Indische Palaographie von circa 350 a. Chr. – circa 1300 p. Chr. c48.s2.16

c48.s2.16

The principal agricultural castes of Teliṅgāna are the Kāpu, the Kamma and the Telaga, all of which much resemble each other and come probably from the same stock. The Kāpu or Reḍḍi, are widely spread, though less so than formerly. They are reputed to have more than 800 subdivions, which eat together but do not intermarry. Each subdivision is in turn split into endogamous sections. Some of the caste own large estates, earned by military service under the Muslim conquerors of the 14th century, and all are connected in some way or other with the land. The Kamma, like the Kāpu, are often found in colonies in the south far beyond the Telugu country. The Telaga were once a military caste, and were till recently recruited for the native regiments of the British army, but now they are cultivators of a moderately high position, and only differ from their neighbours in being somewhat more fully Brāhmanised. The actual numbers are less than the figure returned owing to the use of their title by other and probably lower castes out of their native district. The Kāliṅgi are both cultivators and temple-ministrants on the Telugu seaboard, with the tradition that they were imported from the north for the latter purpose before Brāhmans had reached Andhra territory. They wear, consequently, the sacred thread, but are not recognised by Brāhmans as of that order. The rest of the Kāliṅgi employ their own priests. They are divided, like the Nāyar, into two geographical sections with quite different customs. A third has had to be formed for the reception of the people expelled from the two others. Their practice is Brāhmanic but their exogamous divisions totemistic. The Toṭṭiyan are the descendants of a military body like the Telaga. They were introduced into the Tamil country, where they are now settled, by the Vijayanagara Chiefs. As their second title is Kambalattan, probably referring to woollen blankets, and their subdivisional titles being also those of a pastoral character, it may be inferred that their original occupation was that of shepherds. Locally they are much dreaded for their magical powers, but in compensation, their cures and charms for snake-bite bear a high reputation. The name Veḷḷāḷan, in the Tamil country, corresponds in its generality with that Kunbī or Cāsa in other parts of India, and merely implies a cultivator. The wide diffusion of the community so called prevents it from being a caste, in the sense of a homogeneous body, as irrespective of the four great geographical sections, over 900 subdivisions were recorded at the census. By careful filtration, the number was substantially diminished; nevertheless, the residue is very large, and owing to the accretions from lower castes as they rise in the world, it is constantly increasing. It is unnecessary to point out that in such circumstances the endogamous sections are many and minute. Of the main divisions, that called the Toṇḍamaṇḍalam, of the old Pallava kingdom, round Arcot, stands highest. It settled in its present location in the 8th century A.D., and is strictly Brāhmanistic in customs and religion. The Koṅgu, on the other hand, who are found in and about Coimbatore, are so far below the rest that none of the other subdivisions will eat with them, and they are sometimes considered a separate caste, under the name of Kavaṇḍan. Apparently, too, their marriage regulations have not passed away from the old Dravidian type, and Brāhmans are not employed, as they are amongst all the other Veḷḷāḷan bodies. In the Malayālam tract, below the Nāyar, Māppila and Nambūtiri Brahman, the cultivating castes belong to bodies having other traditional callings, or are field labourers who have occasionally got hold of a small estate. They will be found, therefore, under their respective headings in later paragraphs.