Valluvan.—A small inferior caste of fishermen and boatmen in Malabar.[22]
Vālmika.—Vālmīka or Vālmīki is a name assumed by the Bōyas and Paidis, who claim to be descended from Vālmīki, the author of the Rāmāyana, who did penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill (vālmīkam) grew up round him. In a note before me, Vālmīki is referred to as the Spenser of India. In the North Arcot Manual, Vālmīkulu, as a synonym of the Vēdans, is made to mean those who live on the products of ant-hills.
Vāl Nambi.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “a synonym for Mūssad. Nambi is a title of Brāhmans, and vāl means a sword. The tradition is that the name arose from the ancestors of the caste having lost some of the privileges of the Vēdic Brāhmans owing to their having served as soldiers when Malabar was ruled by the Brāhmans prior to the days of the Perumāls.”
Valuvādi.—The Valuvādis are returned, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as cultivators in the Pudukōttai State. I am informed that the Valuvādis are a section of the Valaiyan caste, to which the Zamindar of Nagaram belongs. The name Valuvādi was originally a title of respect, appended to the name of the Nagaram Zamindars. The name of the present Zamindar is Balasubramanya Valuvādiar. Thirty years ago there is said to have been no Valuvādi caste. Some Valaiyans in prosperous circumstances, and others who became relatives of the Nagaram Zamindar by marriage, have changed their caste name, to show that they are superior in social status to the rest of the community.
Vamme.—A gōtra of Janappans, the members of which abstain from eating the fish called bombadai, because, when some of their ancestors went to fetch water in the marriage pot, they found a number of this fish in the water contained in the pot.
Vana Palli.—A name, meaning forest Palli, assumed by some Irulas in South Arcot.
Vandikkāran.—An occupational name for Nāyars who work as cartmen (vandi, cart) for carrying fuel.
Vandula or Vandi Rāja.—A sub-division of Bhatrāzu, named after one Vandi, who is said to have been a herald at the marriage of Siva.
Vangu (cave).—A sub-division of Irula.
Vāni.—“The Vānis or Bāndēkars,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,[23] “have been wrongly classified in the census returns (1891) as oil-pressers; they are in reality traders. They are said to have come from Goa, and they speak Konkani. Their spiritual guru is the head of the Kumbakōnam math.” In the Census Report, 1901, it is noted that Vāni, meaning literally a trader, is a Konkani-speaking trading caste, of which Bāndēkara is a synonym. “They ape the Brāhmanical customs, and call themselves by the curious hybrid name of Vaisya Brāhmans.” Hari Chetti has been returned as a further synonym.