Padma Sale: Deccan
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Padma Sale
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 |
(Male Titles : — Ayya, Appa. Female Titles : — Amma, Akka.)
Padma Sale, Sale, Salewar, Channewar, Julaha, i antu- nayakadu — a very large and widely diffused caste of Telugu weavers, wholly distinct from the Devangas or Carnatic weavers, and Patkar Sales, or Khatris, who hail from Gujarath and Malva, and weave silk cloths. In their original affinities they may be regarded as Dravidians, the view being suggested by their physical characteristics and by the fact that a great number of their exogamous sections bear totemistic names. The name Sale is of Sanskrit origin, being a corruption of the Sanskrit word ' Salika ' — a weaver, while the title 'Padma' seems to be prefixed as a mark of distinction.
Origin
According to the authority of Hindu Legislators, the Sales are the offspring of a goldsmith father and a potter mother. A legend, current among them, ascribes the creation of the first weaver to the god Shiva who, with a view to supplying the want of clothing which gods and men had experienced since the beginning of creation, ordered Markandeya Muni to perform a sacrifice. From the sacrificial lire sprung Bhavana Rishi, the celestial weaver, and with thread obtained from Vishnu's navel lotus (Padma) he proceed- ed to make clothes for gods. He married Bhadrawati, the daughter of the sun, who bore him 101 sons that became the eponymous founders of one hundred and one sections of the caste. For the benefit of mankind the latter were initiated into their father's trade, which they transmitted to their descendents. One of the sons, who was lame, became the progenitor of the class of beggars known as Sadhanasuras, who are said to subsist by begging from the Padma Sale-caste only.
The members of the caste have spread almost all over the Dominions. In 'the Marathawada Districts they have assumed the name Channewar. The origin of this name is obscure. A legend, probably of 4he late invention, states that when Narsinha, the 'man- lion' incarnation of Vishnu, assumed the form of a youthful hunter and went to woo Chanchita, the maiden daughter of a Chanchu (hunter) prince, the ancestors of these people accompanied him and thereby got the name channewar . Obviously the story fails to account for the name satisfactorily.
Internal Structure
Widely scattered though the caste is, it has no endogamous divisions. Its social customs, however, are found to vary, being based everywhere upon the degree of ceremonial purity the members have attained in different localities. In the District of Medak some of them engage priests from among themselves, instead of Brahmins, for all religious and ceremonial obser- vances. In other Telugu Districts a tendency is observed towards conformity to Brahmjnical rites and the members of the caste are striving to abstain from flesh and liquor, looking upon widow marriage as a degraded act, and wearing the sacred thread. This last innova- tion is said to have been brought about some twenty years ago by a wandering Brahman who promised them social elevation if they only conformed to the rites initiated by him.
A few of the Padma Sales have embraced Lingayitism and formed, on that account, a hypergamous group under the name of Sale Jangam. These take girls in marriage from ordinary Sales but do not give them their own daughters in return. It is said that the ancestor of the Jangam Sales found a Siva Lingam besmeared with oihhuti, in a pit under his loom and this was interpreted as the god s command to him to become a Lingayit.
The section names of the caste are of two distinct types, the one based upon family names, which are partly of the totemistic and partly of the territorial character, and the other eponymous, the eponym being a Vedic Rishi or saint.
A list of only a few of the section names of both types is given below as a specimen : —
The eponymous sections, nearly 101 in number, are evidently the names of Brahmanical gotras. In the regulation of their marriages the Padma Sales follow the family names, and the authority of the gotras is practically disregarded. It is also found that the latter system is not completely diffused throughout the caste, many illiterate members are even utterly ignorant of their existence. This circumstance seems to show that the Brahmanical gotras have been borrowed in comparatively recent times by the advanced members of the community for the simple purpose of satisfying their aspirations to rise in the social scale.
The family name descends in the male line. A man is for- bidden to marry a woman belonging to his own section. The Sales follow the ordinary rules as to prohibited degrees. Thus a man cannot marry the daughter of his maternal aunt, paternal aunt or sister. A man may many two sisters and also the daughter of his maternal uncle. Exchange of daughters is permitted. A boy is adopted, provided he belongs to the same section as that of his adop- tive father. A sister's, son cannot be adopted. The adopted boy is prevented from marrying in both the sections, that of his natural father and of his adoptive father.
Marriage
The Padma Sales marry their daughters as infants between the ages of four and ten and it is said that a girl for whom a husband cannot be procured before she has reached the age of puberty is turaed out of the caste. Such a girl either becomes Adipapa' (a hand maid in a rich zamindar's iTouse) or takes to concubinage. The consummation of * marriage before puberty is tacitly recognised. Polygamy is permitted, subject' to such restrictions as are in force among other Telugu castes. Usually a second wife is not taken unless the first proves barren or incurably diseased.
Marriages are arranged by the parents or guardians of the parties. The initiative is taken by the bridegroom's father, who finds out a suitable bride for his son, visits her house and, in the presence of the caste Panchayat, makes her a present of clothes and money. Among the Channewars of Maharashtra the betrothal is confirmed by 'khushali,' when each of the guests present, including the father of the girl, is offered a cup of spirit at the expense of the boy's father. The wedding day is fixed on consulting a Brahman astrologer. Previous to the wedding, both parties perform a great many ceremonies con- stituting what are called Stri Achar (woman's usage) and Kula Achar (family usage), such as the worship of Pochama and Pinnamma, invokation of Markandeya (their patron saint), propitiation of the spirits of ancestors, Kotanam, Airani Kundalu, Mailapolu, and a number of others with due regard to their order. On the appointed day, the bridegroom is taken in procession, riding on a horse or bullock, as the fashion may be, to the bride's house, where, on arrival, he is conducted to the wedding booth, made of nine or eleven posts, with a branch of salai, standing for 'muhurta medha' or milk post. After the bridegroom has been invested with the sacred thread, the bride's parents wash his feet and make him the gift of their virgin daughter by the ceremony known as 'kanyadan' (the gift of me virgin). The bridal pair are then made to place a mixture of cumin seeds and molasses on each other's head and to tread upon each other's feet. After this the bridegroom ties a pusti or mmgahutra round the bride's neck and puts silver rings on her toes. After Kankanam, or thread bracelets, have been fastened upon their wrists they throw 'talwal,' rice grains, on each others heads and have their garments fastened in a knot. The rites that follow are of minor im- portance and closely resemble those of other castes of the same social standing. Throughout the ceremony the couple wear Bashin- gam, or head ornaments made of paper. t
The marriage ceremony of tKe Channewars neither resembles the type above described nor the one in use among 'che Maratha castes, but it is a curious mixture of rituals 'borrowed from both.
Widow-Marriage
Widow-marriage is practised by the caste, but a widow is not required to marry her late husband's brother or cousin. Beyond this she is not bound by any restrictions in her selec- tion of a second husband, except that she has to avoid the prohibited degrees binding upon her before marriage. The ritual used at the mar- riage of a widow is very simple. An auspicious day is selected and late at night the widow is taken by the bridegroom's people to his house. The bridegroom presents her with a sari and choli and ties an old pusti of gold round her neck. Early next morning the pair visit Hanuman's temple. The proceedings conclude with a feast to the friends and relatives of the newly married couple. When a bachelor marries a widow he is first formally wedded to a Rui plant (Calo- tropis gigantea) as if to a virgin bride. A movement towards the abolition of widow marriage has been set on foot by some members of the caste.
Divorce
A woman is divorced for adultery with the per- mission of the caste Panchayat, in whose presence she is driven out of her husband's house. Divorced women are allowed to marry again by the same rite as widows ; the ceremony, in both cases, being known as "Udkhi' or 'Marmannu.'
Inheritance
The Sales follow the Hindu Law of Inheritance. A sonless father usually adopts his sister's son or makes him son-in- law whereupon the latter is entitled by a tribal usage ' illatum ' to inherit his father-in-law's property. Sometimes the eldest son is granted an extra share, or Jethanga.
Child-Birth
After delivery a Sale mother is impure for ten days, during whicE she is kept in a closed room from which fresh air is excluded as much as possible. The worship of the goddess Satwai is performed on the fifth day after the birth, when goats and sheep are sacrificed and married females are feasted in honour of the occa- sion. The mother is free from child impurity on the eleventh day in Marathawada and on the twenty-first day in Telingana. When the child is named a grand feast is given to relatives and members of the caste. .
Puberty
A, Sale girl,' on attaining puberty, is seated on a white 'chadar' (sheet of cloth), bedaubed from head to foot with turmeric powder a"and gracefully adorned with jewels and garlands of flowers Suwasinis', or women whose husbands are living, present her with betel-leaves, areca-nuts and pieces of cocoa-nut kernel, and feast her with sweet-meats of various kinds. The adult male members of the caste honour the occasion with khusali, or drink, in which they freely indulge at the village liquor shop at the expense of the father-in-law of the girl. Gjnnubiai relations commence on the performance of the 'Utibharan' ceremony, "which generally takes place within sixteen days from the day of the girl's first menstruation.
Religion
The religion of the Padma Sales is orthodox Hin- duism. They are divided between Tirmanidharis (worshippers of Vishnu), and Vibhutidhari 'Siva worshippers,' according as they are under the spiritual guidance of Shri Vaishanava, Aradhi Brahmins. These sectarians are to be distinguished by the different marks on their foreheads, Tirmanidharis wearing two vertical marks of sandal paste while Vibhutidharis besmear their foreheads with Vibhuti, or cowdung ashes. Their special god is Markandeya, to whom worship is offered on the full moonday of Vaishaka (May-June) with offerings of flowers, sweetmeats and milk. In the month of Kartika (November- December), women reverence Bhadrawati — the female progenitor of the caste, whose image is set up under a 'Badh' (banian) tree. In addi- tion to Bhadrawati, females worship Gauramma in Kartika, the cobra on Nagpanchami and the Tuisi plant, the Bad and Pipal trees occasionally. Narsinha, Balaji, Rajrajeshwara and Hanuman are other objects of worship. Reverence is paid to Pochamma, Yelamma, Mahisamma, Mari Mata, and other minor village deities and also to Muhamedan pirs. On the Ganesh Chauth, or fourth of the waxing moon of Bhadava, the loom, shuttle and other implements of weaving are adored by the members of the caste. Brahmins are employed for religious observances, while in the worship of animistic deities Kumbhars or Dhobis officiate as priests and claim a part of the animal offerings made to the deity. The Sale Jangams follow the tenets of Lingayitism and observe all the ceremonies and ^orras of worship prescribed by the sect. •
Disposal of the Dead
The dead are burned by Tirmani- dharis and buried by Vibhutidharis with the head to the south. In the case of the former the Ayyawars conduct the obsequies, while the latter engage Jangams to officiate as funeral priests. The ashes, in the case of cremation, are collected on ihe 5th day after death, and thrown into any sacred stream, while the bones are buried under a platform of earth. Sale Jangams bury their corpses sitting upright and facing the east. Unmarried persons, persons dying of cholera or small-pox and children are also buried. Agnates are mourned five days by Tirmanidharis and three days by Vibhutidharis, during which the mourners abstain from flesh, sweetmeats, and milk, Tirmanidharis perform 'Shradha' on the 10th day 'and afterwards re- peat the ceremony on the anniversary of the death, when balls of rice and libations of "til' water (tilodaka) are offered for the propitiation of the departed soul. Caste people are entertained at a funeral feast on the iOth day after death. Offerings to ancestors in general are made on the Pitra Amawasya, or the last day of Bhadrapad (middle of September).
Social Status
In point of social standing the Padma Sales rank immediately below the Kapus, Gollas, Welmas, Munnurs and Kurmas and eat cooked food from their hands. They claim to be superior to Hajams and Dhobis and will partake of no kind of food with them. They eat pork, fowl, vension, muttran, goat's flesh, all kinds of fish and the flesh of the 'ghorpod' (Iguana lizard) and drink spirituous and fermented liquors. They do not eat the leavings of other castes. Many of the Padma Sales wear the sacred thread. They have a caste Panchayat, the headman of which is called Mehetarya', Mahajan or Chaudhari.
The Channewars do not wear the hair lock but shave their heads clean.
Occupation
The Padma Sales follow weaving as their tradi- tional profession. They weave only cotton cloth and manufacture saris of different patterns with silk or cotton borders, cloth dyed in the thread for women's petticoats, dhotis for men and other coarse but strong fabrics. The women assist the men by spinning the yarn and. preparing the warp.
Padma Sales Eire very hidustrious, but although they work continually from 'morning to night they are seldom able to earn a moderate subsistence for th^r families; their coarse, hand-loom made cloth cannot compete with foreign piece-goods, which are extensively imported into this country and which, from their com- parative fineness and good quality and their moderate prices, are more acceptable to the masses of the people. Many of the caste have, therefore, been compelled to give up weaving and be- take themselves to other pursuits. Thus they are agriculturists, hold- ing land both as occupancy and non-occupancy raiats, farm labourers, personal servants, shop-keepers, masons and, in short, follow any occupation that is compatible with their notions of social purity.
