Chapter IX: Part 9

Writing concerning the Telugu Upparas at the beginning of the nineteenth century, Buchanan states [78] that "their proper occupation is the building of mud walls, especially those of forts." A very important occupation of these people was the manufacture of earth-salt and saltpetre, of which the latter was an important ingredient in the manufacture of gunpowder. "Throughout India," Dr. G. Oppert writes, [79] "saltpetre is found, and the Hindus are well acquainted with all its properties; it is even commonly prescribed as a medicine. India was famous for the exportation of saltpetre, and is so. The Dutch, when in India, traded especially in this article."

The Uppiliyans say that they are descended from a man who was created to provide salt for the table of their god, but lost the favour of the deity because his wife bartered the salt for some glass bangles. In his wrath he put his wife into the oven to kill her, but she escaped through a hole in the back. As evidence of the truth of the story, they point to the facts that their women wear no glass bangles, and that their ovens always have a hole in them. The caste further traces its descent from a mythical individual, named Sagara, to whom is ascribed the digging of the Bay of Bengal. His story is narrated in the Vishnu Purana, [80] and is briefly as follows. Sagara was son of Bahu, who was overrun by the Haihayas and Talajanghas, and consequently retired to the forest, where, near the hermitage of Muni Aurva, one of his queens conceived. A rival queen poisoned her, so as to prevent her from being delivered of the child. Meanwhile, Bahu waxed old, and his pregnant wife prepared to ascend the funeral pyre with him. But the Muni forbade her, saying that she was going to be the mother of an universal emperor. She accordingly desisted from the desperate act, and a splendid boy was born, and the poison expelled along with him. The Muni, on this account, gave him the name of Sagara, meaning with poison. As he grew up, the boy came to know of the troubles of his father, and resolved to recover his kingdom. He put to death nearly the whole of the Haihayas, and made the others acknowledge his suzerainty. He had two wives, by one of whom he had a son named Asamanja, and by the other sixty thousand sons. He subsequently performed the asvamedha or sacrifice of a horse, which was guarded by his sons. The animal was, however, carried off by some one into a chasm in the earth. Sagara commanded his sons to search for the steed, and they traced him by the impressions of the hoofs to the chasm, which he had entered. They proceeded to enlarge it, and dug downwards, each for a league. Coming to Patala, they saw the horse wandering freely about, and at no great distance from it was Kapila Rishi, sitting in meditation. Exclaiming "This is the villain who has maliciously interrupted our sacrifice, and stolen the horse, kill him, kill him," they ran towards him with uplifted weapons. The Rishi raised his eyes, and for an instant looked upon them, and they became reduced to ashes by the sacred flame that darted from him. On learning of the death of his sons, Sagara sent Amsumat, the son of Asamanja, to secure the animal. He went by the deep path which his father and uncles had dug, and, arriving at the place where Kapila was, propitiated him with an obeisance. The Rishi gave him the horse, to be delivered to his father, and in conferring the boon which Amsumat prayed for, said that his grandson would bring down the divine Ganges, whose "waters shall wash the bones and ashes of thy grandfather's sons," and raise them to swarga. Sagara then completed his sacrifice, and, in affectionate memory of his sons, called the chasm which they had dug Sagara. This is still the name of the ocean, and especially of the Bay of Bengal at the mouth of the Ganges, which, in accordance with the boon of Kapila, was brought down to earth by Amsumat's grandson Bhagiratha, from whom it received the name of Bhagirathi, which it retains to this day. Such is the story of the origin of the caste, members of which often call it Sagara kula, or the family of Sagara. As his sons excavated the ocean, so they dig tanks, channels, wells, etc. In the Mysore Census Reports, the Upparas are said to be called "Uppara in the eastern, Uppaliga in the southern, and Melu (west) Sakkre in the western districts. [Some explain that they work in salt, which is more essential than sugar, and that Mel Sakkare means superior sugar.] This caste is divided into the Telugu and Karnataka sub-divisions. The latter make earth-salt, while the former work as bricklayers and builders. The well-to-do section of the caste further undertake public works on contract, and some of them are good architects of ordinary Hindu houses, which do not call for much scientific precision. There are also agriculturists and labourers among them." In the Madras Presidency, at the present day, some members of the caste are well and tank diggers, house-builders or bricklayers; others are agricultural labourers, or village servants. A few are earth-work contractors, or, as at Muthialpet near Conjeeveram, yarn dyers. Some are in the service of Government as police constables. The women are very hard-working, and help their husbands at their work. To this fact is said to be due the high rate at which the bride-price is fixed. The well-kept roads of the city of Madras are the work of a colony of Upparas, who have settled there. The following curious custom is recorded by the Rev. J. Cain in a note [81] on the tank-diggers of the Godavari district. "A disturbance in a little camp of tank-diggers confirmed a statement which I heard at Masulipatam as to the manner in which the tank-diggers divide their wages. They had been repairing the bank of a tank, and been paid for their work, and, in apportioning the shares of each labourer, a bitter dispute arose because one of the women had not received what she deemed her fair amount. On enquiry, it turned out that she was in an interesting condition, and therefore could claim not only her own, but also a share for the expected child. This had been overlooked, and, when she asserted her right to a double portion, those who had already received their money objected to part with any, although they acknowledged that the claim was fair and just."

By the Madras Salt Act, 1889, it is enacted that any person who--

(a) removes any salt without or in excess of the permits necessary by this Act; or

(b) except for agricultural or building purposes, excavates, collects or possesses salt-earth in any local area where it is contraband salt; or

(c) manufactures contraband salt in any other way than by excavating or collecting salt-earth; or

(d) purchases, obtains, possesses, sells or weighs contraband salt other than salt-earth, knowing or having reason to believe it to be contraband; or

(e) refines saltpetre without such license as is prescribed by the Act; or

(f) attempts to commit, or within the meaning of the Indian Penal Code abets the commission of any of the above acts,

shall on conviction be punishable for every such offence with imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or with fine not exceeding five hundred rupees, or with both.

It is noted, in the Gazetteer of the Bellary district, that "at the time when the Company came into possession of the district, the salt consumed in it was of two kinds, namely, the earth-salt manufactured from saline soils by men of the Uppara caste, and the marine salt made on the west coast. The latter was imported by the Lambadis and Korachas, who brought it up the ghats by means of large droves of pack-bullocks. The earth-salt was made in what were known as modas, which were peculiar to the Ceded Districts, and were especially common in Bellary. A heap of earth was piled up, and on the top of it were hollowed out one or more circular basins, some five feet in diameter and two feet deep. From the bottom of these basins, channels lined with chunam (lime) ran down to one or more reservoirs similarly lined. Salt-earth was collected in the places where it effloresced naturally in the dry months, and taken to the moda on pack-buffaloes. It was thrown into the basins, and then a quantity of water was poured upon it. The brine so obtained flowed through the channels at the bottom of the basins into the reservoirs. From these it was baled with chatties (pots) into a set of masonry evaporating pans, carefully levelled and plastered with chunam, where it was left to be converted into salt by solar evaporation. Each lot of salt-earth, which was thus lixiviated, was taken from the basins and thrown outside them, and this process constantly repeated gradually raised the level of the moda and the basins, which were perpetually being re-made on the top of it. Some of the modas gradually grew to be as much as twenty feet in height. When they became too high for the buffaloes to carry the salt-earth up to their summits with comfort, they were abandoned, and others started elsewhere. The earth-salt made in this manner was neither so good nor so strong as marine salt, but it was much used by the poorer classes and for cattle, and thus interfered with the profits of the Government salt monopoly, which was established in 1805. As early as 1806, therefore, it was proposed to prohibit its manufacture. The chief arguments against any such step were that it would inflict hardship upon the Upparas who made the salt, and upon the poorer classes who consumed it, and, for the next three quarters of a century, a wearisome correspondence dragged on regarding the course which it would be proper to pursue. In 1873, Mr. G. Thornhill, Member of the Board of Revenue, visited the Ceded Districts, to see how matters stood. He reported that it was not possible to check the competition of the earth-salt with the Government marine salt by imposing an excise duty, as the modas were numerous and scattered. For similar reasons, and also because all the Upparas were very poor, a license-tax was out of the question. At the same time he calculated that the loss to Government due to the system was from eight to ten lakhs annually, and, seeing that Government salt was obtainable in Bellary as cheaply as in other inland districts, he recommended that the industry should be gradually suppressed. Government agreed, and ordered that the opening of new modas should be prohibited, and that those in existence should be licensed, with reference to their productive capacity, at rates to increase by annual increments until 1879, when the full duty leviable on sea-salt should be imposed on their entire produce. These measures, though they checked the manufacture, failed to entirely protect the revenue, and, in 1876, the Madras Salt Commission and Board of Revenue concurred in recommending that the manufacture of earth-salt should be at once and entirely suppressed. The Government of India agreed, and in 1880 orders were given that the modas should all be destroyed, reasonable compensation being paid to their owners. The manufacture of earth-salt in the district is now entirely a thing of the past, though in many places the remains of the old modas may still be seen. Some of the Upparas, however, still go annually to the Nizam's Dominions in the dry season, and make earth-salt by the old methods for sale there. Apparently they agree with the Nizam's Government to pay a certain fee, one-fourth of which is paid in advance, for the privilege. If the season is sufficiently dry, they make a small profit, but if, on the other hand, it is wet, manufacture is impossible, and they lose the amount of the fee, and their labour as well." A good deal of saltpetre is still made by members of the caste in various parts of the Madras Presidency by lixiviating the alkaline efflorescence of the earth. For this purpose, licenses are obtained annually from the Salt Department. Crude saltpetre is sold for manure on coffee estates, and also used in the manufacture of fireworks.

Speaking different languages, and living in different parts of the country, the Uppiliyans, Upparas, and Upparas do not intermarry, though, where they are found close together, they interdine.

The caste recognises the authority of its headmen, who are called Periyathanakaran, Ejaman, etc., and are assisted in some places, for example Madras, by a Jatibidda (son of the caste), who does the duties of caste peon or messenger, summoning members to a caste council-meeting, and so on. The usual punishments inflicted by a caste council are excommunication, fine, and the giving of a caste dinner. I am informed that, among the Canarese Upparas, a woman found guilty of adultery is punished as follows. A lock of her hair is cut off, and she is bathed in cold water, and made to drink a little cow-dung water. She is then taken to the temple, where the pujari (priest) sprinkles holy water over her head. A fine is paid by her family. A man, who is proved guilty of a similar offence, has one side of his moustache and one of his eyebrows shaved off, and the hair of his head is removed in three parallel lines. Seven small booths are constructed of straw, and set on fire. Through this the man has to pass. He is then plunged into a tank, and, after bathing therein, he is sprinkled with holy water. I am told that a woman has also to go through the fire ordeal.

Girls are married either before or after puberty, but usually after. Among the Uppiliyans and Upparas, it is customary for a man to claim his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage. The ceremonies in connection with marriage vary in accordance with the locality. Amongst the Uppiliyans of Madura, the tali (marriage badge) is usually tied to the bride's neck by a special woman, resident in her village, called Sirkari. In some places it is tied, as among some other Tamil castes, by the bridegroom's sister. Among the Telugu and Canarese sections, it is tied by the bridegroom himself. By the Upparas of South Canara, the dhare marriage rite is performed, in which the father of the bride pours water from a vessel over the united hands of the contracting couple. I am told that, among some Canarese Upparas, the bridegroom's head is shaved, and, after bathing, he puts on a double brass wire corresponding to the sacred thread of the Brahmans, which he wears for five days. Among the Telugu Upparas there are two sub-divisions, which are called, according to the amount of the bride-price, Yedu (seven) Madala and Padaharu (sixteen) Madala, a mada being equal to two rupees. Some say that mada refers to the modas (heaps of earth) used in former times. At a marriage among some Uppiliyans, it is customary for the bride and bridegroom to sit inside a wall made of piled up water pots, with the ends of their cloths tied together, while some of the women present pour water from the pots over their heads. The remarriage of widows is permitted, and I gather that, among the Upparas, a widow may only marry a widower, and vice versâ.

In a note on the Uppiliyans of the Trichinopoly district, Mr. F. R. Hemingway states that "some of the marriage ceremonies are peculiar. They allow an unborn boy to be betrothed to his unborn cousin. The bride has to be asked in marriage a number of times, before consent is given, lest it be thought that she is yielding too easily. The marriage is performed at her house, lest it should be thought that her parents are forcing her on the bridegroom. The caste does not use the marriage pole or paligai pots. Instead of the usual turmeric threads, the wrists of the contracting couple are tied together with wool. A curious custom among the Tamil section is that, at the beginning of the ceremonies, both on the first and second day, three matrons wash their faces in turmeric water, and the bride and bridegroom are bathed with the water used by them. They also have unusual observances connected with a girl's attainment of maturity. A husband may not look into his bride's eyes until this occurs. When she has at length attained maturity, the husband comes to his bride's house with a sheep and some vegetables, and kills the former. His brother-in-law then marks his forehead with the sheep's blood. The husband eats some plantain and milk, and spits it out at his bride, who is made to stand behind a screen. If the girl has attained maturity before her marriage, the Tamil section of the caste make her walk over seven wooden hoops on the wedding day. The husband has to give his formal consent to the ceremony, and a washerman has to be present. The Telugus perform this rite on the last day of the girl's first menstrual period, and her maternal uncle has to be present. The Uppiliyans allow the remarriage of widows and divorced women. A man may not shave until he marries a virgin, and, if he does not do so, he has to remain unshaved all his life."

The dead are, as a rule, buried. Among the Uppiliyans, who occupy a higher social position than the Canarese and Telugu sections, death pollution is observed for seven days. Among the Upparas, the period of pollution is sixteen days.

Concerning the death ceremonies, Mr. Hemingway writes as follows. "Widows of the Tamil section never remove their tali, but leave it till it drops off of itself. When a man dies, his widow is made to pretend he is still alive, and bathes him with oil, and puts garlands on him. If a man is to be buried, the chief mourner pretends to dig the grave. The karumantaram, or final death ceremony, of the Tamil section consists merely in taking some milk to an erukka (Calotropis gigantea) shrub on the sixteenth evening, just before the jackals begin to howl. They pour it over the shrub with the help of a barber, saying 'Go to Swarga (the abode of Indra), and make your way to Kailasam (heaven).'"

Some members of the caste are Vaishnavites, and others Saivites. In some places, the former are branded by their gurus, who are Vaishnava Brahmans. They also worship various village deities, which vary according to the place of residence. In the Census Report, 1891, the worship of Sunkalamma, Jambulamma, and Timmappa is noted.

It is stated by Mr. Hemingway that "the Uppiliyans have a caste god, named Karuvandaraya Bommadeva. He has no temple, but all the Uppiliyans in a village join in offering him an annual sacrifice in Tai (January-February), before the earth is scraped for the first time in the season for making saltpetre. They use avaram (Cassia auriculata) flowers and river sand in this worship. They also have three special caste goddesses, called Tippanjal, who are supposed to be women who committed sati. They have also Brahman gurus, who visit them every year, and bless their salt pits."

Concerning the caste organisation of the Uppiliyans, Mr. Hemingway writes that "when a complaint of a caste offence is made, notice is sent to the Pattakkaran (headman), and to the whole Uppiliyan community in the neighbourhood, notifying the accusation and the provisional expulsion of the accused. A second notice summons the community to a panchayat (council), which is presided over by at least two or three Pattakkarans, the caste god being represented by some avaram flowers, a pot of water, and margosa (Melia Azadirachta) leaves. If acquitted, the accused is made to touch the water pot in token of his innocence. If he is convicted, both he and the complainant are fined, the latter for the purification of his house, if it has been polluted by the offence. The purification is performed by a man of the Marudur Nadu called Rettai Vilakkukaran (man of two lights), who eats a meal in the polluted house, with his hands held behind his back."

It was recently noted that the Upparas are, as a rule, uneducated, and their ignorance of the three R's often leads to bitter disputes among themselves and with their employers in disbursing their wages. Some years ago, one of the Madras Missions opened a school for the benefit of this backward caste. In 1906, the Hindu Educational Mission of Madras started a night and day school, Upparapalaiyam Arya Pathasala, in the Upparapalaiyam quarter of Madras.

There is a Telugu proverb to the effect that one is ruined both ways, like an Uppara who has turned Sanyasi (ascetic), in reference to the fact that he neither follows his ancestral occupation, nor is tolerated in his new calling. The usual caste title is Chetti.

Uppara occurs as a synonym of Kusa Holeya.

Uppu (salt).--A sub-division of Balijas and Koravas, who trade in salt, which they carry about the country in panniers on donkeys or bullocks. It is also an occupational sub-division of Komati. The equivalent Uppa is an exogamous sept of Kelasi. Uppukottei occurs as a division of Maravan, Upputholuvaru (salt-carriers) as an exogamous sept of Odde, and Uppiri (salt-earth) as a sept of Kuruba.

Urali.--In the Madras Census Report, 1891, the Uralis are described as "a caste of agricultural labourers found chiefly in the districts of Madura and Trichinopoly. The word Urali means a ruler of a village. Like the Ambalakkarans, they trace their descent from one Mutturaja, and the only sub-division returned by any number is Mutracha. They also assert that they were formerly employed as soldiers. In the Wynad there is a section of Kurumbas called Urali Kurumbas, and it is not improbable that these Uralis of the Tamil country are an offshoot of the great Kurumba race." The Uralis are further summed up in the same report, as "agricultural labourers in Coimbatore, Trichinopoly, and Madura. There seems to be some connection between the Uralis and the Ambalakkarans or Muttiriyans. Muttiriyan is a sub-division of both Urali and Ambalakkaran, and both of these are found in the same districts. Perhaps the Uralis are an offshoot of the Tamil Valaiyans, which by change of occupation has transformed itself into a distinct caste (see Ambalakkaran). The caste is split up into a number of sub-divisions, called after the name of the tract or nadu in Trichinopoly which each inhabits. To get back into the caste, an excommunicated man has to kill a sheep or goat before the elders, and mark his forehead with the blood. He then gives a feast to the assembly, and puts part of the food on the roof of his house. If the crows eat this, he is received back into the caste. [Brahmans always put out portions of the sraddha offerings in the same way, and judge whether they are acceptable or not by noting if the crows eat them or not.] Marriage is infant or adult. A man detected in an intrigue with an unmarried woman is fined, and has to marry her, and at the wedding his waist string is tied round her neck instead of a tali. The well-to-do people of the caste employ Brahmans as priests, but others content themselves with their own elders. Widows and divorced women may marry again. The dead are either burned or buried. The richer members of the caste perform sraddha (memorial service for the dead). They drink alcohol, and eat fowls, mutton, pork, fish, rats, etc. In social position they come below the Idaiyans, Tottiyans, and Kallans. Their title is Kavandan."

For the following note on the Uralis of the Trichinopoly district, I am indebted to Mr. F. R. Hemingway. "They say that they were originally Kshatriyas living in 'Alipuram near Oudh,' and left that place in search of adventure, or in consequence of disputes at home, leaving their wives behind them, and finally settled in the south, where they married serving women (pulukkachis). They say that they belong to the Mutturaja Kuttam, a phrase they cannot explain, and protest that the Ambalakkarans, who make a similar claim, have no ground for so doing. They seem to eat with no other caste on equal terms, but will, of course, accept separate meals from Vellalans. They are split into seven nadus, which are in effect endogamous sub-divisions. These are called after villages in the country inhabited by the caste, namely, Vadaseri, Pilluru, Sengudi, Kadavangudi or Virali, Talakka, Paluvinji or Magali, and Marungi. The members of the first three of these nadus are called Vadaseri Uralis, and those of the other four Nattu-simai Uralis, Kunduva-nattu-tokkadus, or Nandutindis. All of them will mess together. They say that the nadus were originally intended to facilitate the decision of caste disputes, and they are still the unit of self-government. Each nadu has a headman, who exercises supreme control over the villages included within it. The Uralis also have a number of exogamous septs called karais by the Vadaseris and kaniyacchis by the Nattu-simais, which are called after the names of places. They are generally cultivators, but are said sometimes to be given to crime. They wear the sacred thread on occasions of marriages and funerals. The women can be recognised by their dress, the kusavam being spread out behind, and a characteristic pencil-shaped ornament (kuchu) being suspended from the neck. Some of their marriage and funeral customs are peculiar. Among the Nattu-simais, the betrothal is ratified by the maternal uncle of each of the pair solemnly measuring out three measures of paddy (rice) in the presence of the other party at their house. At their funerals, the bier is not brought into the village, but left outside, and the corpse is carried to it. Among the Vadaseris, while preparations are being made for the removal of the body, a Paraiyan woman performs a dance. Among the Nattu-simais this is done on the Ettu day. On the second day after the funeral, the relatives of the deceased dip their toes in a mortar full of cow-dung water placed in front of his house, and put sacred ashes on the head. The karumantaram, or final death ceremony, is only performed by the rich. It can take place at any time after the third day. The Ettu ceremony is similarly performed at any time after the third day, and is attended with a curious ritual. Both sections of the caste erect a booth, in which three plantain trees are planted, and the chief mourner and his cousins stand there all day to receive the condolences of their friends. From this point the practice of the two sections differs in small points of detail. Among the Vadaseris, the friends come one by one, and are asked by the chief mourner, "Will you embrace, or will you strike your forehead?" In reply, the friend either closes the open hand of the chief mourner with his own as a form of embrace, or flings himself on the ground in the booth, and weeps. Each visitor then goes to a meeting of the nadu which is being held outside the village, and a Paraiyan and three Uralis inform the headman who have visited the booth and who have not, and ask if it may be removed. Permission being given, the plantains are cut down, and the woman-folk wail round a chembu (vessel) placed there. All then proceed to the nadu meeting, where a turban is put on a Paraiyan, a dancing-girl and a Pandaram, and the Paraiyan (called Nattu Samban) beats his drum, and pronounces a blessing on the nadu. Finally all repair to the house of the deceased, where the headman puts three handfuls of kambu (millet) into the cloth of his wife or some other member of the family, and throws a mortar on the ground. Punishments for caste offences take some curious forms. A margosa (Melia Azadirachta) leaf is put on the house of anyone who is excommunicated. If a man seduces a girl of the caste, an enquiry is held, and the pair are married. The waist-string of the man is tied round the neck of the woman, and a Tottiyan is called in to take away the pollution which they and their relatives have incurred. They are taken to a tank (pond), where 108 holes have been made by the Tottiyan, and are made to bathe in every hole, sprinkling the water over their heads. A sheep is then killed by a Tottiyan and a Chakkiliyan, its head is buried, and the couple and their relatives are made to walk over the spot. The blood of the animal is then smeared on their foreheads, and they all have to bathe again. They are next given cow's urine to drink, and then once more bathe. After that they are given milk, and are made to prostrate themselves before the panchayat (council). Finally they have to give a feast to the panchayat, at which a part of the food is offered to the crows, and the purification is not complete till the birds have partaken thereof. The Uralis are fond of shikar (hunting). On the Sivaratri night, sacrifices are offered to their family gods, and, on the following day, all the men of the village go out hunting. They have a head shikari (huntsman), called Kavettaikaran, who receives every animal which is killed, cuts off its head, and breaks its legs. The head is given to the man who killed the animal, and the rest is shared among the castemen."

Of the Uralis who inhabit the hill country of Travancore, the following account is given in the Travancore Census report, 1901. "The Uralis are a class of hill tribes resident in the Cardamom Hills. They are chiefly found in the tracts known as Kunnanat, Velampan, Kurakkanat, Mannukat, Kalanat, and Periyur. The headman of the Uralis in each of these areas is called a Kanikkaran. Tradition tells us that they were the dependents of the kings of Madura, and that their duty was to hold umbrellas in times of State processions. In ancient times, many of the parts now included in the Todupuzha taluk belonged to the kingdom of Madura. Once, when the king came to Neriyamangalam, the ancestors of these Uralis are said to have accompanied him, and to have been left there to rule (ali) that locally (ur). The males dress like the low-country people, with cloths about four cubits long extending from the hip to the knee. Another cloth, about one or two cubits in length, is put over the back, one end of which passes under their right arm and the other over the shoulder, both meeting in front over the chest, where they are tied together in a peculiar knot by folding the extremities, thus forming a bag wherein to contain their wayside necessaries. Females wear two pieces of cloth, nine and two and a half cubits in length respectively, and folded in the middle. The larger is the lower garment, and the smaller upper garment is worn with two ends tied around the neck. Males wear brass finger and toe-rings, sometimes of silver. Some adorn their necks with wreaths of beads, from fifteen to thirty in number. Females wear ear-ornaments known as katumani, which are rings of metal wire, four or five in number. Males generally allow their hair to grow, the face alone being now and then shaven. The Uralis eat rice for six months of the year, and subsist on roots, fruits, and other forest produce during the remaining half. A large portion of the paddy (rice) that the Uralis gather by cultivation goes to the low country in exchange for clothing and salt. The flesh of most animals is eaten, but the elephant and buffalo are held in such great respect that no Urali ever ventures to hurt them. Even the approach of the buffalo is religiously avoided. They begin to fell forest trees in Dhanu (December-January), and seeds are sown by the end of Metam (April-May). They have only a katti, which is a kind of chopping knife, for purposes of ploughing. After cultivation they change their abodes. They put up huts in the vicinity of the cultivated areas, and use bamboo and reeds as materials. After leaving the old, and before putting up the new hut, they live for several days in caves or under trees. They are very good watchmen, and take great care in putting up fences, weeding, and protecting cultivation from wild animals. They make excellent mats of reed. They are clever huntsmen, and are passionately attached to their hunting dogs. They hoard their grains in wicker baskets called virivallam. They possess copper and brass vessels, mortar, chopping knives, sickles, spades, flint and steel. A man after marriage lives with his wife, apart from his parents. Pollution of a very aggravated kind is observed during the menstrual and puerperal periods. On these occasions a separate matam (hut), called the pattu-pandal, is put up at a distance from the dwelling hut. Here the woman stays for three days. After bathing on the fourth day, she shifts to another matam still nearer, and stays there for one or two days. On the seventh day she rejoins the family. In cases of confinement, twelve days are spent in the remotest hut, and five days in the nearer one. But for another period of twenty days the woman is not permitted to touch any one in the house, or even the roofing of the hut. During these days food is prepared by others, and given to her. The water in which those who are confined, and those who are in their menses bathe, is considered to be defiled beyond remedy. Hence, for bathing purposes some secluded and out-of-the-way pool, called pattuvellam, is selected. Uralis coming to the low country hesitate to drink water, on the score that it might be thus polluted. When the woman delivers herself of her first child, her husband observes three days' pollution, but none for subsequent confinements. On all such occasions, the maternal relations of the woman have to observe five days' pollution. On the eighteenth day after birth, the eldest member of the family names the child, and bores the ear. The head of the child is shaved as soon as it is able to walk, and a tuft of hair is left in front. The corpses of the Uralis are not burnt, but buried at a sufficient distance from the house. A new cloth is put into the grave by each relative. After filling in the grave, they erect a shed over it, within which the chopping knife of the deceased, a quantity of boiled rice, and some chewing materials (betel and nuts) are placed. After the lapse of seven years, an offering of food and drink is made to the departed soul. Death pollution lasts for sixteen days. The Uralis address their father as appan, and maternal uncle as achchan. Marumakkathayam is the prevailing form of inheritance (in the female line). Marriage is settled by the parents. There is no tali symbol to indicate the wedded state. After the marriage is settled, the girl is merely sent to the pandal or hut of the husband. The Uralis intermarry with the Ulladans, and in rare cases with Muduvans. Remarriage is permitted. An Urali, wishing to get married into a particular family, has to wed into the family a girl belonging to his own. The Uralis have a fine ear for music, and sing many songs in the night before going to bed. Like the Kanis (Kanikars), they resort to enchantments called cheppuka and chattuka for the cure of diseases. Their would-be sorcerers have to leave the community, and wander alone in the forest for a number of months. They are said to then get into a trance, when their forefathers appear before them as maidens, and teach them the mystic arts. The Uralis bear their loads only on the back, and never on the head. They never go to distant places without their chopping knife. They are good forest guides." The Uralis are stated by the Rev. S. Mateer [82] to practice polyandry like the Todas.

Urali is further a synonym of the Tandans of Travancore, in reference, it is said, to their having been guardians of villages (ur) in former times. It is also the title of the headman of the Kuravas of Travancore and a synonym of the Kolayans of Malabar.

Urali.--The Uralis, who form the subject of the present note, dwell at an altitude of 1,800 feet in the jungles of Dimbhum in the Coimbatore district, where a forest bungalow, situated on a breezy ridge overlooking the plains, formed a convenient centre from which to study both Uralis and the more primitive Sholagas.

The Uralis are familiar with the Badagas, who have a settlement not many miles distant; the Todas, who occasionally migrate across the adjacent Nilgiri frontier in search of grazing land for their buffaloes; and the Kurumbas and Irulas, who inhabit the lower slopes of the Nilgiris, which run down to Coimbatore. With the civilised world they are acquainted, as they carry loads to the plains, and run down to market at the town of Sathyamangalam, which is only seventeen miles distant from Dimbhum. Like the Nilgiri Badagas, they are clad in turban, and long flowing body-cloth, white (when new), or striped with red and blue. The hair is worn long and unkempt, or shaved á la Hindu with kudimi in mimicry of the more civilised classes. A man was introduced to us as an expert mimic of the note of the paroquet, peacock, jungle-fowl and other forest birds; and a small party improvised, in front of the bungalow, a bird trap cleverly constructed out of stones, an iron plate from the camp kitchen, bamboo, and rope made on the spot from the bark of Ficus Tsiela. The making of fire with flint and steel is fast disappearing in favour of safety matches.

The Uralis say that they are men of seven kulams (i.e., having seven posts to the marriage booth), and are children of Billayya, while they describe the Sholagas as men of five kulams and children of Karayya. They call themselves Uralis or Irulas, and, when questioned, say that, as Billayya and Karayya are brothers, they may also be called Sholagas. But there is no intermarriage between Uralis and Sholagas, though members of the two tribes sometimes interdine. According to another legend, the Uralis and Sholagas are both descended from Karayan, and the Sivacharis (Lingayats) from Billaya or Madheswaram (see Sholaga). They speak a patois of mixed Tamil and Canarese, and have a number of exogamous septs, the meaning of the names of which is not clear. They indulge in a large repertoire of nicknames, for the most part of a personal nature, such as donkey-legged, big-navelled, pot-bellied, hare-lipped, hairy like a bear or the tail of a mungoose, toothless, lying, brought up on butter-milk. One man was named Kothe Kallan (kotha, a stone), because he was born on a rock near Kotagiri.

The majority of the tribe earn a modest livelihood by collecting minor forest produce, such as myrabolams, wax and honey, and poles for use as primitive breaks for country carts during the ascent of the ghat road. These poles are tied to the carts by ropes, and trail behind on the ground, so that, when the cart stops, the backward course of the wheels is arrested. Some till the soil, and cultivate various kinds of food-grains. Others are sheep and cattle owners. A few families possess land, which is given free of rent by the Forest Department, on condition that they work for the department whenever their services are required. As a class they are not inclined to do hard work, and they appear to get into the clutches of money-lending Chettis. Their staple food is ragi (Eleusine Coracana). But they eat also sheep, fowls, goat, deer, pigeons and doves, black monkeys, wild boar, hare, hedgehogs, paroquets, quails and partridges, jungle-fowl, woodcock, woodpeckers, and other denizens of the jungle. A man who was asked whether they eat beef, cats, toads, bears, or white monkeys, expectorated violently at the mention of each, and the suggestion of the first three produced the most explosive oral demonstration.

Tribal disputes are referred to a headman, called Yejamana, who must belong to the exogamous sept called Sambe, and whose appointment is an hereditary one. To assist him, three others, belonging to the Kalkatti, Kolkara and Kurinanga septs, whose hereditary titles are Pattagara, Gouda and Kolkara, are appointed. The Kolkara has to invite people to the panchayat (tribal council), collect the fines inflicted, and be present on the occasion of marriages. A woman who, after marriage, refuses to live with her husband, is punished thus. She is tied to a tree, and the Kolkaran empties the contents of a hornet or wasp's nest at her feet. After a few minutes the woman is questioned, and, if she agrees to live with her husband, she must, in token of assent, lick a mark made on his back by the Kolkara with fowl's excrement, saying "You are my husband. In future I shall not quarrel with you, and will obey you." Even after this ordeal has been gone through, a woman may, on payment of a fine, leave her husband in favour of another man of the tribe.

When a girl reaches puberty, she is anointed, decorated with jewelry, and made to occupy a separate hut for seven days, during which time two young girls keep her company. On the eighth day, all three bathe in a pond or stream, and return in their wet clothes to the girl's home, where they sit on a pestle placed in front of the door. A plantain leaf is then placed in front of them, on which cooked rice and curry are spread. A child, aged about eight or nine months, is set in the girl's lap, and she feeds the infant with a small quantity of rice, of which she herself swallows a few mouthfuls. Those assembled then sit down to a meal, at the conclusion of which they wash their hands in a dish, and the girl throws the water away. The feast concluded, the spot is sprinkled with cowdung water, and cleaned up by the girl.

Marriage is either infant or adult, but, as a rule, the latter. The match-making is carried out by the boy's parents, who, with his other relations, pay two visits, one with and one without the boy, to the parents of the girl. At the first visit a present of ragi, and at the second of plantains, rice, and millet pudding is made. The party must be received with due respect, which is shown by taking hold of the walking-sticks of the guests on arrival, and receiving them on a mat spread inside the house. The customary form of salute is touching the feet with both hands, and raising them, with palms opposed, to the forehead. Before taking their seats, the guests salute a vessel of water, which is placed on the mat, surrounded by betel leaves and nuts. A flower is placed on the top of the stone or figure which represents the tribal goddess, and, after puja (worship) has been done to it, it is addressed in the words "Oh, Swami! drop the flower to the right if the marriage is going to be propitious, and to the left if otherwise." Should the flower remain on the image, without falling either way, it is greeted as a very happy omen. On the occasion of the betrothal ceremony, if the bridegroom's party, on their way to the bride's village, have to cross a stream, running or dry, the bridegroom is not allowed to walk across it, but must be carried over on the back of his maternal uncle. As they approach the bride's home, they are met by the Kolkara and two other men, to whom the Kolkara, after receiving the walking-sticks of the guests, hands them over. Failure to do so would be an act of discourtesy, and regarded as an insult to be wiped out by a heavy fine. When the procession arrives at the house, entrance into the marriage booth is prevented by a stick held across it by people of the bride's village. A mock struggle takes place, during which turmeric water is thrown by both sides, and an entrance into the house is finally effected. After a meal has been partaken of, the bridal party proceed to the village of the bridegroom, where the bride and bridegroom are lodged in separate houses. In front of the bridegroom's house a booth, supported by twelve posts arranged in four rows, has been erected. The two pillars nearest the entrance to the house are called murthi kamba. Into the holes made for the reception of these, after a cocoanut has been broken, ghi (clarified butter), milk, and a few copper coins are placed. The bridal pair, after an oil bath, are led to the booth, decorated with jewels and wearing new cloths, and made to sit on a plank. A cocoanut is broken, and they salute a vessel placed on a plate. The bridal party then adjourn to a pond or stream, and do puja to their god. On the return thence the bridal couple must be accompanied by their maternal uncles, who should keep on dancing, while cocoanuts are broken in front of them till the house is reached. The contracting parties then again sit on the plank with their little fingers linked, while the bride money (theravu) is paid to the father-in-law, and the milk money (pal kuli) to the mother-in-law. The tali (a golden disc) is then tied on to the bride's neck by some female relation of the bridegroom, and the bride and bridegroom, after saluting those assembled, enter the house, where the young wife is at once told to cook some rice, of which she and her husband partake from the same leaf plate.

There exists, among the Uralis, a kind of informal union called kuduvali. A man and woman will, by mutual agreement, elope into the jungle, and live there together, till they are discovered and brought back by their relations. A panchayat (council) is held, and they are recognised as man and wife if the bride money and fine inflicted are paid. Failure to pay up would render them liable to excommunication. To celebrate the event, a feast must be given by the man; and, if he should die without having fed the community, any children born to him are considered as illegitimate. In such a case, the widow or her near relatives are asked to give food to at least a few before the corpse is removed, so as to legitimatise the children.

The Uralis bury their dead, and the death ceremonies are, to a certain extent, copied from those of the Badagas. As soon as a member of the tribe dies, the corpse is anointed, washed, and dressed in new clothes and turban. On the face three silver coins are stuck, viz.:--a rupee on the forehead, and a quarter rupee outside each eye. When all have assembled for the funeral, the corpse is brought out and placed under a car (teru) of six storeys, made of bamboo and sticks, covered with coloured cloths and flags, and having at the top a kalasa (brass vessel) and umbrella. To the accompaniment of a band a dance takes place around the car, and the procession then moves on to the burial-ground, where a cow buffalo is brought near the car, and a little milk drawn and poured three times into the mouth of the corpse. A cow and one or two calves are taken round the car, and the calves presented to the sister of the deceased. The car is then broken up, after the decorations have been stripped off. The corpse is buried either on the spot, or taken away to distant Nirgundi, and buried there. On the eighth day after the funeral or return from Nirgundi, the eldest son of the deceased has his head shaved, and, together with his brother's wife, fasts. If the funeral has been at Nirgundi, the son, accompanied by his relations, proceeds thither after tying some cooked rice in a cloth. On arrival, he offers this to all the memorial stones in the burial-ground (goppamane), and erects a stone, which he has brought with him, in memory of the deceased. He then anoints all the stones with ghi, which is contained in a green bamboo measure. He collects the rice, which has been offered, and one of the party, becoming inspired, gives vent to oracular declarations as to the season's prospects, the future of the bereaved family, etc. The collected rice is regarded as sacred, and is partaken of by all. Each sept has its own goppamane, which is a rectangular space with mud walls on three sides. In cases in which the corpse has been buried close to the village, the grave is marked by a file of stones. Two or three years afterwards, the body is exhumed, and the bones are collected, and placed in front of the house of the deceased. All the relations weep, and the son conveys the bones to Nirgundi, where he buries them. On the eighth day he revisits the spot, and erects a stone with the ceremonial already described.

The Uralis worship a variety of minor deities, and sacrifice sheep and goats to Palrayan. They observe two annual festivals, viz.:--(a) Thai nombu, when the whole house is cleaned, and margosa (Melia Azadirachta) twigs and spikes of Achyranthes aspera are tied together, and placed in front of the house over the roof, or stuck into the roof overhanging the entrance. A sumptuous repast is partaken of. This ceremonial takes place in the month Thai (December-January). (b) In the month Vyasi (March-April) a large trough is placed close to a well, and filled with a mixture of salt and water. The cattle, decorated with leaves and flowers, are brought, one by one, to the trough, and made to drink the salt water.

Uril Parisha.--A class of Mussad.

Uru.--Ur, Uru, meaning village, is the name of a division of Bedar, Boya, Golla, Korava, Kuruba, Madiga, and Odde. The Bedars and Boyas are divided into two main divisions, Uru or those who dwell in villages, and Myasa (grass-land or forest people) who live away from villages. In like manner, the Uru Oddes are those who have abandoned a nomad life, and settled in villages. Among some of the Tamil cultivating classes, the headman is known as the Ur Goundan.

Ur-Udaiyan (lord of a village).--A synonym of Nattaman.

Urukathi (a kind of knife).--An exogamous sept of Toreva.

Urukkaran, a class of Muhammadan pilots and sailors in the Laccadive islands. (See Mappilla.)

Urumikkaran.--The Urumikkarans, or those who play on the drum (urumi), are said [83] to be "Tottiyans in Madura, and Parayans elsewhere." The Kappiliyans say that they migrated with the Urumikkarans from the banks of the Tungabadra river, because the Tottiyans tried to ravish their women. At a Kappiliyan wedding, a Urumikkaran must be present at the distribution of betel on the second day, and at the final death ceremonies a Urumikkaran must also be present.

Usira (usirika, Phyllanthus Emblica).--A sept of Komati.

Utla.--Utla or Utlavadu has been recorded as an occupational sub-caste of Yerukala, and an exogamous sept of Boya and Padma Sale. The name is derived from utlam, a hanging receptacle for pots, made of palmyra fibre, which some Yerukalas make and sell. [84]

Uttareni (Achyranthes aspera).--An exogamous sept of Boya.

Uyyala (a swing).--An exogamous sept of Mala, Mutracha, and Yerukala. During the marriage ceremonies of Brahmans and some non-Brahman castes, the bride and bridegroom are seated in a swing within the marriage booth, and songs called uyyala patalu (swing songs) are sung by women to the accompaniment of music.

V

Vada.--On the coast of Ganjam and Vizagapatam, the sea fishermen are either Vadas or Jalaris, both of which are Telugu castes. The fishing operations are carried on by the men, and the fish are sold by the women in markets and villages. Various Oriya castes, e.g., Kevuto, Kondra, Tiyoro, etc., are employed as fishermen, but only in fresh-water. The Vadas seem to be a section of the Palles, with whom they will interdine and intermarry. They call themselves Vada Balijas, though they have no claim to be regarded as Balijas. Sometimes they are called Kalasis by Oriya people.

Socially the Vadas occupy a low position. Their language is a corrupt and vulgar form of Telugu. The men wear a conical palm leaf cap, such as is worn by the Pattanavan fishermen in the Tamil country. In the presence of a superior, they remove their loin-cloth and place it round their neck and shoulders as a mark of respect. Among many other castes, this would, on the contrary, be regarded as an act of impertinence.