Travancore, concerning which Mr. S. Subramanya Aiyar writes
as follows. [99] "The following sketch will show what trifling
circumstances are sufficient in this land of Parasurama to call a new
caste into existence. The word Pilapally is supposed to be a corruption
of Belal Thalli, meaning forcibly ejected. It therefore contains,
as though in a nutshell, the history of the origin of this little
community, which it is used to designate. In the palmy days of the
Chempakasseri Rajas, about the year 858 M.E., there lived at the court
of the then ruling Prince at Ambalappuzha a Namburi Brahman who stood
high in the Prince's favour, and who therefore became an eye-sore to
all his fellow courtiers. The envy and hatred of the latter grew to
such a degree that one day they put their heads together to devise
a plan which should at once strip him of all influence at court,
and humble him in the eyes of the public. The device hit upon was
a strange one, and characteristic of that dim and distant past. The
Namburi was the custodian of all presents made to the Prince, and as
such it was a part of his daily work to arrange the articles presented
in their proper places. It was arranged that one day a dead fish,
beautifully tied up and covered, should be placed among the presents
laid before the Prince. The victim of the plot, little suspecting
there was treachery in the air, removed all the presents as usual
with his own hand. His enemies at court, who were but waiting for an
opportunity of humbling him to the dust, thereupon caused the bundle
to be examined before the Prince, when it became evident that it
contained a dead fish. Now, for a Namburi to handle a dead fish was,
according to custom, sufficient to make him lose caste. On the strength
of this argument, the Prince, who was himself a Brahmin, was easily
prevailed upon to put the Namburi out of the pale of caste, and the
court favourite was immediately excommunicated. There is another and
a slightly different version of the story, according to which the
Namburi in question was the hereditary priest of the royal house,
to whom fell the duty of removing and preserving the gifts. In course
of time he grew so arrogant that the Prince himself wanted to get rid
of him, but, the office of the priest being hereditary, he did not
find an easy way of accomplishing his cherished object, and, after
long deliberation with those at court in whom he could confide, came
at last to the solution narrated above. It is this forcible ejection
that the expression Belal Thalli (afterwards changed into Pilapally)
is said to import.... It appears that the unfortunate Namburi had two
wives, both of whom elected to share his fate. Accordingly, the family
repaired to Paravur, a village near Kallarkode, where their royal
patron made them a gift of land. Although they quitted Ambalapuzha for
good, they seem to have long owned there a madathummuri (a room in a
series, in which Brahmins from abroad once lived and traded), and are
said to be still entitled daily to a measure of palpayasom from the
temple, a sweet pudding of milk, rice and sugar, celebrated all over
Malabar for its excellence. The progeny of the family now count in
all about ninety members, who live in eight or nine different houses."
Pillai.--Pillai, meaning child, is in the Tamil country primarily the
title of Vellalas, but has, at recent times of census, been returned
as the title of a number of classes, which include Agamudaiyan,
Ambalakaran, Golla, Idaiyan, Nayar, Nokkan, Panisavan, Panikkan,
Paraiyan, Saiyakkaran, Sembadavan and Senaikkudaiyans. Pilla is
further used as the title of the male offspring of Deva-dasis. Many
Paraiyan butlers of Europeans have assumed the title Pillai as an
honorific suffix to their name. So, too, have some criminal Koravas,
who pose as Vellalas.
Pillaikuttam.--Recorded, in the Manual of the North Arcot district,
as a bastard branch of Vaniyan.
Pillaiyarpatti (Ganesa village).--An exogamous section or kovil of
Nattukottai Chetti.
Pilli (cat).--An exogamous sept of Chembadi, Mala, and Medara.
Pindari.--In the Madras Census Report, 1901, fifty-nine Pindaris are
returned as a Bombay caste of personal servants. They are more numerous
in the Mysore province, where more than two thousand were returned
in the same year as being engaged in agriculture and Government
service. The Pindaris were formerly celebrated as a notorious class
of freebooters, who, in the seventeenth century, attached themselves
to the Marathas in their revolt against Aurangzib, and for a long
time afterwards, committed raids in all directions, extending their
operations to Southern India. It is on record that "in a raid made upon
the coast extending from Masulipatam northward, the Pindaris in ten
days plundered 339 villages, burning many, killing and wounding 682
persons, torturing 3,600, and carrying off or destroying property to
the amount of £250,000." [100] They were finally suppressed, in Central
India, during the Viceroyalty of the Marquis of Hastings, in 1817.
Pindi (flour).--An exogamous sept of Mala.
Pinjari (cotton-cleaner).--A synonym for Dudekula. Pinjala (cotton)
occurs as an exogamous sept of Devanga.
Pippala (pepper: Piper longum).--An exogamous sept or gotra of Gamalla
and Komati.
Pisharati.--The Pisharatis or Pisharodis are summed up in the Madras
Census Report, 1901, as being a sub-caste of Ambalavasis, which
makes flower garlands, and does menial service in the temples. As
regards their origin, the legend runs to the effect that a Swamiyar,
or Brahman ascetic, once had a disciple of the same caste, who wished
to become a Sanyasi or anchorite. All the ceremonies prior to shaving
the head of the novice were completed, when, alarmed at the prospect
of a cheerless life and the severe austerities incidental thereto,
he made himself scarce. Pishara denotes a Sanyasi's pupil, and as he,
after running away, was called Pisharodi, the children born to him of
a Parasava woman by a subsequent marriage were called Pisharatis. In
his 'Early Sovereigns of Travancore,' Mr. Sundaram Pillay says that
the Pisharati's "puzzling position among the Malabar castes, half
monk and half layman, is far from being accounted for by the silly
and fanciful modern derivation of Pisharakal plus Odi, Pisharakal
being more mysterious than Pisharati itself." It is suggested by him
that Pisharati is a corruption of Bhattaraka-tiruvadi. According to
the Jati-nirnaya, the Bhattarakas are a community degraded from the
Brahmans during the Treta Yuga. As far as we are able to gather from
mediæval Travancore inscriptions, an officer known as Pidara-tiruvadi
was attached to every temple. It is known that he used to receive large
perquisites for temple service, and that extensive rice-lands were
given to the Bhattakara of Nelliyur. It is noted, in the Gazetteer
of Malabar, that "the traditional etymology of the name Pisharodi
refers it to a Sanyasi novice, who, deterred by the prospects of
the hardship of life on which he was about to enter, ran away (odi)
at the last moment, after he had been divested of the punul (thread),
but before he had performed the final ceremony of plunging thrice in a
tank (pond), and of plucking out, one at each plunge, the last three
hairs of his kudumi (the rest of which had been shaved off). But the
termination 'Odi' is found in other caste titles such as Adiyodi and
Vallodi, and the definition is obviously fanciful, while it does not
explain the meaning of Pishar."
The houses of Pisharatis are called pisharam. Their primary
occupation is to prepare garlands of flowers for Vaishnava temples,
but they frequently undertake the talikazhakam or sweeping service
in temples. Being learned men, and good Sanskrit scholars, they
are employed as Sanskrit and Malayalam tutors in the families of
those of high rank, and, in consequence, make free use of the title
Asan. They are strict Vaishnavites, and the ashtakshara, or eight
letters relating to Vishnu, as opposed to the panchakshara or five
letters relating to Siva, forms their daily hymn of prayer. They
act as their own caste priests, but for the punyaha or purificatory
ceremony and the initiation into the ashtakshara, which are necessary
on special occasions, the services of Brahmans are engaged.
The Pisharatis celebrate the tali-kettu ceremony before the girl
reaches puberty. The most important item therein is the joining of
the hands of the bride and bridegroom. The planting of a jasmine
shoot is observed as an indispensable preliminary rite. The events
between this and the joining of hands are the same as with other
Ambalavasis. The bride and bridegroom bathe, and wear clothes touched
by each other. The girl's mother then gives her a wedding garland
and a mirror, with which she sits, her face covered with a cloth. The
cherutali, or marriage ornament, is tied by the bridegroom round the
girl's neck. If this husband dies, the tali has to be removed, and the
widow observes pollution. Her sons have to make oblations of cooked
rice, and, for all social and religious purposes, the woman is regarded
as a widow, though she is not debarred from contracting a sambandham
(alliance) with a man of her own caste, or a Brahman. If the wife
dies, the husband has, in like manner, to observe pollution, and make
oblations of cooked rice. There are cases in which the tali-kettu is
performed by a Pisharati, and sambandham contracted with a Brahman. If
the tali-tier becomes the husband, no separate cloth-giving ceremony
need be gone through by him after the girl has reached puberty.
Inheritance is in the female line, so much so that a wife and
children are not entitled to compensation for the performance of a
man's funeral rites.
No particular month is fixed for the name-giving rite, as it suffices
if this is performed before the annaprasana ceremony. The maternal
uncle first names the child. When it is four or six months old, it
is taken out to see the sun. On the occasion of the annaprasana,
which usually takes place in the sixth month, the maternal uncle
gives the first mouthful of cooked rice to the child by means of
a golden ring. The Yatrakali serves as the night's entertainment
for the assembled guests. Nambutiris are invited to perform the
purificatory ceremony known as punyaha, but the consecrated water is
only sprinkled over the roof of the house. The inmates thereof protrude
their heads beneath the eaves so as to get purified, as the Brahmans
do not pour the water over them. The chaula or tonsure takes place at
the third year of a child's life. The maternal uncle first touches
the boy's head with a razor, and afterwards the Maran and barber do
the same. The initiation into the ashtakshara takes place at the age
of sixteen. On an auspicious day, a Brahman brings a pot of water,
consecrated in a temple, to the pisharam, and pours its contents on
the head of the lad who is to be initiated. The ceremony is called
kalasam-ozhuk-kua, or letting a pot of water flow. After the teaching
of the ashtakshara, the youth, dressed in religious garb, makes a
ceremonial pretence of proceeding on a pilgrimage to Benares, as a
Brahman does at the termination of the Brahmacharya stage of life. It
is only after this that a Pisharati is allowed to chew betel leaf,
and perform other acts, which constitute the privileges of a Grihastha.
The funeral rites of the Pisharatis are very peculiar. The corpse
is seated on the ground, and a nephew recites the ashtakshara, and
prostrates himself before it. The body is bathed, and dressed. A
grave, nine feet deep and three feet square, is dug in a corner of
the grounds, and salt and ashes, representing all the Panchabhutas,
are spread. The corpse is placed in the grave in a sitting posture. As
in the case of a Sanyasi, who is a Jivanmukta, or one liberated from
the bondage of the flesh though alive in body, so a dead Pisharati is
believed to have no suitable body requiring to be entertained with any
post-mortem offerings. A few memorial rites are, however, performed. On
the eleventh day, a ceremony corresponding to the ekoddishta sradh of
the Brahman is carried out. A knotted piece of kusa grass, representing
the soul of the deceased, is taken to a neighbouring temple, where a
lighted lamp, symbolical of Maha Vishnu is worshipped, and prayers are
offered. This ceremony is repeated at the end of the first year. [101]
Some Pisharatis are large land-owners of considerable wealth and
influence. [102]
Pisu Perike.--Perikes who weave gunny-bags.
Pitakalu (dais, on which a priest sits).--An exogamous sept of Odde.
Pittalavadu.--A Telugu name for Kuruvikkarans.
Podapotula.--A class of mendicants, who beg from Gollas.
Podara Vannan.--The Podara, Podarayan or Pothora Vannans are washermen
of inferior social status, who wash clothes for Pallans, Paraiyans,
and other low classes.
Podhano.--Recorded, at times of census, as a title of Bolasi, Gaudo,
Kalingi, Kudumo, and Samantiya. The Samantiyas also frequently give
it as the name of their caste.
Poduval.--Defined by Mr. Wigram [103] as one of the Ambalavasi castes,
the members of which are as a rule employed as temple watchmen. Writing
concerning the Mussads or Muttatus, Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar states
that they are known as Muttatus or Mussatus in Travancore and Cochin,
and Potuvals (or Poduvals) or Akapotuvals in North Malabar. Potuval
means a common person, i.e., the representative of a committee, and
a Muttatu's right to this name accrues from the fact that, in the
absence of the Nambutiri managers of a temple, he becomes their agent,
and is invested with authority to exercise all their functions. The
work of an Akapotuval always lies within the inner wall of the shrine,
while that of the Purappotuval, or Potuval proper, lies outside. From
Travancore, Poduvan or Potuvan is recorded as a synonym or sub-division
of Marans, who are employed at funerals by various castes.
It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that "Pura Pothuvals
are of two classes, Chenda Pothuvals or drum Pothuvals, and Mala
Pothuvals or garland Pothuvals, the names of course referring to the
nature of the service which they have to render in the temple. The
Chenda Pothuvals would appear to be closely connected with the
Marars or Marayars, who are also drummers. Mala Pothuvals follow
marumakkattayam (inheritance in the female line), their women having
sambandham (alliance) with men of their own caste or with Brahmans,
while the men can have sambandham in their own caste, or with Nayar
women of any of the sub-divisions below Kiriyattil. Their women are
called Pothuvarassiar or Pothuvattimar." It is further recorded [104]
that, in some cases, for instance among Mala Pothuvals and Marars
in South Malabar, a fictitious consummation is an incident of the
tali-kettu ; the girl and manavalan (bridegroom) being made to lie
on a bed together, and left there alone for a few moments. Amongst
the Mala Pothuvals this is done twice, once on the first and once
on the last day, and they apparently also spend the three nights of
the ceremony in the same bed-chamber, but not alone, an Enangatti
sleeping there as chaperone. In these two castes, as in most if not
all others, the ceremony also entails the pollution of the girl and
her bridegroom. Amongst the Marars, they are purified by a Nambudiri
after they leave their quasi-nuptial couch. Amongst the Mala Pothuvals,
they are not allowed to bathe or to touch others during the wedding
till the fourth day, when they are given mattu (change of cloths)
by the Veluttedan."
Podala occurs as a Canarese form of Poduval.
Pogandan.--A synonym of Pondan.
Pokanati.--Pokanati or Pakanati is a sub-division of Kapu.
Poladava.--A synonym of Gatti.
Poligar (feudal chief).--A synonym of Palayakkaran. According to Yule
and Burnell, [105] the Poligars "were properly subordinate feudal
chiefs, occupying tracts more or less wild, and generally of predatory
habits in former days. They are now much the same as Zemindars
(land-owners) in the highest use of that term. The Southern Poligars
gave much trouble about a hundred years ago, and the 'Poligar wars'
were somewhat serious affairs. In various assaults on Panjalamkurichi,
one of their forts in Tinnevelly, between 1799 and 1801, there fell
fifteen British officers." The name Poligar was further used for the
predatory classes, which served under the chiefs. Thus, in Munro's
'Narrative of Military Operations' (1780-84), it is stated that
"the matchlock men are generally accompanied by Poligars, a set of
fellows that are almost savages, and make use of no other weapon than
a pointed bamboo spear, 18 or 20 feet long."
The name Poligar is given to a South Indian breed of greyhound-like
dogs in the Tinnevelly district.
Pombada.--A small class of Canarese devil-dancers, who are said,
[106] in South Canara, to resemble the Nalkes, but hold a somewhat
higher position, and in devil-dances to represent a better class of
demons. Unlike the Nalkes and Paravas, they follow the aliya santana
system of inheritance. They speak Tulu, and, in their customs,
follow those of the Billavas. There are two sections among the
Pombadas, viz., Bailu, who are mainly cultivators, and Padarti,
who are chiefly engaged in devil-dancing. The Pombadas are not,
like the Nalkes and Paravas, a polluting class, and are socially a
little inferior to the Billavas. They do not wear the disguises of
the bhuthas (devils) Nicha, Varte, and Kamberlu, who are considered
low, but wear those of Jumadi, Panjurli, Jarandaya, Mahisandeya, and
Kodamanithaya. Ullaya or Dharmadevata is regarded as a superior bhutha,
and the special bhutha of the Pombadas, who do not allow Nalkes or
Paravas to assume his disguise. During the Jumadi Kola (festival),
the Pombada who represents the bhutha Jumadi is seated on a cart,
and dragged in procession through the streets. (See Nalke.)
Pon Chetti (gold merchant).--A synonym of Malayalam Kammalan
goldsmiths.
Pon (gold) Illam.--A section of Mukkuvans.
Pondan.--"There are," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [107] "only
twenty-eight persons of this caste in Malabar, and they are all in
Calicut. These are the palanquin-bearers of the Zamorin. They are
in dress, manners, customs, and language entirely Tamilians, and,
while the Zamorin is polluted by the touch of any ordinary Tamilian,
these Pondans enjoy the privilege of bearing him in a palanquin
to and from the temple every day. Now there is a sub-division of
the Tamil Idaiyans by name Pogondan, and I understand that these
Pogondans are the palanquin-bearers of the Idaiyan caste. It seems
probable that the founder, or some early member of the Zamorin,
obtained palanquin-bearers of his own (cowherd) caste and granted
them privileges which no other Tamilians now enjoy."
Pondra.--Pondra, or Ponara, is a sub-division of Mali.
Ponganadu.--Ponganadu and Ponguvan have been recorded, at times of
census, as a sub-division of Kapu. A corrupt form of Pakanati.
Ponnambalaththar.--A class of mendicants, who have attached themselves
to the Kaikolans.
Ponnara.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a
sub-division of Nayar.
Poruvannurkaran.--A class of carpenters in Malabar.
Poroja.--The Porojas or Parjas are hill cultivators found in the Agency
tracts of Ganjam and Vizagapatam. Concerning them, it is noted, in the
Madras Census Report, 1871, that "there are held to be seven classes
of these Parjas, which differ from each other in points of language,
customs, and traditions. The term Parja is, as Mr. Carmichael has
pointed out, merely a corruption of a Sanskrit term signifying a
subject, and it is understood as such by the people themselves, who
use it in contradistinction to a free hill-man. 'Formerly,' says a
tradition that runs through the whole tribe, 'Rajas and Parjas were
brothers, but the Rajas took to riding horses (or, as the Barenja
Parjas put it, sitting still) and we became carriers of burdens and
Parjas.' It is quite certain, in fact, that the term Parja is not a
tribal denomination, but a class denomination, and it may be fitly
rendered by the familiar epithet of ryot (cultivator). I have laid
stress on this, because all native officials, and every one that has
written about the country (with the above exception), always talk of
the term Parja as if it signified a caste. There is no doubt, however,
that by far the greater number of these Parjas are akin to the Khonds
of the Ganjam Maliahs. They are thrifty, hard-working cultivators,
undisturbed by the intestine broils which their cousins in the north
engage in, and they bear in their breasts an inalienable reverence for
their soil, the value of which they are rapidly becoming acquainted
with. The Parja bhumi (land) is contained almost entirely in the
upper level. Parts to the south held under Pachipenta and Madugulu
(Madgole) are not Parja bhumi, nor, indeed, are some villages to
the north in the possession of the Khonds. Their ancient rights to
these lands are acknowledged by colonists from among the Aryans, and,
when a dispute arises concerning the boundaries of a field possessed
by recent arrivals, a Parja is usually called in to point out the
ancient land-marks."
The name Poroja seems to be derived from the Oriya, Po, son, and Raja,
i.e., sons of Rajas. There is a tradition that, at the time when the
Rajas of Jeypore rose into prominence at Nandapur, the country was
occupied by a number of tribes, who, in return for the protection
promised to them, surrendered their rights to the soil, which they
had hitherto occupied absolutely. I am informed that the Porojas,
when asked what their caste is, use ryot and Poroja as synonymous,
saying we are Porojas; we are ryot people.
The Parji language is stated by Mr. G. A. Grierson [108] to have
"hitherto been considered as identical with Bhatri. Bhatri has now
become a form of Oriya. Parji, on the other hand, is still a dialect
of Gondi." The Bhatras are a tribe inhabiting the state of Bastar in
the Central Provinces.
The Porojas are not a compact caste, but rather a conglomerate, made up
of several endogamous sections, and speaking a language, which varies
according to locality. These sections, according to Mr. C. Hayavadana
Rao, to whom I am indebted for much of the present note, are--
(1) Barang Jhodia, who eat beef and speak Oriya.
(2) Pengu Poroja, subdivided into those who eat the flesh of the
buffalo, and those who do not. They speak a language, which is said
to bear a close resemblance to Kondhs.
(3) Khondi or Kondi Poroja, who are a section of the Kondhs, eat beef
and the flesh of buffaloes, and speak Kodu or Kondh.
(4) Parengi Poroja, who are a section of the Gadabas. They are
subdivided into those who eat and do not eat the flesh of buffaloes,
and speak a Gadaba dialect.
(5) Bonda, Bunda, or Nanga Poroja, who are likewise a section of the
Gadabas, call themselves Bonda Gadaba, and speak a dialect of Gadaba.
(6) Tagara Poroja, who are a section of the Koyas or Koyis, and speak
Koya, or, in some places, Telugu.
(7) Dur Poroja, also, it is said, known as Didayi Poroja, who speak
Oriya.
Among the Barang Jhodias, the gidda (vulture), bagh (tiger), and
nag (cobra) are regarded as totems. Among the Pengu, Kondhi and
Dur divisions, the two last are apparently regarded as such, and,
in addition to them, the Bonda Porojas have mandi (cow).
In the Barang Jhodia, Pengu, and Kondhi divisions, it is customary
for a man to marry his paternal aunt's daughter, but he cannot claim
her as a matter of right, for the principle of free love is recognised
among them. The dhangada and dhangadi basa system, according to which
bachelors and unmarried girls sleep in separate quarters in a village,
is in force among the Porojas.