Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Gūdala
Gūdala.—The Gūdalas are a Telugu caste of basket-makers in Vizagapatam and Ganjam. The name is derived from gūda, a basket for baling water. For the following note I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The original occupation of the caste is said to have been the collection of medicinal herbs and roots for native doctors and sick persons, which is still carried on by some Gūdalas at Sālūru town. The principal occupations, however, are the manufacture of bamboo baskets, and fishing in fresh water.
Like other Telugu castes, the Gūdalas have exogamous septs or intipērulu, e.g., korra (Setaria italica), paththi (cotton), nakka (jackal) and ganti (hole pierced in the ear-lobe). 'The custom of mēnarikam, whereby a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter, is practiced. Marriage generally takes place before a girl reaches puberty. A Brāhman officiates at weddings. The bride-price (vōli) consists of a new cloth for the bride, and seven rupees for her parents, which are taken by the bridegroom's party to the bride's house, together with some oil and turmeric for the bridal bath, and the sathamānam (marriage badge). A feast is held, and the sathamānam is tied on the bride's neck. The newly married pair are conducted to the house of the bridegroom, where a further feast takes place, after which they return to the bride's home, where they remain for three days. Widows are permitted to remarry thrice, and the voli on each successive occasion is Rs.3, Rs. 2, and Rs. 2-8-0. When a widow is remarried, the sathamānam is tied on her neck near a mortar.
The members of the caste reverence a deity called Ekkaladēvata, who is said to have been left behind at their original home. The dead are cremated, and the chinna rōzu (little day) death ceremony is observed. On the third day, cooked rice is thrown over the spot where the corpse was burnt.