Chapter XV: Part 15

1. Shivalli.
2. Kota.
3. Kandavara.
4. Havik or Haiga.
5. Panchagrami.
6. Koteswar.

The following interesting account of the Tulu Brahmans is given by Mr. H. A. Stuart [178]:--

"All Tulu Brahmin chronicles agree in ascribing the creation of Malabar and Canara, or Kerala, Tuluva, and Haiga, to Parasu Rama, who reclaimed from the sea as much land as he could cover by hurling his battle-axe from the top of the Western Ghauts. According to Tulu traditions, after a quarrel with Brahmins who used to come to him periodically from Ahi-Kshetra, Parasu Rama procured new Brahmins for the reclaimed tract by taking the nets of some fishermen, and making a number of Brahminical threads, with which he invested the fishermen, and thus turned them into Brahmins, and retired to the mountains to meditate, after informing them that, if they were in distress and called on him, he would come to their aid. After the lapse of some time, during which they suffered no distress, they were curious to know if Parasu Rama would remember them, and called upon him in order to find out. He promptly appeared, but punished their thus mocking him by cursing them, and causing them to revert to their old status of Sudras. After this, there were no Brahmins in the land till Tulu Brahmins were brought from Ahi-Kshetra by Mayur Varma of the Kadamba dynasty. A modified form of the tradition states that Parasu Rama gave the newly reclaimed land to Naga and Machi Brahmins, who were not true Brahmins, and were turned out or destroyed by fishermen and Holeyas (Pariahs), who held the country till the Tulu Brahmins were introduced by Mayur Varma. All traditions unite in attributing the introduction of the Tulu Brahmins of the present day to Mayur Varma, but they vary in details connected with the manner in which they obtained a firm footing in the land. One account says that Habashika, chief of the Koragas (Pariahs), drove out Mayur Varma, but was in turn expelled by Mayur Varma's son, or son-in-law, Lokaditya of Gokarnam, who brought Brahmins from Ahi-Kshetra and settled them in thirty-two villages. Another makes Mayur Varma himself the invader of the country, which till then had remained in the possession of the Holeyas (Pariahs) and fishermen who had turned out Parasu Rama's Brahmins. Mayur Varma and the Brahmins whom he had brought from Ahi-Kshetra were again driven out by Nanda, a Holeya chief, whose son Chandra Sayana had, however, learned respect for Brahmins from his mother, who had been a dancing-girl in a temple. His admiration for them became so great that he not only brought back the Brahmins, but actually made over all his authority to them, and reduced his people to the position of slaves. A third account makes Chandra Sayana, not a son of a Holeya king, but a descendant of Mayur Varma and a conqueror of the Holeya king. Nothing is known from other sources of Lokaditya, Habashika, or Chandra Sayana, but inscriptions speak to Mayur Varma being the founder of the dynasty of the Kadambas of Banavasi in North Canara. His date is usually put down at about 750 A.D. The correctness of the traditions, which prevail in Malabar as well as in Canara, assigning the introduction of Brahmins to the West Coast to Mayur Varma who was in power about 750 A.D., is to some extent corroborated by the fact that Brahmins attested the Malabar Perumal's grant to the Christians in 774 A.D., but not that to the Jews about 700 A.D. The Brahmins are said to have been brought from Ahi-Kshetra, on the banks of the Godavari, but it is not clear what connection a Kadamba of Banavasi could have with the banks of the Godavari, and there may be something in the suggestion made in the North Kanara Gazetteer that Ahi-Kshetra is merely a sanskritised form of Haiga or the land of snakes. The tradition speaks of the Brahmins having been brought by Lokaditya from Gokarnam, which is in the extreme north of Haiga, and in the local history of the Honalli Matha in Sunda in North Canara, Gokarnam is spoken of as being Ahi-Kshetra. Gokarnam is believed to have been a Brahmin settlement in very early times, and there was probably a further influx of Brahmins there as Muhammadan conquest advanced in the north.

"The class usually styled Tulu Brahmins at the present day are the Shivalli Brahmins, whose head-quarters are at Udipi, and who are most numerous in the southern part of the district, but the Kota, Koteshwar, and Haiga or Havika Brahmins are all branches of the same, the differences between them having arisen since their settlement in Canara; and, though they now talk Canarese in common with the people of other parts to the north of the Sitanadi river, their religious works are still written in the old Tulu-Malayalam character. Tulu Brahmins, who have settled in Malabar in comparatively late years, are known as Embrantris, and treated as closely allied to the Nambutiris, whose traditions go back to Mayur Varma. Some families of Shivalli and Havika Brahmins in the southern or Malayalam portion of the district talk Malayalam, and follow many of the customs of the Malabar or Nambutiri Brahmins. Many of the thirty-two villages in which the Brahmins are said to have been settled by Mayur Varma are still the most important centres of Brahminism. Notably may be mentioned Shivalli or Udipi, Kota and Koteshwar, which have given names to the divisions of Tulu Brahmins of which these villages are respectively the head-quarters. When the Brahmins were introduced by Mayur Varma they are said to have been followers of Bhattacharya, but they soon adopted the tenets of the great Malayalam Vedantic teacher Sankaracharya, who is ordinarily believed to have been born at Cranganore in Malabar in the last quarter of the eighth century, that is, soon after the arrival of the Brahmins on the west coast. Sankaracharya is known as the preacher of the Advaita (non-dual) philosophy, which, stated briefly, is that all living beings are one with the supreme spirit, and absorption may finally be obtained by the constant renunciation of material in favour of spiritual pleasure. This philosophy, however, was not sufficient for the common multitude, and his system included, for weaker minds, the contemplation of the first cause through a multitude of inferior deities, and, as various manifestations of Siva and his consort Parvati, he found a place for all the most important of the demons worshipped by the early Dravidians whom the Brahmins found on the West Coast, thus facilitating the spread of Hinduism throughout all classes. That the conversion of the Bants and Billavas, and other classes, took place at a very early date may be inferred from the fact that, though the great bulk of the Tulu Brahmins of South Canara adopted the teaching of the Vaishnavite reformer Madhavacharya, who lived in the thirteenth century, most of the non-Brahmin Hindus in the district class themselves as Shaivites to this day. Sankaracharya founded the Sringeri Matha in Mysore near the borders of the Udipi taluk, the guru of which is the spiritual head of such of the Tulu Brahmins of South Canara as have remained Smarthas or adherents of the teaching of Sankaracharya. Madhavacharya is believed to have been born about 1199 A.D. at Kalianpur, a few miles from Udipi. He propounded the Dvaita or dual philosophy, repudiating the doctrine of oneness and final absorption held by ordinary Vaishnavites as well as by the followers of Sankaracharya. The attainment of a place in the highest heaven is to be secured, according to Madhavacharya's teaching, not only by the renunciation of material pleasure, but by the practice of virtue in thought, word and deed. The moral code of Madhavacharya is a high one, and his teaching is held by some--not ordinary Hindus of course--to have been affected by the existence of the community of Christians at Kalianpur mentioned by Cosmos Indico Pleustes in the seventh century. Madhavacharya placed the worship of Vishnu above that of Siva, but there is little bitterness between Vaishnavites and Shaivites in South Canara, and there are temples in which both are worshipped under the name of Shankara Narayana. He denied that the spirits worshipped by the early Dravidians were manifestations of Siva's consort, but he accorded sanction to their worship as supernatural beings of a lower order.

"Shivalli Brahmins. The Tulu-speaking Brahmins of the present day are almost all followers of Madhavacharya, though a few remain Smarthas, and a certain number follow what is known as the Bhagavat Sampradayam, and hold that equal honour is due to both Vishnu and Siva. They are now generally called Shivalli Brahmins, their head-quarters being at Udipi or Shivalli, a few miles from Madhavacharya's birth-place. Here Madhavacharya is said to have resided for some time, and composed thirty-seven controversial works, after which he set out on a tour. The temple of Krishna at Udipi is said to have been founded by Madhavacharya himself, who set up in it the image of Krishna originally made by Arjuna, and miraculously obtained by him from a vessel wrecked on the coast of Tuluva. In it he also placed one of the three salagrams presented to him by the sage Veda Vyasa. Besides the temple at Udipi, he established eight Mathas or sacred houses, each presided over by a sanyasi or swami. [Their names are Sodhe, Krishnapur, Sirur, Kanur, Pejavar, Adamar, Palamar, and Puththige.] These exist to this day, and each swami in turn presides over the temple of Krishna for a period of two years, and spends the intervening fourteen years touring through Canara and the adjacent parts of Mysore, levying contributions from the faithful for his next two years of office, which are very heavy, as he has to defray not only the expenses of public worship and of the temple and Matha establishments, but must also feed every Brahmin who comes to the place. The following description of a Matha visited by Mr. Walhouse [179] gives a very good idea of what one of these buildings is like: 'The building was two-storeyed, enclosing a spacious quadrangle round which ran a covered verandah or cloister; the wide porched entrance opened into a fine hall supported by massive pillars with expanding capitals handsomely carved; the ceiling was also wooden, panelled and ornamented with rosettes and pendants as in baronial halls, and so were the solid doors. Within these was an infinity of rooms, long corridors lined with windowless cells, apartments for meditation and study, store-rooms overflowing with all manner of necessaries, granaries, upper rooms with wide projecting windows latticed instead of glass with pierced wood-work in countless tasteful patterns, and in the quadrangle there was a draw-well and small temple, while a large yard behind contained cattle of all kinds from a goat to an elephant. All things needful were here gathered together. Outside sat pilgrims, poor devotees, and beggars waiting for the daily dole, and villagers were continually arriving with grain, vegetables, etc.' The periodical change of the swami presiding over the temple of Krishna is the occasion of a great festival known as the Pariyaya, when Udipi is filled to overflowing by a large concourse of Madhvas, not only from the district but from more distant parts, especially from the Mysore territory. [A very imposing object in the temple grounds, at the time of my visit in 1907, was an enormous stack of fire-wood for temple purposes.] The following is a description [180] of a festival at the Udipi Krishna temple witnessed by Mr. Walhouse: 'Near midnight, when the moon rode high in a cloudless heaven, his (Krishna's) image--not the very sacred one, which may not be handled, but a smaller duplicate--was brought forth by four Brahmins and placed under a splendid canopy on a platform laid across two large canoes. The whole square of the tank (pond) was lit up by a triple line of lights. Small oil cressets at close intervals, rockets and fireworks ascended incessantly, and the barge, also brilliantly lit up, and carrying a band of discordant music, and Brahmins fanning the image with silver fans, was punted round and round the tank amid loud acclamations. After this, the image was placed in a gorgeous silver-plated beaked palanquin, and borne solemnly outside the temple to the great idol car that stood dressed up and adorned with an infinity of tinsel, flags, streamers and flower wreaths. On this it was lifted, and placed in a jewel shrine amidst a storm of applause and clapping of hands--these seem the only occasions when Hindus do clap hands--and then, with all the company of Brahmins headed by the swamis marching in front, followed by flambeaus and wild music, the car was slowly hauled by thousands of votaries round the square which was illuminated by three lines of lights, ascending at intervals into pyramids. A pause was made half-way, when there was a grand display of rockets, fire fountains and wheels, and two lines of camphor and oiled cotton laid along the middle of the road were kindled and flamed up brilliantly. Then the car moved on to the entrance of the temple, and the god's outing was accomplished.' Another famous temple of the Shivallis is Subramanya at the foot of the ghauts on the Coorg border, and here also Madhavacharya deposited one of Veda Vyasa's salagrams. It existed before his time, however, and, as the name indicates, it is dedicated to the worship of Siva. In addition to this, it is the principal centre of serpent worship in the district.

"Many of the Shivalli Brahmins are fair complexioned with well-cut intelligent features. A number of them own land which they cultivate by tenants or by hired labourers, and there are several wealthy families with large landed properties, but the great bulk of them are either astronomers, astrologers, tantris, purohitas, worshippers in temples, or professional beggars. They have been backward in availing themselves of English education, and consequently not many of them are to be found holding important posts under Government or in the professions, but a few have come to the front in late years. A good many of them are village accountants and teachers in village schools. The women, as is usually the case among all classes, are fairer than the men. Their education is even more limited, but they are said to be well trained for the discharge of household and religious duties. They wear the cloth falling as low as the feet in front, but not usually so low behind, especially on festive occasions, the end being passed between the legs and tucked into the fold of the cloth round the waist. Like all Brahmin women in Canara, they are fond of wearing sweet-scented flowers in their hair. The language of the Shivalli Brahmins is Tulu, except to the north of the Sitanadi river, where close intercourse with the ruling Canarese classes above the ghauts for several centuries has led to the adoption of that language by all classes. Their religious books are in Sanskrit, and, even north of the Sitanadi river, they are written in the old Tulu-Malayalam character. Their houses are all neat, clean, and provided with verandahs, and a yard in front, in which stands, in a raised pot, a plant of the tulasi or sacred basil. Some of the houses of the old families are really large and substantial buildings, with an open courtyard in the centre. Men and widows bathe the whole body every day before breakfast, but married women bathe only up to the neck, it being considered inauspicious for them to bathe the head also. In temples and religious houses, males bathe in the evening also. An oil bath is taken once a week. They are, of course, abstainers from animal food and spirituous liquors, and a prohibition extends to some other articles, such as onions, garlic, mushrooms, etc. At times of marriages, deaths or initiations, it is usual to give feasts, which may be attended by all Dravida Brahmins. The Shivallis have 252 gotras, and the names of the following seem to be of totemistic origin:--

Kudrettaya, from kudre, a horse, taya, belonging to.
Talitaya, palmyra palm.
Manolitaya, name of a vegetable.
Shunnataya, chunam, lime.
Kalambitaya, a kind of box.
Nellitaya, the Indian gooseberry.
Goli, banyan tree.
Ane, elephant.

"These names were obtained from one of the eight swamis or gurus of the Udipi math, and according to him they have no totemistic force at the present day. Girls must be married before maturity, and the ordinary age now-a-days is between five and eleven. The age of the bridegroom is usually between fifteen and five and twenty. A maternal uncle's daughter can be married without consulting any horoscope, and during the marriage ceremonies it is customary for a bridegroom's sister to obtain from him a formal promise that, if he has a daughter, he will give her in marriage to her son. Widows take off all their ornaments, and wear a red or white cloth. They ought not to attend any auspicious ceremonies or festivals, but of late years there has been a tendency to relax the severity of the restrictions on a widow's freedom, and a young widow is allowed to keep her head unshaven, and to wear a few ornaments. A few Shivallis in the Malayalam-speaking portion of the Kasaragod taluk follow the customs and manners of the Malayalam Brahmins, and amongst these a girl does not lose caste by remaining unmarried until she comes of age.

"Koteshwar Brahmins are a small body, who take their name from Koteshwar in the Coondapoor taluk. They are practically the same as the Shivalli Brahmins, except that, like all classes in that taluk, they talk Canarese.

"Havika, Haviga, or Haiga Brahmins are the descendants of the section of the Brahmins brought in by Mayur Varma, who settled within the tract known as Haiga, which comprised the southern part of North Canara and the extreme northern part of South Canara. They did not, like the Shivallis, adopt the teaching of Madhavacharya, but remained followers of Sankaracharya, and they now speak Canarese, though their religious and family records are written in old Tulu-Malayalam character. Though originally of the same stock, a distinction has arisen between them and the Shivalli Brahmins, and they do not intermarry, though they may eat together. A number of Havika Brahmins are to be found scattered throughout South Canara, engaged for the most part in the cultivation of areca palm gardens, in which they are very expert. A very well-to-do colony of them is to be found in the neighbourhood of Vittal in the Kasaragod taluk, where they grow areca nuts which are valued only second to those grown in the magane of the Coondapoor taluk above the ghauts. The Havika Brahmins, perhaps owing to their residing for many generations in the comparatively cool shade of the areca nut gardens, are specially fair even for west coast Brahmins. This fairness of complexion is particularly noticeable in the women, who do not differ much in their manners and customs from the Shivalli Brahmin women, except that they take a prominent part in the work of the gardens, and never on any occasion wear the end of their cloth passed through the legs and tucked up behind. The Havik widows are allowed more freedom than in most other classes. Some Havik Brahmins in the Malayalam portion of the Kasaragod taluk have, like the Shivallis in the same locality, adopted the language and customs of the Malayali Brahmins.

"Kota Brahmins, so called from a village in the northern part of the Udipi taluk, are, like the Haviks, Smarthas or followers of Sankaracharya, and now speak Canarese, but the breach between them and the Shivallis is not so wide, as intermarriages occasionally take place. In the Coondapoor taluk and the northern part of the Udipi taluk, the Kotas occupy a place in the community corresponding to that taken by the Shivallis throughout the rest of the district.

"Saklapuris, of whom there are a few in the district, are what may be called a dissenting sect of Havikas who, a few years ago, renounced their allegiance to the Ramchandrapura matha in favour of one at Saklapuri near the boundary between North and South Canara. Like the Havikas, they speak Canarese.

"Kandavaras obtain their name from the village of Kandavar in the Coondapoor taluk. They are commonly known as Udapas, and they all belong to one gotram, that of Visvamitra. They are, therefore, precluded from marrying within the caste, and take their wives and husbands from the ranks of the Shivalli Brahmins. They are, indeed, said to be the descendants of a Shivalli Brahmin who settled in Kandavar about seven or eight centuries ago. The head of the Annu Udapa family, which is called after this ancestor, is the hereditary head of the caste, and presides over all panchayats or caste councils. They speak Canarese. Their title is Udapa or Udpa."

In a note on the Brahmans of South Canara, Mr. T. Raghaviah writes as follows [181]:--"The sentimental objection to manual labour, which is so predominant in the East Coast Brahmin, and the odium attached to it in this country, which has crystallised into the religious belief that, if a Brahmin cultivates with his own hand, the fire of his hand would burn down all that he touches, have entirely disappeared in South Canara. In the rural parts of the district, and especially at the foot of the Western Ghauts, it is an exceedingly common sight to see Brahmins engaging themselves in digging, ploughing or levelling their lands, trimming their water-courses or ledges, raising anicuts across streams, and doing a hundred other items of manual work connected with agriculture. Brahmin women busy themselves with cutting green leaves for manure, making and storing manure and carrying it to their lands or trees, and Brahmin boys are employed in tending and grazing their own cattle. This is so much the case with a class of Brahmins called Haviks that there is a proverb that none but a Havik can raise an areca garden. You find, as a matter of fact, that nearly all the extensive areca plantations in the district are in the hands of either the Havik Brahmins or the Chitpavans allied much to the Mahratta Brahmins of Bombay. These plantations are managed by these Brahmins, and new ones are raised with the aid of a handful of Holeyas, or often without even such aid."

VI. Oriya.--The Oriya Brahmans of the Ganjam district belong to the Utkala section of the Pancha Gaudas. Between them and the Pancha Dravidas there is very considerable difference. None of the sections of the Pancha Dravidas adopt the gosha system as regards their females, whereas Oriya Brahman women are kept gosha (in seclusion). Occasionally they go out to bring water, and, if on their way they come across any males, they go to the side of the road, and turn their backs to the passers-by. It is noted, in the Manual of the Vizagapatam district, that Oriya Brahmans "eat many kinds of meat, as pea fowl, sambur (deer), barking deer, pigeons, wild pig, and fish." Fish must be one of the dishes prepared on festive occasions. As a rule, Oriya Brahmans will accept water from a Gaudo (especially a Sullokondia Gaudo), and sometimes from Gudiyas and Odiyas. Water touched by Dravida Brahmans is considered by them to be polluted. They call the Dravidas Komma (a corruption of Karma) Brahmans. The Oriya Brahmans are more particular than the Dravidas as regards the madi cloth, which has already been referred to. A cloth intended for use as a madi cloth is never given to a washerman to be washed, and it is not worn by the Oriya Brahmans when they answer the calls of nature, but removed, and replaced after bathing. Marriage with a maternal uncle's daughter, which is common among the Dravida Brahmans, would be considered an act of sacrilege by Oriyas. When an Oriya Brahman is charged with being a meat eater, he retorts that it is not nearly so bad as marrying a mathulakanya (maternal uncle's daughter). The marriage tali or bottu is dispensed with by Oriya Brahmans, who, at marriages, attach great importance to the panigrahanam (grasping the bride's hand) and saptapadi (seven steps). The Oriya Brahmans are both Smarthas and Vaishnavas who are generally Paramarthos or followers of Chaitanya. The god Jagannatha of Puri is reverenced by them, and they usually carry about with them some of the prasadham (food offered to the god) from Puri. They are divided into the following twelve sections:--

(1) Santo (samanta, a chief).
(2) Danua (gift-taking).
(3) Padhiya (one who learns the Vedas).
(4) Sarua (saru, tubers of the arum Colocasia antiqitorum).
(5) Holua (holo, yoke of a plough).
(6) Bhodri (Bhadriya, an agraharam on the Ganges).
(7) Barua (a small sea-port town).
(8) Deuliya (one who serves in temples).
(9) Kotokiya (kotaka, palace. Those who live in palaces as
servants to zamindars).
(10) Sahu (creditor).
(11) Jhadua (jungle).
(12) Sodeibalya (those who follow an ungodly life).

It is recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that "the Santos regard themselves as superior to the others, and will not do purohit's work for them, though they will for zamindars. They are also very scrupulous about the behaviour of their womenkind. The Danuas live much by begging, especially at the funerals of wealthy persons, but both they and the Padhiyas know the Vedas, and are priests to the zamindars and the higher classes of Sudras. The Saruas cultivate the 'yam' (Colocasia), and the Holuas go a step further, and engage in ordinary cultivation--actual participation in which is forbidden to Brahmans by Manu, as it involves taking the lives of worms and insects. A few of the Saruas are qualified to act as purohits, but the Holuas hardly ever are, and they were shown in the 1891 census to be the most illiterate of all the Brahmans of the Presidency. Few of them even perform the Sandhya and Tarpana, which every Brahman should scrupulously observe. Yet they are regarded as ceremonially pure, and are often cooks to the zamindars. Regarding the sixth class, the Bhodris, a curious legend is related. Bhodri means a barber, and the ancestor of the sub-division is said to have been the son of a barber who was brought up at Puri with some Santo boys, and so learned much of the Vedas and Shastras. He left Puri and went into Jeypore, wearing the thread and passing himself off as a Brahman, and eventually married a Brahman girl, by whom he got children who also married Brahmans. At last, however, he was found out, and taken back to Puri, where he committed suicide. The Brahmans said they would treat his children as Brahmans if a plant of the sacred tulsi grew on his grave, but, instead of tulsi, a plant of tobacco appeared there, and so his descendants are Bhodris or barber Brahmans, and even Karnams, Gaudos, and Mahantis decline to accept water at their hands. They cultivate tobacco and 'yams,' but nevertheless officiate in temples, and are purohits to the lower non-polluting castes. Of the remaining six divisions, the Baruas are the only ones who do purohit's work for other castes, and they only officiate for the lower classes of Sudras. Except the Sodeibalyas, the others all perform the Sandhya and Tarpana. Their occupations, however, differ considerably. The Baruas are pujaris in the temples, and physicians. The Deuliyas are pujaris and menials in zamindars' houses, growers of 'yams,' and even day labourers. The Kotokiyas are household servants to zamindars. The Sahus trade in silk cloths, grain, etc., and are money-lenders. The Jhaduas are hill cultivators, and traders with pack-bullocks. The last of the divisions, the Sodeibalyas, are menial servants to the zamindars, and work for daily hire."

VII. Sarasvat and Konkani.--Both these classes belong to the Gauda branch, and speak the Konkani language. The original habitation of the Konkanis is said to have been the bank of the Sarasvati, a river well known in early Sanskrit works, but said to have subsequently lost itself in the sands of the desert, north of Rajputana. As they do not abstain from fish, the other Brahmans among whom they have settled regard them as low. The full name as given by the Konkanis is Gauda Sarasvata Konkanastha. All the Konkani Brahmans found in South Canara are Rig Vedis. Like the Shivalli Brahmans, they have numerous exogamous septs, which are used as titles after their names. For example, Prabhu is a sept, and Krishna Prabhu the name of an individual. A large majority of the Konkani Brahmans are Madhvas, and their god is Venkataramana of Tirupati, to whom their temples in South Canara are dedicated. Other Brahmans do not go to the Konkani temples, though non-Brahmans do so. A very striking feature of the Konkani temples is that the god Venkataramana is not represented by an idol, but by a silver plate with the image of the god embossed on it. There are three important temples, at Manjeshwar, Mulki, and Karkal. To these are attached Konkani Brahmans called Darsanas, or men who get inspired. The Darsana attached to the Mulki temple comes there daily about 11 A.M. After worship, he is given thirtham (holy water), which he drinks. Taking in his hands the prasadam (offering made to the god), he comes out, and commences to shiver all over his body for about ten minutes. The shivering then abates, and a cane and long strip of deer skin are placed in his hands, with which he lashes himself on the back, sides, and head. Holy water is given to him, and the shivering ceases. Those who have come to the temple put questions to the Darsana, which are answered in Konkani, and translated. He understands his business thoroughly, and usually recommends the people to make presents of money or jewels to Venkataramana, according to their means. In 1907, a rich Guzerati merchant, who was doing business at Mangalore, visited the temple, and consulted the Darsana concerning the condition of his wife, who was pregnant. The Darsana assured him that she would be safely delivered of a male child, and made him promise to present to the temple silver equal in weight to that of his wife, should the prophecy be realised. The prediction proving true, the merchant gave silver, sugar-candy, and date fruits, to the required weight at a cost, it is said, of five thousand rupees. At the Manjeshwar temple, the Darsana is called the dumb Darsana, as he gives signs instead of speaking. At a marriage among the Konkanis, for the Nagavali ceremony eight snakes are made out of rice or wheat flour by women and the bridal couple. By the side of the pot representing Siva and Parvati, a mirror is placed. Close to the Nagavali square, it is customary to draw on the ground the figures of eight elephants and eight Bairavas in flour.

The following account of the Konkanis is given in the Cochin Census Report, 1901:--"The Konkanis are a branch of the Sarasvat sub-division of the Pancha Gaudas. Judged from their well-built physique, handsome features and fair complexion, they appear to belong ethnically to the Aryan stock. The community take their name from their Guru Sarasvata. Trihotrapura, the modern Tirhut in Behar, is claimed as the original home of the community. According to their tradition, Parasu Rama brought ten families, and settled them in villages in and around Gomantaka, the modern Goa, Panchrakosi, and Kusasthali. When Goa was conquered by Vijayanagar, they placed themselves under the protection of the kings of that country. For nearly a quarter of a century after the conquest of Goa by the Portuguese, they continued unmolested under the Portuguese Governors. During this period, they took to a lucrative trade in European goods. With the establishment of the Inquisition at Goa, and the religious persecution set on foot by the Portuguese, the community left Goa in voluntary exile. While some submitted to conversion, others fled to the north and south. Those that fled to the south settled themselves in Canara and at Calicut. Receiving a cold reception at the hands of the Zamorin, they proceeded further south, and placed themselves under the protection of the Rulers of Cochin and Travancore, where they flourish at the present day. The Christian converts, who followed in the wake of the first batch of exiles, have now settled themselves at the important centres of trade in the State as copper-smiths, and they are driving a very profitable trade in copper-wares. The Brahman emigrants are called Konkanis from the fact of their having emigrated from Konkan. In the earliest times, they are supposed to have been Saivites, but at present they are staunch Vaishnavites, being followers of Madhavacharya. They are never regarded as on a par with the other Brahmans of Southern India. There is no intermarriage or interdining between them and other Brahmans. In Cochin they are mostly traders. Their occupation seems to have been at the bottom of their being regarded as degraded. They have their own temples, called Tirumala Devaswams. They are not allowed access to the inner structure surrounding the chief shrine of the Malayali Hindu temples; nor do they in turn allow the Hindus of this coast to enter corresponding portions of their religious edifices. The Nambudris are, however, allowed access even to the interior of the sacred shrine. All caste disputes are referred to their high priest, the Swamiyar of Kasi Mutt, who resides at Mancheswaram or Basroor. He is held in great veneration by the community, and his decisions in matters religious and social are final. Some of their temples possess extensive landed estates. Their temple at Cochin is one of the richest in the whole State. The affairs of the temple are managed by Konkani Yogakkars, or an elected committee. Nayars and castes above them do not touch them. Though their women use coloured cloths for their dress like the women of the East Coast, their mode of dress and ornaments at once distinguish them from other Brahman women. Amongst them there are rich merchants and landholders. Prabhu, Pai, Shenai, Kini, Mallan, and Vadhyar, are some of the more common titles borne by them."

In conclusion, brief mention may be made of several other immigrant classes. Of these, the Desasthas are Marathi-speaking Brahmans, who have adopted some of the customs of the Smartha and Madhva Carnatakas, with whom intermarriage is permitted. A special feature of the marriage ceremonies of the Desasthas is the worship of Ambabhavani or Tuljabhavani, with the assistance of Gondala musicians, who sing songs in praise of the deity. The Chitpavan Brahmans speak Marathi and Konkani. In South Canara they are, like the Haviks, owners of areca palm plantations. Karadi Brahmans, who are also found in South Canara, are said to have come southward from Karhad in the Bombay Presidency. There is a tradition that Parasu Rama created them from camel bones.

Brahmani.--A class of Ambalavasis. (See Unni.)

Brihaspati Varada.--The name, indicating those who worship their god on Thursday, of a sub-division of Kurubas.

Brinjari.--A synonym of Lambadi.

Budubudike.--The Budubudike or Budubudukala are described in the Mysore Census Report as being "gipsy beggars and fortune-tellers from the Marata country, who pretend to consult birds and reptiles to predict future events. They are found in every district of Mysore, but only in small numbers. They use a small kind of double-headed drum, which is sounded by means of the knotted ends of strings attached to each side of it. The operator turns it deftly and quickly from side to side, when a sharp and weird sound is emitted, having a rude resemblance to the warbling of birds. This is done in the mornings, when the charlatan soothsayer pretends to have divined the future fate of the householder by means of the chirping of birds, etc., in the early dawn. They are generally worshippers of Hanumantha." The name Budubudike is derived from the hour-glass shaped drum, or budbudki.

For the following account of the Budubudukalas, I am indebted to a recent article [182]:--"A huge parti-coloured turban, surmounted by a bunch of feathers, a pair of ragged trousers, a loose long coat, which is very often out at elbows, and a capacious wallet underneath his arm, ordinarily constitute the Budubudukala's dress. Occasionally, if he can afford it, he indulges in the luxury of wearing a tiger or cheetah (leopard) skin, which hangs down his back, and contributes to the dignity of his calling. Add to this an odd assortment of clothes suspended on his left forearm, and the picture is as grotesque as it can be. He is regarded as able to predict the future of human beings by the flight and notes of birds. His predictions are couched in the chant which he recites. The burden of the chant is invariably stereotyped, and purports to have been gleaned from the warble of the feathered songsters of the forest. It prognosticates peace, plenty and prosperity to the house, the birth of a son to the fair, lotus-eyed house-wife, and worldly advancement to the master, whose virtues are as countless as the stars, and have the power to annihilate his enemies. It also holds out a tempting prospect of coming joy in an unknown shape from an unknown quarter, and concludes with an appeal for a cloth. If the appeal is successful, well and good. If not, the Budubudukala has the patience and perseverance to repeat his visit the next day, the day after that, and so on until, in sheer disgust, the householder parts with a cloth. The drum, which has been referred to above as having given the Budubudukala his name, is not devoid of interest. In appearance it is an instrument of diminutive size, and is shaped like an hour-glass, to the middle of which is attached a string with a knot at the end, which serves as the percutient. Its origin is enveloped in a myth of which the Budubudukala is naturally very proud, for it tells him of his divine descent, and invests his vocation with the halo of sanctity. According to the legend, the primitive Budubudukala who first adorned the face of the earth was a belated product of the world's creation. When he was born or rather evolved, the rest of humankind was already in the field, struggling for existence. Practically the whole scheme was complete, and, in the economy of the universe, the Budubudukala found himself one too many. In this quandary, he appealed to his goddess mother Amba Bhavani, who took pity upon him, and presented him with her husband the god Parameswara's drum with the blessing 'My son, there is nothing else for you but this. Take it and beg, and you will prosper.' Among beggars, the Budubudukala has constituted himself a superior beggar, to whom the handful of rice usually doled out is not acceptable. His demand, in which more often than not he succeeds, is for clothes of any description, good, bad or indifferent, new or old, torn or hole. For, in the plenitude of his wisdom, he has realised that a cloth is a marketable commodity, which, when exchanged for money, fetches more than the handful of rice. The Budubudukala is continually on the tramp, and regulates his movements according to the seasons of the year. As a rule, he pays his visit to the rural parts after the harvest is gathered, for it is then that the villagers are at their best, and in a position to handsomely remunerate him for his pains. But, in whatever corner of the province he may be, as the Dusserah approaches, he turns his face towards Vellore in the North Arcot district, where the annual festival in honour of the tribal deity Amba Bhavani is celebrated."

The insigne of the Budubudike, as recorded at Conjeeveram, is said [183] to be a pearl-oyster. The Oriya equivalent of Budubudike is stated [184] to be Dubaduba.

Bujjinigiyoru (jewel-box).--A sub-division of Gangadikara Vakkaliga.

Bukka.--Described, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a "sub-caste of Balija. They are sellers of saffron (turmeric), red powder, combs, etc., and are supposed to have been originally Komatis." They are described by the Rev. J. Cain as travelling about selling turmeric, opium, and other goods. According to the legend, when Kanyakamma threw herself into the fire-pit (see Komati), they, instead of following her example, presented to her bukka powder, turmeric, and kunkuma. She directed that they should live apart from the faithful Komatis, and live by the sale of the articles which they offered to her.

Buragam.--A sub-division of Kalingi.

Burgher.--A name commonly applied to the Badagas of the Nilgiri hills. In Ceylon, Burgher is used in the same sense as Eurasian in India.

Burmese.--A few Burmese are trained as medical students at Madras for subsequent employment in the Burmese Medical service. At the Mysore census, 1901, a single Burman was recorded as being engaged at the Kolar gold fields. Since Burma became part of the British dominions in 1886, there has been emigration to that developing country from the Madras Presidency on a large scale. The following figures show the numbers of passengers conveyed thence to Burma during the five years, 1901-05:--

1901 84,329
1902 80,916
1903 100,645
1904 127,622
1905 124,365

Busam (grain).--An exogamous sept of Devanga.

Busi (dirt).--An exogamous sept of Mutracha.

Byagara.--Byagara and Begara are synonyms of Holeya.

NOTES

[1] "Deccan, Hind, Dakhin, Dakhan; dakkina, the Prakr. form of Sskt. dakshina, 'the south.' The southern part of India, the Peninsula, and especially the table-land between the Eastern and Western Ghauts." Yule and Burnell, Hobson-Jobson.

[2] History of Creation.

[3] Malay Archipelago, 1890.

[4] See article Kadir.

[5] Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula, 1906.

[6] Globus, 1899.

[7] Madras Museum Bull., II, 3, 1899.

[8] Op. cit.

[9] Yule and Burnell, Hobson-Jobson.

[10] Mem. Asiat. Soc., Bengal, Miscellanea Ethnographica, 1, 1906.

[11] Manual of the Geology of India, 2nd edition, 1893.

[12] Anatomy of Vertebrated Animals, 1871.

[13] See Annual Report, Archæological Survey of India, 1902-03.

[14] Bull, Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, 1905.

[15] Introduction to the Study of Mammals, living and extinct, 1891.

[16] Anthropology. Translation, 1894.

[17] I have only seen one individual with woolly hair in Southern India, and he was of mixed Tamil and African parentage.

[18] See article Maravan.

[19] Op. cit.

[20] Ethnology, 1896.

[21] Proc. R. Soc. N. S. Wales, XXIII, part III.

[22] "It is evident that, during much of the tertiary period, Ceylon and South India were bounded on the north by a considerable extent of sea, and probably formed part of an extensive southern continent or great island. The very numerous and remarkable cases of affinity with Malaya require, however, some closer approximation to these islands, which probably occurred at a later period." Wallace. Geographical Distribution of Animals, 1876.

[23] See Breeks, Primitive Tribes and Monuments of the Nilgiris; Phillips, Tumuli of the Salem district; Rea, Prehistoric Burial Places in Southern India; R. Bruce Foote, Catalogues of the Prehistoric Antiquities in the Madras Museum, etc.

[24] Contributions to the Craniology of the People of the Empire of India, Part II. The aborigines of Chuta Nagpur, and of the Central Provinces, the People of Orissa, Veddahs and Negritos, 1900.

[25] Other cranial characters are compared by Sir William Turner, for which I would refer the reader to the original article.

[26] The People of India, 1908.

[27] Contemporary Science Series.

[28] Madras Museum Bull., II, 3, 1899.

[29] The cephalic indices of various Brahman classes in the Bombay Presidency, supplied by Sir H. Risley, are as follows:--Desastha, 76.9; Kokanasth, 77.3; Sheni or Saraswat, 79; Nagar, 79.7.

[30] Measured by Mr. F. Fawcett.

[31] The Pattar Brahmans are Tamil Brahmans, settled in Malabar.

[32] According to the Brahman chronology, Mayura Varma reigned from 455 to 445 B.C., but his probable date was about 750 A.D. See Fleet, Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of the Bombay Presidency, 1882-86.

[33] Histoire générale des Races Humaines, 1889.

[34] Les Nègres d'Asie, et la race Nègre en général. Revue Scientifique, VI July, 1906.

[35] Tribes and Castes of Bengal, 1891.

[36] Linguistic Survey of India, IV, 1906.

[37] Manual of the South Canara district.

[38] The Todas, 1906.

[39] Madras Journ., Lit. and Sci., V., 1837.

[40] Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Languages. 2nd Ed., 1875.

[41] Outlines of the Toda Grammar appended to Marshall's Phrenologist among the Todas.

[42] Madras Census Report, 1901.

[43] Malabar Law and Custom.

[44] F. Fawcett. Journ. Anth. Soc., Bombay, 1, 1888.

[45] Malabar Law and Custom.

[46] Wigram, Malabar Law and Custom.

[47] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[48] Madras Census Report, 1901.

[49] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[50] Manual of the Madura district.

[51] Description of the Character, Manners and Customs of the People of India.

[52] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[53] Mysore Census Report, 1891, 1901; Rice, Mysore and Coorg Gazetteer.

[54] Hindu Manners and Customs. Ed. 1897.

[55] Mysore Census Report, 1901.

[56] Ambalam is an open space or building, where affairs connected with justice are transacted. Ambalakkaran denotes the president of an assembly, or one who proclaims the decision of those assembled in an ambalam.

[57] Anuloma, the product of the connection of a man with a woman of a lower caste; Pratiloma, of the connection of a man with a woman of a higher caste.

[58] Madras Mail, 1906.

[59] A. P. Smith, Madras Review, 1902.

[60] Cochin Census Report, 1901.

[61] Houses where pilgrims and travellers are entertained, and fed gratuitously.

[62] C. Hayavadana Rao. Tales of Komati Wit and Wisdom, 1907.

[63] Wigram, Malabar Law and Custom.

[64] Madras Journ. Lit. and Science, XI, 176, 1840.

[65] Historical Sketches of the South of India.

[66] Ellis. Kural.

[67] Mysore and Coorg Gazetteer, 1876-78.

[68] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[69] Manual of the South Canara district.

[70] Folk-songs of Southern India.

[71] Manual of the Nilagiri district.

[72] The Todas, 1906.

[73] Account of the Primitive Tribes and Monuments of the Nilagiris, 1873.

[74] Gazetteer of the Nilgiris.

[75] Madras Christian College Magazine, 1892.

[76] Gazetteer of the Nilgiris.

[77] Manual of Coorg.

[78] Pioneer, 4th October 1907.

[79] Description of a singular Aboriginal Race inhabiting the summit of the Neilgherry Hills.

[80] The Todas, 1906.

[81] Op. cit.

[82] Op. cit.

[83] Madras Mail, 1907.

[84] The bridge spanning the river of death, which the blessed cross in safety.

[85] Report, Government Botanic Gardens, Nilgiris, 1903.

[86] E. Schmidt. Reise nach Sudindien, 1894.

[87] The World's Peoples, 1908.

[88] H. H. Wilson, Essays and Lectures, chiefly on the Religion of the Hindus, 1862.

[89] Hindu Castes and Sects.

[90] The Mystics, Ascetics, and Saints of India, 1903.

[91] Madras Census Report, 1901.

[92] Madras Census Report, 1901.

[93] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[94] A Native: Pen and Ink Sketches of South India.

[95] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[96] Manual of the S. Canara district.

[97] Yule and Burnell. Hobson-Jobson.

[98] Calcutta Review.

[99] Indian Review, VII, 1906.

[100] See G. Krishna Rao. Treatise on Aliya Santana Law and Usage, Mangalore, 1898.

[101] Calcutta Review.

[102] Malabar Law and Custom, 3rd ed., 1905.

[103] The Law of Partition and Succession, from the text of Varadaraja's Vyavaharaniranya by A. C. Burnell (1872).

[104] Calcutta Review.

[105] Report of the Malabar Marriage Commission, 1891.

[106] Mysore and Coorg Gazetteer.

[107] Rev. J. Cain, Ind. Ant., V, 1876.

[108] M. Paupa Rao Naidu. The Criminal Tribes of India. No. III, Madras, 1907.

[109] Op. cit.

[110] Tribes and Castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, Bawariya, 1906.

[111] Tribes and Castes of Bengal, 1891.

[112] Journey through Mysore, Canara and Malabar, 1807.

[113] Gentu or Gentoo is "a corruption of the Portuguese Gentio, gentile or heathen, which they applied to the Hindus in contradistinction to the Moros or Moors, i.e., Mahommedans. It is applied to the Telugu-speaking Hindus specially, and to their language." Yule and Burnell, Hobson-Jobson.

[114] Historical Sketches of the South of India: Mysore, 1810-17.

[115] By law, to constitute dacoity, there must be five or more in the gang committing the crime. Yule and Burnell, op. cit.

[116] Circumcision is practised by some Kallans of the Tamil country.

[117] Madras Mail, 1902.

[118] Mysore Census Report, 1901.

[119] Madras Mail, 1905.

[120] Op. cit.

[121] Manual of the South Canara district.

[122] Agricultural Ledger Series, Calcutta, No. 7, 1904.

[123] Jeypore. Breklum, 1901.

[124] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[125] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[126] Op. cit.

[127] Taylor. Catalogue Raisonné of Oriental Manuscripts.

[128] Madras Census Report, 1901.

[129] Journey from Madras through Mysore, Canara and Malabar.

[130] Ind. Ant. XVIII, 1889.

[131] Hobson-Jobson.

[132] Decadas de Asia.

[133] J. S. F. Mackenzie, Ind. Ant. IV, 1875.

[134] Madras Census Report, 1901.

[135] Sanskrit hymn repeated a number of times during daily ablutions.

[136] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[137] J. S. F. Mackenzie, Ind. Ant. IV, 1875.

[138] See F. S. Mullaly. Notes on Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency.

[139] History of Railway Thieves, Madras, 1904.

[140] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[141] Occasional Essays on Native South Indian Life.

[142] Gazetteer of the Central Provinces, 1870.

[143] Report of the Ethnological Committee of the Central Provinces.

[144] Wilson. Glossary of Judicial and Revenue Terms.

[145] Manual of Malabar.

[146] Devil worship of the Tuluvas, Ind. Ant. XXIII, XXIV, and XXV, 1894-96.

[147] Occasional Essays on Native South Indian Life.

[148] Madras Mail, 1905.

[149] Madras Census Report, 1901.

[150] Manual of the Vizagapatam district.

[151] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[152] Manual of the Ganjam district.

[153] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[154] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[155] Religious Thought and Life in India.

[156] Christianity and Caste, 1893.

[157] In the Vedic verse the word used for my brothers literally means your husbands.

[158] A hotri is one who presides at the time of sacrifices.

[159] Madras Christian College Magazine, March, 1903.

[160] Religious Thought and Life in India.

[161] See Thurston, Ethnographic Notes in Southern India, 1906, pp. 229-37.

[162] Op. cit.

[163] Watt, Dict. Economic Products of India.

[164] Viaggio all' Indie orientali, 1672.

[165] See Note on the Tulsi Plant. Journ. Anthrop. Soc., Bombay, VIII, I, 1907.

[166] Madras Mail, 1906.

[167] Hobson-Jobson.

[168] Music and Musical Instruments of Southern India and the Deccan, 1891.

[169] Oriental Commerce.

[170] Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

[171] Collection of the Decisions of High Courts and the Privy Council on the Hindu Law of Marriage and the Effect of Apostacy after marriage. Madras, 1891.

[172] Madras Mail, 1904.

[173] Ind. Ant. III, 1874.

[174] Ind. Ant. III, 1874.

[175] Mysore and Coorg Gazetteer, 1877.

[176] Said to be derived from ma, a negation, and arka, sun, in allusion to their not performing the adoration of that luminary which is customary among Brahmans.

[177] Brahmanism and Hinduism.

[178] Manual of the South Canara district.

[179] Fraser's Magazine, May 1875.

[180] Loc. cit.

[181] Indian Review, VII, 1906.

[182] Madras Mail, 1907.

[183] J. S. F. Mackenzie, Ind. Ant., IV, 1875.

[184] Madras Census Report, 1901.