Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 5 of 7 — John Shaqi
Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 5 of 7Thurston, Edgar
History
Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 5 of 7
Thurston, Edgar
Caste -- India, South; Ethnology -- India, South; India, South -- Social life and customs; Tribes -- India, South
Mattiya.--The Mattiyas are summed up as follows in the Madras
Census Report, 1901. "In Vizagapatam these are hill cultivators
from the Central Provinces, who are stated in one account to be
a sub-division of the Gonds. Some of them wear the sacred thread,
because the privilege was conferred upon their families by former
Rajas of Malkanagiri, where they reside. They are said to eat with
Ronas, drink with Porojas, but smoke only with their own people. The
name is said to denote workers in mud (matti), and in Ganjam they are
apparently earth-workers and labourers. In the Census Report, 1871,
it is noted that the Matiyas are 'altogether superior to the Kois
and to the Parjas (Porojas). They say they sprang from the soil,
and go so far as to point out a hole, out of which their ancestor
came. They talk Uriya, and farm their lands well'"
For the following note, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The
caste is divided into at least four septs, named Bhag (tiger), Nag
(cobra), Cheli (goat), and Kochchimo (tortoise). A man may claim
his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage. Girls are, as a rule,
married after puberty. When a match is contemplated, the would-be
husband presents a pot of liquor to the girl's parents. If this is
accepted, a further present of liquor, rice, and a pair of cloths,
is made later on. The liquor is distributed among the villagers,
who, by accepting it, indicate their consent to the transfer of the
girl to the man. A procession, with Dombs acting as musicians, is
formed, and the girl is taken to the bridegroom's village. A pandal
(booth) has been erected in front of the bridegroom's house, which
the contracting couple enter on the following morning. Their hands are
joined together by the presiding Desari, they bathe in turmeric water,
and new cloths are given to them. Wearing these, they enter the house,
the bridegroom leading the bride. Their relations then exhort them
to be constant to each other, and behave well towards them. A feast
follows, and the night is spent in dancing and drinking. Next day, the
bride's parents are sent away with a present of a pair of cows or bulls
as jholla tonka. The remarriage of widows is allowed, and a younger
brother usually marries the widow of his elder brother. Divorce is
permitted, and, when a husband separates from his wife, he gives her a
new cloth and a bullock as compensation. A divorced woman may remarry.
By the Mattiyas, and other Oriya castes, the ghorojavai (house
son-in-law) custom is practiced. According to this custom, the poorer
folk, in search of a wife, work, according to a contract, for their
future father-in-law for a specified time, at the expiration of
which they set up a separate establishment with his daughter. To
begin married life with, presents are made to the couple by the
father-in-law.
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