Kuruma: Deccan
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Kuruma
This article is an extract from THE CASTES AND TRIBES OF H. E. H. THE NIZAM'S DOMINIONS BY SYED SIRAJ UL HASSAN Of Merton College, Oxford, Trinity College, Dublin, and Middle Temple, London. One of the Judges of H. E. H. the Nizam's High Court of Judicature : Lately Director of Public Instruction. BOMBAY THE TlMES PRESS 1920 Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees |
Kuruma — the shepherd, goat-herd and 'blanket- weaver caste of Telingana, corresponding to the Kuruba of the Karnatic and the Kurumba of the Tamil country. These tribes probably belonged to riie same original stock, for they closely resemble one another in their features and complexion and in some of their customs and usages. The names ' Kuruma ' and ' Kuruba ' seem to be variants of the Tamil ' Kurumba ' , the first being formed by the dropping of the letter ' b ' and the second by the dropping of the ' m.' All the names are said to be derived from the word ' kuri ' meaning a sheep.
The Kurumas bear the honorific title ' GoudJ attached to their names, concerning the origin of which they have a very curious legend. Once upon a time, Beerappa, their patron god, had a desire for strong drink, but being short of money had to procure liquor from a goundala (a liquor vendor) by pledging his moustaches. In a few days, Beerappa offered to redeem the pledge, but the moustaches had already disappeared from the goundala's possession, being surreptitiously made away with by a squirrel at the god s command. The goundala was thereupon compelled to part with his title ' Goud ' to the Kurumas.
Origin
The Kurumas trace their descent from their tribal god Mallanna, who was fabled to have originally been a Kapu by caste but subsequently made the god of shepherds by Mahadeva. Once Mallanna, having ploughed his farm, collected the rubbish and disposed of it by burning it on an ant-hill. Two sheep had already been sheltered by Parvati in the ant-hill and, being oppressed by the intense heat of the fire, they came out and solicited Mallanna for protection. Mallanna reluctantly consented and desired them to follow him to his dwelling. On arrival at his .house, he found that the sheep had multiplied into thousands. Dismayed and confused at this singular development, he appealed for relief to the god Siva, who came down from Kailas, transformed him into a god, and assigned to him the duties of presiding over the destinies of the shepherd class.
Internal Structure
The Kurumas are divided into 3 sub- castes : Patti Kankan Kuruiha, Uni Kankan Kuruma and Ugad. The last of these are socially jnferior to the other two sub-castes and make their living by officiating as priests to the Kurumas and by begging only from them. The Patti Kurumas are so called because they use wedding bracelets of cotton thread (patti) while the name ' Uni Kuruma ' is derived from the word uni (wool) and refers to the custom of the sub-caste of fastening bracelets of woollen thread on the wrists of the bride and bridegroom at their wedding. The origin of these usages is obscure. The Kurumas aver that Mallanna had two wives, one Padmakshi (lotus-eyed), a Kapu girl who was married in accordance with the usual Kapu usage of fastening thread bracelets on the wrists of (he bridal pair. The other wife was Ratnangi (resplendent as gems), the daughter of a Brahman woman who, while pregnant, was devoured by a Rakshashi. The Rakshashi brought up the new-born girl until she came of age. One day Mallanna, while grazing his flock in the jungle, where the girl dwelt, observed her and was so struck with her beauty that he fell in love with her. He killed the demon and married the girl, but the wedding bracelets on this occasion were made of wool instead of cotton, which could not be procured in the jungle. Hence Mallanna's descendants by Ratnangi have been distinguished from those by Padmakshi by the name uni (wool) Kuruma and are said to hold a position superior to that of the latter.
In the Karnatic the caste has four divisions : Hatti Kankan Kuruma, Uni Kankan Kuruma, or Kurbur, Lingayit Kurbur and Beer- lods. The Beerlods are priests of Birbhadra and subsist by beggmg from the other sub-castes. The Hatti Kankan Kurburs and Uni Kankan Kurburs are identical respectively with the Patti Kurumas and Uni Kurumas of Telingana and have the same badges of distinc- tion as the latter, the Hati (cotton) Kankan Kurburs wearing cotton thread bracelets at a wedding while the Uni Kankan Kurburs put on wedding bracelets of wool. The Lingayit Kurburs are converts to Lingayitism from the Kurbur caste. Regarding the origin of this sub-caste a story is told that Mallanna once met Basava, the founder of the Lingayit sect, and was converted by him to his faith. The progeny of Mallanna, subsequent to this event, became Lingayits by creed. '
These legends seem to suggest that the Kurumas were a mixed people, recruited from the Kapu and other castes. There is, how- ever, no independent evidence to support this view.
The Kurumas are broken up into a large number of exogamous sections, which are partly of the territorial and partly of the tote- mistic type. In very few instances only are the totems observed as taboos ; as, for instance, the members of the ' Myakalollu ' (Myakfl — sheep) section abstain from eating sheep and those of the ' Mityal- awandlu (Mityal — pepper) from using the pepper; but, in general, the totems have lost their significance to the members of the sections bear- ing their names. The members of the caste assert that they have only one gotra, 'Chandesha' or ' Choundesha ', which, is, however, only ornamental and has no bearing upon the regulation of their marriages.
The section name goes by the male side and a Kuruma is prohi- bited from marrying outside the sub-caste, or within the section to which he belongs. This rule of exogamy is supplemented, and a man cannot marry the daughters of his maternal and paternal aunts. He may marry the daughters of his maternal uncle or of his elder sister. He may marry in the sections to which his mother or his father's mother belongs. Two sisters may be married to the same man, provided the elder is married first. Two brothers may also marry two sisters. Exchange of daughters is allowed by the caste.
Marriage
The Kurumas marry their daughters both as infants and as adults, but the former practice is deemed the more respectable and is followed by the majority of the caste. The custom of dedicating girls to temples survives among some of the Kurumas. The girls thus dedicated are married to the image of Mallanna, or to a sword. The dedicated girl is taken before the image, or is seated by the side of a sword, and wedded to either as if it were the bridegroom, the ceremony in this case closely resembling that of the real marriage current among the caste. The Basavis, as these girls are afterwards called, are allowed to remain in their parents' houses and can cohabit either with the members of their own caste or of higher castes. Girls for whom husbands cannot be procured are also dedicated to gods. Polygamy is permitted and there is no rule limiting the number of wives a man may have.
The marriage ceremony of the Uni Kurburs is described below, the distinction between the Uni Kurburs and the Patti Kurburs being only in the nature of their kan\mams, or wedding bracelets. The negotiations for marriage are opened by the boy's party and, after the girl has been selected, the parents of the bridegroom go to see her and present her with betel-leaves and areca-nuts. On this occasion, a feast is given by the bride's people, at which ghi, \ichari and sugar are provided and Rs. 21 are presented to the bride. Five oi six days later, the girl's parents visit the boy and are enter- tained at a feast. If both parties are satisfied with the match, the boy's people go to tlie bride's house and present her with a new sari and choli, nine pieces of cocoanut kernel, fifteen seers of rice and Rs. 14, which constitute the bride-price. On the day before the wedding, the bridegroom's party escort the bride and her parents to the bridegroom's house and stop on the way at Maruti's temple. Here the fathers of the bride and bridegroom and their relatives meet and embrace one another. From this place, the procession marches to the bridegroom's house, where a wedding pandal of five pillars (the middle one being made from the wood of the banyan tree, Ficus bengalensis) has already been erected and Birappa and Laxmi, their tutelary deities, worshipped under it. At night, the bride and bridegroom are smeared with oil and turmeric peiste and bathed simultaneously. Next morning the deva decaka, or earthen vessels, are brought from the potter's house by five married women, established under the pandal and besmeared with lines of chtmam (lime). The portion of the wall where the bridegroom is to be seated is whitewashed and decorated with a design of bashingams. Out of the five pots brought from the potter, the one containing areca-nuts, two betel leaves, dates, a cocoanut and a pice, is taken in procession to a well, there filled with water, after the well has been worshipped by burning incense, and then brought to the booth. Underneath the booth, the other four pots are arranged so as to form a square and woollen thread is wound round them. The bride and bridegroom are seated within, smeared with oil and turmeric and bathed with warm water, with which the v/ater previously brought from the well has been mixed. The woollen thread is the'n taken off and tied to the banyan pillar of the booth. The bride an4 bridegroom are dressed in new clothes, adorned with kcnh^ns and bashmgams, and taken to the deOaka, near which an earthen platform has been erected. They are seated on a blanket spread over the platform and orna- mented with lines of coloured rice. Then, in the presence of the assembled guests, who bless the couple and touch the mangahutra, the Brahman priest repeats mantras and ties the consecrated mangal- sutra round the bride's neck. After this, the bride and bridegroom are made to stand facing each other, each in a basket containing jaWari grains. A piece of cloth is held between them and the Brahman, uttering mantras, throws rice on their heads. All the^ assembled guests follow his example and, subsequently, the bride and bride- groom also throw rice on each other's head. Kan])adan and Kan\an- bandhan follow and are celebrated on the lines followed by other castes. The bridegroom, taking the bride in his arms, goes to the gods' room, and bows to the gods and to the elderly members of the family. Pan-supari is distributed and the assembly disperses. On the evening of the same day a piece of cloth is spread underneath the booth and a large quantity of food containing cooked rice and puris is placed over it. The women sing songs and four women and five men eat some of the food, the remainder being distributed among the relatives. This ceremony is termed Bhuma. Next morning, the bride and bridegroom are led on a bullock to Hanuman's temple, where cocoanuts are broken and the god is worshipped. On the third day, the parents of the bride take her to their house. On the fifth day, Beerappa is worshipped with offerings of sweets, the kankans are untied and the wedding booth is dismantled. This completes the marriage proceedings.
The marriage ceremony of the Telugu Kurumas does not differ materially from that in practice among other Telugu castes of the same social standing. It comprises, as among the Kapu caste, the following rites, which are merely enumerated in the order in which they are performed — Vadibi^am, PapaWanam, Raoireni, Yadrukpdalu, Mailapolu, Lagnam, Kanyadan, Padghattan, jiraguda, Pusii Mittala (the tying of mangalsutra round the bride's neck which is deemed to be the essential portion' of the ceremony), Kankanam, Bashingam, Talwal, Brahmcmodi, ^agvellp, Polu (cotton thread in the case of the Patti Kurmas and woollen in that of the Uni Kurmas is wound rouijjJ the Polu and at the time of walking round it the bridegroom is given kaduru and the bride hads in their hands), Vappagintha, Amndhatidarshanam, Panpu and Vadibiyum Sari. Mallanna is worshipped before marriage and Beerappa after its completion. The bridegroom is presented with a dress by the bride's father. A bride-price amounting to Rs. 12 is paid to the parents of the girl.
Widow-Marriage
A widow is allowed to marry again, but she is not expected to marry her late husband's younger or elder brother. .She must also avoid all relations which come under the prohibited relationship. The ceremony is simple and consists in escorting the bride, at night, to the bridegroom's house and tying the mangalsutra round her neck. A widow, on remarrying, is required to return the ornaments given to her by her first husband.
Divorce
Divorce is permitted, with the sanction of the caste Panchayat, on the ground of adultery on the part of the wife. The husband removes the upper garment from oif her head and drives her out of the house. Divorced women are allowed to marry again by the same rites as widows. Adultery on the part of a woman with a man of a lower caste is punished with expulsion from her own caste.
Inheritance
In matters of inheritance the Kurumas follow the Hindu law. Females inherit in default of any male issue in the family. It is said that the eldest son gets five sheep, or Rs. 25, m addition to his own share. Basavi girls claim the same share in their father's property as the sons.
Religion
In respect of religion, the Kurumas are divided be- tween Tirmanidharis (Vaishnavas) and Vibhutidharis (Saivas). Some of them are the followers of the Lingayit sect and abstain from flesh and wine. Their favourite object of worship is Mallanna, to whom offerings of sheep, goats and sweetmeats are made in the months of Aswin, Margashirsha and Magha. Beerappa, their guru, is honoured in the months of Kartika and Magha with the sacrifice of sheep, the offerings being subsequently eaten by the members of the household. Beerlods and Uglods officiate as priests in the worship of these gods. Among their minor deities are Pochamm'a, Elamma, Rajamma and Mariamma, propitiated with a variety of offerings. A man of the Kummara caste officiates at the worship of these deities. The members of the caste worship also the greater gods of the pan^eon and observe all the Hindu festivals. Mohamedan pits are also duly reverenced by them. Brahmans are employed for the marriage cere- mony. The Kurumas have a strong belief in ghosts and evil spirits, identify them with the help of Erakala women and appease them with various offerings. An oath on the name of their guru Beerappa is deemed very sacred by them.
Disposal of the Dead
The dead are buried in a lying posture, with the head pointing to the south. The Lingayit Kurumas bury their dead in a sitting posture, with the face to the north. After life is extinct, the corpse is washed, dressed in new clothes and borne, on the shoulders, to the grave. On the 3rd day after death, a goat is sacrificed on the burial ground. The flesh is cooked, offered at the grave, and thrown to the birds. The unmarried dead are disposed of without any rites or ceremonies. If a wealthy man dies unmarried, a curious ceremony is performed, which entitles him to the full funeral rites. As soon as the man breathes his last, his body is washed with water and canied to the temple of Beerappa. Four vessels are arranged in a square and a thread is wound round them. The body is seated within this, with a bashmgam tied to its forehead and a stick of amaya wood in its hand. To this stick is tied a handkerchief with five knots. A number of sheep and goats are killed before the god and the members of the caste present, are feasted. After the performance of this ceremony the dead man is buried as if he had been manied in life. Mourning is observed ten days for the married and three days for the unmarried. No Sradha is performed by the members of the caste. On the Pitra Amawas^a, or the last day of Bhadrapad (September-October), alms are given to Brahmans and Jangams. In the month of Shravana the deceased first wife of a man is appeased by his second wife if alive. The dead wife is represented by an earthen pot, which is known as Pyarantal or Korati Ellama.
Social Status
In point of social standing, the Kurumas rank above the Manglas emd 'Chaklas and below the Kapus, Gollas, Mutrasis and Satanis, from whose hands they eat kflchi. They eat mutton, pork, fowl, venison and drink spirituous and fermented liquors. They do not eat the leavings of any caste.
Occupation
The majority of the caste are engaged in their traditional occupation of tending sheep and goats and weaving blankets (kamhlis). Some of them weave very fine blankets which fetch more than Rs. 15 apiece. They deal in sheep's milk, which is largely used by villagers, being cheap and deemed very nourishing. The cultivators purchase, from them, sheep's manure, which is regarded as of high quality. A few of the Kurumas have taken to cultivation and are pattedars and shikamidars of Government land. A few hold inam lands. The poorer members work as day labourers, cartmen and hamals (coolies).
The females of the caste do not wear head ornaments, but have their faces and arms tattooed in different patterns.
