or Indras. In the Northern Circars and the Nellore district, they are known as Gamallas or Gamandlas, and in the Cuddapah district as Asilis.
It is recorded, in the North Arcot Manual, that " Īdiga is one of the toddy-drawing castes of the Telugu country, the name being derived from Telugu Īdchu, to draw. The Īdigas are supposed to be a branch of the Balija tribe, separated on account of their occupation. They are chiefly Vaishnavites, having Sātānis as their priests. They are divided into two classes, the Dandu (army) *[1] Īdigas and the Balija Īdigas, of whom the former used originally to distil arrack, but, now that the manufacture is a monopoly, they usually sell it. The Balija Īdigas extract toddy, the juice of the palm tree. They differ from the Shānāns in some of their professional customs, for, while the Tamilians in climbing tie their knives behind them, the Telugus tie them on the right thigh. Tamilian drawers extract the juice from palmyras and cocoanuts, but rarely from the date, and the Telugus from the palmyras and dates, but never from cocoanuts. The chief object of their worship is Yellamma, the deity who presides over toddy and liquor. On every Sunday, the pots containing liquor are decorated with flowers, saffron, etc., and offerings are made to them."
In the Madras Census Report, 1901, it is stated that "it is said that the Īdigas are the descendants of Balijas from Rajahmundry in Godāvari district, and that their occupation separated them into a distinct caste. They are divided into two endogamous sections called either Dandu and Palli, or Pātha (old) and Kotta (new). The headman of the caste is called Gaudu. They employ Brāhmans as purōhits for their ceremonies, and these
- ↑ * The Īdigas are said to have been formerly employed as soldiers under the Poligars.
