Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Gosangi

by Edgar Thurston

Gosangi.— A synonym for Mādiga, recorded as Kōsangi, in the Madras Census Report, 1901. The Gōsangulu are described in the Vizagapatam Manual (1869), as "beggars who style themselves descendants of Jāmbavanta, the bear into which Brahma transformed himself, to assist Rāma in destroying Rāvana. The Gōsangis are considered to be illegitimate descendants of Mādigas, and a curious thing about them, is that their women dress up like men, and sing songs when begging. As mendicants they are attached to the Mādigas."