Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 2 of 7Thurston, Edgar
History
Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 2 of 7
Thurston, Edgar
Caste -- India, South; Ethnology -- India, South; India, South -- Social life and customs; Tribes -- India, South
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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