Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 6 of 7Thurston, Edgar
History
Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 6 of 7
Thurston, Edgar
Caste -- India, South; Ethnology -- India, South; India, South -- Social life and customs; Tribes -- India, South
Inside the house, the officiating Desari ties
the ends of the cloths of the bride and bridegroom together, after
the ancestors and invisible spirits have been worshipped.
Of the marriage customs of the Kapu Savaras, the following account
is given in the Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district. "The Kapu
Savaras are taking to menarikam (marriage with the maternal uncle's
daughter), although the hill custom requires a man to marry outside
his village. Their wedding ceremonies bear a distant resemblance to
those among the hill Savaras. Among the Kapu Savaras, the preliminary
arrow and liquor are similarly presented, but the bridegroom goes at
length on an auspicious day with a large party to the bride's house,
and the marriage is marked by his eating out of the same platter with
her, and by much drinking, feasting, and dancing."
Children are named after the day of the week on which they were
born, and nicknames are frequently substituted for the birth
name. Mr. Fawcett records, for example, that a man was called Gylo
because, when a child, he was fond of breaking nuts called gylo, and
smearing himself with their black juice. Another was called Dallo
because, in his youthful days, he was fond of playing about with a
basket (dalli) on his head.
Concerning the death rites, Mr. Fawcett writes as follows. "As soon
as a man, woman, or child dies in a house, a gun, loaded with powder
only, is fired off at the door, or, if plenty of powder is available,
several shots are fired, to frighten away the Kulba (spirit). The
gun used is the ordinary Telugu or Uriya matchlock. Water is poured
over the body while in the house. It is then carried away to the
family burning-ground, which is situated from 30 to 80 yards from the
cluster of houses occupied by the family, and there it is burned. [It
is stated by Mr. S. P. Rice [153] that "the dead man's hands and feet
are tied together, and a bamboo is passed through them. Two men then
carry the corpse, slung in this fashion, to the burning-ground. When
it is reached, two posts are stuck up, and the bamboo, with the
corpse tied to it, is placed crosswise on the posts. Then below the
corpse a fire is lighted. The Savara man is always burnt in the
portion of the ground--one cannot call it a field--which he last
cultivated."] The only wood used for the pyre is that of the mango,
and of Pongamia glabra. Fresh, green branches are cut and used. No
dry wood is used, except a few twigs to light the fire. Were any one
to ask those carrying a body to the burning-ground the name of the
deceased or anything about him, they would be very angry. Guns are
fired while the body is being carried. Everything a man has, his bows
and arrows, his tangi, his dagger, his necklaces, his reaping-hook
for cutting paddy, his axe, some paddy and rice, etc., are burnt with
his body. I have been told in Kolakotta that all a man's money too is
burned, but it is doubtful if it really ever is--a little may be. A
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account