Kapu/ Kāpu: Deccan
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Kapu
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 |
Kapu, Kunbi, Reddi — the chief land-holding and cultivating caste of Telingana, whose physical characteristics, although difficult of accurate description, are decidedly of a Dravidian type. The name "Kapu" means "guardian", which is interpreted in the sense of 'food donor', inasmuch as members of this caste c*<jftivate land and grow corn, thus contributing to the maintenance of animal life. They rear milch cattle and bullocks, which are employed in agricultural operations.
Origin
The Kapus trace their descent to one Adi Reddi, from whose seven sons the whole Kapu raca, is said to have sprung. Beyond this vague story they have no traditions which will throw light upon their origin.
Internal Structure
They are divided into the following sub- castes : —
(1) Panch Reddi, from "Reddi", "king or master", so called as they include five endogamous groups, viz : —
(i) Motati.
(ii) Gudati or Godadi.
(iii) Paknati.
(iv) Ghittapu.
(v) Gone.
(2) Yaya, (3) Kamma, (4) Patti, (5) Padkanti, (6) Sakhamari, (7) Vakligar, (8) Reddi, (9) Penta, (10) Velma. the members of which interdine, but do not intermarry. A question arises whether these sub-castes are sprung from a common stock, or are heterogeneous elements, brought together under one tribal designation, "Kapu", by reason of the similarity of occupation. It seems that the first five sub-divisions, grouped under the title ' Panch Reddi , are indigenous to these Dominions and are ihe. offshoots of a once compact tribe. They are found in their greatest strength in the central districts of the Telingana and are gradually displaced, on the western side by the Maratha Kunbis, and on the eastern and southern, parts (adjoining those of the Madras Presidency) by the Kammas. The Kamma and Patti sub-castes possess the same set of exogamous sects and the same customs and usages as the Panch Reddis and, may on this* account, be regarded as castes ethnologically akin to them. The Velmas and Pentas, on the other hand, differ materially, in features and habits, from the Panch Reddis and seem to bear no afiljity to them. Though classed as Kapus, they will, for this reason, be treated under separate articles. The origin of all the sub-castes is obscure.
(1) Motaii Kapus. — The name Motati is derived from the word ' mota ' meaning a 'rash worker.' In the social scale, they take the highest rank amongst t^e Kapus and are proud of their blood, since, as they aver. Raja Pratap Rudra and his descendants belonged to their caste.. A hypergsimous division, called the Motati Chowdhari, has lately been develoi>ed, consisting of jamedars, landlords and other rich grandees, who may either be the descendants of the ruling princes or their nobles, or of those who rose to eminence and renown by acquiring wealth and military fame. The Motati Chowdharis receive the daughters of the Motati Kapus in marriage, but do not give their own daughters in return. The reason is obvious ; for the Chowdharis, observing seclusion among their women, are reluctant to marry their girls to Motati Kapus, whose women appear unveiled in public and are employed on out-door labour. A Motati girl, before being admitted into a Chowdhari family, is ceremonially purified by being branded with the emblems of Tapta Madras, repre- sented by the conch shell (sankha) and the dice (chakra) of Vishnu, and she is not afterwards allowed to return to her parents. To secure a Motati Chowdhari bridegroom, entails upon a Motati Kapu the pay- ment of a high bridegroom price, which the father gladly pays, anxious as he is to see his daughter lodged in a respectable family. The members of the Motati Chowdhari have aped, in their desire to elevate themselves, all the supposed usages of Brahmans. This hypergamous group is tending to become endogamous, tor there are indications that, in course of time, the Chowdharis will entirely cease to contract matrimonial alliances with the lower classes.
(2) Godadi Kapus. — Also called ' Gurudwar,' profess to derive their name from Godadwan, most probably identical with Gondawana, where they are very numerous. Hypergamy prevails, forming three groups, Chowdhari, Pate! and ordinary Kapus. They are believed to rank lower than the Motatis. The God^li females pass the ends of their upper garments over their right shoulders,
(3) Gone Kapus. — Take their name from gunny bags {goni meaning gunny bags) with which the pack bullocks are.saddled. It is said that members of this sub-caste used to make bags and thereby came to be differentiated from the other Kapus. Regarding the origin of the name "Gone" the following story is related. Once upon a time, the earth was deluged with rain and, while all the others were drenched, the members of this sub-caste found cover under gunny bags and were saved. They were, therefore, nicknamed "Gone", by which their descendants are still distinguished from the other Kapus. A Gone will never mount a bullock having a goni (bag) on its back. They do not allow their widows to re-marry and are hence ranked above the Godadis, whose widows re-marry.
(4) Chittapu Kapus.— Chittepod, or Kule Kadgi, resemble in most of their customs, and to a certain extent in features, the Maratha Kunbis, between whom and the Telingana cultivating caste they seem to form a link. The origin of the name is obscure. Members of this sub-caste abstain from flesh and drink.
(5) Kamma Kapus. — The members of this sub-caste are chiefly found in the eastern talukas of the Warangal district, where they are supposed to have come from the Madras Presidency, especially from the adjoining districts of Kistna and Godavari. They have two endogamous divisions : —
(i) Illo Bellama Kamma, who veil their women and hold there- fore a superior position, and (ii) Gampa Kamma, whose women appear unveiled in public.
(6) Patti Kapus. — Very little is known regarding this caste, except that they have got the same exogamous divisions as the Kapus, and that they practise both infant and adult marriages and do not recognise widow marriage.
(7) Vakligar or Lmga^at Kapus. — Those of the Kapus who embraced Lingayitism come under this category. The members of this sub-caste acknowledge Jangams as their gums, do not call in Brahmans either for religious or ceremonial purposes and, like other proselytes, are very punctilious in their sectarian observances. This class is confined to the- Karnatic Districts where Lingayitism is in full force. Among the Padkante Kapus it is customary for a bride- groom to tie a cotton thread, stained with turmeric, around the bride's neck at the wpdding, instead of a string of black beads, as is done in other sub-castes. The women of this sub-caste do not wear bodices. The exogamous sections into which the sub-castes are divided are very numerous. Some of them deserve special notice.
It should be observed that the section names are of two different types, the one totemistic and the other territorial. The survival of the primitive totemism among the Kapus favours the view that they are derived from a Dravidian stock. There is, however, no evidence whatever to show that the totems are taboo to the members of the sections or, in other words, that the members of those sections regard
with veneration the animals or plants whose names they Dear. This essential omission may be easily accounted for by the fact that, being long subjected to Brahmanical influences, the Kapus have naturally dropped all usages antagonistic to Brahmanical theories.
The rule of exogamy observed by the caste is that a man cannot marry outside his sub-caste nor inside his section. The section name goes by the male side. This simple rule is supplemented by a formula which enjoins that a man cannot hiarry his aunt, his first cousins, except his maternal uncle's daughter, or his niece. A man may marry his wife's younger sister during the former's life time, but not her elder sister. Adoptive brotherhood is practised, .a boy belong- ing to the same section as his adopter being given the preference. No outsider is admitted into the caste.
Marriage — Infant marriage is the rule, but adult marriage pre- vails among the higher classes (chowdharis) owing to the paucity of husbands due to the enormous increase of the bridegroom price. No prominence is given to the latter usage and social stigma attaches to the parents of the girl if she attains puberty before marriage, the fact of her being mature before marriage being concealed as much as possible. No courtship prevails and the marriage is settled by the parents or guardians of the parties concerned. The higher classes taking maidens in marriage from the lower ones, do not have them actually wedded to the boys, but a sword is sent from the boy's house to the girl's and there the girl is married formally, according to rites and ceremonies, to the weapon and is then accepted with the sword in the higher family, where she enjoys all the privileges of a married lady. Sexual indiscretions before marriage admit of no atonement and the girl loses her caste. Polygamy is permitted, there being no definite limit as to the number of wives a man may have. Connubial relations may commence even before the girl attains sexual maturity.
Among the Kapus, the initiative towards the settlement of marriage is taken by the parents or guardians of the bridegroom, who depute a man of the Bhatmurti (Bhatraj) caste to select a suitable match, and to carry on the preliminary negotiations. After the horoscopes of both the bride and bridegroom have been found to agree, and after the bridegroom price, which is generally Rs. 116, but which varies with the pecuniary status of the parents of the bride, has been settled, an auspicious day for the marriage is fixed by consulting a Brahman skilled in such matters. The marriage cere- monies comprise the following stages : —
(a) Chsupvoidam — The verbal gift and acceptance of the bride. The bridegroom's party proceeds to the bride's house. At an auspicious time fixed for the ceremony, the bride is brought, by her maternal uncle, from the inner part of the house and seated on a wooden stool placed in the court-yard. In the presence of the relatives and friends assembled for the occasion, the bride is verbally given by her father, and verbally accepted by the bridegroom's father, for his son. The bride is then adorned with ifower wreaths, and the ceremony ends with the distribution of pan supari (betel leaves and areca nuts)" to the assembled people.
(b) Nischitartha — confirmation of the match — On this occasion a new sari, five cocoanuts, five betel leaves, five bodices (cholis) and two lbs. of rice are presented to the bride by her mother-in-law.
(c) Wara Nkchaya —
(i) 7Tie worship of Pinnamma (the goddess of fortune).
The goddess, who is not represented by any image, is worshipped in every household a month or a fortnight previous to the celebration of marriage. At night, a spot of ground is plastered clean with cow-dung and decorated with designs of kpnkwn (aniline powder) traced in various patterns. A twig of the apta tree {Bauhinia racemosa), representing the deity, is installed on the ground with a cradle of flowers hanging over it, and before it are placed a cocoanut, a piece of bodice cloth, a piece of cocoanut kernel and two betel leaves with an areca nut. The deity is worshipped with offermgs of flowers and rice coloured with turmeric, after which a sheep is slaughtered before it. The head of the animal is buried in the ground and its body furnishes a feast to all the household members.
(ii) The worship of Pochamma (the smallpox deity) and Nagula (a serpent)— These animistic deities are appeased outside the village with offerings of goats, flowers and sweetmeats. Marriage booths are erected at the houses of both the parties. Usually, the marriage takes place at the house of the bride, but if the parents of the bride are too poor to undergo the marriage expenses it is performed at fthe house of the bridegroom.
(d) Prathanam — This important ceremony is performed at the girl's house. The bridegroom's parents and relatives go, with the bridal ornaments, the praihan ring and other articles, such as cocoa- nuts, betel leaves, areca nuts, etc., to the girl's house. At the time appointed for the performance of the ceremony the girl is bathed. Wearing a new sari and putting on flower garlands, she is seated on a wooden stool, with a heap of rice in front of her. On this heap are placed the ornaments and the praihan ring, which are worshipped by the girl along with the deity Ganesh. The prathan ring is then circulated in a cocoanut shell among the relatives and, after being touched and blessed by them, is put on the right hand little finger of the bride. This ring is afterwards connected, by a yellow thread, with the bangles worn by the girl on her wrist. The ornaments are put on her person and she is led in procession to the bridegroom's house.
(e) Yadulu Kodlu — A ceremonial greeting 'of the members of both the parties.
(f) Kotanum — In which mortars and grind-stones are worshipped and rice and turmeric are pounded by five married women.
{§) Arweni or Airani Kundalu — A few days previous to the wedding, some women of the bride's house go, under a canopy, to the house of a potter, who has already been instructed to keep from nine to twenty-one earthen pots ready. Two of these pots are bigger than the others, are painted outside with ornamental designs and are called 'Airani Kundalu'. Rice, pulse and cakes are offered to the pots, the offerings being taken by the potter. The pots are then brought to the marriage booth and placed before the family gods. Lighted lamps are kept burning near them day and night as long as the ceremony continues. Every morning and evening, two married women of the bride's or bridegroom's house, as the case may be, take the smaller pots with them and go to a well, attended by music and under a canopy. On their arrival, they worship the well, fill the pots with water and return home.
(h) Mailapolu — The bride and bridegroom are seated side by side in a square formed of rice and having at each of its corners an earthen pot filled with water. A female barber smears the pair with a paste of turmeric and oil and a male barber pares the nails of their fingers and toes. Five married women throw rice on their heads. The couple then receive a bath and, dressed in white, are taken into the house, where they take their seats before the family gods and the consecrated pots. The deities Ganesh, Gowri, and Airani Kundalu are worshipped and hashingams (paper and flower coronets) are tied on their foreheads.
(r) Lagnam — The bride and bridegroom dressed in wedding clothes of a saffron colour are conducted to the marriage booth. On a mat of shendi (wild date palm) are placed two wooden seats, on which the couple are made to stand facing each other, a screen being held between them. The Brahman priest recites mantras, or sacred texts, and the assembled guests throw rice over the heads of the couple.
(j) Padghatian — The bridegroom places his right foot upon a stool placed beneath the screen and the bride touches it three times with her left fobt. Then, the bride, in her turn, puts her right foot upon the stool which is trodden upon by the bridegroom with his left foot three times.
(y ]ira Gudam — The bride and bridegroom throw a mixture of jira (cumin seeds) and giida (jaggery) three times alternately over each other's head. The screen is then removed.
(i) Kanyadan — The parents of the bride wash the feet of the bridegroom and give him a mixture of honey, curds and ghi to drink {madhupark). Then follows the formal gift of the bride by her father and the formal acceptance of her by the bridegroom. The bride's father is made to repeat the words — "I give her to you as a gift", to which the bridegroom replies — "I accept her.
(m) Puste Metallu — In a shallow cup are placed two ornaments, viz., pusie (mangahutra, a string of small black glass beads with a gold disc) and metallu, (silver toe rings) and, after they have been worshipped by the Brahman priest and passed round to be blessed by those present, the bridegroom ties the puste round the bride's neck and puts the metallu on her toes.
(n) Tilabalubium— Thread bracelets (kankanam), dipped in turmeric water, are worshipped by the wedded pair and tied", together with pieces of turmeric, on their wrists by the priest. Rice is thrown over their heads by all the people present ; the bride and bridegroom also throwing rice over each other's heads.
(o) Brahmamodi — The ends of the garments of the married couple are tied together in a knot with a piece of turmeric, a piece of cocoanut kernel and a pice. Lucky lights, placed in a shallow plate, are then waved round their faces by married fepnales.
(p) Arundhati Darshan — The goddess Arundhati, wife of the sage Vashistha, and represented by the pole star, is shown to the wedded pair as a pattern of constancy and fidelity. Two ornaments are put in an earthen vessel, which is conjointly taken by the couple out- side the house. The bashingams are then removed from their fore- heads and milk and curds are given them to drink. Thereupon, the bride prepares gruel and the bridegroom turns up the earth in furrows in which he sows five kinds of seed grains. While thus engaged, his child wife brings him the gruel to drink.
(q) Nagveli — A square is marked out on the ground, with a water pot at each of its comers, the pots being encircled five times with a raw cotton thread. Inside this are arranged the Arweni Kundalu vessels, the small earthen vessels (palamuntal) and six plates made of leaves holding lighted lamps. The bridegroom, taking a dagger and the share of a plough in his hand, goes five times round the polu accompanying the bride, her parents, five married women and the priest.
Alrwani Kundalu and the palamuntal vessels are thereupon wor- !hipp»ed and the Brahmamudi knot and kfcnkanams are untied.
(r) Panpu — In which the young pair are made to enact a drama of their future life. A wooden doll is placed in a cradle of cloth and is rocked by the couple seated on a cot. They are then made to converse on various domestic matters. The bridegroom asks the bride to take charge of the mimic child so that he may go out, but the bride returns the charge, pleading that she has to fetch water. A good deal of fun and merriment ensue on the occasion.
(s) Vappagintha — The bride's parents entrust their daughter to the care of the bridegroom and his parents, requesting them to treat her kindly.
The bride is presented with cocoanut, dates, a choli and turmeric coloured rice which she takes in the front fold of her sari (wadi).
A marriage feast completes the ceremony.
The marriage rites of the Reddi Kapus differ in some particulars from those of the Panch Reddis and deserve special mention. The Reddi bride, previous to the wedding day, is conducted, in pro- cession, to the bridegroom's house, where a marriage pandal of twelve posts is erected. One of the posts consists of a salai branch {BosWellia thmijera) and represents the Deva Devak- The branch, before being cut off, is girt round v/ith cotton thread and wor- shipped by a man having children. At an auspicious hour appointed for the wedding, the bridal pair are made to stand facing each other and an antarpat is held between them. A wheaten cake, two inches thick, is placed on a wooden stool just beneath the screen, the girl places her foot upon it, and the boy treads upon her foot with his own. The screen is removed and the cake is given to the dhobi. What follows, corresponds to the ceremony among other Kapus. Next day the bridal pair are taken to the temple of the village Maruti and have their mouths washed by each other. At night the bridal procession (barat) conducts the wedded couple all about the village and, as it approaches the pandal, betel leaves and food are waved round their faces and given to the dhobi. The bride and the bridegroom are, thereupon, carried round the sacred salai (BosWellia thurijera) post and each of the relatives present carries them on the hip and jumps and dances about the place. At the Panpu ceremony, the bridal pair, while going into their house with the puppet daughter, are interrupted at the door by the bridegroom's sister, who allows them to enter only after exacting a promise from her brother that her son shall receive his daughter in maniage.
Divorce is permitted among the Reddi Kapus and the offending woman is required, in the presence of the caste Panchayat, to break a piece of straw in two as a symbol of separation. Among the Paknati Kapus, before maniage, the goddess Pidda Darsu is worshipped in the form of a twig of the mi plant (Calotropis gigantea), a day's fast being observed in her name.
Widow-Marriage
All Kapus, excepting the Motafi Gone and Paknati, allow a widow to marry again, the widow not being expected to marry her late husband's younger brother. The ceremony in use at the marriage of a widow, is of a simple character. On a lucky evening, the bridegroom goes to the house of his wife-elect and presents her with a sari and a choli. After she has put on the gar- ments he ties a pusti round her neck. Only widows attend the cere- mony. Early next morning, the couple go to the village Maruti's temple and stay there till dusk, when they return home.
Divorce
Divorce is permitted with the sanction of the Pancha'sat on the ground of the wife's unchastity, or if the couple cannot get on together. It is effected by driving the woman out of the house with salt and rice tied in the end of her cloth. Divorced women are allowed to re-marry by the same rite as widows. An innocent woman, if divorced, claims alimony from her husband.
Inheritance
On the death of the father the estate is divided equally among his sons, subject to the usage of chudawand, which is found to exist in all the Telugu castes of the Dominions. According to this usage "the sons, however few, of one wife, take a share equal to that of the sons, however many, of another. In applying this rule no distinction is drawn between the status of the wives, and the sons of a wife manied as a widow get the same share as the sons of a woman who was married as a virgin by the regular ceremony. Mothers claim maintenance and clothes and sisters only wedding expenses. In other matters the Kapus follow the standard Hindu law of inheritance.
Religion
In matters of religion the Kapus are divided between Namdharis ' and ' Vibhutidharis ' ; those whose foreheads are marked with nam streaks of sandalwood paste running parallel from the root of the nose to the hair, and those who smear vihhuli (sacred ashes) on their foreheads. The Namdharis are Vaishnawas of the Ramanuj sect and acknowledge Shri Vaishnawa Brahmans as their gurus (spiritual guiders) with "Ashta-Kshari Mantra" (octo- syllabic mystic formula), the constant repeation of which is supposed to lead to salvation and final beatitude. The Vibhutidharis, as Shaiwaits, are under the influence of the Aradhi Brahmans, whose "mantra" for the initiation of their disciples consists of five syllables. The Namdharis burn their dead and the Vibhutidharis bury them, a Satani Ayyawar officiating at the funerals of the former and a Jangam at those of the latter.
The Kapus worship all the Hindu gods and celebrate the Hindu festivals. Satya Narayan is the favourite deity, which is revered with the help of Brahmans. High class women honour the tuisi plant {Ocimum sanctum) daijy. Besides this, the women observe several ' Britas ' such as Kedari Gauramma, Badkamma, Bodhamma, Gauramma, the most important of them being performed on any day between the 1st and the 15th of the lunar half of Kartik. For religious and ceremonial purposes they employ Brahmans, who are received on terms of equality by the other members of the sacred order.
Under this veneer of Hinduism, vestiges of primitive animism survive in the religion of the Kapus and the masses pay more reverence to the animistic deities than to the great gods of the pantheon. Pochamma, the goddess of smallpox, is worshipped under her various forms, viz., Potiling (the village guardian deity), Manganma, Adeli Mhaisamma, Maha Laxmi, Urda Mhaisamma, and Moramma. the first two being represented by wooden idols set up outside the village, and the rest by pieces of stone. Offerings of goats and sweetmeat are made to tlie goddess on Friday in the month of Asadh (July-April), or if a member of the family has an attack of smallpox. A Bhoi or a Dhobi officiates as priest on the occasion and divides the offerings between himself and the worshipper. Yellamma is appecised on Tuesday with offerings of fowls and Laxamma and Iddamma on Wednesday with offerings of sweets. Bala Devi or Balamma, a malignant deity, the neglect of whose worship brings on calamity, is propitiated on the 15th (full moon day) of Chait (February-March) and the 9th of the lunar half of Aswin (September- October) in every household. A small earthen pot, painted externally with stripes of chunam (burnt lime) and covered with a lighted lamp, represents the deity. On the ground, smeared clean with cow-dung and beautified with lines of kunknm powder, is spread some jawari (Indian millet), and over this is deposited the vessel representing the goddess. Festoons of mango leaves (Mangijera mdica) afe hung over the pot from the roof. A Madiga woman is called in to officiate as priest to the deity, who is worshipped with offerings of flowers and cooked food, which must contain at least one green vegetable. Incense is then burnt and a torch light is waved round the goddess. The cere- mony ends after a goat has been sacrificed in the name of the goddess, and the Madigani, on receiving her share of the offerings and her fees, is dismissed. Sheep and goats are slaughtered before Maisamma, another deity of an extremely maleficent nature. On the 15th day of the month of Waishakha (April-May) homage is done to the imple- ments of husbandry, when all the servants working on the farm are invited. Milk, sugar, rice and balls of wheat flour are offered to the implements and the balls of wheaten flour are placed before the servants. Those that are willing to serve on the farm during the next year take the balls and eat them. Others hesitate and thus express their unwillingness to remain in service. If a servant who has eaten the balls proves faithless, he is supposed to meet with endless misfortunes. On the 10th of Aswin the deceased, first wife is appeased by the second wife, in the form of a small earthen pot called "'Pyarantal Patwa" with offerings of sweetmeat and clothes.
Child-Birth
A woman in child-birth is unclean for twenty- one days. On the third day, to protect the new-born child from evil influences, the Purod ceremony is performed, at which the mother daubs five pebbles with turmeric and offers boiled rice, toddy and oil-cakes to them. Among the Reddy Kapus cooked rice, shaped like a cone topped with a lighted lamp, is given to a Dhobi. On (he twenty-first day the mother marks, with red lead, five spots on the rim of a well, makes five turns round it, draws five pots of water and is regarded as purified.
Funerals
The Kapus bum their adult dead. Infants and unmarried persons are buried. Mourning is observed 10 days for manied adults and 3 days for infants, the unmarried, the son of a father-in-law, mother-in-law, maternal uncle, paternal aunt and daughter. During mourning they are unclean and abstain from eating flesh, oil, sweets, onions and turmeric. Persons dying of smallpox or cholera are buried. On a person dying, the body is washed and the forehead marked with sandal paste. The corpse, adorned with garlands of flowers, is placed on the bier and borne to the cremation ground in a procession formed of men and women. It is there laid on the pyre with the head towards the south. The principal mourner pours, in the mouth of the corpse, water in which an Ayyawar's feet have been washed. He then walks three times round the pyre and lights it with a burning brand. When the pyre is well ablaze, the persons comp>osing the funeral party all go to a river or well, where they bathe and return home. During the next four days, the chief mourner visits the burn- ing ground with the Ayyawar and burns incense and offers food in the name of deputed ancestors. On the 5th day a sheep is sacrificed on the spot where the person has died and is then cooked. All the relations of the deceased then go to the burning ground, taking the cooked meat, cakes and sweetmeat with them.
