Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Karnabattu
Karnabattu.— The Karnabattus, or Karnabhatus, are a Telugu weaving caste, found chiefly in the Godāvari district. The story goes that there once lived a king, who ruled over a portion of the country now included in this district, and was worried by a couple of demons, who carried off some of his subjects for their daily food. The king prayed Siva for deliverance from them, and the god, being gratified at his devotion to him, produced nine persons from his ears, and ordered them to slay the demons. This they did, and their descendants are the Karnabhatus, or ear soldiers. By religion, the Karnabattus are either ordinary Saivites or Lingāyats. When a girl reaches maturity, she remains under a pollution for sixteen days. Early marriage is the rule, and a Brāhman officiates at weddings. The dead, as among other Lingāyats, are buried in a sitting posture. The caste is organised in the same manner as the Sales, and, at each place, there is a headman called Kulampedda or Jatipedda, corresponding to the Senapathi of the Sales. They weave coarse cloths, which are inferior in texture to those manufactured by Patta Sālēs and Sīlēvantas.
In a note on the Karnabattus, Mr. F. R. Hemingway writes that "though a low caste, they forbid the remarriage of widows. But the remark in the Census Report (1901) that they abstain from meat is not true of the Karnabattus questioned, who admitted that they would eat even pork. Their special deity is Somēsvara, whom they unite to worship on the new-moon day of Pushyam (January- February). The god is represented by a mud idol made for the occasion. The pūjāri (priest) throws flowers over it in token of adoration, and sits before it with his hands outstretched and his mouth closed until one of the flowers falls into his hands."
The Karnabattus have no regular caste titles, but sometimes the elders add Ayya or Anna as a suffix to their name.