Of the Sakthis worshipped by the Vādas, the chief is Koralu Sakthi. The man who performs the worship is tied to a country cart, to which a central stake, and a stake at each corner are attached. Dressed up in female attire, he drags the cart, with which he makes three rounds. A chicken is then impaled on each of the corner stakes, and a pig on the central stake.
Vāda shrines.
In former times, the images of the deities were made in clay, but it has been found by experience that wooden images are more durable, and do not require to be replaced so often. Along with the images of gods and goddesses, the Vādas place figures representing deceased relatives, after the peddadinam (final death ceremony).
The Mannārus are very important individuals, for not only do they perform worship, but are consulted on many points. If a man does not secure good catches of fish, he goes to the Mannāru, to ascertain the cause of his bad luck. The Mannāru holds in his hand a string, to which a stone is tied, and invokes various gods and goddesses by name. Every time a name is mentioned, the stone either swings to and fro like a pendulum, or performs a circular movement. If the former occurs, it is a sign that the deity whose name has been pronounced is the cause of the misfortune, and must be propitiated in a suitable manner.
Vadakkupurattu.—A synonym, meaning belonging to the north side of the temple, of Mārāns in Travancore.
Vadra.—Vadra, Vadrangi, or Vadla is a name of a sub-division of Telugu Kamsalas, the professional calling of which is carpentering. It is noted, in the Gazetteer of Tanjore, that “wood-carving of a very fair quality is done at several places in the Tanjore district by a class of workmen called car carpenters, from the fact that their skill is generally exercised in carving images on temple cars. They are found at Tanjore, Mannargudi, Tiruvādaturai and Tiruvadi, and perhaps elsewhere. The workmen at the last-named place are Vaddis. The Vaddis of the Godavari district are also found to do wood-carving, sometimes with great skill.”
Vadugan.—At the census, 1891, 180,884 individuals were returned as Vadugan, which is described as meaning “a native of the northern or Telugu country, but in ordinary usage it refers to the Balijas.” I find, however, that 56,380 Vadugars have returned their sub-division as Kammavar or Kammas, and that the term has been used to denote many Telugu castes. At the census, 1901, the number of people returning themselves as Vadugan dropped to 95,924, and the name is defined by the Census Superintendent as a “linguistic term meaning a Telugu man, wrongly returned as a caste name by Kammas, Kāpus and Balijas in the Tamil districts.” In the Salem Manual, Vaduga is noted as including all who speak Telugu in the Tamil districts, e.g., Oddē, Bestha, etc.
It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that “of the same social standing as the Kammālans are the Vadugans (northerners), a makkattāyam caste of foreigners found in Palghat and the adjoining part of Waluvanad. They are divided into two exogamous classes, one of which is regarded as inferior to the other, and performs purificatory ceremonies for the caste. They cut their hair close all over the head, and have no kudumis (hair knot).”
It is noted by Mr. L. Moore[1] that “Xavier, writing in 1542 to 1544, makes frequent references to men whom he calls Badages, who are said to have been collectors of royal taxes, and to have grievously oppressed Xavier’s converts among the fishermen of Travancore.”[2] Dr. Caldwell, alluding to Xavier’s letters, says[3] that these Badages were no doubt Vadages or men from the North, and is of opinion that a Jesuit writer of the time who called them Nayars was mistaken, and that they were really Nayakans from Madura. I believe, however, that the Jesuit rightly called them Nayars, for I find that Father Organtino, writing in 1568, speaks of these Badages as people from Narasinga, a kingdom north of Madura, lying close to Bishnaghur. Bishnaghur is, of course, Vijayanagar, and the kingdom of Narasinga was the name frequently given by the Portuguese to Vijayanagar. There is a considerable amount of evidence to show that the Nayars of Malabar are closely connected by origin with the Nayakans of Vijayanagar.” (See Nāyar.)