In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Satanis are summed up as being "a Telugu caste of temple servants supposed to have come into existence in the time of the great Vaishnavite reformer Sri Ramanujacharya (A.D. 1100). The principal endogamous sub-divisions of this caste are (1) Ekakshari, (2) Chaturakshari, (3) Ashtakshari, and (4) Kulasekhara. The Ekaksharis (eka, one, and akshara, syllable) hope to get salvation by reciting the one mystic syllable Om; the Chaturaksharis believe in the religious efficacy of the four syllables Ra-ma-nu-ja; the Ashtaksharis hold that the recitation of the eight syllables Om-na-mo-na-ra-ya-na-ya (Om! salutation to Narayana) will ensure them eternal bliss; and the Kulasekharas, who wear the sacred thread, claim to be the descendants of the Vaishnava saint Kulasekhara Alvar, formerly a king of the Kerala country. The first two sections make umbrellas, flower garlands, etc., and are also priests to Balijas and other Sudra castes of the Vaishnava sects, while the members of the other two have taken to temple service. In their social and religious customs, all the sub-divisions closely imitate the Tengalai Vaishnava Brahmans. The marriage of girls after puberty, and the remarriage of widows, are strictly prohibited. Most of them employ Brahman purohits, but latterly they have taken to getting priests from their own caste. They attach no importance to the Sanskrit Vedas, or to the ritual sanctioned therein, but revere the sacred hymns of the twelve Vaishnava saints or Alvars, called Nalayira Prabandham (book of the four thousand songs), which is in Tamil. From this their purohits recite verses during marriages and other ceremonies." At the census, 1901, Ramanuja was returned as a sub-caste of Satani. In the Manual of the North Arcot district, Mr. H. A. Stuart describes the Satanis as "a mixed religious sect, recruited from time to time from other castes, excepting Paraiyans, leather-workers, and Muhammadans. All the Satanis are Vaishnavites, but principally revere Bashyakar (another name for Ramanuja), whom they assert to have been an incarnation of Vishnu. The Satanis are almost entirely confined to the large towns. Their legitimate occupations are performing menial services in Vishnu temples, begging, tending flower gardens, selling flower garlands, making fans, grinding sandalwood into powder, and selling perfumes. They are the priests of some Sudra castes, and in this character correspond to the Saivite Pandarams."