The Toreyas worship both Siva and Vishnu, but consider Ayodhya Rāman as their special deity, and sacrifice sheep and fowls to Koriamma.
Toreya.—A sub-division of the Badagas of the Nīlgiris.
Tōta (garden).—Recorded as a sub-division of cultivating Balijas, and an exogamous sept of Bōya, Chenchu, Vāda Balija (or Mila), Mutrācha and Bonthuk Savara. The equivalent Tōta occurs as an exogamous sept of Kāpu and Yānādi. Tōta Dēvaru, or garden god, is the name of an exogamous sept of the Tigala gardeners and cultivators.
Tōtakūra (Amarantus gangeticus).—An exogamous sept of Kamma.
Toththala or Tottadi.—A sub-division of Velama.
Tōti.—The Tōti or Totti is one of the village communal servants. The name has been derived from tondu, to dig, or tott, to go round, as the Tōti is the purveyor of news, and has to summon people to appear before the village council. The functions of this useful person to the community have been summed up as follows by a district official.[57] “This individual has all the dirty work of the village allotted to him. He is of the lowest caste, and hence makes no scruple of doing any manner of work that he may be called upon to perform. The removal and sepulture of unclaimed dead bodies, the cleansing of choultries, rest-houses and the like, where travellers carrying infectious diseases might have halted, and other gruesome duties are entrusted to him. In spite of all this, the Tōti is one of the most trusted of the humbler servants of the village community. Considering his humble status and emoluments, which average between Rs. 3 and Rs. 4 a month, his honesty with regard to pecuniary matters is wonderful. He may be trusted with untold wealth, as is often done when he is the sole custodian of the revenue collections of his village to the tune of several thousands at a time, when on their way from the collecting officers to the Government Treasury.” Testimony is borne to the industry of the Tōti in the proverb that if you work like a Tōti, you can enjoy the comforts of a king.
In the Madras Census Report, 1891, Tōti is returned as a sub-division of Chakkiliyan. The Tōti of Mysore is defined by Mr. L. Rice[58] as a menial among the village servants, a deputy talāri, who is employed to watch the crops from the growing crop to the granary.
Odiya Tōti is a Tamil synonym for Oriya Haddis employed as scavengers in municipalities in the Tamil country.
Tottiyan.—In the Census Report, 1901, Mr. W. Francis writes that the Tottiyans are “Telugu cultivators. The Tottiyans or Kambalattāns of the Tanjore district are, however, said to be vagrants, and to live by pig-breeding, snake-charming, and begging. So are the sub-division called Kāttu Tottiyans in Tinnevelly. The headman among the Tinnevelly Tottiyans is called the Mandai Periadanakkāran or Sērvaikāran. Their marriages are not celebrated in their houses, but in pandals (booths) of green leaves erected for the purpose on the village common. However wealthy the couple may be, the only grain which they may eat at the wedding festivities is either cumbu (Pennisetum typhoideum) or horse-gram (Dolichos biflorus). The patron deities of the caste are Jakkamma and Bommakka, two women who committed sati. The morality of their women is loose. The custom of marrying boys to their paternal aunt’s or maternal uncle’s daughter, however old she may be, also obtains, and in such cases the bridegroom’s father is said to take upon himself the duty of begetting children to his own son. Divorce is easy, and remarriage is freely allowed. They offer rice and arrack (alcoholic liquor) to their ancestors. The Kāttu Tottiyans will eat jackals, rats, and the leavings of other people. Tottiya women will not eat in the houses of Brāhmans, but no explanation of this is forthcoming. The men wear silver anklets on both legs, and also a bracelet upon one of the upper arms, both of which practices are uncommon, while the women wear bangles only on the left arm, instead of on both as usual. Some of the Zamindars in Madura belong to this caste. The caste title is Nāyakkan.” At the census, 1901, Kudulukkāran was returned as a sub-caste of the Tottiyans in Madura and Tinnevelly. The Urumikkāran, meaning those who play on the drum called urumi, are said to be Tottiyans in Madura and Paraiyans elsewhere.
“The Tottiyans or Kambalattāns,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,[59] “are a caste of Telugu cultivators settled in the districts of Madura, Tinnevelly, Coimbatore and Salem. They are probably the descendants of poligars and soldiers of the Nāyakkan kings of Vijayanagar, who conquered the Madura country about the beginning of the sixteenth century. As regards the origin of their caste, the Tottiyans say with pride that they are the descendants of the eight thousand gōpastris (milkmaids) of Krishna—a tradition which seems to indicate that their original occupation was connected with the rearing and keeping of cattle. The most important sub-divisions are Kollar and Erkollar, the Tamil form of the Telugu Golla and Yerragolla, which are now shepherd castes, though probably they formerly had as much to do with cattle as sheep. Another large sub-division is Kille or Killavar, which I take to be a corruption of the Telugu kilāri, a herdman. The bride and bridegroom, too, are always seated on bullock saddles. They do not wear the sacred thread. Most of them are Vaishnavites, some of whom employ Brāhman priests, but the majority of them are guided by gurus of their own, called Kodāngi Nāyakkan. [It is noted, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that caste matters used to be settled by the Mēttu Nāyakkan or headman, and a Kodāngi Nāyakkan, or priest, so called because he carried a drum.] Each family has its own household deity, which appears to be a sort of representation of departed relations, chiefly women who have burned themselves on the funeral pile of their husbands, or have led a chaste and continent life, or died vestals. Their girls are married after they have attained maturity. Adultery is no crime when committed within the family circle, but a liaison with an outsider involves expulsion from the caste. It is said that their newly married girls are even compelled to cohabit with their husband’s near relatives. [It is further said to be believed that ill-luck will attend any refusal to do so, and that, so far from any disgrace attaching to them in consequence, their priests compel them to keep up the custom, if by any chance they are unwilling.[60]] The pongu tree (Pongamia glabra) is the sacred tree of the caste. Suttee was formerly very common, and the remarriage of widows is discouraged, if not actually forbidden. The dead are generally burned. Both men and women are supposed to practice magic, and are on that account much dreaded by the people generally. They are especially noted for their power of curing snake-bites by means of mystical incantations, and the original inventor of this mode of treatment has been deified under the name Pāmbalamman. They are allowed to eat flesh. The majority speak Telugu in their houses.”