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 marriage rites conform, for the most part, to the Telugu type. But,
while the wrist thread is being tied on, common salt is held in the
hand. A dagger (baku) is then given to the bridegroom, who keeps it
with him till the conclusion of the ceremonies. On the wedding day,
the bridegroom wears the sacred thread. The tali is not an ordinary
bottu, but a thread composed of 101 thin strings, which is removed on
the last day, and replaced by a bottu. On the third day, the bride and
bridegroom worship a jammi tree (Prosopis spicigera), and the latter,
removing his sacred thread, throws it on the tree. Five young men,
called Bala Dasulu, also worship the tree, and, if they are wearing
the sacred thread, throw it thereon. The dead are as a rule buried, in
a sitting posture if the deceased was an orthodox Saivite. If a young
man dies a bachelor, the corpse is married to an arka plant (Calotropis
gigantea), and decorated with a wreath made of the flowers thereof. The
final death ceremonies are performed on the eleventh day. Food is
offered to crows and the soul of the dead person, who is represented
by a wooden post dressed with his clothes. The bangles of a widow are
broken near the post, which is finally thrown into a tank or stream.
Ganiga further occurs as an occupational name for Lingayat oil-vendors,
and for Mogers who are employed as oil-pressers.
Ganta.--Ganta or Gantla, meaning a bell, has been recorded as an
exogamous sept of Kamma and Balija. Gantelavaru, or men of the bell,
is given by Mr. S. M. Natesa Sastri [138] as the family name of one
section of the Donga (thieving) Dasaris, and of the Kabberas, who are
said to join the ranks of this criminal class. Gantugazula occurs,
in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, as a sub-division of Koracha. In
the Vizagapatam Manual, the Tiragati Gantlavallu are described as
repairing hand-mills, catching antelopes, and selling their skins.
Ganti (a hole pierced in the ear-lobe).--An exogamous sept of Gudala.
Garadi.--Garadi or Garadiga is the name of a class of mendicants
in the Telugu country and Mysore who are snake-charmers, practice
sleight of hand, and perform various juggling and mountebank tricks.
Garappa (dry land).--A synonym of Challa Yanadi.
Gatti.--A small caste of cultivators, found chiefly near Kumbla
and Someswara in the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara. Other names
for the caste are Poladava and Holadava, both signifying men of the
field. Like the Bants, they follow the aliya santana law of inheritance
(in the female line), have exogamous septs or balis, and, on the day
of the final death ceremonies, construct car-like structures, if the
deceased was an important personage in the community. The Bants and
Gattis interdine, but do not intermarry. The headman of the Gattis
is called Gurikara. The God of the Someswara temple is regarded as
the caste deity, and every family has to pay an annual fee of four
annas to this temple. Failure to do so would entail excommunication.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account