Maniyakkāra. Derived from mani, a bell, such as is tied round the necks of cattle, sheep and goats.
Kalla. Most numerous in the area inhabited by the Kallan caste. Possibly an offshoot of this caste, composed of those who have taken to the occupation of shepherds. Like the Kallans, this sub-division has exogamous septs or kīlais, e.g., Dēva (god), Vēndhan (king).
Shōlia. Territorial name denoting inhabitants of the Chōla country.
Ānaikombu, or elephant tusk, which was the weapon used by Krishna and the Yādavas to kill the giant Sakatasura.
Karutthakādu, black cotton country. A sub-division found mostly in Madura and Tinnevelly, where there is a considerable tract of black cotton soil.
The Perumāl Mādukkārans or Perumāl Erudukkārans (see Gangeddu), who travel about the country exhibiting performing bulls, are said to belong to the Pū (flower) Idaiyan section of the Idaiyan caste. This is so named because the primary occupation thereof was, and in some places still is, making garlands for temples.
In the Gazetteer of the Madura district, it is recorded that “Podunāttu (Pudunāttu?) Idaiyans have a tradition that they originally belonged to Tinnevelly, but fled to this district secretly one night in a body in the time of Tirumala Nāyakkan, because the local chief oppressed them. Tirumala welcomed them, and put them under the care of the Kallan headman Pinnai Dēvan, decreeing that, to ensure that this gentleman and his successors faithfully observed the charge, they should always be appointed by an Idaiyan. That condition is observed to this day. In this sub-division a man has the same right to marry his paternal aunt’s daughter as is possessed by the Kallans. But, if the woman’s age is much greater than the boy’s, she is usually married instead to his cousin, or some one else on that side of the family. A Brāhman officiates at weddings, and the sacred fire is used, but the bridegroom’s sister ties the tāli (marriage badge). Divorce and the remarriage of widows are prohibited. The dead, except infants, are burnt. Caste affairs are settled by a headman called the Nāttānmaikāran, who is assisted by an accountant and a peon. All three are elected. The headman has the management of the caste fund, which is utilised in the celebration of festivals on certain days in some of the larger temples of the district. Among these Podunāttus, an uncommon rule of inheritance is in force. A woman who has no male issue at the time of her husband’s death has to return his property to his brother, father, or maternal uncle, but is allotted maintenance, the amount of which is fixed by a caste panchāyat (council). Among the Valasu and Pendukkumekki sub-divisions, another odd form of maintenance subsists. A man’s property descends to his sons-in-law, who live with him, and not to his sons. The sons merely get maintenance until they are married.”
In the Madras Census Report, 1901, Pōndan or Pōgandan is recorded as a sub-caste of Idaiyans, who are palanquin-bearers to the Zamorin of Calicut. In this connection, it is noted by Mr. K. Kannan Nāyar[5] that “among the Konar (cowherds) of Poondurai near Erode (in the Coimbatore district), who, according to tradition, originally belonged to the same tribe as the Gopas living in the southern part of Kērala, and now forming a section of the Nāyars, the former matrimonial customs were exactly the same as those of the Nāyars. They, too, celebrated tāli-kettu kalyānam, and, like the Nāyars, did not make it binding on the bride and bridegroom of the ceremony to live as husband and wife. They have now, however, abandoned the custom, and have made the tying of the tāli the actual marriage ceremony.”
The typical panchāyat (village council) system exists among the Idaiyans, and the only distinguishing feature is the existence of a headman, called Kīthāri or Kīlāri, whose business it is to look after the sheep of the village, to arrange for penning them in the fields. In some places the headman is called Ambalakkāran. In bygone days, those who were convicted of adultery were tied to a post, and beaten.
In some places, when a girl reaches puberty, her maternal uncle, or his sons, build a hut with green cocoanut leaves, which she occupies for sixteen days, when purificatory ceremonies are performed.