Yādava.—Yādava, meaning descendants of king Yādu, from whom Krishna was descended, has been recorded as a synonym or title of Idaiyan, and a sub-division of Golla and Koracha. There is a tradition among the Idaiyans that Krishna was brought up by their caste.

Yākāri.—See Ekāri.

Yānādi.—The Yānādis are a dark-skinned, platyrhine tribe, short of stature, who inhabit the Telugu country. The name has been the subject of much etymological speculation. Some derive it from a (privative) and nathu (lord or protector), and it may mean those who are not included in the ruling or principal caste. Again, it has been derived from yanam (boat) and adi (means). But the Yānādis are not known to have plied, nor do they now ply boats at Srīharikota, their chief place of residence, which is on the coast. The word would seem to be derived from the Sanskrit anadi, or those whose origin is not traceable. The people perhaps elongated the vowel-sound, so that it became Yānādi. In like manner, the Native graduate of the Madras University talks of himself as being, not a B.A. or M.A., but B.Ya. or M.Ya. And a billiard-marker will call the game yeighty-yeight instead of eighty-eight.

The tradition of the Yānādis as to their origin is very vague. Some call themselves the original inhabitants of the wilds in the neighbourhood of the Pulicat lake, where they hunted and fished at will, until they were enslaved by the Reddis. Others say that the Reddi (or Manchi?) Yānādis were originally Chenchus, a small but superior class, and that they fled from oppression and violence from the mountains in the west, and amalgamated themselves with the common Yānādis. The common deity of both Chenchus and Manchi Yānādis is Chenchu Dēvudu. Between the Yānādi and the Chenchu, however, there is no love lost. They can be seen living close together, but not intermingling, on the Nallamalais, and they differ in their social customs. Yānādi Chenchu is said to be the name given by Brāhmans to the Chenchus.[1] The following legend concerning the Yānādis is narrated by Mackenzie.[2] “Of old, one named Rāghava brought with him sixty families from Pācanātti district, locating himself with them at Sriharicotta, and, clearing the country, formed Rāghavapuram. The people by degrees spread through a few adjoining districts. A rishi, who came from Benares, and was named Ambikēsvarer, resided in Mad’hyāranya (or the central wilderness), and there, daily bathing in a river, paid homage to Siva. These wild people of their own accord daily brought him fruits and edibles, putting them before him. At length he inquired of them the reason. They replied that their country was infested by a terrible serpent, and they wished to be taught charms to destroy it, as well as charms for other needful purposes. He taught them, and then vanished away.”

It is an advantage for a European to have a Yānādi as a camp servant, as he can draw water from any caste well. The Yānādi can also wash, and carry water for Brāhmans.

The animistic nature of their religion; the production of fire by friction; the primitive hunting and fishing stage in which a number remain; the almost raw animal food which they eat, after merely scorching or heating the flesh of the game they kill, indicate that the Yānādis have not yet emerged from a primitive stage of culture. They make fire by friction with sticks from the following trees:—

Two sticks are prepared, one short, the other long. In the former a square cavity is scooped out, and it is held firmly on the ground, while the long stick is twisted rapidly to and fro in the cavity. No charcoal powder is used, but a rag, or even dried leaves are set fire to.

The head-quarters of the Yānādis is the island of Srīharikota in the Nellore district. Their primitive condition attracted notice in 1835, when the island came into the possession of the Government, which endeavoured to ameliorate their position by supplying them with a liberal allowance of grain, clothing, tobacco, and money, in return for the jungle produce, which they collected. The demand for labour naturally rose, and the Government offered to pay to parents 2 annas 6 pies on the birth of a male, and 1 anna 3 pies on the birth of a female child—a bounty on productivity justified by special local causes. In 1858, the Government opened a school for the teaching of Telugu, which was rendered attractive by offers of rice and clothing to those who attended it. An industrial department gave lessons in basket-making, and land was assigned for the cultivation of chay-root (Oldenlandia umbellata), which yields the beautiful red dye formerly much employed in the dyeing of cotton fabrics, but has had its nose put out of joint by the introduction of aniline and alizarin dyes. But the industries proved unsuccessful, and the strength of the school gradually declined, so that it was abolished in 1877.