Patrā

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This article is an excerpt from Castes and Tribes of Southern India By Edgar Thurston, C.I.E., Superintendent, Madras Government Museum; Correspondant Étranger, Société d’Anthropologie de Paris; Socio Corrispondante, Societa,Romana di Anthropologia. Assisted by K. Rangachari, M.A., of the Madras Government Museum. Government Press, Madras 1909.

Patrā

The Patrās are an Oriya caste, which is divided into two sections, one of which is engaged in the manufacture of silk (pata) waist-threads, tassels, etc., and the other in weaving silk cloths. The members of the two sections do not interdine. The former have exogamous septs or bamsams, the names of which are also used as titles, e.g., Sāhu, Pātro, and Prushti. The latter have exogamous septs, such as Tenga, Jaggali, Telaga, and Mahānāyako, and Bēhara and Nāyako as titles. The chief headman of the cloth-weaving section is called Mahānāyako, and there are other officers called Bēhara and Bhollobaya. The headman of the other section is called Sēnāpati, and he is assisted by a Dhanapati. Infant marriage is the rule, and, if a girl does not secure a husband before she reaches maturity, she must, if she belongs to the cloth-weaving section, go through a form of marriage with an old man, and, if to the other section, with an arrow.

The Telugu Patrās are summed up, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “a Telugu caste of hunters and cultivators, found chiefly in the districts of Cuddapah and Kurnool. It has two divisions, the Doras (chiefs), and Gurikalas (marksmen), the former of which is supposed to be descended from the old Poligars (feudal chiefs), and the latter from their followers and servants. This theory is supported by the fact that, at the weddings of Gurikalas, the Doras receive the first pān-supāri (betel leaf and areca nut). Widows may not remarry, nor [178]is divorce recognised. They usually employ Brāhmans at marriages, and Sātānis at funerals. Though they are Vaishnavites, they also worship village deities, such as Gangamma and Ellamma. They bury their dead, and perform annual srāddhas (memorial services for the dead). They will eat with Gollas. Their title is Naidu.”