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This article is an extract from
THE CASTES AND TRIBES
OF
H. E. H. THE NIZAM'S ..."

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{| class="wikitable"
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|colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%">
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 '' 
''with the contents of this article.'' 
''Secondly, this has been scanned from a book. You can help by '' 
''sending the corrected version/ additional information to '' 
the Facebook page, [http://www.facebook.com/Indpaedia Indpaedia.com]. ''All information used will be duly acknowledged.''
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[[Category:India|D]]
[[Category:Communities|D]]

Devanga, Devangalu, Devra, Jyandra, Koshti, Devanga Sale,
Myatari — a widely diffused caste of weavers found in every
part of the Hyderabad Dominions. ' Devanga ' is a Sanskrit word
whicfi means ' body of the gods ' and is applied to this ^aste since it
claims to be descended from one Devanga Rishi, who'' was created
by the god Mahadeva for the purpose of weaving clothes for gods
and men. The thread was obtained from the lotus which sprang
from Vishnu's navel. Probably of Carnatic origin, the Devangas
are now found scattered ail over Maharashtra and Telingana.

==Internal Structure==

The Devangas are divided into three sub-
castes : (I) Devanga, (2) Hatgar and (3) Kodeku! ; the Hatgars
claim social precedence over the other two divisions. 'They are
Ling'ayits by creed and are described in the article on Lingayits
The first of these sub-castes is broken up into three territorial groups,

(1) Telugu Devangas, (2) Carnatic Devangas and (3) Maratha
Koshtis, who speak Marathi and have adopted the section names and
manners of the Maratha Kunbis. Two other branches seem to have
sprung from the Devangas, oiz : (1) Kurvina Shetti or Bili Magu and

(2) Kumi Sales or Jyandra, the latter of whom do not castrate
their bulls.

The caste is said to have, in Telingana, sixty-four exogamous
sections. As stated above, the section names of the Maratha
Devangas are the same as those of the Maratha Kunbis. Specimens
of both the systems are shown below : —
[[File: devanga.PNG ||frame|500px]]
[[File: devanga1.PNG ||frame|500px]]
==Marriage==

Marriage is forbidden between persons belonging
to the same section. Two sisters may be married to the same man or
to uterine brothers. A man may marry the daughter of his elder sister.

The Devangas marry their girls as infants and recognise polygamy
and, in theory at least, impose no limitation on the number of wives
a man may have.

In the Carnatic and Telingana, the marriage ceremony closely
corresponds to that m use among other local castes of the same
social standing. The aoali, or bride-price, amounts to Rs. 30. In
Maharashtra the price paid for a bride to her parents varies from
Rs. 50 to Rs. 100 and the wedding ceremony is of the standard
type current among the Marathas, of which the essential portion is
Antctrpat, which consists of making the couple stand opposite to
each other in bamboo baskets, holding a curtain between them,
and the wedding of them by the recital of mantras and the throwing of
rice over their heads.

==Widow-Marriage==

A widow is allowed to re-marry, but not
her husband's brothers. The bride, in Telingana, is presented with
a new sari and choli, and Rs. I J4 to buy bangles ; at night she is
taken to the matha, where the mathpati ties pusti round her neck in
the presence of the bridegroom, who is seated by her side. Castemen
are then feasted. In the morning the bride and bridegroom go to
some temple and return in the evening. Maratha Devangas engage
Brahmans for the performance of this ceremony. The bridegroom
goes at night, sword in hand to the bride's house, with a following
of friends. The couple, having been bathed, are seated side by side,
their heads brought in contact by the officiating Brahman and their
garments tied in a knot.

==Divorce==
A woman is divorced for adultery and driven out
of the house before the members of the caste Panchagat. She is
allowed to re-marry by the same rite as a widow.

==Inheritance==
In the division of property the Devangas follow
the Hindu law of inheritance. They give an extra share to the
eldest son in the division of his father's property.

==Religion==
The religion of the Devangas is orthodox Hinduism.
In Telingana, they are divided into Tirmanidharis and Vibhuti-
dharis-is. In the Carnatic, they are mostly Lingayits, males and females
worshipping the lingam, to which they daily offer food of which they
afterwards partake. Their favourite deity is Chaundamma, or
Choundeshwari, worshipped on the full moon and new moon days
with offerings of sweetmeats, especially by women who observe a
fast for the whole day. Sheep and goats are sacrificed to the goddess
by Maratha Devangas at the Dassera festival, or the 10th of the light
half of Aswin (October) : on the same day they honour the imple-
ments of their craft. They reverence all the gods of the Hindu pan-
theon, observe religious festivals and make pilgrimages to sacred
places. Among their minor gods are Pochamma, Maisamma, Mari
Ai, and Nagalu, who are appeased with a variety of offerings in
times of sickness and epidemics.

==Disposal of the Dead==
The dead are usually buried, but are
occasionally burnt, and are carried to the grave or pyre attended
with music. Lingayit Devangas bury their dead in a sitting posture,
with the face pointing to the east. Mourning is observed ten days
for the married and three days for others. Sradha is performed on
the 12th day after death. Ancestors in general are propitiated on
Akshattritiya, or the 3rd of the light half of Vaishakha, and on the
Pitra AmaWasya, or the last day of Bhadrapad (October).
==Social Status==

In point of social status, the Devangas rank
below the agricultural and shepherd castes, but above the Gandlas,
or Telis, Mangals and Chaklas. They eat fowl, fish, pork and
mutton and drink alcohol. Some of them, aspiring to a higher
social status, abstain from liquor.

==Occupation==

Weaving is the traditional occupation of the
caste. They make a variety of textile fabrics but chiefly saris, or
garments worn by women. Some of them have relinquished their
original occupation and taken to trade, agriculture, carpentry and
masonry.

Devanga: Deccan - Revision history

Pdewan: Created page with "=Devanga= {| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"| This article is an extract from THE CASTES AND TRIBES OF H. E. H. THE NIZAM'S ..."

Pdewan: Created page with "=Devanga= {| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"|
This article is an extract from
THE CASTES AND TRIBES
OF
H. E. H. THE NIZAM'S ..."