Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 3 of 7Thurston, Edgar
History
Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 3 of 7
Thurston, Edgar
Caste -- India, South; Ethnology -- India, South; India, South -- Social life and customs; Tribes -- India, South
The Chembrambakam Lingayats appear to join the other villagers in
the performance of the annual puja (worship) to the village deity,
Namamdamma, who is worshipped in order to ward off cholera and cattle
disease. One mode of propitiating her is by sacrificing a goat,
collecting its entrails and placing them in a pot, with its mouth
covered with goat skin, which is taken round the village, and buried
in a corner. The pot is called Bali Setti, and he who comes in front
of it while it is being carried through the streets, is supposed to
be sure to suffer from serious illness, or even die. The sacrifice,
filling of the pot, and its carriage through the streets, are all
performed by low class Occhans and Vettiyans. The Chembrambakam
Lingayats assert that the cholera goddess has given a promise that
she will not attack any of their community, and keeps it faithfully,
and none of them die even during the worst cholera epidemics.
Kanni (rope).--A gotra of Kurni.
Kapata.--A name for rag-wearing Koragas.
Kappala (frog).--An exogamous sept of Madiga, and sub-division
of Yanadis, who are said to be frog-eaters. It is also a gotra of
Janappans, who have a legend that, when some of their family were
fishing, they caught a haul of big frogs instead of fish. Consequently,
members of this gotra will not injure frogs. I have seen frogs hanging
up for sale in the Cochin bazar.
Kappiliyan.--The Kappiliyans, or Karumpuraththals, as they are
sometimes called, are Canarese-speaking farmers, who are found
chiefly in Madura and Tinnevelly. It is noted, in the Manual of the
Madura district, that "a few of the original Poligars were Canarese;
and it is to be presumed that the Kappiliyans immigrated under their
auspices. They are a decent and respectable class of farmers. Their
most common agnomen is Koundan (or Kavandan)."
Some Kappiliyans say that they came south six or seven generations
ago, along with the Urumikkarans, from the banks of the Tungabhadra
river, because the Tottiyans tried to ravish their women. According
to another tradition, similar to that current among the Tottiyans,
"the caste was oppressed by the Musalmans of the north, fled across
the Tungabhadra, and was saved by two pongu (Pongamia glabra) trees
bridging an unfordable stream, which blocked their escape. They
travelled, says the legend, through Mysore to Conjeeveram, thence to
Coimbatore, and thence to the Madura district. The stay at Conjeeveram
is always emphasised, and is supported by the fact that the caste
has shrines dedicated to Kanchi Varadaraja Perumal." [103]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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