Sāmanto.—A title of Jātapus, and other Oriya castes.
Samaya.—In his ‘Inscriptions at Sravana Belgola’ in Mysore, Mr. Lewis Rice refers to the Samaya as “Dāsaris or Vaishnava religious mendicants, invested with authority as censors of morals. No religious ceremony or marriage could be undertaken without gaining their consent by the payment of fees, etc. Under the former Rājas the office was farmed out in all the large towns, and credited in the public accounts as samayāchāra. An important part of the profits arose either from the sale of women accused of incontinency, or from fines imposed on them for the same reason. The unfortunate women were popularly known as Sarkar (Government) wives.” “The rules of the system,” Wilks writes,[15] “varied according to the caste of the accused. Among Brāhmans and Kōmatis, females were not sold, but expelled from their caste, and branded on the arm as prostitutes. They then paid to the ijārdār (or contractor) an annual sum as long as they lived, and, when they died, all their property became his. Females of other Hindu castes were sold without any compunction by the ijārdār, unless some relative stepped forward to satisfy his demand. These sales were not, as might be supposed, conducted by stealth, nor confined to places remote from general observation; for, in the large town of Bangalore, under the very eyes of the European inhabitants, a large building was appropriated to the accommodation of these unfortunate women, and, so late as 1833, a distinct proclamation of the Commissioners was necessary to enforce the abolition of this detestable traffic.”
Samayamuvāru.—An itinerant class of mendicants attached to the Sālē caste. From a note by Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao, I gather that they say that the name is an abbreviation of Rānasamayamuvāru, or men of the day of battle. According to a legend, when Bhāvana Rishi, the patron saint of the caste, was challenged to battle by Kālavasīna, a rākshasa, these people were created, and, with their assistance, the rākshasa was conquered. In recognition of their services, Bhāvana Rishi made the Sālēs maintain them. They wander from place to place in single families, and, when they reach a halting-place, dress up, and visit the house of the Pedda Sēnāpati (headman), who feeds them for the day, and gives a chit (note) showing the amount paid by him. At their visits to Sālē houses, Bhāvana Rishi is praised. They marry in the presence of, and with the aid of the Sālēs.
Sāmban.—Sāmban, meaning Sāmba or Siva, has been recorded as a sub-division of Idaiyan and Paraiyan. At times of census, Sāmbuni Kāpu has been returned as the caste name by some Palle fishermen in Nellore.
Sambandham.—Sambandham, meaning literally connexion, is “the term used by the Nāyars [and other castes] of South Malabar to denote that a man and woman are united by a quasi-matrimonial bond.”[16] In Act IV of 1896, Madras, sambandham is defined as “an alliance between a man and a woman, by reason of which they, in accordance with the custom of the community, to which they belong, or either of them belongs, cohabit or intend to cohabit as husband and wife.”
Sāmē (millet: Panicum miliare).—An exogamous sept of Kuruba.
Sāmi Puli (holy tiger).—An exogamous sept of Kallan.
Sammathi Makkal (hammer-men).—An exogamous section of Kallan.
Sammērāya.—A name for Telugu beggars employed as servants and messengers by the heads of Lingāyat mutts (religious institutions). It is derived from sammē, denoting confederacy or league, and denotes those who are bound to the rules laid down by Lingāyats.
Sāmolo.—A title of Doluva.