Males are, as a rule, burnt; but, if a person dies in the night or on a rainy day, the corpse is sometimes buried. Women and children are usually buried, presumably because they are not thought worth the fuel necessary for cremation. Only relations are permitted to touch a corpse. Death pollution is observed for three days, during which the caste occupation must not be engaged in. Stone slabs are erected to the memory of the dead, and sacrifices are offered to them now and again.
The Gadabas have a devil dance, which they are willing to perform before strangers in return for a small present. It has been thus described by Captain Glasfurd.[6] “At the time of the Dusserah, Hōli, and other holidays, both men and women dance to the music of a fife and drum. Sometimes they form a ring by joining hands all round, and with a long hop spring towards the centre, and then hop back to the full extent of their arms, while they at the same time keep circling round and round. At other times, the women dance singly or in pairs, their hands resting on each other’s wrists. When fatigued, they cease dancing, and sing. A man steps out of the crowd, and sings a verse or two impromptu. One of the women rejoins, and they sing at each other for a short time. The point of these songs appears to consist in giving the sharpest rejoinder to each other. The woman reflects upon the man’s ungainly appearance and want of skill as a cultivator or huntsman, and the man retorts by reproaching her with her ugliness and slatternly habits.” In connection with dancing, Mr. Henderson writes that “all the Gadaba dancing I have seen was the same as that of the Porjas, and consisted of a sort of women’s march, at times accompanied by a few men who wander round, and occasionally form a ring through which the line of women passes. Sometimes the men get on each other’s shoulders, and so form a sort of two-storied pyramid. The women’s song is comparatively quite melodious.”
In recent years, some Gadabas have emigrated to Assam, to work in the tea-gardens. But emigration has now stopped by edict.
For the information contained in this article, I am mainly indebted to notes by Mr. C. A. Henderson, Mr. W. Francis, Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao, and the Kumara Rajā of Bobbili.
Gādi (cart).—An exogamous sept of Māla.
Gādidhē Kandla (donkey’s eyes).—An exogamous sept of Bōya.
Gādu.—A common suffix to the name of individuals among various Telugu classes, e.g., Rāmigādu, Subbigādu.
Gaduge (throne).—A gōtra of Kurni.
Gaita.—A sub-division of Konda Rāzu.
Gajjal (a small bell).—A sub-division of Toreya.