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
Kalinga.--A sub-division of Komatis, who "were formerly the inhabitants
of the ancient Kalinga country. They are considered inferior to the
other sub-divisions, on account of their eating flesh. Their titles
are Subaddhi, Patro, and Chaudari." [29] In the Ganjam Manual, they
are described as "traders and shopkeepers, principally prevalent
in the Chicacole division. The name Kling or Kaling is applied,
in the Malay countries, including the Straits Settlements, to the
people of peninsular India, who trade thither, or are settled in
those regions." It is recorded by Dr. N. Annandale that the phrase
Orang Kling Islam (i.e., a Muhammadan from the Madras coast) occurs
in Patani Malay.
Kalingi and Kalinji.--There has been some confusion, in recorded
accounts, between these two classes. In the Ganjam Manual, the
Kalinjis are described as agriculturists in that district, and,
in the Vizagapatam Manual, the Kalingas or Kalingulu are stated to
be cultivators in the Vizagapatam district, and a caste of Paiks or
fighting men in Jeypore. In the Census Report, 1891, the Kalingis are
said to be "most numerous in Ganjam, but there is a considerable number
of them in Vizagapatam also. The word means a native of Kalinga, the
name of the sea-board of the Telugu country; the word Telugu itself is
supposed by Dr. Caldwell to be a corruption of Tri-Kalinga. The three
large sub-divisions of the caste are Buragam, Kintala, and Odiya. In
the Kintala sub-division, a widow may remarry if she has no male issue,
but the remarriage of widows is not allowed in other sub-divisions. The
use of flesh and alcoholic liquor is permitted. Naidu and Chaudari
are their titles." Further, in the Census Report, 1901, the Kalingis
are described as follows: "A caste of temple priests and cultivators,
found mainly in Ganjam and Vizagapatam, whither they are supposed
to have been brought by the Kalinga kings to do service in the Hindu
temples, before the advent of the Brahmans. They speak either Oriya or
Telugu. They have two sub-divisions, the Kintali Kalingas, who live
south of the Langulya river, and the Buragam Kalingis, who reside to
the north of it, and the customs of the two differ a great deal. There
is also a third section, called Pandiri or Bevarani, which is composed
of outcastes from the other two. Except the Kalingis of Mokhalingam in
Vizagapatam, [30] they have headmen called Nayakabalis or Santos. They
also have priests called Kularazus, each of whom sees to the spiritual
needs of a definite group of villages. They are divided into several
exogamous gotras, each comprising a number of families or vamsas,
some of which, such as Arudra, a lady-bird, and Revi-chettu, the Ficus
religiosa tree, are of totemistic origin. Each section is said to
worship its totem. Marriage before puberty is the rule, and the caste
is remarkable for the proportion of its girls under twelve years of
age who are married or widowed. Widow marriage is not recognised by
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