CASTES AND TRIBES
OF
SOUTHERN INDIA
By
EDGAR THURSTON, C.I.E.,
Superintendent, Madras Government Museum; Correspondant Étranger,
Société d'Anthropologie de Paris; Socio Corrispondante, Societa,
Romana di Anthropologia.
Assisted by
K. Rangachari, M.A.,
of the Madras Government Museum.
VOLUME VI--P TO S
GOVERNMENT PRESS, MADRAS
1909.
CASTES AND TRIBES OF SOUTHERN INDIA.
VOLUME VI.
P
Palli or Vanniyan.--Writing concerning this caste the Census
Superintendent, 1871, records that "a book has been written by a
native to show that the Pallis (Pullies or Vanniar) of the south are
descendants of the fire races (Agnikulas) of the Kshatriyas, and that
the Tamil Pullies were at one time the shepherd kings of Egypt." At
the time of the census, 1871, a petition was submitted to Government
by representatives of the caste, praying that they might be classified
as Kshatriyas, and twenty years later, in connection with the census,
1891, a book entitled 'Vannikula Vilakkam: a treatise on the Vanniya
caste,' was compiled by Mr. T. Aiyakannu Nayakar, in support of the
caste claim to be returned as Kshatriyas, for details concerning
which claim I must refer the reader to the book itself. In 1907,
a book entitled Varuna Darpanam (Mirror of Castes) was published,
in which an attempt is made to connect the caste with the Pallavas.
Kulasekhara, one of the early Travancore kings, and one of the most
renowned Alwars reverenced by the Sri Vaishnava community in Southern
India, is claimed by the Pallis as a king of their caste. Even now,
at the Parthasarathi temple in Triplicane (in the city of Madras),
which according to inscriptions is a Pallava temple, Pallis celebrate
his anniversary with great éclat. The Pallis of Komalesvaranpettah in
the city of Madras have a Kulasekhara Perumal Sabha, which manages the
celebration of the anniversary. The temple has recently been converted
at considerable cost into a temple for the great Alwar. A similar
celebration is held at the Chintadripettah Adikesava Perumal temple
in Madras. The Pallis have the right to present the most important
camphor offering of the Mylapore Siva temple. They allege that the
temple was originally theirs, but by degrees they lost their hold over
it until this bare right was left to them. Some years ago, there was
a dispute concerning the exercise of this right, and the case came
before the High Court of Madras, which decided the point at issue in
favour of the Pallis. One of the principal gopuras (pyramidal towers)
of the Ekamranatha temple at Big Conjeeveram, the ancient capital of
the Pallavas, is known as Palligopuram. The Pallis of that town claim
it as their own, and repair it from time to time. In like manner,
they claim that the founder of the Chidambaram temple, by name Sweta
Varman, subsequently known as Hiranya Varman (sixth century A.D.) was
a Pallava king. At Pichavaram, four miles east of Chidambaram, lives
a Palli family, which claims to be descended from Hiranya Varman. A
curious ceremony is even now celebrated at the Chidambaram temple,
on the steps leading to the central sanctuary. As soon as the eldest
son of this family is married, he and his wife, accompanied by a
local Vellala, repair to the sacred shrine, and there, amidst crowds
of their castemen and others, a homam (sacrificial fire) is raised,
and offerings are made to it. The couple are then anointed with nine
different kinds of holy water, and the Vellala places the temple
crown on their heads. The Vellala who officiates at this ceremony,
assisted by the temple priests, is said to belong to the family of a
former minister of a descendant of Hiranya Varman. It is said that,
as the ceremony is a costly one, and the expenses have to be paid
by the individual who undergoes it, it often happens that the eldest
son of the family has to remain a bachelor for half his lifetime. The
Pallis who reside at St. Thomé in the city of Madras allege that they
became Christians, with their King Kandappa Raja, who, they say,
ruled over Mylapore during the time of the visit of St. Thomas. In
1907, Mr. T. Varadappa Nayakar, the only High Court Vakil (pleader)
among the Palli community practising in Madras, brought out a Tamil
book on the history of the connection of the caste with the ancient
Pallava kings.
In reply to one of a series of questions promulgated by the Census
Superintendent, it was stated that "the caste is known by the
following names:--Agnikulas and Vanniyas. The etymology of these
is the same, being derived from the Sanskrit Agni or Vahni, meaning
fire. The following, taken from Dr. Oppert's article on the original
inhabitants of Bharatavarsa or India, explains the name of the caste
with its etymology:--'The word Vanniyan is generally derived from the
Sanskrit Vahni, fire. Agni, the god of fire, is connected with regal
office, as kings hold in their hands the fire-wheel or Agneya-chakra,
and the Vanniyas urge in support of their name the regal descent they
claim.' The existence of these fire races, Agnikula or Vahnikula
(Vanniya), in North and South India is a remarkable fact. No one
can refuse to a scion of the non-Aryan warrior tribe the title of
Rajputra, but in so doing we establish at once Aryan and non-Aryan
Rajaputras or Rajputs. The Vanniyan of South India may be accepted
as a representative of the non-Aryan Rajput element."
The name Vanniyan is, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [1] "derived from the
Sanskrit vanhi (fire) in consequence of the following legend. In the
olden times, two giants named Vatapi and Mahi, worshipped Brahma with
such devotion that they obtained from him immunity from death from
every cause save fire, which element they had carelessly omitted
to include in their enumeration. Protected thus, they harried the
country, and Vatapi went the length of swallowing Vayu, the god
of the winds, while Mahi devoured the sun. The earth was therefore
enveloped in perpetual darkness and stillness, a condition of affairs
which struck terror into the minds of the devatas, and led them to
appeal to Brahma. He, recollecting the omission made by the giants,
directed his suppliants to desire the rishi Jambava Mahamuni to perform
a yagam, or sacrifice by fire. The order having been obeyed, armed
horse men sprung from the flames, who undertook twelve expeditions
against Vatapi and Mahi, whom they first destroyed, and afterwards
released Vayu and the sun from their bodies. Their leader then assumed
the government of the country under the name Rudra Vanniya Maharaja,
who had five sons, the ancestors of the Vanniya caste. These facts are
said to be recorded in the Vaidiswara temple in the Tanjore district."
The Vaidiswara temple here referred to is the Vaidiswara kovil
near Shiyali. Mr. Stuart adds that "this tradition alludes to the
destruction of the city of Vapi by Narasimha Varma, king of the Pallis
or Pallavas." Vapi, or Va-api, was the ancient name of Vatapi or
Badami in the Bombay Presidency. It was the capital of the Chalukyas,
who, during the seventh century, were at feud with the Pallavas
of the south. "The son of Mahendra Varman I," writes Rai Bahadur
V. Venkayya, "was Narasimha Varman I, who retrieved the fortunes of
the family by repeatedly defeating the Cholas, Keralas, Kalabhras, and
Pandyas. He also claims to have written the word victory as on a plate
on Pulikesin's [2] back, which was caused to be visible (i.e., which
was turned in flight after defeat) at several battles. Narasimha Varman
carried the war into Chalukyan territory, and actually captured Vatapi
their capital. This claim of his is established by an inscription
found at Badami, from which it appears that Narasimha Varman bore the
title Mahamalla. In later times, too, this Pallava king was known as
Vatapi Konda Narasingapottaraiyan. Dr. Fleet assigns the capture of
the Chalukya capital to about A.D. 642. The war of Narasimha Varman
with Pulikesin is mentioned in the Sinhalese chronicle Mahavamsa. It
is also hinted at in the Tamil Periyapuranam. The well-known saint
Siruttonda, who had his only son cut up and cooked in order to satisfy
the appetite of the god Siva disguised as a devotee, is said to have
reduced to dust the city of Vatapi for his royal master, who could
be no other than the Pallava king Narasimha Varman."
I gather, from a note by Mr. F. R. Hemingway, that the Pallis "tell
a long story of how they are descendants of one Vira Vanniyan,
who was created by a sage named Sambuha when he was destroying the
two demons named Vatapi and Enatapi. This Vira Vanniyan married a
daughter of the god Indra, and had five sons, named Rudra, Brahma,
Krishna, Sambuha, and Kai, whose descendants now live respectively
in the country north of the Palar in the Cauvery delta, between the
Palar and Pennar. They have written a Puranam and a drama bearing on
this tale. They declare that they are superior to Brahmans, since,
while the latter must be invested with the sacred thread after birth,
they bring their sacred thread with them at birth itself."
"The Vanniyans," Mr. Nelson states, [3] "are at the present time a
small and obscure agricultural caste, but there is reason to believe
that they are descendants of ancestors who, in former times, held a
good position among the tribes of South India. A manuscript, abstracted
at page 90 of the Catalogue raisonné (Mackenzie Manuscripts), states
that the Vanniyans belong to the Agnikula, and are descended from
the Muni Sambhu; and that they gained victories by means of their
skill in archery. And another manuscript, abstracted at page 427,
shows that two of their chiefs enjoyed considerable power, and
refused to pay the customary tribute to the Rayar, who was for a
long time unable to reduce them to submission. Armies of Vanniyans
are often mentioned in Ceylon annals. And a Hindu History of Ceylon,
translated in the Royal As. Soc. Journal, Vol. XXIV, states that, in
the year 3300 of the Kali Yuga, a Pandya princess went over to Ceylon,
and married its king, and was accompanied by sixty bands of Vanniyans."
The terms Vanni and Vanniyan are used in Tamil poems to denote
king. Thus, in the classical Tamil poem Kalladam, which has been
attributed to the time of Tiruvalluvar, the author of the sacred Kural,
Vanni is used in the sense of king. Kamban, the author of the Tamil
Ramayana, uses it in a similar sense. In an inscription dated 1189
A.D., published by Dr. E. Hultzsch, [4] Vanniya Nayan appears among
the titles of the local chief of Tiruchchuram, who made a grant of
land to the Vishnu temple at Manimangalam. Tiruchchuram is identical
with Tiruvidaichuram about four miles south-east of Chingleput,
where there is a ruined fort, and also a Siva temple celebrated in
the hymns of Tirugnana Sambandhar, the great Saiva saint who lived in
the 9th century. Local tradition, confirmed by one of the Mackenzie
manuscripts, [5] says that this place was, during the time of the
Vijayanagar King Krishna Raya (1509-30 A.D.), ruled over by two feudal
chiefs of the Vanniya caste named Kandavarayan and Sendavarayan. They,
it is said, neglected to pay tribute to their sovereign lord, who
sent an army to exact it. The brothers proved invincible, but one of
their dancing-girls was guilty of treachery. Acting under instructions,
she poisoned Kandavarayan. His brother Sendavarayan caught hold of her
and her children, and drowned them in the local tank. The tank and the
hillock close by still go by the name of Kuppichi kulam and Kuppichi
kunru, after Kuppi the dancing-girl. An inscription of the Vijayanagar
king Deva Raya II (1419-44 A.D.) gives him the title of the lord who
took the heads of the eighteen Vanniyas. [6] This inscription records
a grant by one Muttayya Nayakan, son of Mukka Nayakan of Vanniraya
gotram. Another inscription, [7] dated 1456 A.D., states that, when
one Raja Vallabha ruled at Conjeeveram, a general, named Vanniya Chinna
Pillai, obtained a piece of land at Sattankad near Madras. Reference is
made by Orme [8] to the assistance which the Vaniah of Sevagherry gave
Muhammad Yusuf in his reduction of Tinnevelly in 1757. The Vaniah here
referred to is the Zamindar of Sivagiri in the Tinnevelly district,
a Vanniya by caste. Vanniyas are mentioned in Ceylon archives. Wanni
is the name of a district in Ceylon. It is, Mr. W. Hamilton writes,
[9] "situated towards Trincomalee in the north-east quarter. At
different periods its Wannies or princes, taking advantage of the
wars between the Candian sovereigns and their European enemies,
endeavoured to establish an authority independent of both, but they
finally, after their country had been much desolated by all parties,
submitted to the Dutch." Further, Sir J. E. Tennent writes, [10] that
"in modern times, the Wanny was governed by native princes styled
Wannyahs, and occasionally by females with the title of Wunniches."
The terms Sambhu and Sambhava Rayan are connected with the Pallis. The
story goes that Agni was the original ancestor of all kings. His
son was Sambhu, whose descendants called themselves Sambhukula, or
those of the Sambhu family. Some inscriptions [11] of the time of
the Chola kings Kulottunga III and Raja Raja III record Sambukula
Perumal Sambuvarayan and Alagiya Pallavan Edirili Sola Sambuvarayan
as titles of local chiefs. A well-known verse of Irattayar in praise
of Conjeeveram Ekamranathaswami refers to the Pallava king as being
of the Sambu race. The later descendants of the Pallavas apparently
took Sambuvarayar and its allied forms as their titles, as the Pallis
in Tanjore and South Arcot still do. At Conjeeveram there lives
the family of the Mahanattar of the Vanniyans, which calls itself
"of the family of Vira Sambu."
"The name Vanniyan," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [12] seems to have
been introduced by the Brahmans, possibly to gratify the desire of
the Pallis for genealogical distinction. Padaiyachi means a soldier,
and is also of late origin. That the Pallis were once an influential
and independent community may be admitted, and in their present desire
to be classed as Kshatriyas they are merely giving expression to this
belief, but, unless an entirely new meaning is to be given to the term
Kshatriya, their claim must be dismissed as absurd. After the fall of
the Pallava dynasty, the Pallis became agricultural servants under the
Vellalas, and it is only since the advent of British rule that they
have begun to assert their claims to a higher position." Further,
Mr. W. Francis writes [13] that "this caste has been referred to
as being one of those which are claiming for themselves a position
higher than that which Hindu society is inclined to accord them. Their
ancestors were socially superior to themselves, but they do not content
themselves with stating this, but in places are taking to wearing the
sacred thread of the twice-born, and claim to be Kshatriyas. They
have published pamphlets to prove their descent from that caste,
and they returned themselves in thousands, especially in Godavari, as
Agnikula Kshatriyas or Vannikula Kshatriyas, meaning Kshatriyas of the
fire race." "As a relic," it has been said, [14] "of the origin of the
Vannikula Kshatriyas from fire, the fire-pot, which comes in procession
on a fixed day during the annual festivities of Draupadi and other
goddesses, is borne on the head of a Vanniya. Also, in dramatic plays,
the king personæ (sic) has always been taken by a Kshatriya, who is
generally a Vanniya. These peculiarities, however, are becoming common
now-a-days, when privileges peculiar to one caste are being trenched
upon by other caste men. In the Tirupporur temple, the practice of
beating the mazhu (red-hot iron) is done by a dancing-girl serving
the Vanniya caste. The privilege of treading on the fire is also
peculiar to the Vanniyas." It is recorded by Mr. Francis [15] that,
in the South Arcot district, "Draupadi's temples are very numerous,
and the priest at them is generally a Palli by caste, and Pallis take
the leading part in the ceremonies at them. Why this should be so is
not clear. The Pallis say it is because both the Pandava brothers and
themselves were born of fire, and are therefore related. Festivals to
Draupadi always involve two points of ritual--the recital or acting
of a part of the Mahabharata and a fire-walking ceremony. The first
of these is usually done by the Pallis, who are very fond of the great
epic, and many of whom know it uncommonly well. [In the city of Madras
there are several Draupadi Amman temples belonging to the Pallis. The
fire-walking ceremony cannot be observed thereat without the help of
a member of this caste, who is the first to walk over the hot ashes.]
Kuvvakkam is known for its festival to Aravan (more correctly Iravan)
or Kuttandar, which is one of the most popular feasts with Sudras
in the whole district. Aravan was the son of Arjuna, one of the five
Pandava brothers. Local tradition says that, when the great war which
is described in the Mahabharata was about to begin, the Kauravas,
the opponents of the Pandavas, sacrificed, to bring them success, a
white elephant. The Pandavas were in despair of being able to find any
such uncommon object with which to propitiate the gods, until Arjuna
suggested that they should offer up his son Aravan. Aravan agreed
to yield his life for the good of the cause, and, when eventually
the Pandavas were victorious, he was deified for the self-abnegation
which had thus brought his side success. Since he died in his youth,
before he had been married, it is held to please him if men, even
though grown up and already wedded, come now and offer to espouse him,
and men who are afflicted with serious diseases take a vow to marry
him at his annual festival in the hope of thereby being cured. The
festival occurs in May, and for eighteen nights the Mahabharata is
recited by a Palli, large numbers of people, especially of that caste,
assembling to hear it read. On the eighteenth night, a wooden image
of Kuttandar is taken to a tope (grove), and seated there. This is
the signal for the sacrifice of an enormous number of fowls. Every
one who comes brings one or two, and the number killed runs literally
into thousands. Such sacrifices are most uncommon in South Arcot,
though frequent enough in other parts of the Presidency--the Ceded
Districts for example--and this instance is noteworthy. While this
is going on, all the men who have taken vows to be married to the
deity appear before his image dressed like women, make obeisance,
offer to the priest (who is a Palli by caste) a few annas, and give
into his hands the talis (marriage badges) which they have brought
with them. These the priest, as representing the God, ties round
their necks. The God is brought back to his shrine that night,
and when in front of the building he is hidden by a cloth being
held before him. This symbolises the sacrifice of Aravan, and the
men who have just been married to him set up loud lamentations at
the death of their husband. Similar vows are taken and ceremonies
performed, it is said, at the shrines to Kuttandar at Kottattai (two
miles north-west of Porto Novo), and Adivarahanattum (five miles
north-west of Chidambaram), and, in recent years, at Tiruvarkkulam
(one mile east of the latter place); other cases probably occur."
The Pallis, Mr. Francis writes further, [16] "as far back as 1833
tried to procure a decree in Pondicherry, declaring that they were
not a low caste, and of late years they have, in this (South Arcot)
district, been closely bound together by an organisation managed by
one of their caste, who was a prominent person in these parts. In
South Arcot they take a somewhat higher social rank than in other
places--Tanjore, for example--and their esprit de corps is now
surprisingly strong. They are tending gradually to approach the
Brahmanical standard of social conduct, discouraging adult marriage,
meat-eating, and widow re-marriage, and they also actively repress
open immorality or other social sins, which might serve to give the
community a bad name. In 1904 a document came before one of the courts,
which showed that, in the year previous, the representatives of the
caste in thirty-four villages in this district had bound themselves
in writing, under penalty of excommunication, to refrain (except with
the consent of all parties) from the practices formerly in existence
of marrying two wives, and of allowing a woman to marry again during
the lifetime of her first husband. Some of the caste have taken to
calling themselves Vannikula Kshatriyas or Agnikula Kshatriyas, and
others even declare that they are Brahmans. These last always wear
the sacred thread, tie their cloths in the Brahman fashion (though
their women do not follow the Brahman ladies in this matter), forbid
widow remarriage, and are vegetarians."
Some Palli Poligars have very high-sounding names, such as Agni Kudirai
Eriya Raya Ravutha Minda Nainar, i.e., Nainar who conquered Raya
Ravutha and mounted a fire horse. This name is said to commemorate a
contest between a Palli and a Ravutha, at which the former sat on a
red-hot metal horse. Further names are Samidurai Surappa Sozhaganar
and Anjada Singam (fearless lion). Some Pallis have adopted Gupta as
a title.
A few Palli families now maintain a temple of their own, dedicated
to Srinivasa, at the village of Kumalam in the South Arcot district,
live round the temple, and are largely dependent on it for their
livelihood. Most of them dress exactly like the temple Battars, and a
stranger would certainly take them for Battar Brahmans. Some of them
are well versed in the temple ritual, and their youths are being
taught the Sandyavandhana (morning prayer) and Vedas by a Brahman
priest. Ordinary Palli girls are taken by them in marriage, but their
own girls are not allowed to marry ordinary Pallis; and, as a result of
this practice of hypergamy, the Kumalam men sometimes have to take to
themselves more than one wife, in order that their young women may be
provided with husbands. These Kumalam Pallis are regarded as priests
of the Pallis, and style themselves Kovilar, or temple people. But,
by other castes, they are nicknamed Kumalam Brahmans. They claim to
be Kshatriyas, and have adopted the title Rayar.
Other titles, "indicating authority, bravery, and superiority,"
assumed by Pallis are Nayakar, Varma, Padaiyachi (head of an army),
Kandar, Chera, Chola, Pandya, Nayanar, Udaiyar, Samburayar, etc. [17]
Still further titles are Pillai, Reddi, Goundan, and Kavandan. Some
say that they belong to the Chola race, and that, as such, they should
be called Chembians. [18] Iranya Varma, the name of one of the early
Pallava kings, was returned as their caste by certain wealthy Pallis,
who also gave themselves the title of Solakanar (descendant of Chola
kings) at the census, 1901.
In reply to a question by the Census Superintendent, 1891, as to
the names of the sub-divisions of the caste, it was stated that "the
Vanniyans are either of the solar and lunar or Agnikula race, or Ruthra
Vanniyar, Krishna Vanniyar, Samboo Vanniyar, Brahma Vanniyar, and
Indra Vanniyar." The most important of the sub-divisions returned at
the census were Agamudaiyan, Agni, Arasu (Raja), Kshatriya, Nagavadam
(cobra's hood, or ear ornament of that shape), Nattaman, Olai (palm
leaf), Pandamuttu, and Perumal gotra. Pandamuttu is made by Winslow
to mean torches arranged so as to represent an elephant. But the
Pallis derive the name from panda muttu, or touching the pandal,
in reference to the pile of marriage pots reaching to the top of
the pandal. The lowest pot is decorated with figures of elephants
and horses. At a marriage among the Pandamuttu Pallis, the bride
and bridegroom, in token of their Kshatriya descent, are seated on a
raised dais, which represents a simhasanam or throne. The bride wears
a necklace of glass beads with the tali, and the officiating priest
is a Telugu Brahman. Other sub-castes of the Pallis, recorded in the
Census Report, 1901, are Kallangi in Chingleput, bearing the title
Reddi, and Kallaveli, or Kallan's fence, in the Madura district. The
occupational title Kottan (bricklayer) was returned by some Pallis
in Coimbatore. In the Salem district some Pallis are divided into
Anju-nal (five days) and Pannendu-nal (twelve days), according as
they perform the final death ceremonies on the fifth or twelfth day
after death, to distinguish them from those who perform them on the
sixteenth day. [19] Another division of Pallis in the Salem district
is based on the kind of ear ornament which is worn. The Olai Pallis
wear a circular ornament (olai), and the Nagavadam Pallis wear an
ornament in shape like a cobra and called nagavadam.
The Pallis are classed with the left-hand section. But the Census
Superintendent, 1871, records that "the wives of the agricultural
labourers (Pallis) side with the left hand, while the husbands help in
fighting the battles of the right; and the shoe-makers' (Chakkiliyan)
wives also take the side opposed to their husbands. During these
factional disturbances, the ladies deny to their husbands all the
privileges of the connubial state." This has not, however, been
confirmed in recent investigations into the customs of the caste.
The Pallis are Saivites or Vaishnavites, but are also demonolaters,
and worship Mutyalamma, Mariamma, Ayanar, Muneswara, Ankalamma, and
other minor deities. Writing nearly a century ago concerning the Vana
Pallis settled at Kolar in Mysore, Buchanan states [20] that "they are
much addicted to the worship of the saktis, or destructive powers,
and endeavour to avert their wrath by bloody sacrifices. These are
performed by cutting off the animal's head before the door of the
temple, and invoking the deity to partake of the sacrifice. There is
no altar, nor is the blood sprinkled on the image, and the body serves
the votaries for a feast. The Pallivanlu have temples dedicated to
a female spirit of this kind named Mutialamma, and served by pujaris
(priests) of their own caste. They also offer sacrifices to Mariamma,
whose pujaris are Kurubaru."
Huge human figures, representing Mannarswami in a sitting posture,
constructed of bricks and mortar, and painted, are conspicuous objects
in the vicinity of the Lawrence Asylum Press, Mount Road, and in the
Kottawal bazar, Madras. At the village of Tirumalavayal near Avadi,
there is a similar figure as tall as a palmyra palm, with a shrine
of Pachaiamman close by. Mannarswami is worshipped mainly by Pallis
and Beri Chettis. An annual festival is held in honour of Pachaiamman
and Mannarswami, in which the Beri Chettis take a prominent part.
During the festivals of village deities, the goddess is frequently
represented by a pile of seven pots, called karagam, decorated with
garlands and flowers. Even when there is an idol in the temple,
the karagam is set up in a corner thereof, and taken daily, morning
and evening, in procession, carried on the head of a pujari or other
person. On the last day of the festival, the karagam is elaborately
decorated with parrots, dolls, flowers, etc., made of pith (Æschynomene
aspera), and called pu karagam (flower pot).
The Pallis live in separate streets or quarters distinctively known
as the Palli teru or Kudi teru (ryots' quarter). The bulk of them
are labourers, but many now farm their own lands, while others are
engaged in trade or in Government service. The occupations of those
whom I have examined at Madras and Chingleput were as follows:--
Merchant.
Cultivator.
Bullock and pony cart driver.
Printer.
Lascar.
Sweetmeat vendor.
Flower vendor.
Fitter.
Sawyer.
Oil-presser.
Gardener.
Polisher.
Bricklayer.
Mason.
Some of the Chingleput Palli men were tattooed, like the Irulas,
with a dot or vertical stripe on the forehead. Some Irulas, it may
be noted en passant, call themselves Ten (honey) Vanniyans, or Vana
(forest) Pallis.
Like many other castes, the Pallis have their own caste beggars,
called Nokkan, who receive presents at marriages and on other
occasions. The time-honoured panchayat system still prevails, and
the caste has headmen, entitled Perithanakkaran or Nattamaikkaran,
who decide all social matters affecting the community, and must be
present at the ceremonial distribution of pansupari.
The Kovilars, and some others who aspire to a high social status,
practice infant marriage, but adult marriage is the rule. At the
betrothal ceremony, the future bridegroom goes to the house of his
prospective father-in-law, where the headman of the future bride must
be present. The bridegroom's headman or father places on a tray betel,
flowers, the bride-price (pariyam) in money or jewels, the milk money
(mulapal kuli), and a cocoanut. Milk money is the present given to
the mother of the bride, in return for her having given nourishment
to the girl during her infancy. All these things are handed by
the bridegroom's headman to the father or headman of the bride,
saying "The money is yours. The girl is ours." The bride's father,
receiving them, says "The money is mine. The girl is yours." This
performance is repeated thrice, and pan-supari is distributed, the
first recipient being the maternal uncle. The ceremony is in a way
binding, and marriage, as a rule, follows close on the betrothal. If,
in the interval, a girl's intended husband dies, she may marry some
one else. A girl may not marry without the consent of her maternal
uncle, and, if he disapproves of a match, he has the right to carry
her off even when the ceremony is in progress, and marry her to a
man of his selection. It is stated, in the Vannikula Vilakkam, that
at a marriage among the Pallis "the bride, after her betrothal, is
asked to touch the bow and sword of the bridegroom. The latter adorns
himself with all regal pomp, and, mounting a horse, goes in procession
to the bride's house where the marriage ceremony is celebrated."
The marriage ceremony is, in ordinary cases, completed in one day,
but the tendency is to spread it over three days, and introduce the
standard Puranic form of ritual. On the day preceding the wedding-day,
the bride is brought in procession to the house of the bridegroom,
and the marriage pots are brought by a woman of the potter caste. On
the wedding morning, the marriage dais is got ready, and the milk-post,
pots, and lights are placed thereon. Bride and bridegroom go separately
through the nalagu ceremony. They are seated on a plank, and five women
smear them with oil by means of a culm of grass (Cynodon Dactylon),
and afterwards with Phaseolus Mungo (green gram) paste. Water coloured
with turmeric and chunam (arathi) is then waved round them, to avert
the evil eye, and they are conducted to the bathing-place. While they
are bathing, five small cakes are placed on various parts of the
body--knees, shoulders, head, etc. When the bridegroom is about to
leave the spot, cooked rice, contained in a sieve, is waved before
him, and thrown away. The bridal couple are next taken three times
round the dais, and they offer pongal (cooked rice) to the village
and house gods and the ancestors, in five pots, in which the rice has
been very carefully prepared, so as to avoid pollution of any kind,
by a woman who has given birth to a first child. They then dress
themselves in their wedding finery, and get ready for the tying of
the tali. Meanwhile, the milk-post, made of Odina Wodier, Erythrina
indica, or the handle of a plough, has been set up. At its side are
placed a grindstone, a large pot, and two lamps called kuda-vilakku
(pot light) and alankara-vilakku (ornamental light). The former
consists of a lighted wick in an earthenware tray placed on a pot,
and the latter of a wooden stand with several branches supporting a
number of lamps. It is considered an unlucky omen if the pot light
goes out before the conclusion of the ceremonial. It is stated
by Mr. H. A. Stuart [21] that in the North Arcot district "in the
marriage ceremony of the Vanniyans or Pallis, the first of the posts
supporting the booth must be cut from the vanni (Prosopis spicigera),
a tree which they hold in much reverence because they believe that
the five Pandava Princes, who were like themselves Kshatriyas, during
the last year of their wanderings, deposited their arms in a tree of
this species. On the tree the arms turned into snakes, and remained
untouched till the owners' return." The Prosopis tree is worshipped
in order to obtain pardon from sins, success over enemies, and the
realisation of the devotee's wishes.
When the bride and bridegroom come to the wedding booth dressed
in their new clothes, the Brahman purohit gives them the threads
(kankanam), which are to be tied round their wrists. The tali is passed
round to be blessed by those assembled, and handed to the bridegroom,
who ties it on the bride's neck. While he is so doing, his sister holds
a light called Kamakshi vilakku. Kamakshi, the goddess at Conjeeveram,
is a synonym for Siva's consort Parvathi. The music of the flute is
sometimes accompanied by the blowing of the conch shell while the
tali is being tied, and omens are taken from the sounds produced
thereby. The tali-tying ceremony concluded, the couple change their
seats, and the ends of their clothes are tied together. Rice is
thrown on their heads, and in front of them, and the near relations
may tie gold or silver plates called pattam. The first to do this is
the maternal uncle. Bride and bridegroom then go round the dais and
milk-post, and, at the end of the second turn, the bridegroom lifts
the bride's left foot, and places it on the grindstone. At the end
of the third turn, the brother-in-law, in like manner, places the
bridegroom's left foot on the stone, and puts on a toe-ring. For
so doing, he receives a rupee and betel. The contracting couple are
then shown the pole-star (Arundhati), and milk and fruit are given
to them. Towards evening, the wrist-threads are removed, and they
proceed to a tank for a mock ploughing ceremony. The bridegroom
carries a ploughshare, and the bride a small pot containing conji
(rice gruel). A small patch of ground is turned up, and puddled so as
to resemble a miniature field, wherein the bridegroom plants some grain
seedlings. A miniature Pillayar (Ganesa) is made with cow-dung, and
betel offered to it. The bridegroom then sits down, feigning fatigue,
and the bride gives him a handful of rice, which his brother-in-law
tries to prevent him from eating. The newly-married couple remain
for about a week at the bride's house, and are then conducted to
that of the bridegroom, the brother-in-law carrying a hundred or a
hundred and ten cakes. Before they enter the house, coloured water
and a cocoanut are waved in front of them, and, as soon as she puts
foot within her new home, the bride must touch pots containing rice
and salt with her right hand. A curious custom among the Pallis at
Kumbakonam is that the bride's mother, and often all her relatives,
are debarred from attending her marriage. The bride is also kept gosha
(in seclusion) for all the days of the wedding. [22]
It is noted by Mr. Hemingway that some of the Pandamuttu Pallis of
the Trichinopoly district "practice the betrothal of infant girls,
the ceremony consisting of pouring cow-dung water into the mouth of
the baby. They allow a girl to marry a boy younger than herself, and
make the latter swallow a two-anna bit, to neutralise the disadvantages
of such a match. Weddings are generally performed at the boy's house,
and the bride's mother does not attend. The bride is concealed from
view by a screen."
It is said that, some years ago, a marriage took place at Panruti
near Cuddalore on the old Svayamvara principle described in the story
of Nala and Damayanti in the Mahabharata. According to this custom,
a girl selects a husband from a large number of competitors, who are
assembled for the purpose.
Widow remarriage is permitted. At the marriage of a widow, the tali
is tied by a married woman, the bridegroom standing by the side,
usually inside the house. Widow marriage is known as naduvittu tali,
as the tali-tying ceremony takes place within the house (naduvidu).
To get rid of the pollution of the first menstrual period, holy water
is sprinkled over the girl by a Brahman, after she has bathed. She
seats herself on a plank, and rice cakes (puttu), a pounding stone,
and arathi are waved in front of her. Sugar and betel are then
distributed among those present.
The dead are sometimes burnt, and sometimes buried. As soon as an
individual dies, the son goes three times round the corpse, carrying
an iron measure (marakkal), wherein a lamp rests on unhusked rice. The
corpse is washed, and the widow bathes in such a way that the water
falls on it. Omission to perform this rite would entail disgrace,
and there is an abusive phrase "May the water from the woman's
body not fall on that of the corpse." The dead man and his widow
exchange betel three times. The corpse is carried to the burning
or burial-ground on a bamboo stretcher, and, on the way thither,
is set down near a stone representing Arichandra, to whom food is
offered. Arichandra was a king who became a slave of the Paraiyans,
and is in charge of the burial-ground. By some Pallis a two-anna
piece is placed on the forehead, and a pot of rice on the breast
of the corpse. These are taken away by the officiating barber and
Paraiyan respectively. [23] Men who die before they are married have
to go through a post-mortem mock marriage ceremony. A garland of arka
(Calotropis gigantea) flowers is placed round the neck of the corpse,
and mud from a gutter is shaped into cakes, which, like the cakes at
a real marriage, are placed on various parts of the body.
A curious death ceremony is said by Mr. Hemingway to be observed by
the Arasu Pallis in the Trichinopoly district. On the day after the
funeral, two pots of water are placed near the spot where the corpse
was cremated. If a cow drinks of the water, they think it is the soul
of the dead come to quench its thirst.
In some places, Palli women live in strict seclusion (Gosha). This
is particularly the case in the old Palaigar families of Ariyalur,
Udaiyarpalaiyam, Pichavaram, and Sivagiri.
The caste has a well-organised Sangham (association) called Chennai
Vannikula Kshatriya Maha Sangham, which was established in 1888
by leaders of the caste. Besides creating a strong esprit de corps
among members of the caste in various parts of the Madras Presidency,
it has been instrumental in the opening of seven schools, of which
three are in Madras, and the others at Conjeeveram, Madhurantakam,
Tirukalikundram and Kumalam. It has also established chuttrams
(rest-houses) at five places of pilgrimage. Chengalvaraya Nayakar's
Technical School, attached to Pachaiappa's College in Madras, was
founded in 1865 by a member of the Palli caste, who bequeathed a
large legacy for its maintenance. There is also an orphanage named
after him in Madras, for Palli boys. Govindappa Nayakar's School,
which forms the lower secondary branch of Pachaiappa's College,
is another institution which owes its existence to the munificence
of a member of the Palli caste. The latest venture of the Pallis is
the publication of a newspaper called Agnikuladittan (the sun of the
Agnikula), which was started in 1908.
Concerning the Pallis, Pallilu, or Palles, who are settled in
the Telugu country as fishermen, carpenters, and agriculturists,
Mr. H. A. Stuart writes [24] that "it seems probable that they are a
branch of the great Palli or Vanniya tribe, for Buchanan refers to the
Mina (fish) Pallis and Vana Pallis." As sub-castes of these Pallis,
Vada (boatmen), Marakkadu and Edakula are given in the Census Report,
1901. In the North Arcot Manual, Palli is given as a sub-division of
the Telugu Kapus. In some places the Pallis call themselves Palle
Kapulu, and give as their gotram Jambumaharishi, which is a gotram
of the Pallis. Though they do not intermarry, the Palle Kapulu may
interdine with the Kapus.
Concerning the caste-beggars of the Pallis, and their legendary
history, I read the following account. [25] "I came upon a noisy
procession entering one of the main streets of a town not far from
Madras. It was headed by spearmen, swordsmen, and banner-bearers, the
last carrying huge flags (palempores) with representations of lions,
tigers, monkeys, Brahmany kites, goblins and dwarfs. The centre of
attraction consisted of some half dozen men and women in all the
bravery of painted faces and gay clothing, and armed with swords,
lances, and daggers. Tom-toms, trumpets, cymbals, and horns furnished
the usual concomitant of ear-piercing music, while the painted men
and women moved, in time with it, their hands and feet, which were
encircled by rows of tiny bells. A motley following of the tag-rag
and bob-tail of the population, which had been allured thither
by the noise and clamour, brought up the rear of the procession,
which stopped at each crossing. At each halt, the trumpeters blew
a great and sonorous blast, while one of the central figures, with
a conspicuous abdominal development, stepped forward, and, in a
stentorian voice, proclaimed the brave deeds performed by them in
the days gone by, and challenged all comers to try conclusions with
them, or own themselves beaten. I was told that the chief personages
in the show were Jatipillays (literally, children of the caste),
who had arrived in the town in the course of their annual tour of
the country, for collecting their perquisites from all members of
the Palli or Padiachi caste, and that this was how they announced
their arrival. The perquisite levied is known as the talaikattu vari
(poll-tax, or literally the turban tax), a significant expression
when it is borne in mind that only the adult male members of the caste
(those who are entitled to tie a cloth round their heads) are liable
to pay it, and not the women and children. It amounts to but one anna
per head, and is easily collected. The Jatipillays also claim occult
powers, and undertake to exhibit their skill in magic by the exorcism
of devils, witchcraft and sorcery, and the removal of spells, however
potent. This operation is called modi edukkirathu, or the breaking of
spells, and sometimes the challenge is taken up by a rival magician
of a different caste. A wager is fixed, and won or lost according
to the superior skill of the challenger or challenged. Entering into
friendly chat with one of the leading members of the class, I gleaned
the following legend of its origin, and of the homage accorded to it
by the Pallis. In remote times, when Salivahana was king of the Chola
country, with its capital at Conjeeveram, all the principal castes of
South India had their head-quarters at the seat of government, where
each, after its own way, did homage to the triple deities of the place,
namely, Kamakshi Amman, Ekambrasvarar, and Sri Varadarajaswami. Each
caste got up an annual car festival to these deities. On one of
these occasions, owing to a difference which had arisen between the
Seniyans (weavers), who form a considerable portion of the population
of Conjeeveram, on one side, and the Pallis or Vanniyans on the
other, some members of the former caste, who were adepts in magic,
through sheer malevolence worked spells upon the cars of the Pallis,
whose progress through the streets first became slow and tedious,
and was finally completely arrested, the whole lot of them having
come to a stand-still, and remaining rooted on the spot in one of
the much frequented thoroughfares of the city. The Pallis put on more
men to draw the cars, and even employed elephants and horses to haul
them, but all to no purpose. As if even this was not sufficient to
satisfy their malignity, the unscrupulous Seniyars actually went to
King Salivahana, and bitterly complained against the Pallis of having
caused a public nuisance by leaving their cars in a common highway to
the detriment of the public traffic. The king summoned the Pallis,
and called them to account, but they pleaded that it was through no
fault of theirs that the cars had stuck in a thoroughfare, that they
had not been negligent, but had essayed all possible methods of hauling
them to their destination by adding to the number of men employed in
pulling them, and by having further tried to accelerate their progress
with the aid of elephants, camels, and horses, but all in vain. They
further declared their conviction that the Seniyars had played them an
ill-turn, and placed the cars under a spell. King Salivahana, however,
turned a deaf ear to these representations, and decreed that it was
open to the Pallis to counteract the spells of their adversaries,
and he prescribed a period within which this was to be effected. He
also tacked on a threat that, in default of compliance with his
mandate, the Pallis must leave his kingdom for good and ever. The
Pallis sought refuge and protection of the goddess Kamakshi Amman,
whose pity was touched by their sad plight, and who came to their
aid. She appeared to one of the elders of the caste in a dream, and
revealed to him that there was a staunch devotee of hers--a member of
their caste--who alone could remove the spells wrought by the Seniyars,
and that this man, Ramasawmy Naikan, was Prime Minister in the service
of the Kodagu (Coorg) Raja. The desperate plight they were in induced
the Pallis to send a powerful deputation to the Raja, and to beg of
him to lend them the services of Ramasawmy Naik, in order to save them
from the catastrophe which was imminent. The Raja was kind enough to
comply. The Naik arrived, and, by virtue of his clairvoyant powers,
took in the situation at a glance. He found myriads of imps and uncanny
beings around each of the car-wheels, who gripped them as by a vice,
and pulled them back with their sinewy legs and hands every time an
attempt was made to drag them forwards. Ramasawmy Naik by no means
liked the look of things, for he found that he had all his work cut
out for him to keep these little devils from doing him bodily harm,
let alone any attempt to cast them off by spells. He saw that more
than common powers were needed to face the situation, and prayed to
Kamakshi Amman to disclose a way of overcoming the enemy. After long
fasting and prayers, he slept a night in the temple of Kamakshi Amman,
in the hope that a revelation might come to him in his slumber. While
he slept, Kamakshi Amman appeared, and declared to him that the only
way of overcoming the foe was for the Pallis to render a propitiatory
sacrifice, but of a most revolting kind, namely, to offer up as a
victim a woman pregnant with her first child. The Pallis trembled at
the enormity of the demand, and declared that they would sooner submit
to Salivahana's decree of perpetual exile than offer such a horrible
sacrifice. Ramasawmy Naik, however, rose to the occasion, and resolved
to sacrifice his own girl-wife, who was then pregnant with her first
child. He succeeded in propitiating the deity by offering this heroic
sacrifice, and the spells of the Seniyars instantly collapsed, and
the whole legion of imps and devils, who had impeded the progress of
the Pallis' car, vanished into thin air. The coast having thus been
cleared of hostile influences, Ramasawmy Naik, with no more help than
his own occult powers gave him, succeeded in hauling the whole lot
of cars to their destination, and in a single trip, by means of a
rope passed through a hole in his nose. The Pallis, whose gratitude
knew no bounds, called down benedictions on his head, and, falling
prostrate before him, begged him to name his reward for the priceless
service rendered by him to their community. Ramasawmy Naik only asked
that the memory of his services to the caste might be perpetuated by
the bestowal upon him and his descendants of the title Jati-pillay,
or children of the caste, and of the privilege of receiving alms at
the hands of the Pallis; and that they might henceforth be allowed the
honour of carrying the badges of the caste--banners, state umbrellas,
trumpets, and other paraphernalia--in proof of the signal victory
they had gained over the Seniyars."
Palli Dasari.--A name for Tamil-speaking Dasaris, as distinguished
from Telugu-speaking Dasaris.