Patvēgāra

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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.

Patvēgāra

The Patvēgāras or Pattēgāras (pattu, silk) of South Canara are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart as “a Canarese caste of silk weavers. They are Hindus, and worship both Siva and Vishnu, but their special deity is Durga Paramēsvari at Barkūr. They wear the sacred thread, and employ Brāhmans for ceremonial purposes. They are governed by a body called the ten men, and pay allegiance to the guru of the Rāmachandra math (religious institution). They are divided into balis (septs) and a man may not marry within his own bali. Polygamy is allowed only when a wife is barren, or suffers from some incurable disease, such as leprosy. The girls are married in infancy, and the binding portion of the ceremony is called dhāre (see Bant). Widow marriage is not permitted, and divorce is only allowed in the case of an adulterous wife. They follow the ordinary Hindu law of inheritance. The dead are cremated. The srādha (memorial) ceremony is in use, and the Mahālaya ceremony for the propitiation of ancestors in general is performed annually. Female ancestors are also worshipped every year at a ceremony called vaddap, when meals are given to married women. They eat fish but not meat, and the use of alcohol is not permitted.”

In the Mysore Census Report, 1891, the Patvēgārs are described as “silk weavers who speak a corrupt Marāthi conglomerate of Guzarāti and Hindi. They worship all the Hindu deities, especially the female energy under the name of Sākti, to which a goat is sacrificed on the night of the Dasara festival, a Musalman slaughtering the animal. After the sacrifice, the family of the Patvēgār partake of the flesh. Many of their females are naturally fair and handsome, but lose their beauty from early marriage and precocity.” A few Pattēgāras, who speak a corrupt form of Marāthi, are to be found in the Anantapur district.