Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 3 of 7 — John Shaqi
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 Kabberas," Mr. Francis continues, "are at present engaged in a
number of callings, and, perhaps in consequence, several occupational
sub-divisions have arisen, the members of which are more often
known by their occupational title than as either Gangimakkalu or
Kabberas. The Barikes, for example, are a class of village servants
who keep the village chavadi (caste meeting house) clean, look
after the wants of officials halting in the village, and do other
similar duties. The Jalakaras are washers of gold-dust; the Madderu
are dyers, who use the root of the maddi (Morinda citrifolia) tree;
and apparently (the point is one which I have not had time to clear
up) the Besthas, who have often been treated as a separate caste,
are really a sub-division of the Gangimakkalu, who were originally
palanquin-bearers, but, now that these vehicles have gone out of
fashion, are employed in divers other ways. The betrothal is formally
evidenced by the partaking of betel-leaf in the girl's house, in the
manner followed by the Kurubas. As among the Madigas, the marriage
is not consummated for three months after its celebration. The caste
follow the Kuruba ceremony of calling back the dead." Consummation is,
as among the Kurubas and Madigas, postponed for three months, as it
is considered unlucky to have three heads of a family in a household
during the first year of marriage. By the delay, the birth of a child
should take place only in the second year, so that, during the first
year, there will be only two heads, husband and wife. In the ceremony
of calling back the dead, referred to by Mr. Francis, a pot of water
is worshipped in the house on the eleventh day after a funeral,
and taken next morning to some lonely place, where it is emptied.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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