Vanuvan.—A name assumed by Vāniyans who have abandoned their hereditary occupation of oil-pressing, and taken to trade in grain and other articles.
Vārakurup.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a title of Malayālam Paravans.
Varige (millet).—An exogamous sept of Kāpu.
Vāriyar.—For the following note on the Vāriyar section of the Ambalavāsis, I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. The name is believed to be derived from Parasava, which, according to Yajnavalkya and other law-givers, is the name given to the son of a Brāhman begotten on a Sūdra woman, and suggests the fact that the Vāriyar is no Brāhman, though the blood of the latter may course through his veins, and though such marriages were regarded as sacraments in early days. This is the derivation given by Pachumuttalu in his Kēralavisēshamāhātmya, who adds that the chief occupation of the Vāriyars is to sweep the floor of the temples. In some of the Asauchavidhis (works on pollution) of Kērala, the commentator explains the word Parasava as Vāriya. Many Vāriyars add the title Parasava to their name, when writing in Sanskrit. Some derive the word from varija or one born of water, in accordance with a tradition that Parasurāma created from water a class of persons for special service in temples, and to take the place of Sūdras, who, being meat-eaters, were ineligible for the same. Others again, like the late Professor Sundaram Pillay, would take Vāriyar as being derived from varuka, to sweep. Recently, some ingenuity has been displayed in splitting the word into two words, giving it a meaning equivalent to pseudo-Aryan. The title Asan, or teacher, is possessed by certain families, whose members have held the hereditary position of tutors in noblemen’s houses. In mediæval times, many Vāriyar families received royal edicts, conferring upon them the privileges of being tutors and astrologers. These special rights are even now possessed by them.
The following legend is narrated concerning the origin of the Vāriyars. A Sūdra woman removed a bone from within a temple in obedience to the wish of certain Brāhman priests, and was excommunicated from her caste. The priests, on hearing this, were anxious to better her condition, and made her the progenitor of a class of Ambalavāsis or temple servants, who were afterwards known as Vāriyars. According to another legend, the corpse of a Mārān, which was found inside a Nambūtiri’s house, was promptly removed by certain Nāyars, who on that account were raised in the social scale, and organised into a separate caste called Vāriyar. There is a still further tradition that, in the Treta Yuga, a Sūdra woman had five sons, the first of whom became the progenitor of the Tiyatunnis, and the second that of Vāriyars. A fourth account is given in the Kēralamahātmya. A young Brāhman girl was married to an aged man. Not confident in unaided human effort, under circumstances such as hers, she devoted a portion of her time daily to preparing flower garlands for the deity of the nearest temple, and conceived. But the Brāhman welcomed the little stranger by getting the mother thrown out of caste. Her garlands could no longer be accepted, but, nothing daunted, she worked as usual, and made a mental offering of the garlands she prepared, which, through an unseen agency, became visible on the person of the deity. Though the people were struck with shame at their unkind treatment of the innocent girl, they were not prepared to take her back. The Vāriyan caste was accordingly constituted, and her child was brought up by the Azhancheri Tambrakkal, and accommodated in the padippura or out-house at the entrance gate. In the Pāsupata Tantra, the Vāriyars are called Kailāsavāsins, or those who live in Kailās, as they are supposed to be specially devoted to the worship of Siva. Kailāsa is the abode of Siva, whither the blessed go after death.
The Vāriyars of Travancore are divided into four groups, called Onattukara, Venattukara, Ilayetattunad (or Ilayathu), and Tekkumkur. The Venattukaras have the privilege of interdining with the Onattukaras, and having their ceremonies performed by priests from that group. But the ceremonies of the Onattukaras appear to be performed without the Venattukaras being admitted into their midst. The third and fourth groups take food in the houses of the first and second, though the reverse seldom happens. The Vāriyars in British Malabar are divided into several other groups.
The Vāriyars are generally well-read, especially in Sanskrit, make excellent astrologers, and are also medical practitioners. A Vāriyar’s house is called variyam, as the Pishārati’s is known as pishāram.
Married women have the hair-knot on the left side of the head, like Nāyar ladies. They cover the breast with a folded cloth, and never wear a bodice or other innovations in the matter of dress. The marriage ornament is called mātra, and is in the shape of a maddalam or drum. Other neck ornaments are called entram and kuzhal. The todu, or ornament of Nāyar women, is worn in the ear-lobes. Women mark their foreheads, like Nambūtiri ladies, with sandal paste.
The Vāriyars, Pushpakans, and Pishāratis, are said to constitute the three original garland-making castes of Malabar, appointed by Parasurāma. At the present day, in all the important temples, except in South Travancore, where Kurukkals perform that function, garlands can only be prepared by one of these castes. The technical occupation of a Vāriyar in a temple is called kazhakam, which is probably derived from the Dravidian root kazhaku, to cleanse. Kazhakam is of two kinds, viz., malakkazhakam or garland-making service, and talikkazhakam or sweeping service, of which the former is more dignified than the latter. Under the generic term kazhakar are included making flower garlands for the temple, preparing materials for the offering of food, sweeping the beli offering, carrying lights and holding umbrellas when the god is carried in procession, having the custody of the temple jewels, etc. The Vāriyar is at the beck and call of the temple priest, and has to do sundry little services from morning till evening. He is remunerated with some of the cooked food, after it has been offered to the deity. The Vāriyars are to Saivite temples what the Pishāratis are to Vaishnavite temples. Their prayers are prominently addressed only to Siva, but they also worship Vishnu, Subramanya, Sasta, Ganēsa, and Bhadrakāli. Their chief amusement is the farce called Kūttappāthakam, the hero of which is one Vankāla Nikkan, and the heroine Naityar. An Ilayatu is the stage-manager, and a Pishārati the actor. Parangotan is the buffoon, and Māppa his wife. In the eighteenth century, a grand festival lasting over twenty-eight days, called mamangam, was celebrated in British Malabar. The above characters are represented as proceeding to this festival, which came off once in twelve years on the Magha asterism in the month of Magha, and is hence popularly called Mahāmagha.