Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Doluva
Doluva.— The Doluvas of Ganjam are, according to the Madras Census Report, 1891, " supposed to be the descendants of the old Rājahs by their concubines, and were employed as soldiers and attendants. The name is said to be derived from the Sanskrit dola, meaning army." The Doluvas claim to be descended from the Puri Rājahs by their concubines, and say that some of them were employed as sirdars and paiks under these Rājahs. They are said to have accompanied a certain Puri Rājah who came south to wage war, and to have settled in Ganjam. They are at the present day mainly engaged in agriculture, though some are traders, bricklayers, cart-drivers,etc. The caste seems to be divided into five sections, named Kcndaiyito, Lenka, Rabba, Pottia, and Beharania, of which the first two are numerically the strongest and most widely distributed. Kondaiyito is said to be derived from kendo, an arrow, and to indicate warrior. The Kondaiyitos sometimes style themselves Rājah Doluvas, and claim superiority over the other sections. It is noted, in the Madras Census Report, 1891, that "Oriya Zamindars get wives from this sub-division, but the men of it cannot marry into the Zamindar's families. They wear the sacred thread, and are writers." In former days, the title writer was applied to the junior grade of Civil Servants of the East India Company. It is now used to denote a copying clerk in an office.
Various titles occur among members of the caste, e.g.,Bissoyi, Biswālo, Dolei, Jenna, Kottiya, Mahanti, Majhi, Nāhako, Porida, Rāvuto, Sāmulo, and Sāni.
The ordinary caste council system, with a hereditary headman, seems to be absent among the Doluvas, and the affairs of the caste are settled by leading members thereof.
The Doluvas are Paramarthos, following the Chaitanya form of Vaishnavism, and wearing a rosary of tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) beads. They further worship various Tākurānis (village deities), among which are Kālva, Bāgadēvi, Kotari, Mahēswari, and Manickēswari. They are in some places very particular regarding the performance of srādh (memorial ceremony), which is carried out annually in the following manner. On the night before the srādh day, a room is prepared for the reception of the soul of the deceased. This room is called pitru bharano (reception of the ancestor). The floor thereof is cleansed with cow-dung water, and a lamp fed with ghī (clarified butter) is placed on it by the side of a plank. On this plank a new cloth is laid for the reception of various articles for worship, e.g., sacred grass, Zizyphes jujuba leaves, flowers, etc. In front of the plank a brass vessel, containing water and a tooth brush of Achyranthes aspera root, is placed. The dead person's son throws rice and Zizyphus leaves into the air, and calls on the deceased to come and give a blessing on the following day. The room is then locked, and the lamp kept burning in it throughout the night. On the following day, all old pots are thrown away and, after a small space has been cleaned on the floor of the house, a pattern is drawn thereon with flour in the form of a square or oblong with twelve divisions. On each division a jak (Artocarpus integrifolia) leaf is placed, and on each leaf the son puts cooked rice and vegetables. A vessel containing Achyranthes root, and a plank with a new cloth on it, are set by the side of the pattern. After worship has been performed and food offered, the cloth is presented to a Brāhman, and the various articles used in the ceremonial are thrown into water.