Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Kālingi and Kālinji
Kālingi and Kālinji.— There has been some confusion, in recorded accounts, between these two classes. In the Ganjam Manual, the Kālinjis are described as agriculturists in that district, and, in the Vizagapatam Manual, the Kālingas or Kālingulu are stated to be cultivators in the Vizagapatam district, and a caste of Paiks or fighting men in Jeypore. In the Census Report, 1891, the Kālingis are said to be " most numerous in Ganjam, but there is a considerable number of them in Vizagapatam also. The word means a native of Kālinga, the name of the sea-board of the Telugu country; the word Telugu itself is supposed by Dr. Caldwell to be a corruption of Tri-Kalinga. The three large sub-divisions of the caste are Buragam, Kintala, and Odiya. In the Kintala sub-division, a widow may remarry if she has no male issue, but the remarriage of widows is not allowed in other sub-divisions. The use of flesh and alcoholic liquor is permitted. Naidu and Chaudari are their titles." Further, in the Census Report, 1901, the Kālingis are described as follows: " A caste of temple priests and cultivators, found mainly in Ganjam and Vizagapatam, whither they are supposed to have been brought by the Kalinga kings to do service in the Hindu temples, before the advent of the Brāhmans. They speak either Oriya or Telugu. They have two sub-divisions, the Kintali Kālingas, who live south of the Langulya river, and the Buragam Kālingis, who reside to the north of it, and the customs of the two differ a great deal. There is also a third section, called Pandiri or Bevarani, which is composed of outcastes from the other two. Except the Kālingis of Mokhalingam in Vizagapatam,*[1] they have headmen called Nayakabalis or Sāntos. They also have priests called Kularazus, each of whom sees to the spiritual needs of a definite group of villages. They are divided into several exogamous gōtras, each comprising a number of families or vamsas, some of which, such as Arudra, a lady-bird, and Revi-chettu, the Ficus religiosatree, are of totemistic origin. Each section is said to worship its totem. Marriage before puberty is the rule, and the caste is remarkable for the proportion of its girls under twelve years of age who are married or widowed. Widow marriage is not recognised by the Buragam Kālingis, but the Kintalis freely allow it. As usual, the ceremonies at the wedding of a widow differ from those at the marriage of a maid. Some turmeric paste is placed on a new cloth, which is then put over a pot of water, and the ceremony takes place near this. The binding portion of it is the tying of a saffron-coloured string to the woman's wrist. The Kālingis pay special reverence to Sri Radha Krishna and Chaitanya. Some of the caste officiate in temples, wear the sacred thread, and call themselves Brāhmans, but they are not received on terms of equality by other Brāhmans. All Kālingis bury their dead, but srāddhas (memorial services) are performed only by the Kintali sub-division. The Buragam Kālingis do not shave their heads in front. Kālingi women wear heavy bangles of brass, silver bell-metal and glass, extending from the wrist to the elbow. The titles of the castes are Naidu, Nayarlu, Chowdari, Bissōyi, Podhāno, Jenna, Swayi, and Naiko."
In the foregoing account, the Oriya-speaking Kālinjis, and Telugu-speaking Kālingis, are both referred to. The confusion seems to have arisen from the fact that the Kālinjis are sometimes called Kālingis by other castes. The Kālingis are essentially Telugus, and are found mainly on the borderland between the districts of Ganjam and Vizagapatam. The Kālinjis are, on the other hand, Oriyas, and seem to be closely allied to the agricultural castes, Doluva, Alia, Bosantiya, etc., like which they are mainly agriculturists. The Kālinjis can be easily distinguished from the Kālingis, as the latter wear the sacred thread. The following story is told in connection with the origin of the Kālinji caste. A band of robbers was once upon a time staying in a fort near Bhattu Kunnarade, and molesting the people, who invited the king of Puri to come and drive the robbers away. Among the warriors who were recruited for this purpose, was a member of the Khondaito caste, who, with the permission of the king, succeeded in expelling the robbers. He was named by the people Bodo-Kālinja, or one having a stout heart. He and his followers remained in the Ganjam country, and the Kālinjis are their descendants. The caste is widespread in the northern part thereof.
There do not seem to be any sub-divisions among the Kālinjis, but there is a small endogamous group, called Mohiri Kālinji. Mohiri is a well-known division in Ganjam, and Kālinjis who dwell therein intermarry with others, and do not form a separate community. It has been suggested that the Mohiri Kālinjis are Telugu Kālingis, who have settled in the Oriya country. Like other Oriya castes, the Kālinjis have gōtras, e.g., bāno (sun), sukro (star), sanko (conch-shell), bhāgo (tiger) and nāgo (cobra). There is a good deal of confusion regarding the gōtras in their connection with marriage. The same gōtra, e.g., sukro, is exogamous in some places, and not so in others. Many titles occur among the Kālinjis, e.g., Borado, Bissoyi, Bariko, Bēhara, Dolei,Gaudo, Jenna, Moliko, Naiko, Pātro, Podhāno, Pulleyi, Rāvuto, Sānto, Sāvu, Swayi, Guru. In some places, the titles are taken as representing bamsams (or vamsams), and, as such, are exogamous. Families as a rule refrain from marrying into families bearing the same title. For example, a Dolei man will not marry a Dolei girl, especially if their gotras are the same. But a Dolei may marry a Pullei, even if they have the same gōtra.
The headman of the Kālinjis is styled Sānto, and he is assisted by a Pātro. There is also a caste messenger, called Bhollobhaya. For the whole community there are said to be four Sāntos and four Pātros, residing at Attagada, Chinna Kimedi, Pedda Kimedi, and Mohiri. A man who is suffering from a wound or sore infested by maggots is said to be excommunicated, and, when he has recovered, to submit himself before the caste-council before he is received back into the community.
Girls are generally married before puberty, and, if a real husband is not forthcoming, a maid goes through a mock marriage ceremony with her elder sister's husband, or some elder of the community. A bachelor must be married to the sādo (Streblus asper) tree before he can marry a widow. The remarriage of widows (thuvathuvvi) is freely allowed. A widow, who has a brother-in-law, may not marry anyone else, until she has obtained a deed of separation (tsado pātro) from him. The marriage ceremonies conform to the standard Oriya type. In some places, the little fingers of the contracting couple are linked, instead of their hands being tied together with thread. On the fourth day, a Bhondāri (barber) places on the marriage dais some beaten rice and sugar-candy, which the bride and bridegroom sell to relations for money and grain. The proceeds of the sale are the perquisite of the Bhondāri. On the seventh day, the bridegroom breaks a pot on the dais, and, as he and the bride go away, the brother of the latter throws brinjal (Solanum Melongena) fruits at him.
The dead are as a rule cremated. On the day after death, food, made bitter by the addition of margosa (Melia Azadirachta) leaves, is offered. A piece of bone is carried away from the burning-ground, and buried under a pipal (Ficus religiosa) tree. Daily, until the tenth day, water is poured seven times over the spot where the bone is buried. On the tenth day, if the deceased was an elder of the community, the jola-jola handi ceremony is performed with a pot riddled with holes. (See Bhondāri.)
- ↑ * Mokhalingam is in Ganjam, not Vizagapatam.