Chapter XI: Part 11

Their ceremonies are the usual Brahmanical Samskaras--Gatakarma, Namakarana, Annaprasana, etc. Regarding the Namakarana, or naming, the only noteworthy fact is that the first-born male always goes by the name of Raja Raja Varma. The Upanayana, or investiture with the sacred thread, takes place in the sixteenth year of age. On the morning of the Upanayana, Chaula or the tonsure ceremony is performed. It is formally done by the Nambutiri priest in the capacity of Guru, just as the father does to his son among Brahmans, and afterwards left to be completed by the Maran. The priest invests the boy with the thread, and, with the sacrificial fire as lord and witness, initiates him in the Gayatri prayer. The Koil Tampurans are to repeat this prayer morning, noon and evening, like the Brahmans, but are to do so only ten times on each occasion. On the fourth day, the boy listens to a few Vedic hymns recited by the priest. There is not the prolonged course of severe discipline of the Brahmanical Brahmachari, which the Nambutiris so religiously observe. The Samavartana, or pupilage stage, is performed on the fifteenth day. The ceremony of proceeding to Benares is then gone through. Just as in the case of the Brahmans, a would-be father-in-law intercedes, and requests the Snataka (past Brahmachari) to bless his daughter, and settle in life as a Grihastha. The Nambutiri priest then steps in to remind the boy of his dharma (duty) as a Kshatriya, and gives him a sword symbolic of his pre-ordained function in society.

The marriage of a Koil Tampuran does not present many peculiar features. One item in the programme, called Dikshavirippu, may be referred to. During all the four days of the marriage, the bride is confined to a special room, where a white cloth with a carpet over it is spread on the floor, and a lamp burns day and night. The ceremonial bridegroom is either an Aryappattar or a Nambutiri, now generally a Nambutiri. Of course, the marriage is a mere ceremonial, and the bridegroom at the ceremony is not necessarily the spouse of actual life. His death deprives her of the right to wear the tali, and makes her an Amangali (an inauspicious person) for all socio-religious purposes. At sraddhas (memorial service for the dead), the Tampuratti with her married husband alive faces the east, and one that has lost him has to look in the direction of Yamaloka (south).

Mr. Ravi Varma, the celebrated artist, who died recently, was a Koil Tampuran of Kilimanur, an extensive village assigned to his ancestors rent-free for the military services they had rendered to the State in times of trouble. [137]

Kokala (woman's cloth).--An exogamous sept of Golla.

Kokkara.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, as a sub-division of Nayar.

Kokkundia.--See Kukkundi.

Kola (ear of corn).--An exogamous sept of Medara.

Kolari.--See Kolayan.

Kolalo (arrack-seller).--A name of Sondis.

Kolata Gudiya.--A name for Gudiyas engaged in agriculture.

Kolayan.--It is recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that "the caste is found chiefly in the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara, and in the northern part of Malabar. In South Malabar, it is called Urali. Its traditional occupation is herding cows, and it claims the privilege of supplying milk and ghee to certain Hindu temples, but at present most of its members are masons. It has two endogamous sections, Ayan or Kol-Ayan, and Mariyan or Eruman" (Eruma, a cow-buffalo). It is further noted, in the same report under the heading Eruman, that "the people of the caste were originally buffalo drivers and keepers, and still follow their traditional occupation in the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara. In North Malabar, they are masons and bricklayers." The masonry work of temples is done by Kolayans.

The name Kolayan has been said to be derived from Golla and Ayan, meaning cowherd. Golla is, however, a Telugu word not used in the Malayalam country.

Members of the two sections, Kolayan and Eruman (or Eruvan), are said not to intermarry. Women of both sections may affect sambandham (alliance) with Nayars. Children born of such unions are regarded as somewhat inferior to those born of Kolayan parents, and are not allowed to worship at the temples. The priests of the Kolayans are called Muthavan or Poduvan, and are usually elected by Rajas.

Kolayan girls go through the mangalam or tali-kettu ceremony before they reach puberty. On an auspicious day fixed by the Kanisan (astrologer), the girl sits on a plank in the middle room of the house, and four lamps are placed near her. Her father throws rice and flowers over her head, and ties the tali (marriage emblem) on her neck. The girl, four women, and four girls, are fed in the middle room. On the following day, a priest (Vathiyan) places rice, paddy (unhusked rice), tender cocoanut, betel leaves and areca nuts, before the girl. Men and women of the priest's family wave rice, cocoanuts, etc., in front of her both in the morning and afternoon. Finally, towards evening, a Vathiyan woman waves the rice and other articles thrice, calling out "Kolachi, Kolachi, Kolachi." The girl may then leave the middle room.

At the first menstrual period, a girl is under pollution for three days. On the first day, a cloth (mattu) is given to her by a washerwoman, and on the fourth day she receives one from a Malayan woman.

The dead are usually cremated. Daily, until the twelfth day of the death ceremonies, food is offered to the spirit of the deceased, on a dais set up outside the house, by the relatives. On the fifth day, all the agnates are purified by the Vathiyan sprinkling water over them. On the twelfth day, the Vathiyan draws the image of a man with vibuthi (sacred ashes) on the spot where the deceased breathed his last. Near the figure, cooked rice, vegetables, etc., are placed. The chief mourner offers these to the dead person, and makes a bundle of them in his cloth. Going outside the house, he kicks the dais already referred to with his foot, while the Vathiyan holds one hand, and his relations the other hand or arm. He then bathes in a tank (pond) or river, while his hands are held in like manner.

Koli.--In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Kolis are described as being "a Bombay caste of fishermen and boatmen in South Canara; also a low class of Bengal weavers found in Ganjam." The Kolis who were investigated in Ganjam are an Oriya-speaking class, who are apparently Telugu people who have settled in the Oriya country as weavers of coarse cloths, traders, and agriculturists. They have Oriya titles such as Behara. They worship village deities (Takuranis), are Saivites, and none of them have been converted to the Paramartho form of Vishnavism. The caste council, puberty and death ceremonies, are based on the common Oriya type, but the marriage rites are an interesting blend of the Oriya and Telugu types of ceremonial. Thus the usual Telugu marriage post, but made of Streblus asper wood, is set up, and nine kinds of grain are placed near it. A bottu (marriage badge) is tied on the neck of the bride by the bridegroom, and the hands of the contracting couple are united (hasthagonthi) as among the Oriyas.

Koliyan.--The Koliyans are summed up, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "a weaver caste, the members of which were originally Paraiyans, but now do not eat or intermarry with that caste." They are largely found in the Tanjore and Madura districts, and are divided into various nadus (territories) and kuppams (settlements). Those at Pattukottai, for example, belong to Ambu Nadu, and are sub-divided into five kuppams. Many of the Koliyans are engaged in weaving coarse white cloths, while some work as field labourers. As some Paraiyans have Samban (Siva) as their title, so the title of the Koliyans is Isan (god). At times of marriage, the names of persons must not be mentioned without this title, e.g., one who is, in everyday life, called Ponnan is addressed as Isa Ponnan.

An interesting point in connection with the first puberty ceremonial of a girl is that, on the sixteenth day, when she bathes, a withe of a creeper (Dalbergia, sp.) made into a loop, is passed round her body by a barber from head to foot thrice, without touching her. If this is not done, it is believed that the girl is not free from pollution.

There are two forms of marriage ceremony, called chinna (little) and periya (big) kalyanam. The former is resorted to by those who cannot afford the more elaborate ceremonial. The sister of the bridegroom is sent to the house of the bride on an auspicious day. She there ties the tali (marriage badge) on the bride's neck, and conducts her to the house of the bridegroom. Women who are thus married may not take part in the marriage of their children. More especially, they may not decorate them with garlands and flowers, unless they have themselves performed the sadangu rite. In this, which is usually carried out a day or two before the child's marriage, the husband and wife sit on planks, and, after being decorated, and the performance of wave offerings (arathi), the former ties the tali on his wife's neck.

In the periya kalyanam, the bridegroom goes on a horse to the bride's house, where he is met by her brother, who is also on horseback. They exchange garlands, and proceed to the marriage pandal (booth). The bridegroom receives from the bride's father a cocoanut, and the bride seats herself on a bench. The bridegroom gives her the cocoanut, and ties the tali on her neck. They then exchange garlands, and their fingers are linked together. All these items must be performed as quickly as possible, in accordance with a saying that the tali should be tied without dismounting from the horse, which one is riding. Before the tali is tied, the contracting couple go through the sadangu ceremony, in which a loop of cotton thread is passed over them from head to foot, without touching them. Then the kankanams, or wrist threads, are tied on their wrists. The milk-post and marriage pots are set up within the pandal, and the bride and bridegroom prostrate themselves before them, and salute their maternal uncles, parents and relations, and lastly the musicians. The day's proceedings terminate with a feast, at the conclusion of which hands are washed within the house. For six days the bride and bridegroom pay visits to each other alternately, and, on the seventh day, the wrist-threads, marriage pots, and milk-post are removed. During marriage and other auspicious ceremonies, coloured water, into which leaves of Bauhinia variegata are thrown, are waved (arathi).

On ceremonial occasions, and at times of worship, the Koliyans put on Saivite sect marks. Among other deities, they worship Aiyanar, Pattavanswami, and Pothiamman.

The dead are burnt, and the body is placed in a seated posture with fingers and toes tied together. On the way to the burning-ground, a widow goes round the corpse, and breaks a pot containing water. On the day after the funeral, the calcined bones are collected, and arranged so as to represent a human figure, to which food is offered. The final death ceremonies (karmandhiram) are performed on the sixteenth day. A mass of cooked rice, vegetables, and meat, is placed within an enclosure, round which the relations go in tears.

Kollakar.--There are about seven hundred members of this community at Cochin, to which place the Kollakars, or people of Kollam, are said to have come from Quilon (Kollam) in Travancore one or two centuries ago. The majority of the men work as coolies on board steamers, and a few as fishermen. The women of the poorer classes twist rope and sell fish, while the others make lace. A few hold appointments under the Government, and, in 1907, two had passed the Matriculation examination of the Madras University. They are Roman Catholics, and are said to have been converted to Christianity by the Portuguese. They marry among themselves. The Kollakars are also found at Calicut, Cannanore, Mahe, and Tellicherry, and are mainly occupied in fishing, rope-making, and making fishing-nets. A few at Tellicherry are employed as carpenters, tailors, and petty shopkeepers.

Kolla Kurup.--The Kolla Kurups of Malabar are described, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, as a sub-caste of, or a caste allied to, the Kammalans. "They combine two professions, which at first sight seem strangely incongruous, shampooing or massage, and the construction of the characteristic leather shields of Malabar. But the two arts are intimately connected with the system of combined physical training, as we should now call it, and exercise in arms, which formed the curriculum of the kalari (gymnasium), and the title Kurup is proper to castes connected with that institution." Among Kolla Kurups, the following symbolical ceremony is necessary to constitute a valid divorce. "The husband and the wife's brother stand east and west respectively of a lighted lamp placed in the yard of the woman's original home. The husband pulls a thread from his cloth, and approaches the lamp, and breaks the thread saying 'Here is your sister's accharam.'"

Kollan.--The blacksmiths are iron-workers among the Malayalam Kammalans. "These Malabar Kollans," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [138] "are said to practice fraternal polyandry to a greater extent even than the rest of the Malabar artizan castes. Kollans are divided into (1) Ti (fire) Kollan, (2) Perum (big) Kollan, (3) Tiperum Kollan, (4) Irumbu (iron) Kollan. There are also Kadacchil Kollan (knife-grinders) and Tol Kollan (leather-workers). These are of inferior status, on account of the nature of their professions."

Kollar.--A section of Tottiyan, the full name of which is Yerrakollavaru or Yerrakolla Tottiyar. Kollar is a corrupt Tamil form of Golla, to which caste the Tottiyans trace their descent.

Kolli (fire-brand).--A sub-division of Kadu Kurumba.

Kolli (a hill-range, the Kollimalais).--A sub-division of Malayalis.

Komali (buffoon).--An exogamous sept of Odde.

Komanandi.--A sub-division of Andis, who go about naked, except for a small loin cloth (komanam).

Komaro.--Oriya blacksmiths. See Badhoyi.

Komati.--The Komatis form the great trading caste of the Madras Presidency, and are found in almost all the districts thereof. They are further found in the Mysore State, Bombay Presidency, Berar, Central Provinces, and as far north-west as Baroda. Their wide distribution accounts for the great variety which prevails in the minor details of the religious and social ceremonials.

The name Komati has been derived in many different ways. By some it is said to be from ko-mati, meaning fox-minded. This has reference to the cunning of the Komatis in business, and is undoubtedly the outcome of their unpopularity with their customers. The phrase Komatiguttu (the secrecy of a Komati) is said to be a common one. Others say that it is from go-mati, meaning the possessor of cows, one of the ordained duties of Vaisyas being the protecting of cows. Others, again, say that it is from go-mati, meaning cow-minded. A modern redaction of the Kanyaka Purana, the sacred book of the Komatis, gives this derivation. According to this work, the Komatis did severe penance, and were consequently invited to live in heaven. Their continued absence from this world gave rise to serious trouble, and Vishnu accordingly asked them to return thither for the good of mankind. They, however, refused to do so. Vishnu then called for Siva, and asked him to induce them to return. Siva brought a cow, and directed all the Komatis to get into its right ear. From there they saw gloriously decorated towns, with magnificent temples, pleasure gardens, etc., and begged permission to live in them. Siva assented, and they speedily began to march off to their new abodes. But, almost immediately, a huge conflagration came in view, and began to overwhelm them. Terror-stricken, they cried out to Siva to help them in their trouble. He consented on condition that they would return to the mortal world. This they accordingly did. Siva gave them the name of Gomati, because they exhibited as much fear at the conflagration as a cow would when anything untoward happened. Yet another derivation of Komati is go-mati, meaning sprung from the cow in accordance with the above legend, or cow-gored in reference to the story that the ancestors of the Komatis commingled in a cow-shed, where a pregnant woman was gored by a cow. The derivation ku-mati, meaning evil-minded, is grammatically impossible. The Komatis are said to have originally lived, and still live in large numbers on the banks of the Godavari river. One of the local names thereof is Gomati or Gomti, and the Sanskrit Gomati would, in Telugu, become corrupted into Komati.

The Komatis everywhere speak Telugu, and are devoted to their mother-tongue. There is a common proverb among them, "Telugu theta, Aravam adhvanam," meaning that Telugu is easy (has an easy flow), and Tamil is wretched. "Of all Dravidian languages," Mr. Henry Morris writes, "Telugu is the sweetest and most musical. It is exceedingly mellifluous, and sounds harmonious even in the mouth of the most vulgar and illiterate. It has justly been called the Italian of the East." Komatis are clever at learning languages other than their own. In the Tamil and Canarese districts, they are conversant with the languages thereof, and in Bombay they speak Marathi. In the Ganjam and Vizagapatam Agencies, they speak the Kondh and Savara languages very fluently.

As a commercial caste, the Komatis have a secret trade language of their own, which is substantially the same all over the country. It will be seen from the tables given how complete their numerical tables are, ranging, as they do, from one pie to a thousand rupees. It will be observed that the rupee is represented by the word thelupu, which means white. Some Tamil trading castes in like manner call the rupee velle (white):--

1. Pie table.

Pies.
Nakili batu 1
Ke batu 2
Kevu nakili batu 3
Rayam batu 4
Rayam nakili batu 5

2. Anna table.

Annas.
Thapi kamanalu 1/4
Nakili ana 1/2
Kev ana 1
Kevan nakili ana 1 1/2
Rayam analu 2
Uddulam analu 3
Uddulam nakili analu 3 1/2
Kungidu analu 4
Sulalu analu 12

The word sulalu is connected with trisulam, the trident emblem of Siva, and sometimes used to denote three annas.

3. Rupee table.

Rs.
Thapi thelupu 1/4
Nakili thelupu 1/2
Ke thelupu 1
Rayam thelupu 2
Uddulam thelupu 3
Uddulam nakili thelupu 3 1/2
Panam thelupu 4
Mulam thelupu 5
Thipam thelupu 6
Maram thelupu 7
Thamam thelupu 8
Navaram thelupu 9
Galam thelupu 10
Rayam galalu 20
Uddulam galalu 30
Panam galalu 40
Mulam galalu 50
Thipanam galalu 60
Maram galalu 70
Thamam galalu 80
Navaram galalu 90
Ke savalu 100
Rayam savalu 200
Uddulam savalu 300
Panam savalu 400
Mulam savalu 500
Thipanam savalu 600
Maram savalu 700
Thamam savalu 800
Navaram savalu 900
Galam savalu 1,000

4. Varaham (pagoda) table.

Ke makaram 1
Rayam makaram 2
Uddulam makaram 3
Panam makaram 4
Mulam makaram 5
Thipanam makaram 6
Maram makaram 7
Thamam makaram 8
Navaram makaram 9
Galam makaram 10

A common saying is that, if you commence at galam, it will be settled at mulam, or, in plain language, begin at ten varahams, and the bargain will be closed at five. When one man says to another "Dotu" or "Dotra," it means strike the bargain. If a Komati is the purchaser, and another says to him "Dot ko," it means take it.

The Komatis are a highly organised caste. In each place where they are settled there is a Pedda Setti, who, among the Kalinga Komatis, is known as Puri Setti or Senapathi. Among the latter, there is also a headman for several villages, who is styled Kularaju or Vaisyaraju. Each Pedda Setti is assisted by a Mummadi Setti, who assembles the castemen for the settlement of important questions, by fines, excommunication, etc. There is further a caste guru Bhaskaracharya, whose duties are more religious than social. Komatis have recourse to the established Courts of Justice only as a last resort. They are consulted by other castes in the settlement of their disputes, and it must be said to their credit that their decisions are usually sound, and bear ample testimony to the confidence which is placed in them.

The Komatis are, broadly speaking, divided into two great sections, called Gavara and Kalinga. The former live as far north of Vizianagram, and are then replaced by the latter. The Gavaras or Gauras are said to be so called because, by following the caste goddess Kanyakamma into the fire-pits, they maintained the gauravam or social status of the caste. According to another version, they are so called because they revere Gauri (Parvati), the consort of Siva, whose incarnation was the goddess Kanyakamma. The Kalinga Komatis are those who live in the old Kalinga or Kling country, which extended roughly from Vizagapatam to Orissa. They are forbidden to settle beyond Ramatirtham, a place of pilgrimage close to Vizianagram. The story goes that their ancestors lived at Padmanabham, the hill close to Bimlipatam, well known from the battle which took place close to it in 1794, and there sustained great losses. Hence the place was deserted, and has ever since been regarded as inauspicious. The Komatis have since that time not resided at any place from which the hill can be seen. In fact, they make their first appearance at Chipurupalli, and increase in numbers as we go north-eastward. The Kalinga Komatis believe themselves to be Gavara Komatis, who became separated from the main stock owing to their emigration from their original home. Their meat-eating habit has, they say, widened the breach which separates the two divisions.

While the Kalinga Komatis form a fairly compact division by themselves, the Gavaras have become more and more sub-divided. Their sub-divisions are either territorial, occupational, or religious in character. Thus there are Penukonda and Veginadu Komatis, of whom the former belong to the town of Penukonda in the Godavari district, and the latter to the Vegi or Vengi country, the former name of part of the modern Kistna district. Again, there are Trinikas or Traivarnikas (third caste people), who are invariably Vaishnavas, and to which section a good many of the Komatis in the city of Madras belong. Lingadhari Komatis are found mostly in the Vizagapatam, Godavari, Guntur and Kistna districts. They wear the lingam in a gold or silver casket. Besides these, there are the Siva, Vaishnava, and Madhva Komatis, of which the last are mostly found in the Bellary district. Of occupational sub-divisions, the following may be noted:-- Nune (oil); Nethi (ghi, clarified butter); Dudi (cotton); Uppu (salt); Gone (gunny-bag); Gantha (torn cloth). Lastly, there are other divisions, of which the origin dates back to the time of Kanyakamma, the caste goddess. Thus, there are those who entered the fire-pits with Kanyakamma, and those who did not. The former are known as Vegina, and the latter as Beri, which is said to be a corruption of Bedari, meaning those who fled through fear. All Gavara Komatis are said to be descended from those who entered the fire-pits. The majority of the Komatis of the Sandur State, in the Bellary district, belong to the Kallankanadavaru section, which is said to be descended from those who sat on the stone (kallu) mantapa outside the Penukonda Kanyakamma temple, when the question whether to enter the fire-pits or not was being discussed by the caste elders.

The mutual relations between the various sub-divisions vary much. Broadly speaking, Gavaras and Kalingas do not intermarry, and the objection to intermarriage is due to several causes. The former, according to the caste Purana, gave their lives to their goddess, while the latter did not. Moreover, the former do not partake of animal food and spirituous drinks, whereas the latter do. Lingadharis and ordinary Saivites intermarry, as also do Saivites and Madhvas. Gavaras and Traivarnikas occasionally intermarry, but such marriages are looked down upon. The Traivarnikas, like the Kalingas, eat animal food. The occupational sub-divisions neither intermarry nor interdine. Socially, the Gavaras are held in the highest esteem, while the Beris are regarded as the lowest in the social scale.

The sub-divisions are split up into septs, which are of a strictly exogamous character. That these originated in totemistic belief seems to be supported by what remains of these beliefs at the present day. All the sub-divisions contain such septs, which are very numerous, the names of as many as a hundred and twenty having been collected. The tendency for a long time past has been to reduce the number to a hundred and two, to represent the number of families which followed Kanyakamma to the fire-pits. It would be tedious to enumerate the names of all these septs, from which the following, with the corresponding totems, are selected:--

Munikula Agasi (Sesbania grandiflora).
Amalaka or Usiri Amalaka or Usiri (Phyllanthus Emblica).
Anupa or Anupala Anupala (Dolichos Lablab).
Tulasi or Tulashishta. Tulasi (Ocimum sanctum).
Chinta, Chintya, or
Varachinta. Chinta (Tamarindus indica).
Vakkala Vakkalu (Areca Catechu).
Puchcha Puchcha (Citrullus Colocynthis).
Padma-sista Padma (red lotus).
Kamala Kamalam (white lotus).
Aranta Arati (Musa sapientum: plantain).
Thotakula Thotakura (Amarantus, sp.).
Uthakula Uththareni (Achyranthes aspera).
Mandu Mamadikaya (Mangifera indica).
Dikshama Drakshapandu (grapes).
Venkola Vankaya (Solanum Melongena: brinjal).
Sauna Samanthi (Chrysanthemum indicum).

Gosila, Sathya Gosila, and Uthama Gosila. Cow.
Asthi Elephant.
Enupa Buffalo.
Ghonta Horse.
Ananta Cobra.
Bhramada or Bhramara Bee.

Arka or Surya Sun.
Chandra, Chandra Sishta, Suchandra, or Vannavamsam. Moon.

It may be observed that the totems are variously termed gotram, vamsam, and kulam. The first of these is in imitation of the Brahman gotras. Vamsam is the bams of the Agency tracts of Ganjam, Vizagapatam, and the Godavari districts. The name means bamboo, and denotes a family, whose branches are as countless as those of a bamboo. Kulam is used as the equivalent of group or family. The totem objects are revered in the usual way, and no secret is made of the reverence shown to them. In regard to plant totems, it is stated that, if the totem objects are not strictly treated as tabu, delinquents will be born as insects for seven generations. But an exception is allowed. A person who wishes to eat the forbidden plant may do so by annually performing the funeral ceremonies of the totem ancestor at Gaya, the great Hindu place of pilgrimage where obsequial ceremonies to ancestors are performed.

In recent times, the Komatis have claimed to be the Vaisyas mentioned in the Vedic Purusha-sukta. Accordingly, the totems have been arranged under the different Brahmanical gotras, whose pravaras have been appropriated. Thus, Munikula and four others are grouped under Madgalya Rishi gotra, whose pravara is given for all the five. Similarly, Vakkala kula and another kula come under Vayavya Rishi; Ghonta kula under Goupaka Rishi; Arati, Arisishta and a few others under Atri Rishi; Anupa kula under Agasthya Rishi, and so on. It is said that the totem names are secret names (sanketa namamulu) given by Kanyakamma, in order that the bearers thereof may be distinguished from those who did not take up her cause. All sub-divisions of the caste, however, have these septs in common.

In the northern parts of the Madras Presidency, the sept is further sub-divided into sections called intiperulu (house names). These are either named after some distinguished ancestor, or the place where the family once lived before emigrating to their present abode. These intiperulu are purely exogamous.

A Komati can claim his maternal uncle's daughter in marriage, in accordance with the custom of menarikam. The rigidity with which this right is exercised is testified by the sacred book of the caste--the Kanyaka Purana. On their descent from heaven, it is said, the Komatis settled in eighteen towns (ashta dasapuramulu), which had been built by Visvakarma under the orders of Siva. These towns are said to be situated in a tract of country sixty-four yojanas in extent, and bounded on the east by the Gautami (Godavari), on the south by the sea, on the west by the Gostani, and on the north by the Ganges. Of these, Penukonda, in the modern Godavari district, was the capital. In it are the temples of Nagariswaraswami (dedicated to Siva), and Janardhanaswami (dedicated to Vishnu). Its Pedda Setti was Kusama Sreshti, and his wife was Kusamamba. He performed Putra Kameshti sacrifice, and was blessed with a son and daughter. The former was named Virupaksha, and the latter Vasavambika (Vasavakanya, Kanyakamma, or Kanyaka Parameswari). The girl was possessed of indescribable beauty. Vishnu Vardhana, the son of Vijayarka of the lineage of the moon, who had his capital at Rajamundry, while on a pleasure tour round his dominions, halted at Penugonda, on learning that it was ruled by Setti Rajas, who paid no tribute to him. Being informed of his arrival by their boys, the caste elders, headed by Kusuma Setti, welcomed him, and took him in procession through the town. Then the women of the place waved arathi before him. Among them was the beautiful Vasavambika, with whom the king instantly fell in love. He proposed to her father that he should give her in marriage to himself, and in return obtain the gift of half of his kingdom. Kusuma Sreshti protested, and said that the sastras were against such a union. The king, through his minister, threatened that he would plunder his town, take him prisoner, and, with the riches of the place, carry off his daughter, and marry her. The Setti chief and his compatriots prayed for time to think over the matter, and retired. The chief then called a meeting of the castemen, at which it was decided that they should make a false promise to the king that they would give the girl in marriage to him, and send him off with a dinner, to return to Penugonda for the marriage after the lapse of a couple of months. Meanwhile, the boys of the town assembled, and resolved that the dinner ought not to be given. They informed their elders of this resolution, and were commissioned to induce the king to leave the town without it. This they did, with the ambiguous promise that, if they did not give the girl in marriage to him, they would kill themselves. On this, the king went off towards his capital, and Kusuma Setti called a caste meeting of the eighteen towns, at which various proposals were made. One proposed that the girl should not be given in marriage, and that, if the king came to claim her hand, he should be driven off. Another proposed that they should give the girl to the king, and save themselves from ruin. Others suggested that it would be best to marry the king to a substituted girl, to secrete the coveted girl, or to bribe the ministers to induce the king to abandon his intention of marrying her. The last of these proposals was adopted, and a few elders were sent to Rajamundry, to negotiate the affair. They first argued that, though they promised to give the girl in marriage, the promise was made through fear of the king's anger, and they could not give the girl in contravention of the rule of menarikam. The king, in his fury, ordered that the troops should immediately besiege the eighteen towns, imprison the inhabitants in dark dungeons, and carry off the girl in a palanquin. On this, the envoys heavily bribed the ministers, and begged them not to march the army on their towns. But the king would not yield, and sent his troops on Penugonda. The envoys returned home, and narrated their sad tale. A further meeting of the castemen was called at the instance of Bhaskaracharya, the caste guru, and it was resolved that all who wished to maintain the caste rule of menarikam should prepare to kill themselves in burning fire-pits. The majority fled rather than comply with the resolution. Those, however, who determined to sacrifice themselves in the fire-pits were 102 gotras in number, and they assembled in council, and asked Kusuma Sreshti to induce his daughter (who was only seven years old) to die with them. To this she consented, and showed herself in her true form of Paramesvari, the wife of Siva. On this, the Setti chief returned to his castemen, who asked him to get 103 fire-pits ready in the western portion of the town before the arrival of the king. These were accordingly dug, and decorated with festoons and plantain trunks at the four corners. Then the heads of the 102 gotras assembled, with their wives, in the courtyard of the temple of Nagaresvaraswami, where Vasavambika was symbolically married to the god. The headmen then tied on vira kankanams (heroes' wrist-threads), and marched in a body, with Vasavambika, to the fire-pits. There they gave counsel to their children that they should not ask voli (bride-price) for the marriage of their daughters, or communicate their secrets to females, or allow karnams (village accountants), rulers, unbelievers, or those universally abused into their homes. They further counselled them to give their daughters in marriage to the sons of their paternal aunts, even though they should be black-skinned, plain, blind of one eye, senseless, or of vicious habits, and though their horoscopes did not agree, and the omens were inauspicious. They were warned that, if they failed in so doing, they would lose their riches, and misfortune would fall on their families. Moreover, full power was given to the castemen to excommunicate the delinquents, and put them outside the town limits. If the transgressors subsequently repented, they were, after the lapse of six months, to be sent to Kasi (Benares), bathe in the Ganges, and return to their home. There they were to openly express their regret for their past conduct, fast the whole day, feed Brahmans, and present them with three hundred cows, and hear the Mahabharatha during the night. On the following day, they were again to fast, present two hundred cows to Brahmans and feast them, and hear the Ramayana during the night. On the third day, they were once more to fast, present a hundred cows, and hear the Bhagavatam during the night. On the fourth day, they were again to feast Brahmans, and worship Nagaresvaraswami of Penugonda, and thus purge themselves from the sin of contravening the rule of menarikam. But they were not bound to follow the rule, if the paternal aunt's son was totally blind, deaf, insane, stricken with disease, a eunuch, thief, idiot, leper, dwarf, or immoral, or if an old man or younger than the girl. The children were further advised to respect, at the time of their marriage, the families whose heads went as envoys to the king at Rajamundry, and the boys who made false promises to the king, and induced him to withdraw to his capital. The heads of the families then made various gifts to Brahmans, and asked Vasavambika to enter the pit. In her true form of Paramesvari, she blessed those gotras which had resolved to follow her, and announced that those who had fled would be nameless and without caste. She then declared that, immediately Vishnu Vardhana entered Penugonda, his head would fall severed from his neck. Finally, she invoked Brahma not to create thenceforth beautiful girls in the caste in which she was born, and prayed that in future they should be short of stature, with gaping mouth, disproportionate legs, broad ears, crooked hands, red hair, sunken eyes, dilated eye-balls, insane looks, broad noses and wide nostrils, hairy body, black skin, and protruding teeth. She then jumped into her pit, and immediately afterwards the heads of the 102 gotras, with their wives, fell into their respective pits, and were reduced to ashes. On the morrow, Vishnu Vardhana started on his journey from Rajamundry to Penugonda. Brahmans portended evil, and a voice from heaven said that he would lose his life. An evil spirit obstructed him, and it rained blood. Lightning struck men, and numerous other signs of impending evil occurred. Arrived at Penugonda, Vishnu Vardhana was informed that the castemen and Vasavambika had been burnt in the fire-pits. Stunned by the news, he fell from his elephant, and his head was severed from his body, and broke into a thousand pieces. His broken head and body were carried by his followers to Rajamundry, and cremated by his son Raja Raja Narendra. Then the latter pacified the citizens of Penugonda, and appointed Virupaksha, the son of Kusuma Sreshti, Pedda Setti of the towns. The 102 families performed funeral rites for their dead parents, visited Kasi and Ramesvaram, and built a temple in honour of Vasavambika at Penugonda, in which they placed an image in her name, and worshipped it ever afterwards.

Popular versions of the story here related from the Purana are told all over Southern India, where Komatis live. One of the most singular of these is narrated by Bishop Whitehead. [139] "The story," he writes, "goes that, in ancient days, there was a bitter hatred between the Komatis, who claim to belong to the Vaisya caste, and the Mlechas or barbarians. When the Komatis were getting worsted in the struggle for supremacy, they requested Parvati, the wife of Siva, to come and deliver them. It so happened that about that time Parvati was incarnate as a girl of the Komati caste, who was exceedingly beautiful. The Mlechas demanded that she should be given in marriage to one of their own people, and the refusal of the Komatis led to severe fighting, in which the Komatis, owing to the presence of the avatar of Siva among them, were completely victorious, and almost exterminated their enemies. After their victory, the Komatis entertained doubts as to the chastity of the girl, and compelled her to purify herself by passing through fire. This she did, and disappeared in the fire, resuming her real shape as Parvati, and taking her place beside Siva in heaven. Her last words were a command to the Komatis to worship her, if they wished their caste to prosper."

It is impossible to identify with certainty the Vishnu Vardhana of the Purana. There are as many as eleven individuals of that name known in Eastern Chalukyan history. The Purana refers to Vishnu Vardhana, the son of Vijayarka, who had his capital at Rajamundry. His son, according to the same authority, was Raja Raja Narendra. According to the Mackenzie manuscripts, the town of Rajamundry was founded by a king named Vijayaditya Mahendra, who has not been identified. Dr. Fleet is of opinion that Vishnu Vardhana VI, who ruled between 918 and 925 A.D., was the first to occupy, and re-name it. He, therefore, called himself Rajamahendra. Amma II, who ruled between 945 and 970 A.D., bore the same title. His brother and successor was Danarnaya (970--73 A.D.). Passing over the hiatus of thirty years, when the country was in the hands of the Cholas, we come to the reign of Saktivarman, the eldest son of Danarnaya. If we are to believe the Kanyaka Purana, then we must identify this Saktivarman with its Vijayarka. Saktivarman's successor, according to inscriptions, was Vimaladitya, who must be identified with the Vishnu Vardhana of the Purana. Vimaladitya's son, according to inscriptions, was Raja Raja I, surnamed Vishnu Vardhana VIII. He has been identified with the Raja Raja Narendra of current tradition in the Telugu country, to whom Nannayya Bhatta dedicated his translation of the Mahabharatha. He must also be the Raja Raja Narendra of the Purana. If that is so, we must set down the cardinal incidents mentioned in it to the first quarter of the 11th century A.D. The actual spots where the principal events of the tragedy were enacted are still pointed out at Penugonda. Thus, the garden in which king Vishnu Vardhana halted is said to be the site on which the hamlet of Vanampalli (meaning village of gardens) stands at present. The spot where the huge fire-pit for Kanyakamma was dug is pointed out as having been in field Nos. 63/3 and 63/4 to the north of the now non-existent Nagarasamudram tank. The 102 other pits were, it is said, in the fields round the bund (embankment) of this tank. The tank is now under cultivation, but faint traces of the bund are said to be still visible. It is about two furlongs to the north-west of the temple of Nagaresvaraswami. It is locally believed that Kanyakamma's fire-pit was, on the morning following her tragic end, found to contain, among the ashes, a golden likeness of herself, which was placed by the side of the image of Nagareswara, to whom she had been married. Long afterwards, the golden image was removed, and one in stone substituted for it, in accordance, it is said, with the direction of Kanyakamma, who appeared to one of the townsmen in a dream.

The temple of Nagaresvaraswami has several inscriptions on slabs, built into its prakara, and elsewhere. One of these is on the gateway inside the prakara walls. It opens with a glowing description of the powers of Nagaresvaraswami in giving blessings and gifts, and refers to Penugonda as one of the eighteen towns built by Visvakarma, and presented by Siva to the Komatis as a place of residence. The object of the inscription appears to be to record the restoration by one Kothalinga, a Komati whose genealogy is given, of the great town (Penugonda), which had been burnt to ashes by a Gajapathi king. He is also stated to have made grants of tanks, wells, and pleasure gardens, for the benefit of Nagaresvaraswami, for whose daily offerings and the celebration of festivals he provided by the grants of the villages of Mummadi, Ninagepudi, Varanasi, Kalkaveru, and Mathampudi, all included in the town of Penugonda. Various inscriptions show that, from so early a time as 1488 A.D., if not from still earlier times, the temple had become popular with the Komatis, and got intertwined with the statements now found in the Purana. Rai Bahadur V. Venkayya, Government Epigraphist, writes to say that the Teki plates found in the Ramachandrapuram taluk of the Godavari district, and published by Dr. E. Hultzsch, [140] may refer to some Komatis. The edict contained in it was, according to Dr. Hultzsch, probably issued about 1086 A.D., and records the grant of certain honorary privileges on the descendants of a family of merchants belonging to the Teliki family.

That about the end of the 14th century A.D., the story of Kanyakamma was popular is obvious from the Telugu version of the Markandeya Purana, which was composed by the poet Marana, the disciple of Tikkana, the part author of the Telugu Bharata. In this Purana, the following episode, which bears a close resemblance to the story narrated in the Kanyaka Purana, is introduced. A king, named Vrushadha, while on a hunting expedition, killed a cow, mistaking it for a "bison." He was cursed by Bhabhravya, the son of a Rishi, who was in charge of it, and in consequence became a Sudra, by name Anaghakara. He had seven sons, a descendant of one of whom was Nabhaga, who fell in love with a Komati girl, and asked her parents to give her in marriage to him. The Komatis replied much in the same manner as Kusuma Sreshti and his friends did to the ministers of Vishnu Vardhana in the Kanyaka Purana. Their answer will be found in canto VII, 223, of the Markandeya Purana, which contains the earliest authentic literary reference to the name Komati. In effect they said "Thou art the ruler of the whole of this universe, Oh! King; we are but poor Komatis living by service. Say, then, how can we contract such a marriage?" The king was further dissuaded by his father and the Brahmans. But all to no purpose. He carried off the girl, and married her in the rakshasa form (by forcible abduction), and, in consequence, in accordance with the law of Manu, became a Komati. He then performed penance, and again became a Kshatriya. It would seem that this episode, which is not found in the Sanskrit Markandeya Purana, is undoubtedly based on the incident recorded in the Kanyaka Purana.

There remain only three arguments to adduce in support of the suggestion that the chief event narrated in the Kanyaka Purana is worthy of credence. In the marriage ceremonies as performed by the Komatis, some prominence is given to certain of the incidents alleged to have taken place in setting at naught the demands of king Vishnu Vardhana. Such, for instance, is the respect shown to the bala nagaram boys, which is referred to later on. Secondly, there are certain castes which beg only from Komatis, in return for services rendered during this critical period of their history. These are the Mailaris and Viramushtis. The former still carry round the villages an image of Kanyakamma, sing her story, and beg alms of devotees. The Viramushtis are wrestlers, who, by acrobatic performances, delayed, by previous arrangement, the second advance of Vishnu Vardhana, before the Komatis committed themselves to the flames. Allied to these castes are the Bukka Komatis. Originally, it is explained, the Bukkas belonged to the Komati caste. When Kanyakamma threw herself into the fire-pit, they, instead of following her example, presented bukka powder, saffron, and kunkumum prepared by them to her. She directed that they should live apart from the faithful Komatis, and live by selling the articles which they offered to her. The Kalinga Komatis also have a beggar caste attached to them, called Jakkali-vandlu, who have nothing to do with the Gavara Komati beggar castes. Thirdly, if we may place any faith in the stories told by other castes, e.g., the Jains of South Arcot, the Tottiyans, Kappiliyans, and Beri Chettis, the persecution of their subjects by their kings, in the manner indicated in the Kanyaka Purana, seems to have been widely practiced all over the country. And the method adopted by the Komatis to evade the king, and maintain the menarikam rule, has its counterpart in the popular ballad known as Lakshmammapata, still sung all over the Northern Circars, which gives a graphic description of the murder of his wife by a husband, who would not agree to giving their daughter away from his own sister's son. Even now, the sentiment on this subject is so strong that a man who goes against the rule of menarikam, not only among the Komatis, but among all castes observing it, is looked down on. It is usually described as bending the twig from its natural course, and, as the twig would waste away and die in consequence, so would parties to such marriages not prosper. In 1839, according to the Asiatic Journal, a case was taken before the Supreme Court of Madras, in which the plaintiff brought an action against his uncle for giving his daughter away in marriage, without making him an offer of her hand. The Judges were anxious that the matter should be settled out of Court, but the parties disagreed so entirely that nothing less than a public trial would satisfy them. It has not been possible to trace the decision of the Court.

The Komatis have for a long time been alleged to be connected with the Madigas in a variety of ways. "The Komatis," Mr. F. R. Hemingway writes, "do not as a rule deny the fact of this connection. The Madigas are, indeed, apparently under the protection of the Komatis, apply to them for help when in trouble, and obtain loans and other assistance. Some Komatis explain the connection with the Madigas by a story that either Vishnu Vardhana, or his successor Rajaraja Narendra persecuted the Komatis, and that they had to fly for refuge to the Madigas. The Madigas took them in, and hid them, and they say that the present favour shown to that caste is only in gratitude for the kindness shown to themselves in the past. The Komatis themselves do not admit the title Mid-day Madigas (applied to them by other castes), but explain it by a story that long ago a Komati killed and ate a cow-buffalo, which was really no cow-buffalo, but the wife of a great sage who had transformed her into that shape in order that she might be safe when he was in contemplation. The saint accordingly cursed the caste, and said that they should be Mid-day Madigas for ever more." It is possible that the connection between the Komatis and Madigas was originally such as that of the Kammalans, Ambattans, and other castes, with Paraiyans, Vettiyans, and other depressed classes, and that, in later times, weird stories were invented by fertile brains to explain them away. One of these undoubtedly is that which makes the Komatis the descendants of the issue of a plain Brahman and a handsome Madiga woman. It is said that their children managed a sweetmeat bazar, which the Brahman kept in a much frequented forest, and, in his absence, pointed with a stick (kol) to the plates, and thereby told their prices, without polluting the articles with the touch. Hence arose the name Kolmutti (those who pointed with the stick), which became softened down to Komutti. Another story runs to the effect that the Madiga woman, when she was pregnant with her first child, was gored by a cow, and gave birth to it in the cow-shed. Hence arises the name Go-mutti, or cow-gored. In days gone by, it was incumbent on the Komatis to bear the marriage expenses of the Madiga families attached to their village, much in the same way that the Chakkiliyan is treated in the Madura district by the Tottiyan caste in return for the services he renders when a Tottiyan girl is under pollution on reaching maturity. In later times, this custom dwindled in some places [141] to the payment of the expenses of the marriage of two Madigas, and even this was abandoned in favour of inviting the Madigas to their weddings. In the city of Madras, it would appear to have been customary, in the eighteenth century, for the Komatis to get the mangalyam or sathamanam (marriage badge) blessed by an aged Madiga before it was tied on the bride's neck. Further, it would appear to have then been customary to give the sacred fire, used at marriages for the performance of homam, to a Madiga, and receive it back from him.