Matsya (fish).—A sept of Dōmb.
Mattiya.—The Mattiyas are summed up as follows in the Madras Census Report, 1901. “In Vizagapatam these are hill cultivators from the Central Provinces, who are stated in one account to be a sub-division of the Gonds. Some of them wear the sacred thread, because the privilege was conferred upon their families by former Rājas of Malkanagiri, where they reside. They are said to eat with Rōnas, drink with Porojas, but smoke only with their own people. The name is said to denote workers in mud (matti), and in Ganjam they are apparently earth-workers and labourers. In the Census Report, 1871, it is noted that the Matiyās are ‘altogether superior to the Kois and to the Parjās (Porojas). They say they sprang from the soil, and go so far as to point out a hole, out of which their ancestor came. They talk Uriyā, and farm their lands well’”
For the following note, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The caste is divided into at least four septs, named Bhāg (tiger), Nāg (cobra), Chēli (goat), and Kochchimo (tortoise). A man may claim his paternal aunt’s daughter in marriage. Girls are, as a rule, married after puberty. When a match is contemplated, the would-be husband presents a pot of liquor to the girl’s parents. If this is accepted, a further present of liquor, rice, and a pair of cloths, is made later on. The liquor is distributed among the villagers, who, by accepting it, indicate their consent to the transfer of the girl to the man. A procession, with Dōmbs acting as musicians, is formed, and the girl is taken to the bridegroom’s village. A pandal (booth) has been erected in front of the bridegroom’s house, which the contracting couple enter on the following morning. Their hands are joined together by the presiding Dēsāri, they bathe in turmeric water, and new cloths are given to them. Wearing these, they enter the house, the bridegroom leading the bride. Their relations then exhort them to be constant to each other, and behave well towards them. A feast follows, and the night is spent in dancing and drinking. Next day, the bride’s parents are sent away with a present of a pair of cows or bulls as jholla tonka. The remarriage of widows is allowed, and a younger brother usually marries the widow of his elder brother. Divorce is permitted, and, when a husband separates from his wife, he gives her a new cloth and a bullock as compensation. A divorced woman may remarry.
By the Mattiyas, and other Oriya castes, the ghorojavai (house son-in-law) custom is practiced. According to this custom, the poorer folk, in search of a wife, work, according to a contract, for their future father-in-law for a specified time, at the expiration of which they set up a separate establishment with his daughter. To begin married life with, presents are made to the couple by the father-in-law.
The dead are burnt, and the spot where cremation takes place is marked by setting up in the ground a bamboo pole, to which one of the dead man’s rags is attached. The domestic pots, which were used during his last illness, are broken there. Death pollution is observed for eight days. On the ninth day, the ashes, mixed with water, are cleared up, and milk is poured over the spot. The ashes are sometimes buried in a square hole, which is dug to a depth of about three feet, and filled in. Over it a small hut-like structure is raised. A few of these sepulchral monuments may be seen on the south side of the Pangām stream on the Jeypore-Malkangiri road. The personal names of the Mattiyas are often taken from the day of the week on which they are born.
Māvilān.—Described, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a small tribe of shikāris (hunters) and herbalists, who follow makkathāyam (inheritance from father to son), and speak corrupt Tulu. Tulumār (native of the Tulu country), and Chingattān (lion-hearted people) were returned as sub-divisions. “The name,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,[34] “is said to be derived from māvilāvu, a medicinal herb. I think, however, the real derivation must be sought in Tulu or Canarese, as it seems to be a Canarese caste. These people are found only in the Chirakkal tāluk of Malabar. Their present occupation is basket-making. Succession is from father to son, but among some it is also said to be in the female line.”
It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that the Māvilōns are “divided into Tulu Mavilōns and Eda Mavilōns, and sub-divided into thirty illams. They are employed as mahouts (drivers of elephants), and collect honey and other forest produce. Their headmen are called Chingam (simham, lion), and their huts Māpura.”
Mayalōtilu (rascal).—Mayalōtilu or Manjulōtilu is said by the Rev. J. Cain to be a name given by the hill Kōyis to the Kōyis who live near the Godāvari river.
Mayan.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, as a synonym of Kammālan. The Kamsali goldsmiths claim descent from Maya.
Mēda, Mēdara, Mēdarlu, or Mēdarakāran.—The Mēdaras are workers in bamboo in the Telugu, Canarese, Oriya and Tamil countries, making sieves, baskets, cradles, mats, fans, boxes, umbrellas, and tatties (screens). Occasionally they receive orders for waste-paper baskets, coffins for Native Christian children, or cages for pigeons and parrots. In former days they made basket-caps for sepoys. They are said to cut the bamboos in the forest on dark nights, in the belief that they would be damaged if cut at any other time. They do not, like the Korachas, make articles from the leaf of the date-palm (Phœnix).