The Vāriyar caste is governed in all matters by the Nambūtiri Brahmans, but they have their own priests. The Ilayatus believe that they were the preceptors of all the Ambalavāsi castes in former times, but were dislodged from that position owing to most of them employing priests from among their own caste men. Even at the present day, Ilayatus are known to express their displeasure when they are asked to drink water from a Vāriyar’s well. As, however, consecrated water from the Nambūtiris is taken to a Vāriyar for its purification, they entertain no scruples about cooking their food there, provided they carry with them the aupasana fire.
Inheritance among the Vāriyars of Cochin and British Malabar is in the female line (marumakkathāyam). Among the Vāriyars of Travancore, chiefly these belonging to the Onattukara section, a kind of qualified makkathāyam prevails, in accordance with which both sons and daughters have an equal right to inherit ancestral property. The eldest male member is entitled to the management of the estate in all undivided families. Partition, however, is largely followed in practice.
The tāli-kettu ceremony of the Vāriyars generally takes place before a girl reaches puberty, and, in the case of boys, after the ceremony of Sivadiksha has been performed, that is between the twelfth and sixteenth years. If the marriage is in the kudi-vaippu form, or, in other words, if there is an intention on the part of both parties to treat the marital alliance as permanent, no separate sambandham need be celebrated afterwards; and, in all cases where marriages are celebrated between members of the same section, the kudi-vaippu form is in vogue. If a girl is unmarried when she reaches puberty, she is not permitted to take part in any religious ceremonies, or enter any temple until she is married. The first item of a Vāriyar’s marriage is ayani-unu, when the bridegroom, decked in new clothes and ornaments, dines sumptuously with his relations. He then goes in procession to the bride’s house, and, after bathing, puts on clothes touched by the bride. After this some prayers are recited, and a sacrifice is offered. The bride is then brought to the marriage hall, and, all the Brāhmanical rites are strictly observed. After sunset, some grass and a leopard’s skin are placed on the floor on which white cloth is spread. The bridegroom, who is seated on the northern side, worships Ganapati, after which the couple take their seats on the cloth bed spread on the floor. Lights are then waved in front of them. This ceremony is known as dikshavirikkuka. In the kudi-vaippu form of marriage, the bride is taken to the house of the bridegroom, where the dikshavirippu is observed. Otherwise the marital rite becomes a mere tāli-kattu ceremony, and the girl, when she comes of age, may receive clothes in token of conjugal connection with another person. When the first husband dies, clothes may be received from another Vāriyar, or a Brāhman, whose wife the woman becomes.
Most of the ceremonies observed by Malayāli Brāhmans are also performed by the Vāriyars, the vratas and upanayana being among those which are omitted. Sivadiksha, as already indicated, is observed between the twelfth and sixteenth years. The festival lasts for four days, though the religious rites are over on the first day. At an auspicious hour, the priest and the Vāriyar youth put on the tattu dress, or dress worn for ceremonial purposes, and worship a pot full of water with incense and flowers, the contents of which are then poured by the priest over the youth. The priest and a Mārān then perform the tonsure, and the youth bathes. Some Nambūtiris are then engaged to perform the purificatory rite, after which the Vāriyar wears the tattu as well as an upper cloth, marks his forehead with ashes and sandal paste, and decorates himself with jewels, rudrāksha (Elæocarpus Ganitrus) beads, and flowers. Alms are received by the young Vāriyar from his mother, and he takes seven steps in a northerly direction which symbolise his pilgrimage to Benares. It is only after the performance of this rite that the Vāriyar is believed to become a grihastha (married person, as opposed to a bachelor). The funeral rites of the caste have been elaborated in many places. Death pollution lasts for twelve days, and the sanchayana (milk ceremony) is observed on the seventh or ninth day. Anniversary ceremonies are celebrated in memory of close relations, and others are propitiated by the performance of srādh, and the feeding of a Vāriyar on a new-moon day.
In an account of a royal wedding in Travancore in 1906, I read that “a number of Vāriyars left the thēvarathu koikal, or palace where worship is performed, for a compound (garden) close by to bring an areca palm. It is supposed that they do this task under divine inspiration and guidance. One man is given a small rod by the Potti or priest in the palace, and, after receiving this, he dances forward, followed by his comrades, and all wend their way to a compound about a furlong away. On reaching the spot, they uproot a big areca palm without the use of any implement of iron, and take it away to the thēvarathu koikal without its touching the ground, to the accompaniment of music. They then plant it in front of the portico, and do some pūja (worship) after the manner of Brāhmans. The function is comparable to the dhwajarohanam, or hoisting of the flag during temple utsavams. The Vāriyars dance round the tree, singing songs, and performing pūja. A piece of white cloth is tied to the top of the tree, to serve as a flag, and a lamp is lighted, and placed at the foot of the tree.”
The Vāriyars are described, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, as “a caste whose traditional duty is to sweep the temple precincts (vāruga). At the present day, some members of the caste are important land-owners or petty chieftains, occupying a very high social position. They generally follow the marumakkatāyam principle, but they have also a form of marriage called Kudivekkal similar to the Brahman Sarvasvadhānam, by which the wife is adopted as a member of the family into which she marries, and her children also belong to it. The Vāriyar’s names and ceremonies indicate Sivaite proclivities, just as those of the Pishārodi are tinged with Vishnavism. The Vāriyar’s house is called a Vāriyam, and his woman-folk Varassiars. This class is perhaps the most progressive among the Ambalavāsis, some of its members having received a Western education and entered the learned professions.”
Varugu Bhatta.—A mendicant class, which begs from Perikes.
Varuna.—Some Pattanavan fishermen have adopted the name of Varunakula Vellāla or Varunakula Mudali after Varuna the god of the waters.
Vasa (new).—A sub-division of Kurubas, who are said to weave only white blankets.
Vasishta.—A Brāhmanical gōtra adopted by Khatris and Toreyas. Vasishta, one of the seven great Rishis, was the son of Mitra and Varuna, whose quarrels with Viswamitra are narrated in the Rāmayana.