Pollution at the first menstrual ceremony lasts, I am informed, for sixteen days. Every day, both morning and evening, a dose of gingelly (Sesamum) oil is administered to the girl, and, if it produces much purging, she is treated with buffalo ghī (clarified butter). On alternate days water is poured over her head, and from the neck downwards. The cloth which she wears, whether new or old, becomes the property of the washerwoman. On the first day the meals consist of milk and dhāl (Cajanus indicus), but on subsequent days cakes, etc., are allowed.
In their marriage ceremonial, the Panta Reddis of the South Arcot and Salem districts appear to follow the Brāhmanical form. In the Telugu country, however, it is as follows. On the pradhānam or betrothal day, the party of the bridegroom-elect go in procession under a canopy (ulladam), attended by musicians, and matrons carrying betel, cocoanuts, date and plantain fruits, and turmeric on plates. As soon as they have arrived at the courtyard of the future bride’s house, she seats herself on a plank. A Brāhman purōhit moulds a little turmeric paste into a conical mass representing Vignēswara (the elephant god), and it is worshipped by the girl, in front of whom the trays brought by the women are placed. She is presented with a new cloth, which she puts on, and a near female relation gives her three handfuls of areca nuts, a few betel leaves, and the bride-price and jewels tied up in a turmeric-dyed cloth. All these things the girl deposits in her lap. The fathers of the contracting couple then exchange betel, with the customary formula. “The girl is yours, and the money mine” and “The money is yours, and the girl mine.” Early on the wedding morning the bridegroom’s party, accompanied by a purōhit and washerman (Tsākala), go to fetch the bride from her house. The milk-post is set up, and is usually made of a branch of Mimusops hexandra or, in the Tamil country, Odina Wodier. On the conclusion of the marriage rites, the Odina post is planted in the backyard, and, if it takes root and flourishes, it is regarded as a happy omen for the newly married couple. A small party of Kāpus, taking with them some food and gingelly (Sesamum) oil, proceed in procession beneath a canopy to the house of a washerman (Tsākala), in order to obtain from him a framework made of bamboo or sticks over which cotton threads are wound (dhornam), and the Ganga idol, which is kept in his custody. The food is presented to him, and some rice poured into his cloth. Receiving these things, he says that he cannot find the dhornam and idol without a torch-light, and demands gingelly oil. This is given to him, and the Kāpus return with the washerman carrying the dhornam and idol to the marriage house. When they arrive at the entrance thereto, red coloured food, coloured water (ārathi) and incense are waved before the idol, which is taken into a room, and placed on a settle of rice. The washerman is then asked to tie the dhornam to the pandal (marriage booth) or roof of the house, and he demands some paddy, which is heaped up on the ground. Standing thereon, he ties the dhornam. The people next proceed to the houses of the goldsmith and potter, and bring back the bottu (marriage badge) and thirteen marriage pots, on which threads (kankanam) are tied before they are removed. A Brāhman purōhit ties the thread round one pot, and the Kāpus round the rest. The pots are placed in the room along with the Ganga idol. The bottu is tied round the neck of a married woman who is closely related to the bridegroom. The contracting couple are seated with the ends of their clothes tied together. A barber comes with a cup of water, and a tray containing rice dyed with turmeric is placed on the floor. A number of men and women then scatter rice over the heads of the bride and bridegroom, and, after, waving a silver or copper coin in front of them, throw it into the barber’s cup. The barber then pares the finger and toe nails of the bridegroom, and touches the toe nails of the bride with his razor. They then go through the nalagu ceremony, being smeared with oil and Phaseolus Mungo paste, and bathe. After the bath the bridegroom, dressed in his wedding finery, proceeds to the temple. As he leaves the house, a Mādiga hands him a pair of shoes, which he puts on. The Mādiga is given food placed in a basket on eleven leaves. At the temple worship is performed, and a Bhatrāzu (bard and panegyrist), who has accompanied the bridegroom, ties a bāshingham (chaplet) on his forehead. From this moment the Bhatrāzu must remain with the bridegroom, as his personal attendant, painting the sectarian marks on his forehead, and carrying out other functions. In like manner, a Bhōgam woman (dedicated prostitute) waits on the bride. “The tradition,” Mr. Stuart writes, “is that the Bhatrāzus were a northern caste, which was first invited south by king Pratāpa Rudra of the Kshatriya dynasty of Warrangal (1295–1323 A.D.). After the downfall of that kingdom they seem to have become court bards and panegyrists under the Reddi and Velama feudal chiefs.” From the temple the bridegroom and his party come to the marriage pandal, and, after food and other things have been waved to avert the evil eye, he enters the house. On the threshold his brother-in-law washes his feet, and sits thereon till he has extracted some money or a cow as a present. The bridegroom then goes to the marriage dais, whither the bride is conducted, and stands facing him, with a screen interposed between them. Vignēswara is worshipped, and the wrist threads (kankanam) are tied on, the bridegroom placing his right foot on the left foot of the bride. The bottu is removed from the neck of the married woman, passed round to be blessed, and tied by the bridegroom on the bride’s neck. The bride is lifted up by her maternal uncle, and the couple sprinkle each other with rice. The screen is removed, and they sit side by side with the ends of their cloths tied together. Rice is thrown over them by those assembled, and they are made to gaze at the pole star (Arundati). The proceedings terminate by the pair searching for a finger-ring and pap-bowl in one of the pots filled with water. On the second day there is feasting, and the nalagu ceremony is again performed. On the following day, the bridegroom and his party pretend to take offence at some thing which is done by the bride’s people, who follow them with presents, and a reconciliation is speedily effected. Towards evening, a ceremony called nāgavali, or sacrifice to the Dēvatas, is performed. The bridal pair, with the Bhatrāzu and Bhōgam woman, occupy the dais. The Brāhman purōhit places on a tray a conical mass of turmeric representing Vignēswara, to whom pūja (worship) is done. He then places a brass vessel (kalasam) filled with water, and with its mouth closed by a cocoanut, on a settle of rice spread on a tray. The kalasam is worshipped as representing the Dēvatas. The Brāhman invokes the blessing of all the Gods and Dēvatas, saying “Let Siva bless the pair,” “Let Indra bless the pair,” etc. A near relative of the bridegroom sits by the side of the purōhit with plenty of betel leaves and areca nuts. After each God or Dēvata has been mentioned, he throws some of the nuts and leaves into a tray, and, as these are the perquisites of the purōhit, he may repeat the same name three or four times. The Kāpu then makes playful remarks about the greed of the purōhit, and, amid much laughter, refuses to put any more leaves or nuts in the tray. This ceremonial concluded, the near relations of the bridegroom stand in front of him, and, with hands crossed, hold over his head two brass plates, into which a small quantity of milk is poured. Fruit, betel leaves and areca nuts (pān-supāri) are next distributed in a recognised order of precedence. The first presentation is made to the house god, the second to the family priest, and the third to the Brāhman purōhit. If a Pākanāti Kāpu is present, he must receive his share immediately after the Brāhman, and before other Kāpus, Kammas, and others. Before it is presented to each person, the leaves and nuts are touched by the bridegroom, and the hand of the bride is placed on them by the Bhōgam woman. At a Panta Kāpu wedding, the Ganga idol, together with a goat and a kāvadi (bamboo pole with baskets of rice, cakes, betel leaves and areca nuts), is carried in procession to a pond or temple. The washerman, dressed up as a woman, heads the procession, and keeps on dancing and singing till the destination is reached. The idol is placed inside a rude triangular hut made of three sheaves of straw, and the articles brought in the baskets are spread before it. On the heap of rice small lumps of flour paste are placed, and these are made into lights by scooping out cavities, and feeding the wicks with ghī (clarified butter). One of the ears of the goat is then cut, and it is brought near the food. This done, the lights are extinguished, and the assembly returns home without the least noise. The washerman takes charge of the idol, and goes his way. If the wedding is spread over five days, the Ganga idol is removed on the fourth day, and the customary mock-ploughing ceremony performed on the fifth. The marriage ceremonies close with the removal of the threads from the wrists of the newly married couple. Among the Panta Reddis of the Tamil country, the Ganga idol is taken in procession by the washerman two or three days before the marriage, and he goes to every Reddi house, and receives a present of money. The idol is then set up in the verandah, and worshipped daily till the conclusion of the marriage ceremonies. “Among the Reddis of Tinnevelly,” Dr. J. Shortt writes, “a young woman of sixteen or twenty years of age is frequently married to a boy of five or six years, or even of a more tender age. After marriage she, the wife, lives with some other man, a near relative on the maternal side, frequently an uncle, and sometimes with the boy-husband’s own father. The progeny so begotten are affiliated on the boy-husband. When he comes of age, he finds his wife an old woman, and perhaps past child-bearing. So he, in his turn, contracts a liaison with some other boy’s wife, and procreates children.” The custom has doubtless been adopted in imitation of the Maravans, Kallans, Agamudaiyans, and other castes, among whom the Reddis have settled. In an account of the Ayōdhya Reddis of Tinnevelly, Mr. Stuart writes that it is stated that “the tāli is peculiar, consisting of a number of cotton threads besmeared with turmeric, without any gold ornament. They have a proverb that he who went forth to procure a tāli and a cloth never returned.” This proverb is based on the following legend. In days of yore a Reddi chief was about to be married, and he accordingly sent for a goldsmith, and, desiring him to make a splendid tāli, gave him the price of it in advance. The smith was a drunkard, and neglected his work. The day for the celebration of the marriage arrived, but there was no tāli. Whereupon the old chief, plucking a few threads from his garment, twisted them into a cord, and tied it round the neck of the bride, and this became a custom.[110]
Kāpu Bride and Bridegroom.
In the Census Report, 1891, Mr. Stuart states that he was informed that polyandry of the fraternal type exists among the Panta Kāpus, but the statement requires verification. I am unable to discover any trace of this custom, and it appears that Reddi Yānādis are employed by Panta Reddis as domestic servants. If a Reddi Yānādi’s husband dies, abandons, or divorces his wife, she may marry his brother. And, in the case of separation or divorce, the two brothers will live on friendly terms with each other.
In the Indian Law Reports[111] it is noted that the custom of illatom,[112] or affiliation of a son-in-law, obtains among the Mōtāti Kāpus in Bellary and Kurnool, and the Pedda Kāpus in Nellore. He who has at the time no son, although he may have more than one daughter, and whether or not he is hopeless of having male issue, may exercise the right of taking an illatom son-in-law. For the purposes of succession this son-in-law stands in the place of a son, and, in competition with natural-born sons, takes an equal share.[113]
According to the Kurnool Manual (1886), “the Pakanādus of Pattikonda and Rāmallakōta tāluks allow a widow to take a second husband from among the caste-men. She can wear no signs of marriage, such as the tāli, glass bangles, and the like, but she as well as her husband is allowed to associate with the other caste-men on equal terms. Their progeny inherit their father’s property equally with children born in regular wedlock, but they generally intermarry with persons similarly circumstanced. Their marriage with the issue of a regularly married couple is, however, not prohibited. It is matter for regret that this privilege of remarrying is much abused, as among the Linga Balijas. Not unfrequently it extends to pregnant widows also, and so widows live in adultery with a caste-man without fear of excommunication, encouraged by the hope of getting herself united to him or some other caste-man in the event of pregnancy. In many cases, caste-men are hired for the purpose of going through the forms of marriage simply to relieve such widows from the penalty of excommunication from caste. The man so hired plays the part of husband for a few days, and then goes away in accordance with his secret contract.” The abuse of widow marriage here referred to is said to be uncommon, though it is sometimes practiced among Kāpus and other castes in out-of-the-way villages. It is further noted in the Kurnool Manual that Pedakanti Kāpu women do not wear the tāli, or a bodice (ravika) to cover their breasts. And the tight-fitting bodice is said[114] to be “far less universal in Anantapur than Bellary, and, among some castes (e.g., certain sub-divisions of the Kāpus and Īdigas), it is not worn after the first confinement.”
In the disposal of their dead, the rites among the Kāpus of the Telugu country are very similar to those of the Kammas and Balijas. The Panta Reddis of the Tamil country, however, follow the ceremonial in vogue among various Tamil castes. The news of a death in the community is conveyed by a Paraiyan Tōti (sweeper). The dead man’s son receives a measure containing a light from a barber, and goes three times round the corpse. At the burning-ground the barber, instead of the son, goes thrice round the corpse, carrying a pot containing water, and followed by the son, who makes holes therein. The stream of water which trickles out is sprinkled over the corpse. The barber then breaks the pot into very small fragments. If the fragments were large, water might collect in them, and be drunk by birds, which would bring sickness (pakshidhōsham) on children, over whose heads they might pass. On the day after the funeral, a Panisavan or barber extinguishes the fire, and collects the ashes together. A washerman brings a basket containing various articles required for worship, and, after pūja has been performed, a plant of Leucas aspera is placed on the ashes. The bones are collected in a new pot, and thrown into a river, or consigned by parcel-post to an agent at Benares, and thrown into the Ganges.
By religion the Kāpus are both Vaishnavites and Saivites, and they worship a variety of deities, such as Thāllamma, Nāgarapamma, Putlamma, Ankamma, Munēswara, Pōleramma, Dēsamma. To Munēswara and Dēsamma pongal (cooked rice) is offered, and buffaloes are sacrificed to Pōleramma. Even Mātangi, the goddess of the Mādigas, is worshipped by some Kāpus. At purificatory ceremonies a Mādiga Basavi woman, called Mātangi, is sent for, and cleanses the house or its inmates from pollution by sprinkling and spitting out toddy.
From an interesting note[115] on agricultural ceremonies in the Bellary district, the following extract is taken. “On the first full-moon day in the month of Bhādrapada (September), the agricultural population celebrate a feast called the Jokumāra feast, to appease the rain-god. The Bārikas (women), who are a sub-division of the Kabbēra caste belonging to the Gaurimakkalu section, go round the town or village in which they live, with a basket on their heads containing margosa (Melia Azadirachta) leaves, flowers of various kinds, and holy ashes. They beg alms, especially of the cultivating classes (Kāpus), and, in return for the alms bestowed (usually grain and food), they give some of the margosa leaves, flowers, and ashes. The Kāpus take these to their fields, prepare cholam (millet: Sorghum) gruel, mix them with it, and sprinkle the kanji or gruel all round their fields. After this, the Kāpu proceeds to the potter’s kiln, fetches ashes from it, and makes a figure of a human being. This figure is placed prominently in some convenient spot in the field, and is called Jokumāra or rain-god. It is supposed to have the power of bringing down the rain in proper time. The figure is sometimes small, and sometimes big. A second kind of Jokumāra worship is called muddam, or outlining of rude representations of human figures with powdered charcoal. These representations are made in the early morning, before the bustle of the day commences, on the ground at crossroads and along thoroughfares. The Bārikas who draw these figures are paid a small remuneration in money or in kind. The figure represents Jokumāra, who will bring down rain when insulted by people treading on him. Another kind of Jokumāra worship also prevails in this district. When rain fails, the Kāpu females model a figure of a naked human being of small size. They place this figure in an open mock palanquin, and go from door to door singing indecent songs, and collecting alms. They continue this procession for three or four days, and then abandon the figure in a field adjacent to the village. The Mālas then take possession of this abandoned Jokumāra, and in their turn go about singing indecent songs and collecting alms for three or four days, and then throw it away in some jungle. This form of Jokumāra worship is also believed to bring down plenty of rain. There is another simple superstition among these Kāpu females. When rain fails, the Kāpu females catch hold of a frog, and tie it alive to a new winnowing fan made of bamboo. On this fan, leaving the frog visible, they spread a few margosa leaves, and go singing from door to door ‘Lady frog must have her bath. Oh! rain-god, give a little water for her at least.’ This means that the drought has reached such a stage that there is not even a drop of water for the frogs. When the Kāpu woman sings this song, the woman of the house brings a little water in a vessel, pours it over the frog which is left on the fan outside the door, and gives some alms. The woman of the house is satisfied that such an action will soon bring down rain in torrents.”