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Chapter II Research Design of the Study In the preceding chapter, we have discussed the background of notification of nomadic communities as criminal tribe and determinants of occupational mobility through the review of studies on nomadic communities. In this chapter, to figure out the research design of the study of occupational mobility of the Kaikadi community, in the beginning, it is necessary to depict the occupational background and social status of the community. The following section, therefore, is devoted to the origin of Kaikadi community, their traditional occupational divisions and their labelling for stigmatising as criminal and notification. —nr \ 2/2 $?/ (; The Kaikadi community \ »\ \ -> oo> Origin and Nomenclature Kaikadi is an itinerant community traditionally engaged in the occupation of making y and selling of baskets and making brushes for weavers. They are scattered across the regions. Mostly they are found in Andhra Pradesh, Kamataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Orissa and Maharashtra. In different regions, they are called by different names such as Korava, Korcha, Korar, Kuravan and Yerukula. M. Kennedy records that the community in the then Bombay presidency, the present day state of Maharashtra and Karnataka, is known as Kaikadi, Korava and Korcha. In the districts of Ahmednagar, Nasik, Satara, Dhulia, Jalgaon, Pune, Kulaba, Ratnagiri, Sholapur, Kolhapur and Sangli, they are known as Kaikadi. Also, in some districts of Maharashtra they are known as Korava. In Bijapur, Belgaum and Dharwar, they are known as Kaikadi, Korava and Korcha.1 According to Russell, Kaikaris or Kaikadis are found in Nimar district of Madhya Pradesh, and Amaravati, Akola, Buldhana, Yeotmal, M. Kennedy: Notes on Criminal Classes in the Bombay Presidency, Bombay, 1908, p.65. 40 Nagpur, Bhandara, Wardha and Chanda districts of Maharashtra.2 Enthoven records that the Kaikadis are found chiefly in Maharashtra, Kamataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The Koravas also known as Korar, Korgar, Kormar and Korchar who are found in Belgaum, Bijapur, Dharwar districts of Kamataka. While writing the Koravas' ethnography separately, Enthoven reports the similarity in the occupation and divisions of Kaikadis and Koravas, for example, he notes that Makadawale is a sub-division of Kaikadi and Kunchevale is a synonym for Makadawale, and Kunchi is a sub division of Koravas. Kaikadi and Korava are wandering tribes, make baskets and brushes for weavers. According to Thurston, members of Korava community are likely to be known by different names in different localities. They are known as Korava, Koracha or Korcha in the North Arcot district (the present day Thiruvannaamalai and Vellore districts of Tamil Nadu) and in the ceded districts they were called as Yerukala or Yerakala.4 The Kaikaris are known as Koravars in Arcot and in the state of Kamataka.3 The Census Report of Andhra Pradesh, 1961, reveals the linguistic diversity concerning the nomenclature of the community. The community is known by different names in Andhra Pradesh. The Telgu speaking people call the community as 'Yerukula' and the Tamil speaking people in the districts of Chittoor and Nellore recognize them as 'Korava'. Ethnographic survey in Secunderabad area revealed that the Yerukalas were popularly known as Kaikadis in some places of Telangana region. In Marathi language, Yemkala is termed as 'Kaikadi". Raghaviah also mentioned that the Yerukalas are known by different names in each state. In the then Madras state, they were called as Koravas, and as Korachas in the then : R.V. Russell: The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, Rajadhani Book Centre, Delhi. 1975, pp. 296-302. • R.E. Enthoven: Tribes and Castes of Bombay, Vol.2. Government Press, Bombay, 1920, pp. 266-270. 4 E. Thurston: Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Vol.III-K, Cosmo Publications, Delhi. 1975, pp.438-440. 5 R.V.Russell: op.cit. 6 B.K. Roy Burman, P.S.R Avadhany, A.M. Kurap: Ethnographic Notes, Census of India 1961, Volume II, Part V-B (9), Census Publication, Andhra Pradesh, 1961, pp. 1-2. 41 Mysore state. In Maharashtra, particularly in the Kolhapur area Yerukalas are identified as Kaikadis.7 Although the Kaikadis are called by different names in different regions, ethnically they are one and the same. The several names of the same community are attributed to linguistic regional diversity. The different names are ascribed to the same community in different regions is derived from the local terms used by local people for their occupations. Secondly, similarities in their mother tongue despite their regional diversity tend to reveal that the community people migrated to different regions. Also, the common customs and marriage practices across the regions confirm that the same community is scattered by several names. It could be explain with some incidents. According to Russel, Kaikari is derived from the Tamil language. In Tamil, kai represents hand and hide denotes basket, i.e. the community people carry basket with tattooing and other implements in the hand is known as Kaikari or Koravas.x Mr. H. A. Stuart (Madras Census Report, 1891) noted that the Koravas or Yerukalas were vagrant found in many parts of India and specifically in the Madras presidency, i.e. Tamil region. In the Telgu region, they were called Yemkalavandlu or Korachavandlu, but they always represented themselves as Kurru. In another incident, Dr. Oppert connected their profession with the origin of the name Yerukula. According to him, in Telgu, Yemkalavandlu mean fortune-tellers. This is the origin of the name Yerukula. The occupation of the Kuruvandlu or Kuluvandlu is fortune telling (Yeruvandlu). The Yerukula women are engaged in this occupation. They used to call as "yeruko, amma yeruku." In Telgu language, yeruko means prophecy f and amma means mother which caused the Telgu people to call them as Yerukulanvandlu.10 He also found in a Tamil literature of the ninth century, Kurru or Kura depicting as a hill tribe. 7 V. Raghaviah: Nomads, Bharateeya Adimjati Sevak Sangh, Delhi, 1968, pp.174-175. 8 R.V.Russell: op.cit. 9 E.Thurston: op.cit. p. 440. 10 ibid, p. 441. 42 Rev. J. Cain also pointed out this linguistic derivation. He reported that the Yerukalas call each other Kuluvaru, however, the Telgu people call them Erakavaru or Erakalavaru, i.e. fortune tellers. Ori gin of the name is derived from Telgu word, emka means knowledge or acquaintance.'' The commonness or partial similarities in their mother tongue tend to be same scattered across the regions. In Kolhapur district, they speak a mixed language of Kannada and Telgu.1 According to Enthoven, the Kaikadis* original home was Telangana reflects in their language, which is a mixture of Kannada and Telgu. In addition to this, he notes that the Koravas are immigrants from Mysore and Tamil speaking districts of Kurnool, Salem and Coimbatore in Madras. Their home tongue is a mixture of Telgu, Tamil and Kannada reveals the land of their origin and root of their migration.13 Kennedy also noticed that the Kaikadis in the Bombay presidency speak rough Marathi or Kannada and within community they use corrupt Telgu.14 The common customs and marriage practices among them support the argument that the Koravas in Tamil Nadu, Yerukulas in Andhra Pradesh and Korchas of Mysore are the same and a single community. In its support, Thurston mentions his observation that Yerukulas of Andhra Pradesh and Koravas of Tamil Nadu have common practice of placing a string of black beads as a tali around the bride's neck on marriage occasion. In other observation, it was found in 1895 that there were practices of marriages between the southern Koravas of the Madurai district and the Yerukulas of the Guddapah district; also, there was one incident of the marriage between a son of Yerukula in the Annatapur district and a Korcha girl from the Mysore state. " ibid, p.443. 12 Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Kolhapur Gazetteer, Government Central Press, Bombay, 1886. 11 R.E.Enthoven: op.cit, pp.127, 266. 14 M. Kennedy: op.cit. p.68. 15 E.Thurston: op.cit. p.444. 43 Thus, from the above illustrations it reveals that Kaikadi community is known by different names at local level and due to their nomadism they are scattered throughout southern India. While dwelling on the nomenclature we have seen meanings in their occupations. So the following portion discusses occupational structure and divisions among the Kaikadis. Occupations and Sub-divisions The Kaikadis or Koravas have traditional occupation of basket making. Enthoven, Kennedy and Thurston have mentioned that Kaikadis or Koravas are traditional basket makers and brushmakers. They make baskets of bamboos, of babhul (Acacia Arabica) twigs. Husbandmen use this basket to store grain. They also make reed sizing brushes used by weavers, snares for catching birds and deer, and children toys. Some of them survive through exhibition of snake and perform monkey's play. Some of them are hunters, cattle-breeders and carriers of sand, earth, bricks, tiles and stones on their donkeys. Women are fortune tellers and tatoors. The settled Kaikadis are musicians.16 Raghaviah has described the Yerulalas as trader nomads, who are small traders constantly on the move, selling salt, pulses, karivepa (a leaf used by south Indians for cooking vegetables), making and selling baskets, food grain containers, manure carriers, basket measures, winnows, and several other articles of day-to-day use by the fanners. Some Yerukalas have taken to snake-charming and monkey pranks. A few of them make brush for weavers. Women are fortune teller and expert in tattooing. In addition to the above occupations, some ethnographers have described specific occupations of some divisions. For instances, the Bidar Koravas of south India carried merchandise in the form of salt, tamarinds, jiggery, leaves of the curry leaf plant from place to place on pack-bullocks or donkeys.