Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Padma Sālē
Padma Sālē.— The Padma (lotus) Sālēs are a Telugu-speaking caste of weavers, who are scattered all over the Madras Presidency. The majority are engaged in their hereditary occupation, but only the minority possess looms of their own, and they work, for the most part, for the more prosperous owners of hand-looms. As a class they are poor, being addicted to strong drinks, and in the hands of the money-lenders, who take care that their customers always remain in debt to them. Like the Kaikōlans, the Padma Sālēs weave the coarser kinds of cotton cloths, and cannot compete with the Patnūlkārans and Khātrēs in the manufacture of the finer kinds.
The Padma Sālēs have only one gōtra, Markandēya. But, like other Telugu castes, they have a number of exogamous septs or intipērus, of which the following are examples: —
| Bandāri, treasurer. | Paththi, cotton. |
| Bomma, an idol. | Putta, ant-hill. |
| Canji, gruel. | Thēlu, scorpion. |
| Chinthaginjala, tamarind seeds. | Tangedla, Cassia auriculata. |
| Gōrantla, Lawsonia alba. | Tumma, Acacia arabica. |
| Jinka, gazelle. | Avari, indigo plant. |
| Kālava, ditch. | Chinnam, gold? |
| Kāsulu, copper coins. | Gurram, horse. |
| Kongara, crane. | Geddam, beard. |
| Kadavala, pots. | Kōta, fort. |
| Manchi, good. | Mēda, raised mound. |
| Nīli, indigo. | Middala, storeyed house. |
| Nūkalu, flour of grain or pulse. | Māmidla, mango. |
| Nyāyam, justice. | Narāla, nerves. |
| Ūtla, rope for hanging pots. | Pūla, flowers. |
| Pōthu, male. | Sādhu, quiet or meek. |
The Padma Sālēs profess to be Vaishnavites, but some are Saivites. All the families of the exogamous sept Sādhu are said to be lingam-wearing Saivites. In addition to their house-god Venkatēswara, they worship Pulikondla Rangaswāmi, Maremma, Durgamma, Narasappa, Sunkalāmma, Urukundhi Vīranna, Gangamma, Kinkiniamma, Mutyālamma, Kālelamma, Ankamma, and Padvetiamma. Their caste deity is Bhāvana Rishi, to whom, in some places, a special temple is dedicated. A festival in honour of this deity is celebrated annually, during which the god and goddess are represented by two decorated pots placed on a model of a tiger (vyagra vāhanam), to which, on the last day of the ceremonial, large quantities of rice and vegetables are offered, which are distributed among the loom-owners, pūjāri, headman, fasting celebrants, etc.
The Padma Sālēs belong to the right-hand, and the Dēvāngas to the left-hand faction, and the latter aver that the Padma Sālēs took away the body of the goddess Chaudēswari, leaving them the head.
Three kinds of beggars are attached to the Padma Sālēs, viz., Sādhana Sūrulu, Padiga Rājulu or Koonapilli vāndlu, and Inaka-mukku Bhatrāzus. Concerning the Sādhana Sūrulu, Buchanan writes as follows.*[1] "The Vaishnavite section of the Samay Sale is called Padma Sālē. The whole Shalay formerly wore the linga, but, a house having been possessed by a devil, and this sect having been called on to cast him out, all their prayers were of no avail. At length ten persons, having thrown aside their linga, and offered up their supplications to Vishnu, they succeeded in expelling the enemy, and ever afterwards they followed the worship of this god, in which they have been initiated by their brethren. The descendants of these men, who are called Sadana Asholu (Sādana Sūrulu), or the celebrated heroes, never work, and, having dedicated themselves to god, live upon the charity of the industrious part of the caste, with whom they disdain to marry."
The Padiga Rājulu are supposed to be the descendants of three persons, Adigadu, Padigadu and Baludu, who sprang from the sweat of Bhavana Rishi, and the following legend is current concerning the origin of the Padma Sālēs and Padiga Rājulu. At the creation of the world, men were naked, and one Markandēya, who was sixteen years old, was asked to weave cloths. To enable him to do so, he did thapas (penance), and from the sacred fire arose Bhāvana Rishi, bearing a bundle of thread obtained from the lotus which sprang from Vishnu's navel. Bhāvana Rishi made cloths, and presented them to the Dēvatas, and offered a cloth to Bhairava also. This he refused to accept, as it was the last, and not the first, which is usually rolled up, and kept on the loom. Finding it unsuitable for wearing, Bhairava uttered a curse that the cloths made should wear out in six months. Accordingly, Siva asked Bhāvana to procure him a tiger's skin for wearing. Narada came to the assistance of Bhāvana, and told him to go to Udayagiri, where Bhadrāvati, the daughter of Sūrya, was doing penance to secure Bhāvana as her husband. She promised to secure a skin, if he would marry her. To this he consented, and, in due course, received the tiger's skin. Making the tiger his vāhanam (vehicle), he proceeded to the abode of Siva (Kailāsām), and on his way thither met a Rākshasa, whom he killed in a fight, in the course of which he sweated profusely. From the sweat proceeded Adigadu, Padigadu, and Baludu. When he eventually reached Siva, the tiger, on the sacred ashes being thrown over it, cast its skin, which Siva appropriated. In consequence of this legend, tigers are held in reverence by the Padma Sālēs, who believe that they will not molest them.
The legendary origin of the Padma Sālēs is given as follows in the Baramahal Records.*[2] "In former days, the other sects of weavers used annually to present a piece of cloth to a rishi or saint, named Markandēyulu. One year they omitted to make their offering at the customary period, which neglect enraged the rishi, who performed a yāga or sacrifice of fire, and, by the power of mantras or prayers, he caused a man to spring up out of the fire of the sacrifice, and called him Padma Saliwarlu, and directed him to weave a piece of cloth for his use. This he did, and presented it to the rishi, saying 'Oh! Swāmi, who is thy servant to worship, and how is he to obtain moksham or admittance to the presence of the Supreme?' The rishi answered 'Pay adoration to me, and thou wilt obtain moksham.' "
The office of headman (Setti or Gaudu) is hereditary. The headman has under him an assistant, called Ummidi Setti or Ganumukhi, who is the caste messenger, and is exempt from the various subscriptions for temple festivals, etc.
When a girl reaches puberty, she is forbidden to eat meat or Amarantus during the period of ceremonial pollution. In settling the preliminaries of a marriage, a Brāhman purōhit takes part. With some Padma Sālēs it is etiquette not to give direct answers when a marriage is being fixed up. For example, those who have come to seek the hand of a girl say " We have come for a sumptuous meal," to which the girl's parents, if consenting to the match, will reply "We are ready to feed you. You are our near relations." The marriage rites are a blend of the Canarese and Telugu types. In the Ceded districts, the bride is conveyed to the house of the bridegroom, seated on a bull, after worship has been done to Hanumān. As she enters the house, a cocoanut is waved, and thrown on the ground. She then bathes in an enclosure with four posts, round which cotton thread has been wound nine times. Wrist-threads of cotton and wool are tied on the bride and bridegroom. The bottu (marriage badge) is tied round the bride's neck, and she stands on a pile of cholum (Sorghum vulgare: millet) on the floor or in a basket. The bridegroom stands on a mill-stone. While the bottu is being tied, a screen is interposed between the contracting couple. The bride's nose-screw ornament is dropped into a plate of milk, from which she has to pick it out five times. Towards evening, the bridal couple go in procession through the streets, and to the temple, if there is one. On their return to the house, the bridegroom picks up the bride, and dances for a short time before entering. This ceremony is called dēga-āta, and is performed by several Telugu castes.
Some Padma Sālēs bury their dead in the usual manner, others, like the Lingāyats, in a sitting posture. It is customary, in some places, to offer up a fowl to the corpse before it is removed from the house, and, if a death occurs on a Saturday or Sunday, a fowl is tied to the bier, and burnt with the corpse. This is done in the belief that otherwise another death would very soon take place. The Tamilians, in like manner, have a proverb "A Saturday corpse will not go alone." On the way to the burial-ground, the corpse is laid down, and water poured into the mouth. The son takes a pot of water round the grave, and holes are made in it by the Ummidi Setti, through which the water trickles out. On the fifth day, a sheep is killed, and eaten. During the evening the Satani comes, and, after doing pūja (worship), gives the relatives of the deceased sacred arrack (liquor) in lieu of holy water (thirtham) and meat, for which he receives payment. On the last day of the death ceremonies (karmāndiram), the Sātāni again comes with arrack, and, according to a note before me, all get drunk. (See Sālē.)