Concerning the Pallis, Pallilu, or Palles, who are settled in the Telugu country as fishermen, carpenters, and agriculturists, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes[24] that “it seems probable that they are a branch of the great Palli or Vanniya tribe, for Buchanan refers to the Mīna (fish) Pallis and Vana Pallis.” As sub-castes of these Pallis, Vada (boatmen), Marakkādu and Ēdakula are given in the Census Report, 1901. In the North Arcot Manual, Palli is given as a sub-division of the Telugu Kāpus. In some places the Pallis call themselves Palle Kāpulu, and give as their gōtram Jambumāharishi, which is a gōtram of the Pallis. Though they do not intermarry, the Palle Kāpulu may interdine with the Kāpus.
Concerning the caste-beggars of the Pallis, and their legendary history, I read the following account.[25] “I came upon a noisy procession entering one of the main streets of a town not far from Madras. It was headed by spearmen, swordsmen, and banner-bearers, the last carrying huge flags (palempores) with representations of lions, tigers, monkeys, Brahmany kites, goblins and dwarfs. The centre of attraction consisted of some half dozen men and women in all the bravery of painted faces and gay clothing, and armed with swords, lances, and daggers. Tom-toms, trumpets, cymbals, and horns furnished the usual concomitant of ear-piercing music, while the painted men and women moved, in time with it, their hands and feet, which were encircled by rows of tiny bells. A motley following of the tag-rag and bob-tail of the population, which had been allured thither by the noise and clamour, brought up the rear of the procession, which stopped at each crossing. At each halt, the trumpeters blew a great and sonorous blast, while one of the central figures, with a conspicuous abdominal development, stepped forward, and, in a stentorian voice, proclaimed the brave deeds performed by them in the days gone by, and challenged all comers to try conclusions with them, or own themselves beaten. I was told that the chief personages in the show were Jātipillays (literally, children of the caste), who had arrived in the town in the course of their annual tour of the country, for collecting their perquisites from all members of the Palli or Padiāchi caste, and that this was how they announced their arrival. The perquisite levied is known as the talaikattu vari (poll-tax, or literally the turban tax), a significant expression when it is borne in mind that only the adult male members of the caste (those who are entitled to tie a cloth round their heads) are liable to pay it, and not the women and children. It amounts to but one anna per head, and is easily collected. The Jātipillays also claim occult powers, and undertake to exhibit their skill in magic by the exorcism of devils, witchcraft and sorcery, and the removal of spells, however potent. This operation is called modi edukkirathu, or the breaking of spells, and sometimes the challenge is taken up by a rival magician of a different caste. A wager is fixed, and won or lost according to the superior skill of the challenger or challenged. Entering into friendly chat with one of the leading members of the class, I gleaned the following legend of its origin, and of the homage accorded to it by the Pallis. In remote times, when Salivahana was king of the Chōla country, with its capital at Conjeeveram, all the principal castes of South India had their head-quarters at the seat of government, where each, after its own way, did homage to the triple deities of the place, namely, Kamakshi Amman, Ekambrasvarar, and Sri Varadarājaswāmi. Each caste got up an annual car festival to these deities. On one of these occasions, owing to a difference which had arisen between the Seniyans (weavers), who form a considerable portion of the population of Conjeeveram, on one side, and the Pallis or Vanniyans on the other, some members of the former caste, who were adepts in magic, through sheer malevolence worked spells upon the cars of the Pallis, whose progress through the streets first became slow and tedious, and was finally completely arrested, the whole lot of them having come to a stand-still, and remaining rooted on the spot in one of the much frequented thoroughfares of the city. The Pallis put on more men to draw the cars, and even employed elephants and horses to haul them, but all to no purpose. As if even this was not sufficient to satisfy their malignity, the unscrupulous Seniyars actually went to King Salivahana, and bitterly complained against the Pallis of having caused a public nuisance by leaving their cars in a common highway to the detriment of the public traffic. The king summoned the Pallis, and called them to account, but they pleaded that it was through no fault of theirs that the cars had stuck in a thoroughfare, that they had not been negligent, but had essayed all possible methods of hauling them to their destination by adding to the number of men employed in pulling them, and by having further tried to accelerate their progress with the aid of elephants, camels, and horses, but all in vain. They further declared their conviction that the Seniyars had played them an ill-turn, and placed the cars under a spell. King Salivahana, however, turned a deaf ear to these representations, and decreed that it was open to the Pallis to counteract the spells of their adversaries, and he prescribed a period within which this was to be effected. He also tacked on a threat that, in default of compliance with his mandate, the Pallis must leave his kingdom for good and ever. The Pallis sought refuge and protection of the goddess Kamakshi Amman, whose pity was touched by their sad plight, and who came to their aid. She appeared to one of the elders of the caste in a dream, and revealed to him that there was a staunch devotee of hers—a member of their caste—who alone could remove the spells wrought by the Seniyars, and that this man, Ramasawmy Naikan, was Prime Minister in the service of the Kodagu (Coorg) Rāja. The desperate plight they were in induced the Pallis to send a powerful deputation to the Rāja, and to beg of him to lend them the services of Ramasawmy Naik, in order to save them from the catastrophe which was imminent. The Rāja was kind enough to comply. The Naik arrived, and, by virtue of his clairvoyant powers, took in the situation at a glance. He found myriads of imps and uncanny beings around each of the car-wheels, who gripped them as by a vice, and pulled them back with their sinewy legs and hands every time an attempt was made to drag them forwards. Ramasawmy Naik by no means liked the look of things, for he found that he had all his work cut out for him to keep these little devils from doing him bodily harm, let alone any attempt to cast them off by spells. He saw that more than common powers were needed to face the situation, and prayed to Kamakshi Amman to disclose a way of overcoming the enemy. After long fasting and prayers, he slept a night in the temple of Kamakshi Amman, in the hope that a revelation might come to him in his slumber. While he slept, Kamakshi Amman appeared, and declared to him that the only way of overcoming the foe was for the Pallis to render a propitiatory sacrifice, but of a most revolting kind, namely, to offer up as a victim a woman pregnant with her first child. The Pallis trembled at the enormity of the demand, and declared that they would sooner submit to Salivahana’s decree of perpetual exile than offer such a horrible sacrifice. Ramasawmy Naik, however, rose to the occasion, and resolved to sacrifice his own girl-wife, who was then pregnant with her first child. He succeeded in propitiating the deity by offering this heroic sacrifice, and the spells of the Seniyars instantly collapsed, and the whole legion of imps and devils, who had impeded the progress of the Pallis’ car, vanished into thin air. The coast having thus been cleared of hostile influences, Ramasawmy Naik, with no more help than his own occult powers gave him, succeeded in hauling the whole lot of cars to their destination, and in a single trip, by means of a rope passed through a hole in his nose. The Pallis, whose gratitude knew no bounds, called down benedictions on his head, and, falling prostrate before him, begged him to name his reward for the priceless service rendered by him to their community. Ramasawmy Naik only asked that the memory of his services to the caste might be perpetuated by the bestowal upon him and his descendants of the title Jāti-pillay, or children of the caste, and of the privilege of receiving alms at the hands of the Pallis; and that they might henceforth be allowed the honour of carrying the badges of the caste—banners, state umbrellas, trumpets, and other paraphernalia—in proof of the signal victory they had gained over the Seniyars.”
Palli Dāsari.—A name for Tamil-speaking Dāsaris, as distinguished from Telugu-speaking Dāsaris.
Palli Īdiga.—A name given by Telugu people to Tamil Shānāns, whose occupation is, like that of Īdigas, toddy-drawing.
Pallicchan.—A sub-division of Nāyars, the hereditary occupation of which is palanquin-bearing. In the Cochin Census Report, the Pallicchans are recorded as being palanquin-bearers for Brāhmans.
Pallikkillam.—An exogamous sept or illam of Tamil Panikkans.
Pālua.—A sub-division of Badhōyi.
Pambaikkāran.—An occupational name for Paraiyans, who play on a drum called pambai.
Pambala.—The Pambalas, or drum (pamba) people, are Mālas who act as musicians at Māla marriages and festivals in honour of their deities. They also take part in the recitation of the story of Ankamma, and making muggu (designs on the floor) at the peddadinamu death ceremony of the Gamallas.
Pammi (a common lamp).—An exogamous sept of Dēvānga.