan Kali, Chamundi, and Mahammayi,
represented by small silver figures, which are mortgaged to a Reddi
of the village, and lent by him during the few days of the festival.
Kusa.--A sub-division of Holeyas in South Canara, who also call
themselves Uppara. Some of them say that they are the same as Upparas
of Mysore, whose hereditary occupation was the manufacture of salt
from salt-earth (ku, earth). Kusa further occurs as a synonym of the
Otattu, or tile-making section of the Nayars, and Kusa Maran as a class
of potters in Travancore. Kusa is also an exogamous sept of the Boyas.
Kusavan.--The Kusavans are the Tamil potters. "The name,"
Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [71] "is said to be derived from the Sanskrit
word ku signifying earth, the material in which they work, and avan,
a personal termination. They wear the sacred thread, and profess
both Saivism and Vaishnavism. Their ceremonials are somewhat like
those of the Vellalas. The eating of flesh is permitted, but not
widow marriage. Some have priests of their own caste, while others
employ Brahmans. Kusavans sometimes officiate as pujaris in Pidari
temples. Their titles are Udayan and Velan. Their stupidity and
ignorance are proverbial." At times of census, Kulalan has been
returned as a synonym of Kusavan, and Kusavan as an occupational
division of Paraiyans. The Kusavans are divided into the territorial
sections Chola, Chera, and Pandya, and say that "these are descended
from the three sons of their original ancestor Kulalan, who was the
son of Brahma. He prayed to Brahma to be allowed, like him, to create
and destroy things daily; so Brahma made him a potter." [72]
In ancient days, the potters made the large pyriform sepulchral urns,
which have, in recent times, been excavated in Tinnevelly, Madura,
Malabar, and elsewhere. Dr. G. U. Pope shows [73] that these urns
are mentioned in connection with the burial of heroes and kings as
late as the eighth century A.D., and renders one of the Tamil songs
bearing on the subject as follows:--
"Oh! potter chief ... what toil hath befallen thee!
The descendant of the Cora kings....
Hath gained the world of gods. And so
'Tis thine to shape an urn so vast
That it shall cover the remains of such an one."
The legend concerning the origin of the potter classes is narrated
in the article on Kummaras. "It is," Mr. E. Holder writes, [74]
"supposed by themselves that they are descended from a Brahmin father
and Sudra mother, for the sacrificial earthen vessels, which are now
made by them, were, according to the Vedas, intended to be made by the
priests themselves. Some of the potters still wear the sacred thread,
like the Kammalars or artisan class. They are generally illiterate,
though some of their class have earned distinction as sound scholars,
especially of late years. The women assist the men in their work,
chiefly where delicacy of execution is needed. On the whole, the
potters are a poor class compared with the Kammalar class, which
includes jewellers, metal-workers and wood-workers. Their occupation
is, on that account, somewhat despised by others."
The potter's apparatus is described by Monier Williams [75] as "a
simple circular horizontal well-balanced fly-wheel, generally two
or three feet in diameter, which can be made to rotate for two or
three minutes by a slight impulse. This the potter loads with clay,
and then, with a few easy sweeps and turns of his hands, he moulds his
material into beautiful curves and symmetrical shapes, and leaves the
products of his skill to bake in the sun." By Mr. Holder the apparatus
is described as follows. "The potter's implements are few, and his
mode of working is very simple. The wheel, a clumsily constructed and
defective apparatus, is composed of several thin pliable pieces of
wood or bamboo, bent and tied together in the form of a wheel about
3 1/2 feet in diameter. This is covered over thickly with clay mixed
with goat's hair or any fibrous substance. The four spokes and the
centre on which the vessel rests are of wood. The pivot is of hard
wood or steel. The support for the wheel consists of a rounded mass
of clay and goat's hair, in which is imbedded a piece of hard wood
or stone, with one or two slight depressions for the axle or pivot to
move in. The wheel is set into motion first by the hand, and then spun
rapidly by the aid of a long piece of bamboo, one end of which fits
into a slight depression in the wheel. The defects in the apparatus
are--firstly its size, which requires the potter to stoop over it in
an uneasy attitude; secondly, the irregularity of its speed, with a
tendency to come to a standstill, and to wave or wobble in its motion;
and thirdly, the time and labour expended in spinning the wheel afresh
every time its speed begins to slacken. Notwithstanding, however,
the rudeness of this machine, the potters are expert at throwing, and
some of their small wares are thin and delicate. The usual manner in
which most of the Madras potters bake their wares is as follows. A
circular space, about ten feet in diameter, is marked out on the
ground in any convenient open spot. Small pieces of wood and dried
sticks are spread over this space to a depth of about six inches, and
a layer of brattis (dried cow-dung cakes) laid over the sticks. The
vessels are then carefully piled on top of this platform of fuel to a
height of about five or six feet, and the whole heap is covered over
with straw, and plastered over with clay, a few small openings being
left here and there to allow the smoke to escape. These arrangements
being completed, the fuel at the bottom is fired, and in the course
of a few hours the process of baking is completed."
When travelling in India, Dr. Jagor noticed that the potters of Salem
communicated to their ware a kind of polish, exactly like that seen
on some of the specimens of antique pottery found in cromlechs. It
was ascertained that the Salem potters use a seed for producing the
polish, which was determined by Surgeon-General G. Bidie to be the
seed of Gyrocarpus Jacquini, which is also used for making rosaries
and necklaces. Another method employed for producing a polish is to
rub the surface of the baked vessel with the mucilaginous juice of
tuthi (Abutilon indicum), and then fire the vessel again.
It is stated, in the Coimbatore Manual, that "the potter never
begins his day's work at the wheel without forming into a lingam
and saluting the revolving lump of clay, which, with the wheel,
bears a strong resemblance to the usual sculptured conjunction"
(of lingam and yoni). An old potter woman, whom I examined on this
point, explained that the lump represents Ganesa. In like manner,
the pan coolies at the salt factories never scrape salt from the pans
without first making a Pillayar (Ganesa) of a small heap of salt,
on the top of which the salt is sometimes piled up.
Painted hollow clay images are made by special families of Kusavans
known as pujari, who, for the privilege of making them, have to
pay an annual fee to the headman, who spends it on a festival at
the caste temple. When a married couple are anxious to have female
offspring, they take a vow to offer figures of the seven virgins,
who are represented all seated in a row. If a male or female recovers
from cholera, small-pox, or other severe illness, a figure of the
corresponding sex is offered. A childless woman makes a vow to offer
up the figure of a baby, if she brings forth offspring. Figures of
animals--cattle, sheep, horses, etc.--are offered at the temple when
they recover from sickness, or are recovered after they have been
stolen. The pupils of the eyes of the figures are not painted in
till they are taken to the temple, where offerings of fruit, rice,
etc., are first made. Even the pupils of a series of these images,
which were specially made for me, were not painted at the potter's
house, but in the verandah of the traveller's bungalow where I was
staying. Horses made of clay, hollow and painted red and other colours,
are set up in the fields to drive away demons, or as a thank-offering
for recovery from sickness or any piece of good luck. The villagers
erect these horses in honour of the popular deity Ayanar, the guardian
deity of the fields, who is a renowned huntsman, and is believed, when,
with his two wives Purna and Pushkala, he visits the village at night,
to mount the horses, and ride down the demons. Ayanar is said to be
"the special deity of the caste. Kusavans are generally the pujaris
in his temples, and they make the earthenware (and brick and mortar)
horses and images, which are placed before these buildings." [76]