Page:Castes and tribes of southern India, Volume 5.djvu/495

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443
OMANAITO

dipped in gingelly (Sesamum) oil. Raw rice, and other eatables, are sent to the houses of the bearers by the son of the deceased. At night the cloths, turban, and other personal effects of the dead man are worshipped. Pollution is removed on the eleventh day by a Brāhman sprinkling holy water, and the caste people are fed. They perform srādh. By some Okkiliyans, the corpse is, like that of a Lingāyat Badaga, etc., carried to the burial-ground in a structure called tēru kattu, made of a bamboo framework surmounted by a canopy, whereon are placed five brass vessels (kalasam). The structure is decorated with cloths, flags, and plantain trees.

The Morasu Vakkaligas, who sacrifice their fingers, are dealt with separately (see Morasu).

Ōlai.— A sub-division of Palli, the members of which wear a ear ornament called ōlai.

Olāro.— A sub-division of Gadaba.

Olēkara. — See Vilyakāra.

Olikala (pyre and ashes). — An exogamous sept of Dēvānga.

Omanaito. — The Omanaitos or Omaitos are an Oriya cultivating caste, for the following account of which I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. According to a tradition, the ancestor of the caste was one Amātya, a minister of Sri Rāma at Ayōdhya. After Rāma had gone to heaven, there was no one to take care of them, and they took to agriculture. The caste is divided into two endogamous sections, called Bodo (big) and Sanno (little). The latter are regarded as illegitimate children of the former by a Bottada, Gaudo, or other woman. The Bodo section is divided into septs, called Sva (parrot), Bhag (tiger), Kochchimo (tortoise), Nāga (cobra), Sila (stone), Dhūdho (milk), Kumda (Cucurbita maxima), and Kukru (dog).