Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 6 of 7

by Edgar Thurston

(5) Bonda, Būnda, or Nanga Poroja, who are likewise a section of the Gadabas, call themselves Bonda Gadaba, and speak a dialect of Gadaba.

(6) Tagara Poroja, who are a section of the Kōyas or Kōyis, and speak Kōya, or, in some places, Telugu.

(7) Dūr Poroja, also, it is said, known as Didāyi Poroja, who speak Oriya.

Among the Bārang Jhōdias, the gidda (vulture), bāgh (tiger), and nāg (cobra) are regarded as totems. Among the Pengu, Kōndhi and Dūr divisions, the two last are apparently regarded as such, and, in addition to them, the Bonda Porojas have mandi (cow).

In the Bārang Jhodia, Pengu, and Kōndhi divisions, it is customary for a man to marry his paternal aunt’s daughter, but he cannot claim her as a matter of right, for the principle of free love is recognised among them. The dhangada and dhangadi basa system, according to which bachelors and unmarried girls sleep in separate quarters in a village, is in force among the Porojas.

When a marriage is contemplated among the Bārang Jhodias, the parents of the young man carry two pots of liquor and some rice to the parents of the girl, who accept the present, if they are favourable to the match. If it is accepted, the future bridegroom’s party renew the proposal a year later by bringing five kunchams of rice, a new female cloth, seven uddas of liquor, and a sum of money ranging from fifteen to fifty rupees. On the following evening, the bride, accompanied by her relations, goes to the village of the bridegroom. Outside his house two poles have been set up, and joined together at the top by a string, from which a gourd (Cucurbita maxima) is suspended. As soon as the contracting couple come before the house, a tall man cuts the gourd with his tangi (axe) and it falls to the ground. The pair then enter the house, and the bride is presented with a new cloth by the parents of the bridegroom. Opposite the bridegroom’s house is a square fence, forming an enclosure, from which the bride’s party watch the proceedings. They are joined by the bride and bridegroom, and the parents of the latter distribute rāgi (Eleusine Corocana) liquor and ippa (Bassia) liquor. A dance, in which both males and females take part, is kept up till the small hours, and, on the following day, a feast is held. About midday, the bride is formally handed over to the bridegroom, in the presence of the Janni and Mudili (caste elders). She remains a week at her new home, and then, even though she has reached puberty, returns to her father’s house, where she remains for a year, before finally joining her husband. In another form of marriage among the Bārang Jhodias, the bride is brought to the house of the bridegroom, in front of which a pandal (booth), made of six poles, is set up. The central pole is cut from the nērēdi chettu (Eugenia Jambolana). At the auspicious moment, which is fixed by the Disāri, the maternal uncle of the bridegroom sits with the bridegroom on his lap, and the bride at his feet. Castor-oil is then applied by the bridegroom’s father, first to the bridegroom, and then to the bride. A feast follows, at which fowls and liquor are consumed. On the following day, the newly-married couple bathe, and the ceremonies are at an end.

I am informed by Mr. H. C. Daniel that there is a custom among the Porojas, and other classes in Vizagapatam (e.g., Gadabas, Ghāsis, and Mālis), according to which a man gives his services as a goti for a specified time to another, in return for a small original loan. His master has to keep him supplied with food, and to pay him about two rupees at the Dussera festival, as well as making him a present of a cloth and a pair of sandals. The servant must do whatever he is told, and is practically a slave until the specified time is over. A man may give his son as a goti, instead of himself. It is also fairly common to find a man serving his prospective father-in-law for a specified time, in order to secure his daughter. Men from the plains, usually of the Kōmati caste, who have come to the hills for the purpose of trade, go by the local name of Sundi. They are the chief upholders of the goti system, by which they get labour cheap. Mr. Daniel has never heard of a goti refusing to do his work, the contract being by both sides considered quite inviolable. But a case was recently tried in a Munsiff’s Court, in which a goti absconded from his original master, and took service with another, thereby securing a fresh loan. The original master sued him for the balance of labour due.

The language of the Bonda Porojas, as already indicated, connects them closely with the Gadabas, but any such connection is stoutly denied by them. The names Bonda and Nanga mean naked, and bear reference to the fact that the only clothing of the women is a strip of cloth made from sētukudi or ankudi chettu, or kareng fibre. In a note on the Bhondas of Jaipūr, Mr. J. A. May informs us[109] that the female attire “consists of just a piece of cloth, either made of kerong bark and manufactured by themselves, or purchased from the weavers, about a foot square, and only sufficient to cover a part of one hip. It is attached to their waists by a string, on which it runs, and can be shifted round to any side. A most ludicrous sight has often been presented to me by a stampede among a number of these women, when I have happened to enter a village unexpectedly. On my approach, one and all hurried to their respective dwellings, and, as they ran in all directions, endeavoured to shift this rag round to the part most likely to be exposed to me.” The Bonda women have glass bead and brass ornaments hung round their necks, and covering their bosoms. The legend, which accounts for the scanty clothing of the Bondas, runs to the effect that, when Sīta, the wife of Rāma, was bathing in a river, she was seen by women of this tribe, who laughed at and mocked her. Thereon, she cursed them, and ordained that, in future, all the women should shave their heads, and wear no clothing except a small covering for decency’s sake. There is a further tradition that, if the Bonda women were to abandon their primitive costume, the whole tribe would be destroyed by tigers. The shaving of the women’s heads is carried out, with a knife lent by the village Komāro (blacksmith), by a member of the tribe. Round the head, the women wear a piece of bamboo tied behind with strings.

In one form of marriage, as carried out by the Bondas, a young man, with some of his friends, goes to the sleeping apartment of the maidens, where each of them selects a maid for himself. The young men and maidens then indulge in a singing contest, in which impromptu allusions to physical attributes, and bantering and repartee take place. If a girl decides to accept a young man as her suitor, he takes a burning stick from the night fire, and touches her breast with it. He then withdraws, and sends one of his friends to the girl with a brass bangle, which, after some questioning as to who sent it, she accepts. Some months later, the man’s parents go to the girl’s home, and ask for her hand on behalf of their son. A feast follows, and the girl, with a couple of girls of about her own age, goes with the man’s parents to their home. They send five kunchams of rice to the parents of the girl, and present the two girls with a similar quantity. The three girls then return to their homes. Again several months elapse, and then the man’s parents go to fetch the bride, and a feast and dance take place. The pair are then man and wife.

In another account of the marriage customs of the Nanga Porojas, it is stated that pits are dug in the ground, in which, during the cold season, the children are put at night, to keep them warm. The pit is about nine feet in diameter. In the spring, all the marriageable girls of a settlement are put into one pit, and a young man, who has really selected his bride with the consent of his parents, comes and proposes to her. If she refuses him, he tries one after another till he is accepted. On one occasion, a leopard jumped into the pit, and killed some of the maidens. In a note on Bhonda marriage, Mr. May writes[110] that “a number of youths, candidates for matrimony, start off to a village, where they hope to find a corresponding number of young women, and make known their wishes to the elders, who receive them with all due ceremony. The juice of the salop (sago palm) in a fermented state is in great requisition, as nothing can be done without the exhilarating effects of their favourite beverage. They then proceed to excavate an underground chamber (if one is not already prepared), having an aperture at the top, admitting of the entrance of one at a time. Into this the young gentlemen, with a corresponding number of young girls, are introduced, when they grope about and make their selection, after which they ascend out of it, each holding the young lady of his choice by the forefinger of one of her hands. Bracelets (the equivalent of the wedding ring) are now put on her arms by the elders, and two of the young men stand as sponsors for each bridegroom. The couples are then led to their respective parents, who approve and give their consent. After another application of salop and sundry greetings, the bridegroom is permitted to take his bride home, where she lives with him for a week, and then, returning to her parents, is not allowed to see her husband for a period of one year, at the expiration of which she is finally made over to him.” In a still further account of marriage among the Bondas, I am informed that a young man and a maid retire to the jungle, and light a fire. Then the maid, taking a burning stick, applies it to the man’s gluteal region. If he cries out Am! Am! Am! he is unworthy of her, and she remains a maid. If he does not, the marriage is at once consummated. The application of the brand is probably light or severe according to the girl’s feelings towards the young man. According to another version, the girl goes off to the jungle with several men, and the scene has been described as being like a figure in the cotillion, as they come up to be switched with the brand.