Fuel Stack at Udipi Matt.

“Shivalli Brahmins. The Tulu-speaking Brahmins of the present day are almost all followers of Mādhavāchārya, though a few remain Smarthas, and a certain number follow what is known as the Bhagavat Sampradāyam, and hold that equal honour is due to both Vishnu and Siva. They are now generally called Shivalli Brahmins, their head-quarters being at Udipi or Shivalli, a few miles from Mādhavāchārya’s birth-place. Here Mādhavāchārya is said to have resided for some time, and composed thirty-seven controversial works, after which he set out on a tour. The temple of Krishna at Udipi is said to have been founded by Mādhavāchārya himself, who set up in it the image of Krishna originally made by Arjuna, and miraculously obtained by him from a vessel wrecked on the coast of Tuluva. In it he also placed one of the three sālagrāms presented to him by the sage Vēda Vyāsa. Besides the temple at Udipi, he established eight Mathas or sacred houses, each presided over by a sanyāsi or swāmi. [Their names are Sodhē, Krishnāpur, Sīrur, Kānur, Pējāvar, Adamar, Palamar, and Puththige.] These exist to this day, and each swāmi in turn presides over the temple of Krishna for a period of two years, and spends the intervening fourteen years touring through Canara and the adjacent parts of Mysore, levying contributions from the faithful for his next two years of office, which are very heavy, as he has to defray not only the expenses of public worship and of the temple and Matha establishments, but must also feed every Brahmin who comes to the place. The following description of a Matha visited by Mr. Walhouse[110] gives a very good idea of what one of these buildings is like: ‘The building was two-storeyed, enclosing a spacious quadrangle round which ran a covered verandah or cloister; the wide porched entrance opened into a fine hall supported by massive pillars with expanding capitals handsomely carved; the ceiling was also wooden, panelled and ornamented with rosettes and pendants as in baronial halls, and so were the solid doors. Within these was an infinity of rooms, long corridors lined with windowless cells, apartments for meditation and study, store-rooms overflowing with all manner of necessaries, granaries, upper rooms with wide projecting windows latticed instead of glass with pierced wood-work in countless tasteful patterns, and in the quadrangle there was a draw-well and small temple, while a large yard behind contained cattle of all kinds from a goat to an elephant. All things needful were here gathered together. Outside sat pilgrims, poor devotees, and beggars waiting for the daily dole, and villagers were continually arriving with grain, vegetables, etc.’ The periodical change of the swāmi presiding over the temple of Krishna is the occasion of a great festival known as the Pariyāya, when Udipi is filled to overflowing by a large concourse of Mādhvas, not only from the district but from more distant parts, especially from the Mysore territory. [A very imposing object in the temple grounds, at the time of my visit in 1907, was an enormous stack of fire-wood for temple purposes.] The following is a description[111] of a festival at the Udipi Krishna temple witnessed by Mr. Walhouse: ‘Near midnight, when the moon rode high in a cloudless heaven, his (Krishna’s) image—not the very sacred one, which may not be handled, but a smaller duplicate—was brought forth by four Brahmins and placed under a splendid canopy on a platform laid across two large canoes. The whole square of the tank (pond) was lit up by a triple line of lights. Small oil cressets at close intervals, rockets and fireworks ascended incessantly, and the barge, also brilliantly lit up, and carrying a band of discordant music, and Brahmins fanning the image with silver fans, was punted round and round the tank amid loud acclamations. After this, the image was placed in a gorgeous silver-plated beaked palanquin, and borne solemnly outside the temple to the great idol car that stood dressed up and adorned with an infinity of tinsel, flags, streamers and flower wreaths. On this it was lifted, and placed in a jewel shrine amidst a storm of applause and clapping of hands—these seem the only occasions when Hindus do clap hands—and then, with all the company of Brahmins headed by the swāmis marching in front, followed by flambeaus and wild music, the car was slowly hauled by thousands of votaries round the square which was illuminated by three lines of lights, ascending at intervals into pyramids. A pause was made half-way, when there was a grand display of rockets, fire fountains and wheels, and two lines of camphor and oiled cotton laid along the middle of the road were kindled and flamed up brilliantly. Then the car moved on to the entrance of the temple, and the god’s outing was accomplished.’ Another famous temple of the Shivallis is Subramanya at the foot of the ghauts on the Coorg border, and here also Mādhavāchārya deposited one of Vēda Vyāsa’s sālagrāms. It existed before his time, however, and, as the name indicates, it is dedicated to the worship of Siva. In addition to this, it is the principal centre of serpent worship in the district.

“Many of the Shivalli Brahmins are fair complexioned with well-cut intelligent features. A number of them own land which they cultivate by tenants or by hired labourers, and there are several wealthy families with large landed properties, but the great bulk of them are either astronomers, astrologers, tantris, purohitas, worshippers in temples, or professional beggars. They have been backward in availing themselves of English education, and consequently not many of them are to be found holding important posts under Government or in the professions, but a few have come to the front in late years. A good many of them are village accountants and teachers in village schools. The women, as is usually the case among all classes, are fairer than the men. Their education is even more limited, but they are said to be well trained for the discharge of household and religious duties. They wear the cloth falling as low as the feet in front, but not usually so low behind, especially on festive occasions, the end being passed between the legs and tucked into the fold of the cloth round the waist. Like all Brahmin women in Canara, they are fond of wearing sweet-scented flowers in their hair. The language of the Shivalli Brahmins is Tulu, except to the north of the Sītanadi river, where close intercourse with the ruling Canarese classes above the ghauts for several centuries has led to the adoption of that language by all classes. Their religious books are in Sanskrit, and, even north of the Sītanadi river, they are written in the old Tulu-Malayālam character. Their houses are all neat, clean, and provided with verandahs, and a yard in front, in which stands, in a raised pot, a plant of the tulasi or sacred basil. Some of the houses of the old families are really large and substantial buildings, with an open courtyard in the centre. Men and widows bathe the whole body every day before breakfast, but married women bathe only up to the neck, it being considered inauspicious for them to bathe the head also. In temples and religious houses, males bathe in the evening also. An oil bath is taken once a week. They are, of course, abstainers from animal food and spirituous liquors, and a prohibition extends to some other articles, such as onions, garlic, mushrooms, etc. At times of marriages, deaths or initiations, it is usual to give feasts, which may be attended by all Drāvida Brahmins. The Shivallis have 252 gōtras, and the names of the following seem to be of totemistic origin:—

“These names were obtained from one of the eight swāmis or gurus of the Udipi math, and according to him they have no totemistic force at the present day. Girls must be married before maturity, and the ordinary age now-a-days is between five and eleven. The age of the bridegroom is usually between fifteen and five and twenty. A maternal uncle’s daughter can be married without consulting any horoscope, and during the marriage ceremonies it is customary for a bridegroom’s sister to obtain from him a formal promise that, if he has a daughter, he will give her in marriage to her son. Widows take off all their ornaments, and wear a red or white cloth. They ought not to attend any auspicious ceremonies or festivals, but of late years there has been a tendency to relax the severity of the restrictions on a widow’s freedom, and a young widow is allowed to keep her head unshaven, and to wear a few ornaments. A few Shivallis in the Malayālam-speaking portion of the Kāsaragōd taluk follow the customs and manners of the Malayālam Brahmins, and amongst these a girl does not lose caste by remaining unmarried until she comes of age.

“Kōtēshwar Brahmins are a small body, who take their name from Kōtēshwar in the Coondapoor taluk. They are practically the same as the Shivalli Brahmins, except that, like all classes in that taluk, they talk Canarese.

“Havīka, Havīga, or Haiga Brahmins are the descendants of the section of the Brahmins brought in by Mayūr Varma, who settled within the tract known as Haiga, which comprised the southern part of North Canara and the extreme northern part of South Canara. They did not, like the Shivallis, adopt the teaching of Mādhavāchārya, but remained followers of Sankarāchārya, and they now speak Canarese, though their religious and family records are written in old Tulu-Malayālam character. Though originally of the same stock, a distinction has arisen between them and the Shivalli Brahmins, and they do not intermarry, though they may eat together. A number of Havīka Brahmins are to be found scattered throughout South Canara, engaged for the most part in the cultivation of areca palm gardens, in which they are very expert. A very well-to-do colony of them is to be found in the neighbourhood of Vittal in the Kāsaragōd taluk, where they grow areca nuts which are valued only second to those grown in the māgane of the Coondapoor taluk above the ghauts. The Havīka Brahmins, perhaps owing to their residing for many generations in the comparatively cool shade of the areca nut gardens, are specially fair even for west coast Brahmins. This fairness of complexion is particularly noticeable in the women, who do not differ much in their manners and customs from the Shivalli Brahmin women, except that they take a prominent part in the work of the gardens, and never on any occasion wear the end of their cloth passed through the legs and tucked up behind. The Havīk widows are allowed more freedom than in most other classes. Some Havīk Brahmins in the Malayālam portion of the Kāsaragōd taluk have, like the Shivallis in the same locality, adopted the language and customs of the Malayāli Brahmins.

“Kōta Brahmins, so called from a village in the northern part of the Udipi taluk, are, like the Havīks, Smarthas or followers of Sankarāchārya, and now speak Canarese, but the breach between them and the Shivallis is not so wide, as intermarriages occasionally take place. In the Coondapoor taluk and the northern part of the Udipi taluk, the Kōtas occupy a place in the community corresponding to that taken by the Shivallis throughout the rest of the district.

“Saklāpuris, of whom there are a few in the district, are what may be called a dissenting sect of Havīkas who, a few years ago, renounced their allegiance to the Rāmchandrapura matha in favour of one at Saklāpuri near the boundary between North and South Canara. Like the Havīkas, they speak Canarese.

“Kandāvaras obtain their name from the village of Kandāvar in the Coondapoor taluk. They are commonly known as Udapas, and they all belong to one gōtram, that of Visvamitra. They are, therefore, precluded from marrying within the caste, and take their wives and husbands from the ranks of the Shivalli Brahmins. They are, indeed, said to be the descendants of a Shivalli Brahmin who settled in Kandāvar about seven or eight centuries ago. The head of the Annu Udapa family, which is called after this ancestor, is the hereditary head of the caste, and presides over all panchāyats or caste councils. They speak Canarese. Their title is Udapa or Udpa.”