Sātāni women dress just like Vaishnava Brāhman women, from whom it is difficult to distinguish them. In former days, the Sātānis used to observe a festival called ravikala (bodice) utchavam, which now goes by the name of gandapodi (sandal powder) utchavam. The festival, as originally carried out, was a very obscene rite. After the worship of the god by throwing sandal powder, etc., the Sātānis returned home, and indulged in copious libations of liquor. The women threw their bodices into vessel, and they were picked out at random by the men. The woman whose bodice was thus secured became the partner of the man for the day.
For the following note on Sātānis in the Vizagapatam district, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. Sātāni is said to be the shortened form of Saththādavan, the uncovered man. They are prohibited from covering three different parts of their bodies, viz., the head with the usual tuft of hair, the body with the sacred thread, and the waist with the customary strip of cloth. All devout Sātānis shave their heads completely. [There is a proverb “Tie a knot on the Sātāni’s tuft of hair, and on the ascetic’s holy thread.” The Sātānis shave the whole head, and the Sanyāsis have no sacred thread.][20] The caste is divided into exogamous septs, or intipērulu. The custom of mēnarikam, according to which a man marries his maternal uncle’s daughter, is observed. The remarriage of widows and divorce are not allowed. Attempts have been made by some members of the caste, in other parts of the Madras Presidency, to connect themselves with Chaitanya. But, so far as the Vizagapatam district is concerned, this is repudiated. They are Rāmānuja Vaishnavas of the Tenkalai persuasion. Their gurus are known as Paravasthuvāru—a corruption of Paravāsu Dēva, whose figure is on the vimāna of the Srīrangam temple, and who must be visited before entering the principal sanctuary. They live at Gūmsūr in Ganjam, and have Sadachārulu, or ever-devout followers, who act as their agents in Vizagapatam. They brand the shoulders of Sātānis with the Vaishnavite emblems, the sankha and chakra, and initiate them into the mysteries of the Vaishnava religion by whispering into their ears the word Rāmānuja. The Sātāni learns by heart various songs in eulogy of Srīrangam and its deity, by means of which he earns his living. He rises in the early morning, and, after a bath, adorns his forehead and body with the Vaishnavite nāmam, ties round his clean-shaved head a string of tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) beads known as thirupavithram, puts a tulsi garland round his neck, and takes a fan called gajakarnam, or elephant’s ear, in his right hand. In his left hand he carries a copper gourd-shaped vessel. He is generally accompanied by another Sātāni similarly got up. When begging, they sing the songs referred to above, and collect the rice which is given to them in their vessels. At the end of their round they return home, and their wives clean the rice, bow down before it, and cook it. No portion of the rice obtained by begging should be sold for money. The Sātānis play an important part in the social life of the Vaishnavites of the district, and are the gurus of some of the cultivating and other classes. They preside at the final death ceremonies of the non-Brāhman Vaishnavite castes. They burn their dead, and perform the chinna (little) and pedda rōzu (big day) death ceremonies.
Sāthu.—A synonym, meaning a company of merchants or travellers, of Perike and Janappan.
Saurāshtra.—A synonym of the Patnūlkārans, derived from the Saurāshtra country, whence they came southward. They also style themselves Saurāshtra Brāhmans.
Savalaikkāran.—A Tamil name for fishermen, who fish in the sea. Savalai or saval thadi is the flattened paddle used for rowing boats. The Savalaikkārans are more akin to the Pallis or Vanniyans than to the Sembadavans. Though a large number are agriculturists, some play on the nāgasaram (reed instrument). In the Tinnevelly district, where Mēlakkārans are scarce, the temple musicians are either Savalaikkārans or Panisavans. The agricultural Savalaikkārans use the title Padayāchi, and the musicians the title Annāvi. Their marriages last three days, and the milk-post is made of teak-wood. Widow remarriage is prohibited. The dead are always buried. Socially they are on a par with the Maravans, with whom they interdine.
Sāvali.—A synonym of Budubudike.
Sāvantiya.—A synonym of Sāmantiya.
Savara.—The Savaras, Sawaras, or Saoras, are an important hill-tribe in Ganjam and Vizagapatam.The name is derived by General Cunningham from the Scythian sagar, an axe, in reference to the axe which they carry in their hands. In Sanskrit, sabara or savara means a mountaineer, barbarian, or savage. The tribe has been identified by various authorities with the Suari of Pliny and Sabarai of Ptolemy. “Towards the Ganges,” the latter writes, “are the Sabarai, in whose country the diamond is found in great abundance.” This diamond-producing country is located by Cunningham near Sambalpūr in the Central Provinces. In one of his grants, Nandivarma Pallavamalla, a Pallava king, claims to have released the hostile king of the Sābaras, Udayana by name, and captured his mirror-banner made of peacock’s feathers. The Rev. T. Foulkes[21] identifies the Sābaras of this copper-plate grant with the Savaras of the eastern ghāts. But Dr. E. Hultzsch, who has re-edited the grant,[22] is of opinion that these Sābaras cannot be identified with the Savaras. The Aitareya Brāhmana of the Rig-vēda makes the Savaras the descendants of the sons of Visvāmitra, who were cursed to become impure by their father for an act of disobedience, while the Rāmayana describes them as having emanated from the body of Vasishta’s cow to fight against the sage Visvāmitra.
The language of the Savaras is included by Mr. G. A. Grierson[23] in the Mundā family. It has, he writes, “been largely influenced by Telugu, and is no longer an unmixed form of speech. It is most closely related to Khariā and Juāng, but in some characteristics differs from them, and agrees with the various dialects of the language which has in this (linguistic) survey been described under the denomination of Kherwāri.”
The Savaras are described by Mr. F. Fawcett[24] as being much more industrious than the Khonds. “Many a time,” he writes, “have I tried to find a place for an extra paddy (rice) field might be made, but never with success. It is not too much to say that paddy is grown on every available foot of arable ground, all the hill streams being utilized for this purpose. From almost the very tops of the hills, in fact from wherever the springs are, there are paddy fields; at the top of every small area a few square yards, the front perpendicular revetment [of large masses of stones] sometimes as large in area as the area of the field; and larger and larger, down the hillside, taking every advantage of every available foot of ground there are fields below fields to the bottoms of the valleys. The Saoras show remarkable engineering skill in constructing their paddy fields, and I wish I could do it justice. They seem to construct them in the most impossible places, and certainly at the expense of great labour. Yet, with all their superior activity and industry, the Saoras are decidedly physically inferior to the Khonds. It seems hard the Saoras should not be allowed to reap the benefit of their industry, but must give half of it to the parasitic Bissoyis and their retainers. The greater part of the Saoras’ hills have been denuded of forest owing to the persistent hacking down of trees for the purpose of growing dry crops, so much so that, in places, the hills look almost bare in the dry weather. Nearly all the jungle (mostly sāl, Shorea robusta) is cut down every few years. When the Saoras want to work a piece of new ground, where the jungle has been allowed to grow for a few years, the trees are cut down, and, when dry, burned, and the ground is grubbed up by the women with a kind of hoe. The hoe is used on the steep hill sides, where the ground is very stony and rocky, and the stumps of the felled trees are numerous, and the plough cannot be used. In the paddy fields, or on any flat ground, they use ploughs of lighter and simpler make than those used in the plains. They use cattle for ploughing.” It is noted by Mr. G. V. Ramamurti Pantulu, in an article on the Savaras, that “in some cases the Bissoyi, who was originally a feudatory chief under the authority of the zemindar, and in other cases the zemindar claims a fixed rent in kind or cash, or both. Subject to the rents payable to the Bissoyis, the Savaras under them are said to exercise their right to sell or mortgage their lands. Below the ghāts, in the plains, the Savara has lost his right, and the mustajars or the renters to whom the Savara villages are farmed out take half of whatever crops are raised by the Savaras.” Mr. Ramamurti states further that a new-comer should obtain the permission of the Gōmongo (headman) and the Bōya before he can reclaim any jungle land, and that, at the time of sale or mortgage, the village elders should be present, and partake of the flesh of the pig sacrificed on the occasion. In some places, the Savaras are said to be entirely in the power of Paidi settlers from the plains, who seize their entire produce on the plea of debts contracted at a usurious rate of interests. In recent years, some Savaras emigrated to Assam to work in the tea-gardens. But emigration has now stopped by edict.