Full Text: Religion: A Way of Salvation or an Ideology of Oppression?

The full text of A. M. Abraham Ayrookuzhiel’s essay “Religion: A Way of Salvation or an Ideology of Oppression? The Power Dimensions of Hindu Village Religion - An Empirical Study” is being transcribed from the original article published in Religion and Society, Vol. XXXII, No. 1, March 1985.

This transcription preserves the original wording, structure, and references as they appear in the source. It is being added progressively from the scanned pages.

Introduction

Religions, as we experience them, play a twofold role in society. Primarily they are symbol-systems of meaning. Religious concepts, myths, beliefs and practices supply us with ‘conceptions of a general order of existence’ with regard to self, society and the universe. The values and meanings provided by religion enable people to celebrate the joys of their lives, to interpret and shape the events of their time and space, and to cope with the problems of life’s sufferings and of death.

On the other side, if we historically look at the origin and development of religions and religious movements, we find both in their origin and later development, that religions as symbol systems of meaning had been influencing the political and economic conditions of their time and in turn had been greatly influenced by them. Religious myths, beliefs and practices as they originated in concrete historical, political and economic conditions often reflect the socio-political and cultural structures of their societies. In other words, these myths, concepts and practices may reflect the conflicts, stresses, strains and power relations resulting from such socio-economic and cultural structures. In short, religions as cultural systems besides being meaning systems, also function as ideologies serving the interests of particular segments within the religious community or to promote the interest of one religious community against another. This is the secondary role religions play in societies which in fact may conflict with the message of universal love central to all religions. History is full of examples of this and they can be taken from all over the world, from our own subcontinent, even from present day situations in the country.

The purpose of this paper is not to raise theoretical issues on how religious symbol systems interlock with the economic and political systems. We are aware of the merits and the problems regarding the theories of great theoreticians like Karl Marx and Max Weber.

The aim of this paper is something very modest and very concrete. It is an attempt to understand how Hindu village religion functions as a cultural system in the context of our common task of building an egalitarian society, particularly in relation to the aspirations of the so-called untouchables for social equality and justice. In other words, what is under observation here is the social role village Hinduism plays in terms of the power relations within the village. We do this by studying the social function of the places of worship, of village festivals and of the rites of passage. In order to do this we should first of all have a fair idea of the power relations existing in the villages which result from socio-economic factors such as land and other forms of wealth, education and employment. We could then look upon the religio-cultural system in order to see whether it generally corresponds to and strengthens the socio-economic factors or whether it is in any way in disharmony with or challenges the power relations resulting from material factors.

The study was done in Sarjapura Hobli of Anekal Taluk, a backward area in Bangalore district. According to their caste the people in this area known as Reddys, Vokkaligas, Nagaratha Shettys, Brahmins, Tigaas, Ganigas, Kumbaras, Acharis, Hajamas, Agasas, Togatas, Holeyas and Madigas. In the first part we give the economic profile of five villages selected on a random basis from the area in order to have a picture of the power relations among the castes resulting from material factors such as land, education and employment. It is based on a survey we have conducted ourselves. The picture of the economic conditions of different caste groups that emerges from this survey is a fair representation of the general situation in the whole area.

In the second part we describe the religio-cultural factors based on observations gathered from 20 villages in the area. The purpose of the study, as we mentioned above, is to understand the social role of these factors in terms of power relations among the castes.

Part I. The Economic Profile of Five Villages

Table 1. Pattern of Land-Holding Among the Castes

Table 2. Animal and Other Agricultural Wealth

Table 3. Loans from Farmers’ Co-operative Societies and Banks for Agricultural Development

Table 4. Number of People Employed in Agriculture and Wage Labour

From the above tables we find that 75.9% of total land is in the hands of the Reddy, Vokkaliga and Nagaratha Shetty communities. These communities also possess the maximum number of borewells and pumps, bullock carts, draught animals, milk cows, sheep and goats. Out of the total amount of loan of Rs. 4,52,429, from banks and farmers’ co-operative service societies—this well-to-do section of the population has claimed Rs. 2,50,800 (55.43%). Apart from these agricultural forms of wealth, some families among them own power looms, flour mills, lorries, cars and two-wheelers.

Among the Brahmins only two families have land. The other two families support themselves with income from the priesthood and government jobs (cfr table 5 below).

Among the Tigalas, 52 people support themselves with small vegetable gardens, another 24 work also as wage labourers to supplement their income from land, while twenty of them have no land and depend entirely on wage labour. The 45 families of occupational castes like Ganigas and Kumbaras who are carpenters, potters, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, barbers etc., possess the least amount of land (0.9%). Most of them live by their vocational skills (cfr. table 5), others by agriculture and the rest combine agriculture and wage labour.

In the 152 families of Holeyas and Madigas, the so-called untouchables, quite a high number 93 persons, work on their own land and supplement their income with wage labour; 38 persons depend entirely on wage labour and only 26 are fully self-employed on their own farms.

From the above data it is clear that the economic power in the villages rests with the Reddy-Vokkaliga-Shetty communities. The vocational castes of Ganiga, Kumbara etc. depend on and serve these castes. The Tigalas, who grow vegetables, though comparatively poor, are not considered untouchables and have a status as small agriculturists. It is the Holeyas and Madigas who have the general image of agricultural wage labour.

Let us look at the educational and non-agricultural job pattern.

The educational and job patterns generally reflect the economic base of the respective groups. The education and jobs further strengthen the powerful position of the Reddys, Vokkaligas, Nagaratha Shettys and Brahmins. Let us now look at the religio-cultural scene of these villages, the data for which has been collected from twenty villages in Sarjapur Hobli in order to make sure that the religious scene presented here is representative of the area.

Table 5. Education and Jobs

Part II. Religio-Cultural Profile of the Villages

I. Physical Exclusion of the Holeyas and Madigas from the Village Community

In the twenty villages studied, Holeyas are present in 19 where there are also caste Hindus; one small village is made up only of Holeyas. In the 19 villages, Holeyas live in a segregated area, separate from the rest. Madigas are found in six villages, and they live separate from both the caste Hindus and Holeyas.

In recent years there has been some change in this set-up. In ten villages the Janata Housing Scheme has been implemented. In four of these 10 villages, houses have been allotted without regard to caste. In another four villages Janata houses have been built in a separate area for the Holeyas only. In two villages Madigas have been given Janata houses in a separate area.

In most of the villages the caste Hindus themselves live in particular sectors according to their caste and Brahmins or the landlord castes like Reddy and Vokkaligas are found in the centre of the village. The major exception is a large newly developing village, Dodda Dommasandra, where houses are not segregated according to caste but found mingled.

II. Devasthanams—Symbols of Caste Power

The physical territorial divide between the caste Hindus and the Holeyas and Madigas is culturally reflected in the nature of the places of worship in these villages. The caste Hindus and the Holeyas and Madigas have their own separate places of worship. These places mirror the power and the powerlessness of these two groups.

In the twenty villages surveyed by us, all the thirty important Devasthanams are places of worship of the caste Hindus, and the Holeyas and Madigas can make offerings to the gods in them only from outside. Twenty out of these thirty Devasthanams have land or other sources of income. 90%, that is, 18 out of 20 of these propertied temples have Brahmins or Lingayats as priests, and the remaining two have a Reddy and a Balajika as priest. There are 3 more Devasthanams where the priests are from castes such as Kumbara, Devanga and Tigala, but these 3 Devasthanams have no property. In all, 25 out of 30 Devasthanams have Brahmins or Lingayats as priests, though there are only a few families of Brahmins in these 20 villages.

The gods worshipped in these Devasthanams are all male gods, except one. They are Anjaneya, Veerabhadraswami, Gopalswami, Vinayaka, Gangadhareshwara, Basaveswara, Iswara, Lakshmi Narayana, Tirumalaswami, Pandurangaswami, names suggesting dominance of Vaishnava tradition. A god, Muneswara, worshipped by the so-called lower castes in their gudis with blood offerings is the principal deity in one of the Devasthanams where he is worshipped with vegetarian offerings. The only principal deity who is a female in Devasthanam is Muthelamma.

In contrast to the Devasthanams, the Holeyas and Madigas have as places of worship the gudis. These gudis are either an anthill or a crude image with or without a small roof over it. Some gudis are in a portion of the priest’s dwelling. We have counted 29 such gudis in these 20 villages, belonging either to the Holeyas or Madigas. Generally a mother goddess under various names such as Yellamma, Kaveramma, Gangamma, Maduramma, Dugalamma, Maheswaramma, Pajamma, Dalamma, etc. is worshipped there. The only male god among them is the god Muneswara. Holeyas and Madigas have priests of their own community.

The caste Hindus also have their own gudis where they worship generally mother goddesses or Muneswara. But priests in these caste Hindu gudis are from professional castes such as Kumbara, Tigala, Achari, Togata (Devanga) and Kuruba and not Brahmin or Lingayat. Besides the gudis, every village has at least one snake shrine called rache which has to be installed by a Brahmin priest. In the two villages Holeyas and Madigas have made their own rache installed by their own priests.

III. The Ambivalent Nature of Village Festivals

The religious exclusion of the Holeyas and Madigas from the routine religious life of the caste Hindus is broken only when caste Hindus come closer to the Holeyas and Madigas during the celebration of village festivals. In fact the roles played by the Holeyas and Madigas in some of the village festivals is quite prominent, and the worship is autochthonous and not brahminical. This is clear from the blood sacrifice and the priestly role played by a landlord or a low-casteman. It may be that these agricultural festivals of a matriarchal form of worship were the tradition of a non-caste people before the brahminical religious culture came to be associated with them in a semi feudal agricultural society. We can therefore divide the village festivals into two broad categories: ancient autochthonous festivals of the little tradition and brahminical festivals of the great tradition. Ancient autochthonous festivals of the people were made to reflect the feudal character and caste value of the Brahmins.

A. Prostitution of Autochthonous Festivals by the Caste Society

(a) Makara Sankranti

This festival occurs on 14th January every year. The Thoti, the representative head of the Holeyas¹, decorates the entrance of the village with a festoon of mango and neem tree leaves. It is also his duty to get ready a temporary place of worship a quarter of a kilometre away from the village under a mango or banyan tree. The place is cleaned with cowdung water.

The villagers gather there with decorated cattle. In some villages he-goats and rams are also taken. Bulls and cows which are wild and kicking are decorated with flowers, kumkum and turmeric powder, and packets of eatables are tied to them. The people erect a small shed with mango and neem leaves. A god called ‘Katam Raju’ (forest god) is installed inside the shed by arranging two rows of five small stones facing each other. One of the landlords or a potter by profession also plays the role of a priest. Nuts, fruits, vegetables, cooked rice, milk and milk products are placed in front of Katam Raju along with kumkum, turmeric, betel leaves and udubathi (agarbathi). Rice and milk are cooked and fowls are sacrificed before Katam Raju as part of the worship. Milk is boiled in a small earthen pot in front of the god. As the milk reaches the boiling point and is about to spill over, the Thoti breaks the pot, which is indeed a priestly role. In some villages the pot is not broken and people eagerly watch in which direction the milk spills over first. It is believed the direction in which the milk flows first will be safe for cattle in that year. The rice cooked before Katam Raju is distributed by the Thoti to every house for sprinkling over the cattle. The fowls are sacrificed after the milk-boiling rituals.²

When the worship is over the cattle are lined up around the temporary shrine and the priest sprinkles holy water over them. The procession back to the village starts in the evening, led by the land-owning castes such as Reddys and Vokkaligas with their cattle. They are followed by professional castes such as Kumbara (potters), Ganiga (oil-presser), Achari (carpenter) and Agasa (washermen). Holeyas and Madigas go at the end of the procession. When the procession arrives at the entrance of the village, the cattle are made to walk over the ashes of burnt straw of paddy and ragi. It is the job of the Thoti to collect straw from farmers, spread it over the road leading to the village and have it burnt. The valour of the village youth is to be proved at this time. As soon as the cattle cross the festoons anyone who has the courage to do so can try to take away the eatables tied to the cows and bulls.

After all the cattle have passed through the festoons, the Thoti cuts the festoons. The cattle are thereafter taken to the main temple in the village for worship. From the temple the procession goes through

all the lanes of the village, excluding the Holeya and Madiga areas. The Thoti beats the drum all through the procession. Pipe singers belonging to the Hajama (barber) caste play the music.

In some villages Hajamas have land given to them by the villages and they give their services free. In other villages they are paid for their services. When people have returned to their homes, the Thoti visits the houses of the landlords such as Reddys, Vokkaligas and Lingayats and collects eatables of the festival. People give him cooked food, or a little grain or money.

(b) Agate Male Ungalu (Hasta Malai)

The festival of Agate Male Ungalu or Pongalu is observed during the time of Agate rain. A meeting of the villagers takes place one week prior to the festival and the date of the festival is decided during the meeting.³ The Thoti goes around the village collecting money from every household for the celebration. On the festival day the Thoti spreads ashes all around the boundary of the village land. Traditionally it is the duty of the Thoti to spread the ash over each and every family’s fields. But these days some of the farmers do it themselves. People also draw figures of domestic animals and agricultural tools on the road with ashes. The Thoti digs a small pit at the entrance of the village. The pit is then filled with tender plants of ragi, paddy, jawar and other crops grown in the village. The village headman, along with others, comes to the pit with a ram; it is cut and the blood is poured over the plants in the pit. Some of the blood-soaked plants are taken by the farmers and thrown over the agricultural fields in the village. The head of the sheep is given to the Thoti.

If there are Brahmins and Lingayats in the village they do not take part in the ritual, but only contribute money towards the expenses. The ceremony is done without the usual drum or pipe music.

(c) Gangamma festival

The Gangamma festival is celebrated in a village when the water tank gets full in any year. Money is collected from all the villagers and a buffalo is bought for the occasion and taken in a procession to the village tank. The procession is led by Reddys, Vokkaligas, Kumbaras, Agasas, Hajamas, Acharis and others in front with lamps, and the Holeyas and Madigas follow at a little distance. A boat (tappa) made out of plantain trunk by the Thoti of the village is floated in the tank with lamps in it. The buffalo is sacrificed near the tank and the meat is distributed among the Holeyas.

The priest, if he happens to be a Brahmin or Lingayat, performs the puja and leaves the place prior to the animal sacrifice. The drum is beaten by the village Thoti and the pipe is played by the caste Hindu or Holeya barber.

(d) Sapplamma festival

This festival which has the status of Ur habba or village festival in this area, is that of the goddess Sapplamma, believed to be one of seven sisters. The belief in seven mother goddesses who are sisters is very common in the villages of South India.⁴

The villages in this area bring the festival idol (utsava moorti) of Sapplamma from a village called Tornahally, which is outside the region, near Malur town. Tornahally is the venue of the weekly market and annual Jathra when thousands of people go there with their cattle for sale. The priests of the Sapplamma temple belong to a family of the Tigala community who are engaged in growing vegetables in and around Bangalore. This temple at present comes under the control of the Muzrai Department.

According to the present head priest, Venkataramanappa, the Sapplamma of Tornahally had been brought from the Sapplamma temple built by the Ganga dynasty near Chikkaballapura. The story goes that about one hundred and fifty years ago the villagers in the Tornahally region used to visit Sapplamma in Chikkaballapura as they visit her these days in Tornahally for safety from rinderpest and other cattle diseases. A certain Lingyat man from Tornahally visited the Sapplamma temple in Chikkaballapura, and returned to the village with kumkum and turmeric powder. On his return, he found the kumkum and turmeric powder had turned into a beautiful wedding necklace. This was reported to one of the forefathers of the present priest. On his advice, the villagers agreed to return the necklace immediately to the goddess. The following day when the villagers got ready to travel to Chikkaballapura, no one was able to move including the bullocks ploughing the field. When the villagers gathered to discuss the strange happening, a boy became possessed by the goddess Sapplamma and declared that the goddess had come to the village on her own in the form of the necklace. An anthill was pointed out where they should build a temple for her. The possessed boy also pointed out a small boy who was to be her priest. When the people protested that the chosen priest was a left-handed boy, the goddess indicated that she was happy with a left-handed priest. This is how the Tigala family got the priesthood and the present priest believes that he is the 7th in line. Sapplamma, according to the belief of the people, lives inside the anthill—inside the garbagudi (sanctorum) of the temple.

The following procedure is observed for bringing the goddess Sapplamma to the villages under study. A small delegation from the village, usually of the landlord castes, goes to Tornahally to take the permission of the goddess for their festival. A flower is put on the goddess’ head. If the flower falls from the head to its right side permission is given. The request can be repeated thrice. If the answer is in the negative, the delegation excuses itself and returns home, hoping to come back the next year. The consent can also be given by the goddess through the possessed priest. The village which gets permission can collect the utsava (procession) idol which will be in one of the nearby villages on its rounds from one village to the other. If the festival date of a village coincides with that of another village, they have to make do with the holy water brought from Tornahally.

The goddess is brought from another village in a procession. Every head of the family in the village goes for this purpose. The Thoti of the village beats the drum. The goddess is brought and kept on the eastern side of the village, about fifty or hundred yards away. Wherever the Brahmin and Lingayat community members are present, they worship the goddess first by breaking a big kumbalakayee (pumpkin) before the animal sacrifice begins. They are followed by the caste Hindus offering a sheep. The head of the sheep is given to the priest. The Holeyas and Madigas offer a buffalo and its head is given to the priest who in turn gives it to the thoti for his services.

In some villages Holeyas and Madigas are not allowed to carry the goddess and the procession does not go through their streets. However, according to the priest, the goddess is for all castes, though he cannot do anything against people practising caste discrimination.

When the goddess leaves the village after the celebration, offerings of sari, blouse-piece and other things are made to her after the fashion of a daughter leaving her father’s house.

(e) An egalitarian spiritual practice during the Karaga

The Karaga, a mother goddess festival, popular among the villagers is an occasion for the people to go on a pilgrimage (Jatra) to Chikka Tirupathi in Malur taluk about 15 to 20 kms away. The pilgrims to Chikka Tirupathi are fed by the villagers either on their way or in Chikka Tirupathi itself. This feeding is called Anna Chatra. Well-to-do individual farmers among the Reddys and Vokkaligas or the whole village, including the Holeyas and Madigas, join together and conduct these feeding exercises. Some of these villages and individuals have their own permanent sheds in Chikka Tirupathi for Anna Chatra. The feeding may continue from one to three days or as long as one’s provisions last. According to tradition, no caste discrimination is allowed in the feeding or partaking of the food.

B. Greater Exclusion of Holeyas and Madigas from Brahminical Festivals

(a) Sri Ramanavami

The festival of Ramanavami is observed in these villages among the Reddys, Gowdas, Lingayats and other professional castes. The worship takes place at the serpent shrine of the village called Rache where the photos of Sri Rama and others will be installed. While all the caste Hindus join in the worship, the Holeyas and Madigas watch it from a distance. A special preparation called Panaka, a beverage made of jaggery and pepper, is distributed at the end of the worship. The Holeyas and Madigas are given the prasadam in vessels brought by them and care is taken not to touch them during the distribution.

(b) Naga Panchami

The women and children of the caste Hindus worship at the Rache by pouring milk and ghee over the snake idol. The Holeyas and Madigas are not allowed to worship at the Rache. They go to some anthill outside the village and worship there.

(c) Dasara

During the Dasara festival all the villagers led by Reddys, Vokkaligas, Lingayats and other professional castes go to a spot outside the village where the cut branch of a Banni (a thorny tree with small eatable nuts) is planted. A caste Hindu priest shoots an arrow into the branch and if it gets well embedded into the branch it augurs well for the villagers. The caste Hindus follow the priest in shooting their own arrows into the branch. But the Holeyas and Madigas are excluded. But later, during the programmes of entertainment in front of the caste Hindu temple, all the villagers are allowed to join in playing kolata together. The Thoti beats the drum and the Hajamas play the pipe.

(d) Deepavali

This festival is observed for three days. The idol of goddess Gowramma is installed in public places, temples and rich landlords’ houses. The temple priest of the caste Hindus will officiate at these places. The villagers place mora, a new winnowing fan, in the centre of their house filled with different foodgrains, coconuts, bananas, sweetmeats, betel nuts and leaves and other common articles of worship. After the home worship the winnowing baskets are taken to the temple or other places of worship where the Gowramma idol is installed. The priest receives moras of all the people and after offering them to the goddess returns them to the people. The Holeyas and Madigas do not enter the places of worship; their moras are received from outside and the priest takes them inside after sprinkling them with water to indicate an act of purification.

C. Caste swallows the festival of Basava Jayanti

Basava Jayanti, the birthday celebration of the reformer saint Basava, is observed in some of the villages. The festival occurs in April or May. We give here a brief description of its celebration as we observed it on the 3rd of May 1984 in the village of Heggon danahalli.

The idol of Basavanna and Bayalu Basavanna (bull) were brought from the temple to the centre of the village in the evening. Bhajans and Harikathas were conducted in the night. Early in the morning the idols were taken back to the temple. A fire pit was prepared in front of the temple with glowing embers. The Lingayat priests walked over them, followed by the caste Hindus. The Holeyas follow them. In some villages in the area they are not allowed to walk over them.

Free food was served to the entire village and to passers by. The Thoti of the village stood by the road near the temple inviting people to partake of the meal. The Holeyas of the village were served food under a tree near the temple, while others were fed in a special shed erected for the festival. The Thoti beat the drum during the festival. Ragi, rice and other requirements of the festival are collected from the villagers.

IV. Between the Brahminical and Autochthonous Systems of Rituals

In the observance of rites of passage the villagers move between the Brahminical and Autochthonous practices in varying degrees according to the caste. The implication of this situation to the Holeyas and Madigas from the point of view of their aspiration to social equality will be discussed in the conclusion. But first let us have the facts regarding the observance of these rites.

(a) Birth and naming of the Child

On the occasion of a child’s birth, the general convention, though not commonly observed among the landed castes like the Reddys and Vokkaligas, is to consult a Brahmin astrologer, called Purohit, regarding the naming of the child. The astrologer according to the star of the child, gives a letter to the parents which should be the first letter of the name chosen.

The professional castes like potters, washermen, carpenters, blacksmiths and barbers, follow the same practice, though they do not have a strict convention of their own. The Lingayats have their own Siddha for consultation.

The traditional practice among the Holeyas and Madigas is that they themselves name their child. But in case the baby gets sick often or the mother has a restless child, they take him to the weekly shandy in Malur and consult one of the Korama women who by tradition are makers of bamboo baskets. The Korama woman prays over the child and gives him a new name. But in recent years several Holeyas and Madiga families, from among the moderately well-to-do and politically active members of the community as well as from the agricultural labourers, consult the Brahmin pandit.

(b) Mudi (Hair-cutting)

The hair of a child is cut for the first time after worshipping the family god. The most common family god among all castes except the Lingayats and Brahmins for the purpose of Mudi ceremony is Muneshwara. The ceremony can be conducted without the help of a priest. A few hairs of the child are cut by the maternal uncle and later the head is clean shaved by the barber serving the community. Those who perform the ceremony at the Muneshwara temple sacrifice a fowl to the god and prepare a meal with it either at the temple or at home. The priest himself cooks the food for the Holeyas and, after taking his share, returns the rest to them. Wealthy families from among the Reddys, Vokkaligas, Bovis, etc. also go to distant places like Chikka Tirupathi, Mulbagal, Tirupathi in A.P. and conduct the ceremony according to the Brahminical tradition of the place. The Brahmin families of this area go to temples connected with their families in Kadani, Nanjungud or to the famous Tirupathi temple. The Lingayats go to their own centres in Mastanahalli or Balemahalli near Anekal. The Madigas also have a centre of their own in Bannerghatta where most members of the community go for the Mudi ceremony.

(c) Marriage

The general practice among all castes, including Holeyas and Madigas is to consult a Brahmin or Lingayat astrologer on the occasion of the marriage. If the name and the star of the bride agree with those of the bridegroom, the time and date of the marriage is fixed in consultation with the astrologer.

Among the Reddys, Vokkaligas and other professional castes, a Brahmin pundit conducts the main ceremony of the marriage called Dhare.

In the marriages of these castes the participation in the marriage meal depends on who cooks and serves the food. If the food is cooked and served by the Brahmin, all castes partake of the food. If the cook is a Lingayat, all castes except Brahmins share the food. If the food is prepared by any other caste, then the Brahmins and Lingayats do not take part in the meal. They are given some of the raw articles before they leave. The Holeyas and Madigas invited to these weddings are fed in a separate place and are not allowed to throw turmeric rice over the couple during the ceremony or Dhare. The professional castes of Acharya and Lingayats have their own priests for conducting their marriages. The few Brahmin families in these villages generally conduct their marriages in a Kalyana Mantap or temple in some town or city.

The marriages of Holeyas and Madigas are conducted by their own elders in the villages. Other caste people, if they are present, are given betel leaves, nuts and fruits before they leave. Some of the rich Holeyas and Madigas get the food prepared and served in a Reddy or Vokkaliga landlord’s house so that all can take part in the marriage dinner.

In recent years several educated and well-employed Holeyas and Madigas have celebrated their weddings in towns and cities, with Brahmin priests officiating and no discrimination in serving the meal.

Notes

1. Thoti is the head of the Holeyas community and is found in all the villages. His duty is to serve the village in the following ways:
   1. To remove dead animals from the village.
   2. To call the people to the village assembly which decides the dates of religious festivals, pilgrimages and arbitrates disputes.
   3. To report births and deaths to the village patel in earlier days and nowadays to the village accountant.
   4. To collect contributions from each household for any religious ceremony.
   5. To remind the individuals and households, who have taken upon themselves some responsibility or activity connected with the village festivals of their duty the night before the festival.
   6. To beat the drum in funeral rites' festivals.
   7. To help revenue authorities in collecting dues.
   8. To do any announcing or auctioning of any property by the Government.
   9. To dig burial pits for the caste Hindus.
   10. In some villages he has to get firewood ready for shraddha in the families of the landlords.
   Traditionally the thoti is given some land for the above work. In recent years he is paid a small allowance by the government. ↩
2. In some villages this practice is not observed in these days. ↩
3. The festival of Agate rain falls during September-October. It was from 27th September to 9th October during 1984 and will be from 19th September to 9th October in 1985. ↩
4. The names of the seven vary in the villages listed. According to one version the seven are Sapplamma, Annaiyamma, Madduramma, Yellamma, Duggalamma, Pujamma and Kalamma. The chief among them also varies from place to place. ↩

📄 This page was created on 27 October 2026. You can view its history on GitHub, preview the fileTip: Press Alt+Shift+G, or inspect the underlying source.