Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Ārē
Ārē.—A synonym for Marāthi. The name occurs as a sub-division of Kunchigar and kudubi. In South Canara Ārya Kshatri occurs as the equivalent of Ārē, and, in the Telugu country, Ārē Kāpu refers to Marathi cultivators. Ārya Kūttādi is a Tamil synonym of Marāthi Dommaras. Concerning the Ārēs, Mr. H. G. Stuart writes as follows.*[1] " Of the total number of 6,809 Ārēs, 4,373 are found in South Canara, Bellary and Anantapur, and these are true Ārē"s. Of the rest I am not able to speak with certainty, as the term Ārya, which is a synonym of Ārē, is also used as an equivalent of Marāthi, and sometimes in a still wider sense. The true Ārēs are husbandmen of Marātha origin. They wear the sacred thread, have Brāhmans as their priests,and give allegiance to the head of the Sringeri Mutt. Marriage of girls takes place either before or after puberty, and the remarriage of widows is not allowed. A husband may divorce his wife for adultery, but a wife cannot divorce her husband. When the guilt of a woman is proved, and the sanction of the Guru obtained, the husband performs the act of divorce by cutting a pumpkin in two at a place where three ways meet.The use of animal food is allowed, but intoxicating liquors are forbidden." The Ārēs of South Canara, Mr. Stuart writes further, *[2] "usually speak Marāthi or Konkani, but in the Kāsaragōd taluk, and possibly in other parts too, they speak Canarese. Their exogamous septs are called manathanas. They use the dhare form of marriage (see Bant), but the pot contains a mixture of water, milk, ghee (clarified butter), honey and curds instead of the usual plain water."
The Marāathi-speaking Arēyavaru or Aryavaru of the South Canara district follow the makkala santāna law of inheritance (from father to son). For ceremonial purposes, they engage Shivalli Brāhmans. An interesting feature of the marriage rites is that the bridegroom makes a pretence of going to a battle-field to fight, presumably to show that he is of Kshatriya descent. The ceremony is called dandāl jātai. The bridegroom ties a bead on the neck of the bride if of the Powar sept, and a disc if of the Edar sept. The Ārēyavaru eat fowls and fish. The former are killed after certain mantrams (prayers) have been uttered, and, if a priest is available, it is his duty to despatch the bird. The caste deity is Ammanōru (Durga), in the worship of whom the Ārēyavaru, like other Marātha castes, employ Gondala mendicants.