Chapter D (5)

Bridegroom. Bride.
Average age 25-26 18-19
Mean above average 28-29 19-20
Mean below average 23-24 16-17
Range of age 40-20 28-14

(b) Madras City.

Bridegroom. Bride.
Average age 26-27 19-20
Mean above average 28-29 21-22
Mean below average 23-24 17-18
Range of age 40-20 31-14

From the analysis of a hundred male cases in Madras, in which enquiries were made with reference to the married state, in individuals ranging in age from 21 to 50, with an average age of 33, I learn that 74 were married; that 141 male and 130 female children had been born to them; and that 26, whose average age was 25, were unmarried. The limits of age of the men at the time of marriage were 32 and 16; of their wives 25 and 13. The greatest number of children born to a single pair was 10. In only three cases, out of the seventy-four, was there no issue. In fifty cases, which were examined, of married men, with an average age of 34, 207 children had been born, of whom 91 had died, for the most part in early life, from 'fever' and other causes.

The racial position of Eurasians, and the proportion of black blood in their veins, are commonly indicated, not by the terms mulatto, quadroon, octoroon, sambo (or zambo), etc., but in fractions of a rupee. The European pure breed being represented by Rs. 0-0-0, and the Native pure breed by 16 annas (= 1 rupee), the resultant cross is, by reference to colour and other tests, gauged as being half an anna in the rupee (faint admixture of black blood), approaching European types; eight annas (half and half); fifteen annas (predominant admixture of black blood), approaching Native types, etc.

The Eurasian body being enveloped in clothes, it was not till they stripped before me, for the purpose of anthropometry, that I became aware how prevalent is the practice of tattooing among the male members of the community. Nearly all the hundred and thirty men (of the lower classes) whom I examined were, in fact, tattooed to a greater or less extent on the breasts, upper arms, forearms, wrists, back of the hands, or shoulders. The following varied selection of devices in blue, with occasional red, is recorded in my case-book:--

Anchor.
Ballet girl with flag, stars and stripes.
Bracelets round wrists.
Burmese lady carrying umbrella.
Bird.
Bugles.
Conventional artistic devices.
Cross and anchor.
Crown and flags.
Crossed swords and pistols.
Dancing-girl.
Dancing-girl playing with cobras.
Elephant.
Floral devices.
Flowers in pot.
Hands joined in centre of a heart.
Hands joined, and clasping a flower.
Heart.
Heart and cross.
Initials of the individual, his friends, relatives, and inamorata,
sometimes within a heart or laurel wreath.
Lizard.
Mercy (word on left breast).
Mermaid.
Portraits of the man and his lady-love.
Queen Alexandra.
Royal arms and banners.
Sailing boat.
Scorpion.
Solomon's seal.
Steam boat.
Svastika (Buddhist emblem).
Watteau shepherdess.

The most elaborate patterns were executed by Burmese tattooers. The initials of the individual's Christian and surnames, which preponderated over other devices, were, as a rule, in Roman, but occasionally in Tamil characters.

In colour the Eurasians afford examples of the entire colour scale, through sundry shades of brown and yellow, to pale white, and even florid or rosy. The pilous or hairy system was, in the cases recorded by me, uniformly black. The colour of the iris, like that of the skin, is liable to great variation, from lustrous black to light, with a predominance of dark tints. Blue was observed only in a solitary instance.

The Eurasian resists exposure to the sun better than the European, and, while many wear solah topis (pith sun-hats), it is by no means uncommon to see a Eurasian walking about in the middle of a hot day with his head protected only by a straw hat or cap.

The average height of the Eurasians examined by me in Madras, according to my measurements of 130 subjects, is 166.6 cm. (5 feet 5-1/2 inches), and compares as follows with that of the English and various Native classes inhabiting the city of Madras:--

cm.
English 170.8
Eurasians 166.6
Muhammadans 164.5
Brahmans 162.5
Pallis 162.5
Vellalas 162.4
Paraiyans 161.9

The height, as might be expected, comes between that of the two parent stocks, European and Native, and had, in the cases examined, the wide range of 30.8 cm., the difference between a maximum of 183.8 cm. (6 feet) and a minimum of 153 cm. (5 feet).

The average length of the head was 18.6 cm. and the breadth 14.1 cm. And it is to be noted that, in 63 per cent. of the cases examined, the breadth exceeded 14 cm.:--

Length. Breadth. Index.
cm. cm.
Brahmans 18.6 14.2 76.5
Eurasians 18.6 14.1 76
Muhammadans 18.7 13.9 76.1
Vellalas 18.6 13.8 74.1
Paraiyans 18.6 13.7 73.6
Pallis 18.6 13.6 73

The breadth of the head is very clearly brought out by the following analysis of forty subjects belonging to each of the above six classes, which shows at a glance the preponderance of heads exceeding 14 cm. in breadth in Eurasians, Brahmans, and (to a less extent) in Muhammadans:--

12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16
cm. cm. cm. cm.
Eurasians ... 11 27 2
Brahmans 1 9 27 3
Muhammadans 2 17 21 ...
Vellalas ... 24 16 ...
Paraiyans ... 27 13 ...
Pallis 3 30 7 ...

The head of a cross-breed, it has been said, generally takes after the father, and the breadth of the Eurasian head is a persisting result of European male influence. The effect of this influence is clearly demonstrated in the following cases, all the result of re-crossing between British men and Eurasian women:--

Length. Breadth.
cm. cm.
19 14.5
18.4 14.2
19.2 14.2
20.2 14.6
19 14.6
19.4 14.3
---- ----
Average 19.2 14.4
Eurasian average 18.6 14.1

The character of the nose is, as those who have studied ethnology in India will appreciate, a most important factor in the differentiation of race, tribe, and class, and in the determination of pedigree. "No one," Mr. Risley writes, [120] "can have glanced at the literature of the subject, and in particular, at the Védic accounts of the Aryan advance, without being struck by the frequent references to the noses of the people whom the Aryans found in possession of the plains of India. So impressed were the Aryans with the shortcomings of their enemies' noses that they often spoke of them as 'the noseless ones,' and their keen perception of the importance of this feature seems almost to anticipate the opinion of Dr. Collignon that the nasal index ranks higher as a distinctive character than the stature or even the cephalic index itself."

In the subjoined table, based on the examination of forty members of each class, the high proportion of leptorhine Eurasians, Muhammadans, and Vellalas, with nasal indices ranging between 60 and 70, is at once manifest, and requires no comment:--

60-70. 70-80. 80-90. 90-100.
Eurasians 19 17 3 1
Muhammadans 17 18 4 1
Vellalas 14 22 3 1
Pallis 3 25 9 3
Paraiyans 2 17 19 2

I pass on to the Eurasians of the west coast. My visit to Calicut, the capital of the Malabar district, was by chance coincident with the commemoration of the four hundredth anniversary of the arrival of Vasco da Gama at Calicut after his discovery of the sea-route from Europe to India. Concerning the origin of the Indo-Portuguese half-breed, I learn [121] that, on his return from the recapture of Goa, Albuquerque brought with him the women he had carried away when the Portuguese were driven out of the place. As soon as affairs became tolerably settled again at that port, he had them converted to Christianity, and married them to Portuguese men. No less than 450 of his men were thus married in Goa, and others who desired to follow their example were so numerous that Albuquerque had great difficulty in granting their requests. The marriage of Portuguese men to native women had already been sanctioned by Dom Manuel, but this privilege was only to be conceded to men of proved character, and who had rendered good service. Albuquerque, however, extended the permission to many far beyond what he was authorised to do, and he took care that the women so married were the daughters of the principal men of the land. This he did in the hope of inducing them to become Christians. To those who were married Albuquerque allotted lands, houses and cattle, so as to give them a start in life, and all the landed property which had been in possession of the Moorish mosques and Hindu pagodas he gave to the principal churches of the city, which he dedicated to Santa Catherina.

The names of some members of the community at Calicut recalled to mind Pedro Alvares Cabral, who anchored before Calicut in 1500, and established a factory at Cochin; the first Portuguese Governor, Dom Franciso de Almeida; André Furtado de Mendonca, who concluded a treaty with the king of Calicut; and many others, whose exploits are handed down to posterity in the Indo-Portuguese archives. Though Portuguese names persist at the present day, it does not follow of necessity that their owners have any Portuguese blood in their veins, for some are merely descendants of Native converts to Christianity, or of household slaves of Portuguese officers. "In Malabar," writes the Census Commissioner, 1881, "there is a section of Europeanized Native Christians--Goa Roman Catholics--some of whom have adopted European dress and customs; and in all districts the popular interpretation of the word Eurasian is very liberal. There are many Pariahs and Native Christians, who have adopted a travesty of European clothes, and who would return themselves as Eurasians, if allowed to do so."

A social distinction is made at Calicut between Eurasians and East Indians. With a view at clearing up the grounds on which this distinction is based, my interpreter was called on to submit a note on the subject, which arrived couched in language worthy of Mark Twain. I, therefore, reproduce it in the original Indo-Anglian.

"Eurasians are classified to those who stand second in the list of Europeans and those born in any part of India, and who are the Pedigree of European descendants, being born of father European and mother East Indian, and notwithstanding those who can prove themselves as really good Indian descendants, such as mother and father of the same sex, therefore these are called Eurasians.

"East Indians are those offsprings of Christians of the East, and they atimes gather the offsprings of Eurasians to the entering their marriage to the East Indian females in the East Indian community, thereby they are called East Indians.

"Native Christians are those of Hindu nations converted into Christians by their embracing the poles of Christianity. All Hindus thereby converted are made Christians by a second Baptism are called Native Christians.

"Coaster. They are alluded to those who belong to the Coast, and who come from a country that has a Sea Coast into that country that has not got a Sea Coast is therefore called a Coaster. A very rude word."

Speaking in general terms, it may be said that Eurasians are of greater stature, and possess skins of lighter hue than the East Indians, who, as the result of intermarriage with Native Christian women, have reverted in the direction of the Native type.

The Eurasians examined by me at Calicut, nearly all of whom were Roman Catholics, were earning a livelihood in the following capacities:--

Bandsman. Municipal inspector.
Boot-maker. Musician.
Bugler. Petition-writer.
Carpenter. Police constable.
Clerk. Railway guard.
Coffee estate writer. Schoolmaster.
Compositor. Tailor.
Copyist. Tin-smith.
Mechanic. Weaver.

As in Madras, so in Malabar, tattooing is very prevalent among the male members of the community, and the devices are characterised by a predominance of religious emblems and snakes. The following patterns are recorded in my notes:--

Bangle on wrist.
Boat.
Bird (the Holy Ghost).
Chalice.
Christ crucified.
Conventional and geometrical designs.
Cross.
Cross and crown.
Cross and heart.
Cross and I.N.R.I.
Crossed swords.
Fish.
Flags.
Flower.
Flower and leaves.
Initials.
Ladder.
Sacred heart.
Snake encircling forearms.
Snake coiled round forearm.
Solomon's seal.
Steam boat.

There are, in North Malabar, many individuals, whose fathers were European. Writing, in 1887, concerning the Tiyan community, Mr. Logan states [122] that "the women are not as a rule excommunicated if they live with Europeans, and the consequence is that there has been among them a large admixture of European blood, and the caste itself has been materially raised in the social scale. In appearance some of the women are almost as fair as Europeans." On this point, the Report of the Malabar Marriage Commission, 1894, states that "in the early days of British rule, the Tiyan women incurred no social disgrace by consorting with Europeans, and, up to the last generation, if the Sudra girl could boast of her Brahmin lover, the Tiyan girl could show more substantial benefits from her alliance with a white man of the ruling race. Happily the progress of education, and the growth of a wholesome public opinion, have made shameful the position of a European's concubine; and both races have thus been saved from a mode of life equally demoralizing to each."

During a visit to Ootacamund on the Nilgiri hills, I was enabled to examine the physique of the elder boys at the Lawrence Asylum, the object of which is "to provide for children of European and East Indian officers and soldiers of Her Majesty's Army (British and Native), and of Europeans and East Indians in the Medical Service, military and civil, who are serving, or have served within the limits of the Presidency of Madras, a refuge from the debilitating effects of a tropical climate, and from the serious drawbacks to the well-being of children incidental to a barrack life; to afford for them a plain, practical, and religious education; and to train them for employment in different trades, pursuits, and industries." As the result of examination of thirty-three Eurasian boys, I was able to testify to the excellence of their physical condition. [123] A good climate, with a mean annual temperature of 58°, good food, and physical training, have produced a set of boys well-nourished and muscular, with good chests, shoulders, and body weight.

Some final words are necessary on liability to certain diseases, as a differentiating character between Eurasians and Europeans. The Census Commissioner, 1891, states that Eurasians seem to be peculiarly liable to insanity and leprosy. To these should be added elephantiasis (filarial disease), concerning which Surgeon-Major J. Maitland writes as follows [124] "Almost all the old writers on elephantiasis believed that the dark races were more susceptible to the disease than white people; but it is extremely doubtful if this is the case. It is true that, in those countries where the disease is endemic, the proportion of persons affected is much greater among the blacks than among the whites; but it has to be borne in mind that the habits of the former render them much more liable to the disease than the latter. The majority of the white people, being more civilised, are more careful regarding the purity of their drinking water than the Natives, who are proverbially careless in this respect. In India, although it is comparatively rare to meet with Europeans affected with the disease, yet such cases are from time to time recorded. Eurasians are proportionately more liable to the disease than pure Europeans, but not so much so as Natives. Doctors Patterson and Hall of Bahia [125] examined the blood of 309 persons in that place, and found the following proportions affected with filaria; of whites, 1 in 26; of blacks, 1 in 10-1/4; of the mixed race, 1 in 9. Doctor Laville [126] states that, in the Society Islands, out of a total of 13 European and American residents, 11 were affected with elephantiasis. Taking all these facts into consideration, together with our knowledge of the pathology of the disease, I do not think we are justified in saying that the black races are more susceptible to the disease than white people. On the other hand, owing to the nature of their habits, they are much more liable to the diseases than are the white races." During the five years 1893-97, ninety-eight Eurasians suffering from filarial diseases were admitted into the General Hospital, Madras.

To Colonel W. A. Lee, I.M.S., Superintendent of the Government Leper Asylum, Madras, I am indebted for the following note on leprosy in its relation to the Eurasian and European communities. "Europeans are by no means immune to the disease, which, in the majority of instances, is contracted by them through coitus with leprous individuals. Leprosy is one of the endemic diseases of tropical and sub-tropical countries, to the risk of contracting which Europeans who settle on the plains of India, and their offspring from unions with the inhabitants of the land, as well as the descendants of the latter, become exposed, since, by the force of circumstances, they are thrown into intimate contact with the Native population. The Eurasian community furnishes a considerable number of lepers, and the disease, once introduced into a family, has a tendency to attack several of its members, and to reappear in successive generations, occasionally skipping one--a feature akin to the biological phenomenon known as atavism, but of perhaps doubtful analogy, for the possibility of a fresh infection or inoculation has always to be borne in mind. There are numerous instances of such hereditary transmission among the patients, both Native and Eurasian, in the Leper Hospital. The spread of the disease by contagion is slow, the most intimate contact even, such as that between parent and child, often failing to effect inoculation. Still there is much evidence in support of its being inoculable by cohabitation, prolonged contact, wearing the same clothing, sharing the dwelling, using the same cooking and eating utensils, and even by arm-to-arm vaccination. Influenced by a belief in the last mentioned cause, vaccination was formerly regarded with much suspicion and dislike by Eurasians in Madras. But their apprehensions on this score have abated since animal vaccine was substituted for the humanised material. It has also for long been a popular belief among the same class that the suckling of their infants by infected Native wet-nurses is a common source of the disease. Attempts to reproduce leprosy from supposed pure cultures of the leprosy bacillus have invariably failed, and this strengthens the belief that the disease would die out if sufferers from the tubercular or mixed forms were segregated, and intermarriage with members of known leprous families interdicted. Experience shows that, where such marriages are freely entered into, a notable prevalence of the disease results, as at Pondicherry for example, where the so-called creole population is said to contain a large proportion of lepers from this cause."

Writing concerning the prevalence of insanity in different classes, the Census Commissioner, 1891, states that "it appears from the statistics that insanity is far more prevalent among the Eurasians than among any other class. The proportion is 1 insane person in every 410. For England and Wales the proportion is 1 in every 307, and it is significant that the section of the population of Madras, which shows the greatest liability to insanity, is that which has an admixture of European blood. I have no information regarding the prevalence of insanity among Eurasians for any other province or State in India except Mysore, and there the proportion is 1 in 306."

For the following tabular statement of admissions into the Government Lunatic Asylum, Madras, I am indebted to Captain C. H. Leet-Palk, I.M.S.:--

======+=================+=================+================
| Eurasians. | Natives. | Europeans.
-- |-----------------|-----------------|----------------
| Male. | Female. | Male. | Female. | Male. | Female.
------+-------+---------+-------+---------+-------+--------
1893 | 6 | 7 | 110 | 55 | 15 | 4
1894 | 8 | 6 | 104 | 28 | 19 | 1
1895 | 10 | 6 | 113 | 18 | 11 | 4
1896 | 2 | 4 | 82 | 17 | 5 | ...
1897 | 3 | 3 | 84 | 18 | 14 | 1
======+=======+=========+=======+=========+=======+========

Leaving out of question the Europeans, in whom, owing to the preponderance of the male sex in Madras, a greater number of male than female lunatics is to be expected, and considering only Eurasians and Natives, the far higher proportion of female as compared with male lunatics in the Eurasian than in the Native community, is very conspicuous. Taking, for example, the numbers remaining in the Asylum in 1894. Whereas the proportion of Eurasian males to females was 33:31, that of Natives was 30.6:6.8; and the high proportion of female Eurasian inmates was visible in other years. The subject seems to be one worthy of further study by those competent to deal with it.

G

Gabit.--A Bombay fishing caste returned at the census, 1901. To Malpe in the South Canara district, during the fishing season, come fishermen with a flotilla of keeled and outrigged sailing boats from Ratnagiri in the Bombay Presidency. Hither also come fishermen from Goa. The reasons given by the Ratnagiri fishermen for coming southward are that fish are not so abundant off their own coast, competition is keener, and salt more expensive. Moreover, the crystals of Bombay salt are too large for successful curing, and "do not agree with the fish, of which the flesh is turned black." If, they said contemptuously, they were to sun-dry fish by the local method, their people would laugh at them for bringing back, not fish, but dried cow-dung for fuel. The Ratnagiri boats go well out of sight of land to the fishing ground, where they catch seir, pomfret, cat-fish (Arius), and other big fish near the surface, and sharks in deeper water. If the fishing is not good near Malpe, they may go south as far as Mangalore. To the Ratnagiri fishermen the seir (Cybium) is the most valuable and lucrative fish. Under existing arrangements, by which clashing of interests is avoided, the fishery at Malpe is divided into two zones, viz., the deep sea fished by the large Ratnagiri boats, and the shallow littoral water by the smaller local and Goa boats.

Gadaba.--The Gadabas are a tribe of agriculturists, coolies, and hunters in the Vizagapatam district. Hunting is said to be gradually decreasing, as many of the forests are now preserved, and shooting without a license is forbidden. Men sometimes occupy themselves in felling trees, catching birds and hares, and tracking and beating game for sportsmen. The Gadabas are also employed as bearers in the hills, and carry palanquins. There is a settlement of them on the main road between Sembliguda and Koraput, in a village where they are said to have been settled by a former Raja expressly for such service. It is said that the Gadabas will not touch a horse, possibly because they are palanquin-bearers, and have the same objection to the rival animal that a cabman has for a motor-car.

There is a tradition that the tribe owes its name to the fact that its ancestors emigrated from the banks of the Godabari (Godavari) river, and settled at Nandapur, the former capital of the Rajas of Jeypore. The Gadabas have a language of their own, of which a vocabulary is given in the Vizagapatam Manual. This language is included by Mr. G. A. Grierson [127] in the Munda linguistic family.

The tribe is apparently divided into five sections, called Bodo (big) or Gutob, Parenga, Olaro, Kaththiri or Kaththara, and Kapu. Of these, the last two are settled in the plains, and say that they are Bodo and Olaro Gadabas who migrated thither from the hills. As among the Gadabas, so among the Savaras, there is a section which has settled on the plains, and adopted Kapu as its name. In the Madras Census Report, 1891, nearly a thousand Gadabas are returned as belonging to the Chenchu sub-division. Chenchu is the name of a separate jungle tribe in the Telugu country, and I have been unable to confirm the existence of a Chenchu sub-division among the Gadabas.

In the Madras Census Report, 1871, Mr. H. G. Turner states that "very much akin to the Gadabas are a class called Kerang Kapus. They will not admit any connexion with them; but, as their language is almost identical, such gainsaying cannot be permitted them. They are called Kerang Kapu from the circumstance of their women weaving cloths, which they weave from the fibre of a jungle shrub called Kerang (Calotropis gigantea)." Mr. H. A. Stuart remarks [128] that "the Kapu Gadabas are possibly the Kerang Kapus mentioned by Mr. Turner as akin to the Gadabas, for I find no mention of the caste under the full name of Kerang Kapu, nor is Kerang found as a sub-division of either Kapu or Gadaba." Writing concerning the numeral system of the Kerang Kapus, Mr. Turner observes that it runs thus: Moi, Umbar, Jugi, O, Malloi, Turu, Gu, Tammar, Santing, Goa, and for eleven (1 and following numbers), they prefix the word Go, e.g., Gommoi, Gombaro, etc. The Kerang Kapus can count up to nineteen, but have no conception of twenty. According to Mr. W. Francis, the only tribe on the hills which has this system of notation is the Bonda Poraja. The Gadabas have very similar names for the first five numerals; but, after that, lapse into Oriya, e.g., sat, at, no, das, etc. The Bonda Poraja numerals recorded by Mr. Francis are muyi, baar, gii, oo, moloi, thiri, goo, thamam, and so on up to nineteen, after which they cannot count. This system, as he points out, agrees with the one described by Mr. Turner as belonging to the Kerang Kapus. The Gutob Gadaba numerals recorded by Mr. C. A. Henderson include muititti (1 + a hand), and martitti (2 + a hand).

Some Gadaba women wear a bustle or dress improver, called irre or kitte. This article of attire is accounted for by the following tradition. "A goddess visited a Gadaba village incognito, and asked leave of one of the women to rest on a cot. She was brusquely told that the proper seat for beggars was the floor, and she consequently decreed that thenceforth all Gadaba women should wear a bustle to remind them to avoid churlishness." [129] The Gadaba female cloths are manufactured by themselves from cotton thread and the fibre of silloluvada or ankudi chettu (Holarrhena antidysenterica) and boda luvada or bodda chettu (Ficus glomerata). The fibre is carefully dried, and dyed blue or reddish-brown. The edges of the cloth are white, a blue strip comes next, while the middle portion is reddish-brown with narrow stripes of white or blue at regular intervals. The Gadabas account for the dress of their women by the following legend. When Rama, during his banishment, was wandering in the forests of Dandaka, his wife Sita accompanied him in spite of his entreaties to the contrary. It was one of the cruel terms of his stepmother Kaika that Rama should wear only clothing made from jungle fibre, before leaving the capital. According to the Hindu religion, a virtuous wife must share both the sorrows and joys of her lord. Consequently Sita followed the example of Rama, and wore the same kind of clothing. They then left the capital amidst the loud lamentation of the citizens. During their wanderings, they met some Gadaba women, who mocked and laughed at Sita. Whereupon she cursed them, and condemned them to wear no other dress but the cloth made of fibre. In a note on the Gadabas, [130] Mr. L. Lakshminarayan writes that "although mill-prepared cloths are fast replacing house-spun cloths in all communities, yet, in the case of the Gadabas, there is a strong superstition which prevents the use of cloths prepared outside, particularly in regard to the cloths worn by their women. The legend (about Sita) is fully believed by the Gadabas, and hence their religious adherence to their particular cloth. At the time of marriage, it is absolute that the Gadaba maiden should wear this fibre-made cloth, else misfortune will ruin the family. A bundle of twigs is brought, and the stems freed of leaves are bruised and twisted to loosen the bark, and are then dried for two or three days, after which the bark is ripped out and beaten down smooth with heavy sticks, to separate the bark from the fibre. The fibre is then collected, and combed down smooth, and spun into a tolerably fine twist. It is this twist that the Gadaba maiden weaves in her crude loom, and prepares from it her marriage sari. According to a good custom among these people, a Gadaba maiden must learn to weave her cloths before she becomes eligible for marriage. And no Gadaba ever thinks of marrying a wife who cannot prepare her own cloths. Men can use cotton and other cloths, whereas women cannot do so, for they are under the curse of Sita. But the passion for fineries in woman is naturally so strong that the modern Gadaba woman is now taking the liberty of putting cotton thread for the woof and ankudu fibre for the warp, and thus is able to turn out a more comfortable and finer cloth. But some old crones informed me that this mixed cloth is not so auspicious as that prepared wholly from the fibre."

Some Gadaba women wear immense earrings made of long pieces of brass wire wound into a circle, which hang down from a hole in the ear, and sometimes reach to the shoulders. The wire is sold in the shandy (market) at so much a cubit. The head-dress of some of the women consists of a chaplet of Oliva shells, and strings of beads of various sizes and colours, or the red and black berries of Abrus precatorius, with pendants which hang over the forehead. The women also wear bead necklaces, to which a coin may sometimes be seen attached as a pendant. Bracelets and rings are as a rule made of brass or copper, but sometimes silver rings are worn. Toe-rings and brass or silver anklets are considered fashionable ornaments. Among the Olaro Gadabas, the wearing of brass anklets by a woman indicates that she is married. For teaching backward children to walk, the Gadabas employ a bamboo stick split so as to make a fork, the prongs of which are connected by a cross-bar. The apparatus is held by the mother, and the child, clutching the cross-bar, toddles along.

Among the Bodo and Olaro sections, the following septs occur:--Kora (sun), Nag (cobra), Bhag (tiger), Kira (parrot), and Gollari (monkey). The Gadabas who have settled in the plains seem to have forgotten the sept names, but will not injure or kill certain animals, e.g., the cobra.

Girls are as a rule married after puberty. When a young man's parents think it time for him to get married, they repair to the home of an eligible girl with rice and liquor, and say that they have come to ask a boon, but do not mention what it is. They are treated to a meal, and return home. Some time afterwards, on a day fixed by the Disari, three or four aged relatives of the young man go to the girl's house, and the match is fixed up. After a meal, they return to their homes. On the day appointed for the wedding ceremonies, the bridegroom's relations go to the home of the bride, taking with them a rupee towards the marriage expenses, a new cloth for the girl's mother, and half a rupee for the females of the bride's village, which is regarded as compensation for the loss of the girl. To the bride are given a glass bead necklace, and brass bangles to be worn on the right wrist. A feast follows. On the following day, the bride is conducted to the village of the bridegroom, in front of whose home a pandal (booth), made of four bamboo poles, covered with green leaves, has been erected. Within the pandal, stems of the sal (Shorea robusta), addagirli, and bamboo joined together, are set up as the auspicious post. Beside this a grindstone is placed, on which the bride sits, with the bridegroom seated on her thighs. The females present throw turmeric powder over them, and they are bathed with turmeric-water kept ready in a new pot. They are then presented with new cloths, and their hands are joined together by the officiating Disari. A feast, with much drinking, follows, and the day's proceedings conclude with a dance. On the following day, mud is heaped up near the pandal, into which the Disari throws a handful of it. The remainder of the mud is carried into the pandal by the contracting couple, who pour water over it, and throw it over those who are assembled. All then proceed to a stream, and bathe. A further feast and dance follows, of which the newly married couple are spectators, without taking part in it.

In a note on marriage among the Parenga Gadabas, Mr. G. F. Paddison writes that they have two forms of marriage rite, one of which (biba) is accompanied by much feasting, gifts of bullocks, toddy, rice, etc. The most interesting feature is the fight for the bride with fists. All the men on each side fight, and the bridegroom has to carry off the bride by force. Then they all sit down, and feast together. In the other form (lethulia), the couple go off together to the jungle, and, when they return, pay twenty rupees, or whatever they can afford, to the girl's father as a fine. A dinner and regular marriage follow elopement and payment of the fine.

The ghorojavai system, according to which a man works for a stated period for his future father-in-law, is practiced by the Gadabas. But a cash payment is said to be now substituted for service. The remarriage of widows is permitted, and a younger brother may marry the widow of his elder brother. If she does not marry him, the second husband has to pay a sum of money, called in Oriya the rand tonka, to him. When a man divorces his wife, her relations are summoned, and he pays her two rupees before sending her away. Of this sum, one rupee is paid as buchni for suspicion regarding her chastity, and the other as chatni for driving her away. A divorced woman may remarry.

In the hills, the village headman is called Janni or Nayako, and in the plains Naidado. He is assisted by a Kirasani, who is also the caste priest.

Concerning the religion of the Gadabas, Mr. H. D. Taylor writes [131] that it is "simple, and consists of feasts at stated intervals. The chief festival is Ittakaparva, or hunting feast, in March and April. On this occasion, the whole male population turns out to hunt, and, if they return unsuccessful, the women pelt them with cow-dung on their return to the village; if, however, successful, they have their revenge upon the women in another way. The chief deities (though spoken of generally under the term Devata or Mahaprabhu) are Ganga Devi or Takurani, Iswara or Mouli, Bhairava, and Jhankara. It is Iswara or Mouli who is worshipped at Chaitra. Jhankara is the god of land, rainfall and crops, and a cow is sacrificed to him. There are not, as a rule, temples, but the puja (worship) place consists of a sacred grove surrounded with a circle of stones, which takes the name of Jhankara from the god to whom puja is performed. Ganga Devi, Iswara and Mouli have temples at certain places, but as a rule there is no building, and the site of puja is marked by trees and stones. To Iswara a she-buffalo is sacrificed at Chaitra. To the other Devatas cocks and goats are sacrificed. Ganga Devi or Takurani is the goddess of life and health, both of men and cattle; to her pigs, goats, and pigeons are sacrificed. There are one or two curious superstitions. If a member of the caste is supposed to be possessed of a devil, he or she is abused and beaten by other members of the caste until the devil is cast out. In some parts the superstition is that a piece of wild buffalo horn buried in the ground of the village will avert or cure cattle disease." Sometimes a sal or kosangi tree is planted, and surrounded by a bamboo hedge. It is worshipped with animal sacrifices at harvest time, and the Kirasani acts as priest.

"There is," Mr. G. F. Paddison writes, "rather a curious custom in connection with a village goddess. Close to her shrine a swing is kept. On this swing, once a year at the great village festival, thorns are placed, and the village priest or priestess sits on them without harm. If the pujari is a male, he has been made neuter. But, if the village is not fortunate enough to possess a eunuch, a woman performs the ceremony. [At the fire-walking ceremony at Nuvagode in Ganjam, the priest sits on a thorny swing, and is endowed with prophetic powers.] When there is small-pox or other epidemic disease in a village, a little go-cart is built, composed of a box on legs fixed to a small board on wheels. In this box is placed a little clay image, or anything else holy, and carried away to a distant place, and left there. A white flag is hoisted, which looks like quarantine, but is really intended, I think, to draw the goddess back to her shrine. Vaccination is regarded as a religious ceremony, and the Gadabas, I believe, invariably present the vaccinator as the officiating priest with rice."

The Gadabas, like other hill tribes, name their children after the day of the week on which they are born. On the plains, however, some give their children low-country names, e.g., Ramudu, Lachigadu, Arjanna, etc.

Males are, as a rule, burnt; but, if a person dies in the night or on a rainy day, the corpse is sometimes buried. Women and children are usually buried, presumably because they are not thought worth the fuel necessary for cremation. Only relations are permitted to touch a corpse. Death pollution is observed for three days, during which the caste occupation must not be engaged in. Stone slabs are erected to the memory of the dead, and sacrifices are offered to them now and again.

The Gadabas have a devil dance, which they are willing to perform before strangers in return for a small present. It has been thus described by Captain Glasfurd. [132] "At the time of the Dusserah, Holi, and other holidays, both men and women dance to the music of a fife and drum. Sometimes they form a ring by joining hands all round, and with a long hop spring towards the centre, and then hop back to the full extent of their arms, while they at the same time keep circling round and round. At other times, the women dance singly or in pairs, their hands resting on each other's wrists. When fatigued, they cease dancing, and sing. A man steps out of the crowd, and sings a verse or two impromptu. One of the women rejoins, and they sing at each other for a short time. The point of these songs appears to consist in giving the sharpest rejoinder to each other. The woman reflects upon the man's ungainly appearance and want of skill as a cultivator or huntsman, and the man retorts by reproaching her with her ugliness and slatternly habits." In connection with dancing, Mr. Henderson writes that "all the Gadaba dancing I have seen was the same as that of the Porjas, and consisted of a sort of women's march, at times accompanied by a few men who wander round, and occasionally form a ring through which the line of women passes. Sometimes the men get on each other's shoulders, and so form a sort of two-storied pyramid. The women's song is comparatively quite melodious."

In recent years, some Gadabas have emigrated to Assam, to work in the tea-gardens. But emigration has now stopped by edict.

For the information contained in this article, I am mainly indebted to notes by Mr. C. A. Henderson, Mr. W. Francis, Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao, and the Kumara Raja of Bobbili.

Gadi (cart).--An exogamous sept of Mala.

Gadidhe Kandla (donkey's eyes).--An exogamous sept of Boya.

Gadu.--A common suffix to the name of individuals among various Telugu classes, e.g., Ramigadu, Subbigadu.

Gaduge (throne).--A gotra of Kurni.

Gaita.--A sub-division of Konda Razu.

Gajjal (a small bell).--A sub-division of Toreya.

Gali.--Gali or Galollu, meaning wind, devil, or spirit, is recorded as an exogamous sept of Kamma, Kuruba, and Mala.

Gamalla.--The Gamallas are a class of toddy-drawers, and distillers and vendors of arrack in the Telugu country and are supposed to be Idigas who have bettered themselves, and separated from that caste. Both Gamallas and Idigas worship the deity Kattamayya. At the census, 1891, some returned Idiga as their sub-division. In the Cuddapah district some toddy-drawers style themselves Asilivandlu. Possibly the Idiga, Gamalla, and Asili toddy-drawing classes only represent three endogamous sections of a single caste. In the Nellore district, the toddy-drawers style themselves Gamandla or Gavandlavandlu, and say that they have one gotra Kaumandlapu or Gaumandlapu. It is probable that the name Gamandla or Gavandla has been coined by Brahman purohits, to connect the caste with Kaumandala Maharishi of the Puranas. The Gamallas say that they were created to draw toddy by the sage Kavundinya, and that they belong to the Gaundla varnam (caste). I am informed that a Puranam, called Gamandla or Gamudi Puranam, has been created. In the social scale, the toddy-drawers appear to occupy a higher position in the Telugu than in the Tamil country, and they are sometimes said to be Telagas or Balijas, who have adopted toddy-drawing as a profession. The more prosperous members of the community are toddy and arrack (liquor) shop-keepers, and the poorer members extract toddy from the palm-trees.

The Kapus of the Nellore district employ Gamallas as their cooks and domestic servants, and all menial service and cooking are done by Gamallas in the houses of Kapus on the occasion of festivals and marriages.

Concerning the origin of the Gamallas, the following legend is current. A Rishi was doing penance by standing on his head, and, like the chamæleon, living on light and air, instead of food. According to some, the Rishi was Kaumandla, while others do not know his name. An Idiga girl passed by the Rishi, carrying a pot filled with toddy, which polluted the air, so that the Rishi could not continue the penance. Being struck with the girl's beauty, he followed her to her home, and pointed out to her that she was the cause of his mishap. He asked her to become his wife, but she announced that she was already married. Eventually, however, they became secretly united, and, in consequence, the whole town caught fire. The girl's husband, returning home with some toddy, was amazed at the sight, and she, to protect him, hid the Rishi in a vat. Into this vat the husband poured the toddy, which made the Rishi breathe hard, so that the toddy, for the first time on record, began to foam. Noticing this, the husband found a lingam, into which the Rishi had been transformed. This lingam was worshipped by the Gamandlas, and they are at the present day Saivites.

Like other Telugu castes, the Gamallas have exogamous septs, such as parvathala (hills), kudumalu (a cake), annam (cooked rice), and pandhi (pig). Among gotras, the following may be noted:--kavundinya, karunya, vachalya, and surapandesvara (sura panda, toddy pot).

Marriage is, as a rule, adult, and remarriage of widows is permitted, though the tendency at the present day is to abandon the practice. At the wedding of a widow, the bottu (marriage badge) is tied round her neck at night. Prior to the marriage ceremony, the worship of female ancestors must be performed. A new female cloth, betel, and flowers, are placed on a tray, and worshipped by the mothers of the contracting couple. The cloth is given as a present to a sister or other near relation of the bride or bridegroom.

The dead are cremated, and the widow breaks one or two of her bangles. Fire must be carried to the burning-ground by the father of the deceased, if he is alive. On the day following cremation, the hot embers are extinguished, and the ashes collected, and shaped into an effigy, near the head of which three conical masses of mud and ashes are set up. To these representatives of Rudra, Yama, and the spirit of the departed, cooked rice and vegetables are offered up on three leaves. One of the leaves is given to the Jangam, who officiates at the rite, another to a washerman, and the third is left, so that the food on it may be eaten by crows. All, who are assembled, wait till these birds collect, and the ashes are finally poured on a tree. On the ninth, tenth, or eleventh day after death, a ceremony called the peddadinam (big day) is performed. Cooked rice, curry, meat, and other things, are placed on a leaf inside the house. Sitting near this leaf, the widow weeps and breaks one or two of the glass bangles, which she wears on the wrist. The food is then taken to a stream or tank (pond), where the agnates, after shaving, bathing, and purification, make an effigy of the dead person on the ground. Close to this cooked rice and vegetables are placed on three leaves, and offered to the effigy. The widow's remaining bangles are broken, and she is presented with a new cloth, called munda koka (widow's cloth) as a sign of her condition. All Gamallas, rich or poor, engage on this occasion the services of Mala Pambalas and Bainedus (musicians and story-tellers) to recite the story of the goddess Ankamma. The performance is called Ankamma kolupu. Some of the Malas make on the ground a design, called muggu, while the others play on the drum, and carry out the recitation. The design must be made in five colours, green (leaves of Cassia auriculata), white (rice flour), red (turmeric and lime), yellow (turmeric), and black (burnt rice-husk). It represents a male and female figure (Virulu, heroes), who are supposed to be the person whose peddadinam is being celebrated, and an ancestor of the opposite sex. If the family can afford it, other designs, for example of Ankamma, are also drawn. On the completion of the muggu, cocoanuts, rice, and betel are offered, and a fowl is sacrificed.

Like many other Telugu castes, the Gamallas have a class of beggars, called Eneti, attached to them, for whom a subscription is raised when they turn up.

The Gamallas are mostly Saivites, and their priests are Aradhya Brahmans, i.e., Telugu Brahmans, who have adopted some of the customs of the Lingayats. They worship a variety of gods and goddesses, who include Potharaju, Katamayya, Gangamma, Mathamma, and Thallamma, or Thadlamma. Once or twice during the year, a pot of toddy is brought from every house to the shrine of Thallamma, and the liquor contained in some of the pots is poured on the floor, and the remainder given to those assembled, irrespective of caste.

At the festival of Dipavali, the celebrants bathe in the early morning, and go, in wet clothes, to an ant-hill, before which they prostrate themselves, and pour a little water into one of the holes. Round the hill they wind five turns of cotton thread, and return home. Subsequently they come once more to the ant-hill with a lamp made of flour paste. Carrying the light, they go thrice or five times round the hill, and throw into a hole therein split pulse (Phaseolus Mungo). During the whole of this day they fast. On the following morning they again go to the hill, pour milk into it, and snap the threads wound round it.

At the festival of Sankaranthi, the principal member of every family observes the worship of ancestors. Various articles are placed in a room on leaf plates representing the ancestors, who are worshipped by the celebrant after he has been purified by bathing. Taking a little of the food from each leaf, he places it on a single leaf, which is worshipped, and placed in the court-yard, so that the crows may partake thereof. The remainder of the food is distributed among the members of the family.

At the census, 1901, some Gamallas returned themselves as Settigadu (Chetti).

Gampa (basket).--A sub-division of Kamma and Telaga, and an exogamous sept of Odde. The name, among the Kammas, refers to a deadly struggle at Gandikota, in which some escaped by hiding in baskets. Gampa dhompti is the name of a sub-division of the Madigas, whose marriage offerings to the god are placed in a basket.

Ganayata.--Recorded, at times of census, as a sub-division of Lingayat Jangams in the Nellore, Cuddapah, and Kurnool districts. The Sanskrit word Ganam means Siva's attendants.

Gandham (sandal paste).--An exogamous sept of Balijas, one sub-division of whom is called Gandhavallu or Gandhapodi (sandal perfume sellers). The paste made by rubbing sandal (Santalum album) wood on a stone with water is widely used in connection with Hindu ceremonial observance. A Brahman, for example, after worshipping, smears his body with the paste. At festivals, and other ceremonial occasions, sandal paste is distributed to guests along with betel leaves and areca nuts (pan-supari). Gandhapodi also occurs as an exogamous sept of Boya.

Gandikota.--A sub-division of Kamma. Gandi Kottei is recorded [133] as a sub-division of Kapu or Reddi, "found only in Madura and Tinnevelly, and also known simply as Kottei Reddis. Kottei is the Tamil for a fort, the corresponding Telugu word being kota. Their females do not appear in public."

Gandla.--See Ganiga.

Gangadikara.--Gangadikara, said doubtfully to mean those who lived on the banks of the Ganges, has been recorded as a sub-division of the Holeyas, Okkiliyans, and Vakkaligas. The name probably refers to Gangavadi, the country of the Gangas, a royal line which ruled over the greater part of the modern Mysore in former times.

Gangeddu.--The Gangeddulu are a class of mendicants, who travel about the country exhibiting performing bulls. "The exhibition of sacred bulls, known as Gangeddulu (Ganga's bulls) is very common in the towns and villages of Southern India. The presence of the swami (god) bull, as he is popularly called, is made known by his keeper playing on a small drum, which emits a dismal, booming sound, in the intervals of addressing his dumb companion in a piercing voice. The bull is led about from house to house, and made to go through several tricks, which he does with evident zest. The keeper in the meanwhile talks to him, and puts questions to him, to which he replies by shakes of his head. He will kneel down in an attitude of worship, with his head inclined to the ground, or he will approach you, and gently rub his nozzle against your hand. Usually a diminutive cow accompanies the bull, and, like him, is grandly attired, and resounds with tinkling bells. She is introduced to the spectators as the bull's ammagaru, that is consort or spouse. Then a scene between the pair is enacted, the gist of which is that the husband is displeased with the wife, and declines to hold converse with her. As a result of the difference, he resolves to go away, and stalks off in high dudgeon. The keeper attempts to make peace between them, and is rewarded by being charged by the irate husband and knocked down, though no harm is done to him as the animal's horns are padded. The keeper rises, shakes himself, and complains woefully of the treatment he has received. Indeed, it is only after a great deal of coaxing and wheedling, and promises of buying him endless quantities of rice cakes and other bazaar delicacies, that the bull condescends to return, and a reconciliation is effected."