Indische Palaographie von circa 350 a. Chr. – circa 1300 p. Chr. c48.s5.2.3

c48.s5.2.3

In some cases, as in the south Dekkan, the Hātkar may by now be a subcaste, as those who use the name are almost all blanket weavers, whereas the Dhaṅgar does not always make up his own material. The derivation of the caste title is uncertain. It has been connected with "*dhan*" wealth, or cattle-dealing, an occupation which a few of them still follow in the south, though most devote themselves to sheep and goats. In those parts, it should be mentioned in connection with the above derivation, the peasant habitually refers to his cattle as Dhan, or Lakṣmī, that is, the pecunia, or wealth par excellence. The name of the Kuṟubar, too, is used for sheep in Kanarese. In the south, the caste is called Kuṟumban. There are two sections; the pastoral and the Kāḍu, or Jungle, Kuṟubar. The latter are hunters and dwellers on the outskirts of the Nīlgiri and other forest ranges, and are still in a very unsettled condition. They are probably the remnants left behind when the Kuṟubar of the open country swept down towards the south-east, and took to cultivation. Even now, the shepherd sections have elaborate rites and forms of worship alien to those of the rest of the villagers, and are regarded as not quite assimilated into the community. The Tamil shepherd is the Iḍaiyan or those who live by the "middle" group of the village lands, that is, the pasture. By some of the modern members of the caste the name is derived from Jādav, connecting them with Mathurā and the Kṛṣṇa legend.