Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 7 of 7Thurston, Edgar
General
Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 7 of 7
Thurston, Edgar
Caste -- India, South; Ethnology -- India, South; India, South -- Social life and customs; Tribes -- India, South
Tottiyan.--In the Census Report, 1901, Mr. W. Francis writes that the
Tottiyans are "Telugu cultivators. The Tottiyans or Kambalattans of
the Tanjore district are, however, said to be vagrants, and to live
by pig-breeding, snake-charming, and begging. So are the sub-division
called Kattu Tottiyans in Tinnevelly. The headman among the Tinnevelly
Tottiyans is called the Mandai Periadanakkaran or Servaikaran. Their
marriages are not celebrated in their houses, but in pandals (booths)
of green leaves erected for the purpose on the village common. However
wealthy the couple may be, the only grain which they may eat at
the wedding festivities is either cumbu (Pennisetum typhoideum) or
horse-gram (Dolichos biflorus). The patron deities of the caste are
Jakkamma and Bommakka, two women who committed sati. The morality of
their women is loose. The custom of marrying boys to their paternal
aunt's or maternal uncle's daughter, however old she may be, also
obtains, and in such cases the bridegroom's father is said to take
upon himself the duty of begetting children to his own son. Divorce
is easy, and remarriage is freely allowed. They offer rice and
arrack (alcoholic liquor) to their ancestors. The Kattu Tottiyans
will eat jackals, rats, and the leavings of other people. Tottiya
women will not eat in the houses of Brahmans, but no explanation of
this is forthcoming. The men wear silver anklets on both legs, and
also a bracelet upon one of the upper arms, both of which practices
are uncommon, while the women wear bangles only on the left arm,
instead of on both as usual. Some of the Zamindars in Madura belong
to this caste. The caste title is Nayakkan." At the census, 1901,
Kudulukkaran was returned as a sub-caste of the Tottiyans in Madura and
Tinnevelly. The Urumikkaran, meaning those who play on the drum called
urumi, are said to be Tottiyans in Madura and Paraiyans elsewhere.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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