It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district, that “Matsya gundam (fish pool) is a curious pool on the Machēru (fish river) near the village of Matam, close under the great Yendrika hill, 5,188 feet above the sea. A barrier of rocks runs right across the river there, and the stream plunges into a great hole and vanishes beneath this, reappearing again about a hundred yards lower down. Just where it emerges from under the barrier, it forms a pool, which is crowded with mahseer of all sizes. These are wonderfully tame, the bigger ones feeding fearlessly from one’s hand, and even allowing their backs to be stroked. They are protected by the Mādgole zamindars—who on several grounds venerate all fish—and by superstitious fears. Once, goes the story, a Brinjāri caught one and turned it into curry, whereon the king of the fish solemnly cursed him, and he and all his pack-bullocks were turned into rocks, which may be seen there till this day. At Sivarātri, a festival occurs at the little thatched shrine near by, the priest at which is a Bagata, and part of the ritual consists in feeding the sacred fish.
“In 1901, certain envious Bagatas looted one of the villages of the Konda Mālas or hill Paraiyans, a pushing set of traders, who are rapidly acquiring wealth and exalted notions, on the ground that they were becoming unduly arrogant. The immediate cause of the trouble was the fact that at a cockfight the Mālas’ birds had defeated the Bagatas’.”
In a note on the Bagatas, Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao writes that the caste is divided into exogamous septs or intipērulu, some of which occur also among the Kāpus, Telagas, and Vantaris. Girls are married either before or after puberty, and the custom, called mēnarikam, which renders it a man’s duty to marry his maternal uncle’s daughter, is the general rule. An Oriya or Telugu Brāhman officiates at marriages, and the bride is presented with jewelry as a substitute for the bride-price (vōli) in money. It is noted, in the Census Report, 1901, that, at a wedding, the bridegroom is struck by his brother-in-law, who is then presented with a pair of new cloths. The Bagatas are both Vaishnavites and Saivites, and the former get themselves branded on the arm by a Vaishnava guru, who lives in the Godāvari district. The Vaishnavites burn their dead, and the Saivites bury them in the customary sitting attitude. Sātānis officiate for the former, and Jangams for the latter. Both sections perform the chinna and pedda rōzu (big and little day) death ceremonies. The hill Bagatas observe the Itiga Ponduga festival, which is celebrated by the hill classes in Vizagapatam.
Bahusāgara (many seas).—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a synonym of Rangāri. The Rangāris are tailors and dyers, and the signification of the name is not clear.
Baidya.—See Vaidyan.
Bainēdu.—The Bainēdu, or Bainēdi, as they are called in the Census Report, 1901, are the musicians and barbers of the Mālas and Mādigas. At the peddadinamu death ceremony of the Gamallas, a Māla Bainēdu takes part in the recitation of the story of Ankamma, and in making the designs (muggu) on the ground.
Bairāgi.—The Bairāgis are a class of religious mendicants, who roam about all over India, and are for the most part recruited from North Indian castes. They are followers of Rāmānand, who founded the order at the end of the fourteenth, or beginning of the fifteenth century. According to common tradition, the schism of Rāmānand originated in resentment of an affront offered him by his fellow disciples, and sanctioned by his teacher. It is said that he had spent some time in travelling through various parts of India, after which he returned to the math, or residence of his superior. His brethren objected to him that in the course of his peregrinations it was impossible he could have observed that privacy in his meals, which is a vital observance of the Rāmānuja sect; and, as Rāghavānand admitted the validity of the objection, Rāmānand was condemned to feed in a place apart from the rest of the disciples. He was highly incensed at the order, and retired from the society altogether, establishing a schism of his own.[19]
The name Bairāgi is derived from the Sanskrit vairāgya (vi + rāg), denoting without desire or passion, and indicates an ascetic, who has subdued his passions, and liberated himself from worldly desires. The Bairāgis are sometimes called Bāvāji or Sādhu.
The Bairāgis are Vaishnavites, and bear the Tengalai Vaishnava mark (nāmam), made with sandal-paste or gōpi, on the forehead. Bairāgis with a Vadagalai mark are very rare. The Bairāgis wear necklaces of tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) beads or lotus (Nelumbium speciosum) seeds. Every Bairāgi cooks his food within a space cleansed with cow-dung water by himself or his disciple, and will not leave the space until he has finished his meal. The Bairāgis are not particular about screening the space from the public gaze. They partake of one meal daily, in the afternoon, and are abstainers from flesh dietary. They live mainly on alms obtained in the bazars, or in choultries (rest-houses for travellers). They generally carry with them one or two brass vessels for cooking purposes, a sālagrāma stone and a conch-shell for worship, and a chillum (pipe) for smoking ganja (Indian hemp) or opium. They are, as a rule, naked except for a small piece of cloth tied round the waist and passed between the thighs. Some wear more elaborate body-clothing, and a turban. They generally allow the beard to grow, and the hair of the head is long and matted, with sometimes a long tail of yak or human hair tied in a knot on the top of the head. Those who go about nearly naked smear ashes all over their bodies. When engaged in begging, some go through the streets, uttering aloud the name of some God. Others go from house to house, or remain at a particular spot, where people are expected to give them alms.
