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 Bakudas follow the aliya santana law of succession (in the female
line), and, if a man leaves any property, it goes to his nephew. They
will not touch dead cows or calves, or remove the placenta when a
cow calves. Nor will they touch leather, especially in the form of
shoes. They will not carry cots on which rice sheaves are thrashed,
chairs, etc., which have four legs, but, when ordered to do so, either
break off one leg, or add an extra leg by tying a stick to the cot
or chair. The women always wear their cloth in one piece, and are
not allowed, like other Holeyas, to have it made of two pieces. The
Bakudas will not eat food prepared or touched by Bilimaggas, Jadas,
Paravas or Nalkes. The headman is called Mukhari. The office is
hereditary, and, in some places, is, as with the Guttinaya of the
Bants, connected with his house-site. This being fixed, he should
remain at that house, or his appointment will lapse, except with the
general consent of the community to his retaining it. In some places,
the Mukhari has two assistants, called Jammana and Bondari, of whom
the latter has to distribute toddy at assemblies of the caste. On all
ceremonial occasions, the Mukhari has to be treated with great respect,
and even an individual who gets possessed by the bhutha (devil)
has to touch him with his kadasale (sword). In cases of adultery,
a purificatory ceremony, called gudi suddha, is performed. The erring
woman's relations construct seven small huts, through which she has to
pass, and they are burned down. The fact of this purificatory ceremony
taking place is usually proclaimed by the Bondari, and the saying is
that 280 people should assemble. They sprinkle water brought from a
temple or sthana (devil shrine) and cow's urine over the woman just
before she passes through the huts. A small quantity of hair from her
head, a few hairs from the eyelids, and nails from her fingers are
thrown into the huts. In some places, the delinquent has to drink a
considerable quantity of salt-water and cow-dung water.
Her relatives have to pay a small money fine to the village deity. The
ordeal of passing through huts is also practiced by the Koragas of
South Canara. "The suggestion," Mr. R. E. Enthoven writes, "seems
to be a rapid representation of seven existences, the outcaste
regaining his (or her) status after seven generations have passed
without further transgression. The parallel suggested is the law of
Manu that seven generations are necessary to efface a lapse from the
law of endogamous marriage."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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