r. 3

CHAPTKR_I1 : HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE BUMTS

2.1 Parasu Rarna Sristi 2.2 Situation of South Kanara 2.3 Languages of the District 2.4 Who are the Bunts ? 2.5 Deffion Worships 2.6 Different Types of Bhuta Worship 2.7 Serpent Worship Brought by Brahmins 2.8 Four Sub-divisions of Bunt Caste 2.9 Bunts Other Characteristics

2.10 Marriage System 2.11 Agriculture And Trade 2.12 Land Tenures 2.13 Divisions of Time

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CHAPTER II HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF_THE_BIJiWTS INTRODUCT ION :

No definite historic record relating to South 1 2 Kanara-^ or Tuluva has been found of earlier date than the eighth or ninth century A.D., but it must certainly at one time have formed part of Kerala,the Western of the three ancient Dravidian kingdoms men­ tioned in king Ashoka's rock-cut inscriptions of the 3 third century B.C. Prior to the introduction of Brahmins under the auspices of Kadamba kings in the eighth century, the early agricultural population of Tuluva seems to have held a subordinate position to the Na'yars or Bunts, who were the military adherents of the chieftains who ruled as feudatories of an overlord, who, in his turn was recognised by some more distant suzerain. The re- !• Mr. H.A.Stuart' s,'The Manual of South Kanara',Chap. II.History and Archaeology P.54.Govt.Press Madras, year 1895. 2. 'Tuluva'-The larger portion of the district is made up of the old country of Tuluva. J.3turrock;Madras district Manuals.South Kanara Vol.1 Govt. Press. 1894. 3' G.Srinivas Murti and A.N.Krishna Aiyangar. 'Edict of A~soka', Ashoka's rock Edict II. The Adyar Li­ brary, 1950. Madras. P.5. 45

ligion of the chiefs was probably Jalnism, but the great mass of the people were then, as now, practi­ cally demon worshippers. ^•l PARASU RAMA SRISTI : According to the • Graraapadittl' (legend) of 'Tulu',-^ Brahmins, Tuluva and Haiga were created by Parasu Rama by reclaiming from the sea as much land as he could his cover by throwing/^axe (Parasu) from the top of the Western Ghats, and to secure Brahmins for the reclaim­ ed tract he took a number of fishermen's nets,tore them up, and made Brahminal threads (Yadnyopavlta) with which he invested the fishermen and turned them into Brahmins, after which he retired to meditate, inform­ ing the newly created Brahmins that if they were in distress and called upon him he would come to their aid. So it was called 'Parasurama Sristi'. 2.2 SITUATION OF .SOUTH_.KANARA : South Kanara, the Southern Coastal District of Mysore with an area of about 3,150 sq.miles, lies bet­ ween 12°and 30°58' North Latitude and 74°36'and 75°4o' East longitude. The population of 1,563,837 in 1961 comes to 496.46 per sq.mile. In terms of area and population, the district makes 4.3 and 6.6 per cent

1. Tulu or Tuluva is the language of nearly one half of the inhabitants of the South Kanara district. 46

of the State, respectively. Upto 1st November, 1956, i.e. till the Reorgani­ sation of States, this district stretching over a length of 150 miles and breadth of 25 miles at its narrowest, and 50 miles in its videst part formed a part of the Madras State, along with the northern­ most Island of Araindivi of the Laccadive group of islands. But on Reorganisation of States, Kasargod taluk stood transferred to the Kerala State, the Amindivi Islands were brought under Central Adminis­ tration along with the other islands of the Laccadive group, and the rest of the district came to be in­ cluded in the new State of Mysore. This district, spreading from the Western Ghats towards the sea to the west, has to its north the North Kanara District, to the east the districts of Shimoga, Chikmagalur, Hassan and Coorg, to the South the Kasargod Taluka of Kerala State and to the west the Arabian Sea. It forms a long and narrow strip of country. The district can be divided into three belts, the coastal strip, the middle belt and the Western Ghat section. An interesting feature of the part of the coast­ al strip and the middle belt is that it is not a plain Kf. . ,,"••-• ". "."r-,:. ;^^, r DISTRITC OF SOUTH KANARA 47

but a series of estuarine low lands separated by- numerous hlllranges projecting on the western ghats. The coastal tract is the most thickly populated paurt of the district as it is both fertile and has trad­ ing facilities. The middle belt consists of hills and dales and forms into an undulating terrain. The valleys are fertile and boast of several gardens producing chief­ ly Areca and Coconut. Patches of paddy fields can also be seen. For administration purposes, the district is di­ vided into 7 taluks, as Buntwal, Belthangady, Puttur, Karkala, Mangalore, Udipi and Coondapur. The district headquarters are at Mangalore, the chief town of South Kanara, which lies in the Western Sector of the far south. This place is now gaining importance as a major all weather port. The port development work is still (In a survey and developmental stage. For the census of 1961, 13 places, viz., Coondapur, Gangoli, Malpe, Mulki, Puttur, Udipi, Tonse West and Ullal are clas­ sified as urban, leaving 669 villages in the rural category. The five principal rivers of South Kanara are (1) Netravathi (2) Gurpura (3) Gangoli (4) Sitanadi and (5) Suvarnanadi. They all run from east to west. 48

This parallel drainage pattern of these rivers suf­ fers from a drawback. It is the intense monsoonal periodicity in their flow. They suffer from too much water during the rainy season and too little during the rest of the year. So if in the rainy season they are not very navigable due to floods, in the dry wea­ ther this is not possible because of the lack of flowing water and the rocky character of their beds. Within these limits, however, they are as extensive­ ly used as possible.

The name of the district, ' Kanara' or 'Karnadu' is derived according to Dr. Caldwell from two old Dravidian words words ' kar' means black and ' nadu* A mean^ *^ountry, referring to the black cotton soil of the Southern plateau of the Deccan where the early kanarese kingdoms were. Gradually the name ' karnala' spread to all the countries under the domination of the rulers of karnala, and was corrupted into Kan- nada, whence the English name 'Kanara', which is now confined to Western coast. 2.3 LANGUAGES OF THE DISTBICT : Although kannada is the official language of

1. R.Caldwell's Comparative Grammar of Dravidian or South Indian family of Languages. Ed.Wyatt & Pillai. 1961. Luzac: London, p. 34 49

the district and spoken by all the educated clsisses, Tulu, or the language of ancient 'Tuluva' is still spoken by the majority of the population. It has the curious factor of linguistic independence without a character or literature of its own. It has shown no indication of being driven out by other and more widely spoken languages.

Dr. Caldwell describes Tulu as "one of the most highly developed languages of the Dravidian family." The kannada script has lately been adopted in print­ ing modern Tulu works, and it is likely that Tulu will ultimately give way to that language. 2,4 WHO ARE THE BUNTS ? Mangalore is distinguished from the rest of Mysore State, by the exceptionally high proportion of Bunts in its rural population. In fact, the Bunts population of South India is small in number. Still the majority of Bunts were located in South Kanara. Nothing very definite is known of the origin of the Bunts, but 'Tuluva' seems, in the eajly centuries of

1. Census of India 1961, Vol.1. Part Xl-C(i),Language Monographs. Language Division Office of Registrar General; India, pp. 291, 327, 378. 2. Please see H.A.Stuart's. The Manual of South Kanara (Govt.Press Madras,1895) and M.E.Thufton's.,The Caste^'-and Tribes of Southern India. ^ 50

the Christian era, to have had kings who apparently were sometimes independent and sometimes feudatory overlords such as the Pallavas, the early Kadambas, The early GhaLukyans, the Kalachurians and the Hoysal Ball a'Is. This indicates a constant state of fighting which would account for an important class of the popula­ tion being known as ' Buntaru' or warriors. So Bunt, means in Tulu a powerful man or soldier and indicates that the Bunts were originally a military class cor­ responding to the Nayars of Malabar. And as a matter of course they succeeded in becoming the owners of all the land which did not fall to the share of the priestly class, the Brahmins. In her book, on 'the Kinship Organization in India' Dr. I.Karve 1 ' describe•• d that "the word Bunt means "wajriors" and they have tradition of being warriors in the mediaeval times. The Nadavas of the North Kanara districts are supposed to be a branch of the Bunts though they now speak Kannada." The Nadavas belong to the northerly parts of South Kanara, their name is derived from the word 'Nadu'in Kannada,. which means 'country'. Correspon-

1. Dr. I.Karve, Kinship Organization in India. Asia Publishing House, Bombay 1. 1965. P. 271. 51

dingly, the Bunts of the northern parts of Kanara still answer to the territorial name of Nad Bunts, or warriors of the nadu or territory. It is nece­ ssary to explain that in both ancient Keralam and Tulu the functions of the great military and domi­ nant classes were so distributed that only certain classes were bound to render military service to the ruling prince. Notwithstanding this, there can be no doubt that South Kanara was in a decidedly prosperous State when Bednore was captured in December 1760 by Hyder Ali of Mysore, who at once sent a detachment to take possession of Mangalore, which place he re­ garded as of great importance as a naval station. War between the English and Hyder Ali broke out in 1766, and in Feb. 1768 Mangalore was taken by an English expedition from Bombay. The Second Mysore war began in 1790. In 1791 Sir Edward Hughes destroy­ ed Hyder's infent navy at Mangalore, and early in January 1793, the month following the death of Hyder Ali, General Mathews landed at Coondapur with a force from Bombay which achieved a remarkable and unexpected success, considering the smallness and unpreparedness of the force and the large number op­ posed to it. 52

Ancient inscriptions speak of kings of Tuluva, and the Bairasu Wodears of Karkala, whose inscrip­ tions have been found at Kalasa as early as the twel­ fth century^may have exercised power throughout Tuluva or the greater part of it. When the Vijayanagar ©yira-,- sty becaine the overlords of Kanara in 1336 A.D. there were then existing a number of minor chiefs who had probably been in power long before. The numerous titles still remaining amongst the Bunts and Jains, and the local dignitaries known as 'Pattairi' and • Gadi' point to the existence from very early times of a num­ ber of more or less powerful local chieftains. Few traces of any such organization ss has been indicated now prevail, great changes having been made when the Vijayanagar Government introduced, more than five hundred years ago, a system of administration under which the local Jain Chiefs, though owing alle­ giance to an overlord, became more independent in their relations with the people of the country. Under the Bednur kings, and still more under the Mysore rule, the power of the Chiefs was also swept away, but the old organization was not reverted to. The Bunts are now the chief land-owning and cultivating class in South Kannara, and are the most numerous caste in the district. Agriculture is the 53

main occupation in the coastal and midland tracts, A secondary though equally important occupation is coffee planting and the timber business, on the eastern boundary. Speaking about the agricultural caste in India, M.W, Hunter, said "Bunt or Nadavajs in South Kanara and Nair in Malabar, belong to the well-to-do ranks of the community. They do not usually cultivate with their own hands, but many of them formerly held their lands on a military tenure," They still mainly retain their independence of character, their strong and well-developed physique and they still carry their heads with the same haughty toss as their fore-fathers did in the stirring fight­ ing days. "Both men and women of the Bunt community are among the comeliest of Asiatic races, the men hav- ing high fore-heads and well-turned aquiline noses." In a district like South Kanara, %h.Q woman that '•- does not/agriculture is the exception. The South Ka- nara women is born on the land and lives on it .There is, in fact, not a single thing about agriculture

!• M.W.Hunter, Imperial Gazetteer of India.Director- General of Statistics to Govt.of India. Trubner & Co.,London,1886,Vol.IX Second edn. p.19 2. EjiThurston, Caste-'and Tribes of South India.Vol. I A and B.Govt.Press Madras.1909 P.149. which the South Kanara man knows and which the South Kanara woman does not know. Bunts are Hindus by religion. But during the po­ litical supremacy of the Jains, a much larger propor­ tion of the Bunts professed adherence to that reli­ gion than now-a-days. In addition to their Hinduism or Jainism all continue to follow the ancient demon or 'Bhuta'-^ worship of the early Drsvidians, much of which, however, has been absorbed into modern Hinduism. 2.5 DEMON WORSHIP : Of the Hindus rather over 10 percent are Brahmins and all the others, though nominally Hindus, are real­ ly worshippers or propitiators of tutelary deities and 'Bhutas' or demons, usually the spirits of deceased persons. Every village in Kanara has its Bhutasthanam or t I demon temple, in which the officiating priest or pujari is usually a man of the Billava cajste or toddy-tappers. The Bhutas of different categories are, demons of the jungle, and demons, who guard the village boundaries etc. The others merely inspire terror by causing sick­ ness and misfortune, and have to be propitiated by of­ ferings which often involve the shedding of blood,that !• Mr. M.J.Walhouse in Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. V. P. 412. 55

of a fowl being the most common. There are also family Bhutas and in every non- brahmin house a room, or sometimes only a corner is set apart for the Bhuta and called the Bhutakotya. The temples of more popular Bhutas, hovever, are of­ ten substantial buildings of considerable size. In­ side the Bhutasthanam there are usually a number of images, roughly made in brass, in human shape, or resembling animals, such as pigs, tigers, fowls. These are brought out and worshipped as symbols of the Bhutas on various ceremonial occasions. In the larger Sthanas a sword (kadsale) is al- ways kept near the Bhuta, to be held by the officiat­ ing priest when he stands possessed and trembling with excitement before the people assembled for wor- •1 I ship. In the case of Bhutas connected with temples there is a place set apart for them called ' Gudi'.The Bhutasthanam of the Baiderlu is called ' garodi* . A peculiar small vase made of bell-metal,into which from time to time, water is poured, is kept before the Bhu­ tas, and on special occasions 'kepula' flower (Inora Coccinea) and lights are placed before them. The names of the Bhutas are legion. One of the 1. Indian Antiquary, Vol. xxiii. p. 5 56

most powerful female Bhuta is called Jumadi or Doma- vati in Kannada, with her dumb guard named Bant a, worshipped by not only the Bunts and the Billa,vas but Brahmins also. The spirit of Kujumba Kanje, a Bunt of renown, belongs to this class of Bhutas. Amongst the most well known of others may be mentioned Kodamanitaya and Mundaltaya, and the jungle demons Hakkerlu and BraJimerlu (Snake God). Very often a stone of any shape or small plank is placed on the ground or fixed in a wall and the name of a Bhuta given to it. Other representations of Bhutas are in the shape of an Ox (Mahisandaya), a horse (Jarandaya), a pig (Panjurli), or a giant (Baiderlu). 2.6 DIFFERENT TYPES OF BHUTA WORSHIP : The Bhuta worship of South Kanara is of four kinds, viz., (1) Kola, (2) Bandi, (3) Nema and (4)Age- lu-tambila. (1) Kola or Devil Dajpcing'^ This is offered to the Bhutas in the Sthana of the village in which they are supposed to reside.The Sudras of the village, and of these adjacent to it

1. Good accounts of a devil dance are given by Mr.Wal- house in the Journal of Anthropological Institute, Vol. V and a detailed description by the late Dr.Burnell was published by Major Temple in Indian Antiquary for January and February, 1894. 57

assemble near the Sthana and witness the Kola cere­ mony in public, sharing the cost of it by subscri­ ptions raised among all the Sudrai families in the village in which the ceremony is held. ^w Kola or devil-dancing, the performance always takes place at night. At first the pujari,with the Bhuta sword sind bell in his hands, whirls round and round, imitating the supposed mien and gestures of the demon. But he does aspire to full possession^; that is reserved for a Pombada or Nalke, a man of the lowest class, who comes forward when the Billa- va Pujari has exhibited himself for about half an hour. He is naked save for a waist band; his face is painted with ochre and he wears a sort of arch made of coconut leaves and metal mask. After pacing up and down slowly for sometime he gradually works himself up to a pitch of hysterical frenzy, while the tom-toms are beaten furiously and the specta­ tors join in raising a long, monotonous howling cry, with a peculiar vibration. At length he stops and every one is addressed according to his rankj if the Pombada offends a rich Bunt by omitting any of his numerous titles, he is made to suffer for it. Matters regarding which there is any dispute are then submitted for the decision 58

of the Bhuta and his award is generally accepted. Either at this stage or earlier the demon is fed, rice and fruit being offered to the Pombada, while if the Bhuta is of a low degree, flesh and arrack (country liquor) are silso presented. These festi­ vals last for several nights. Dr. Burnell states that a devil-dancer receives a fee for his frantic labours. (2) Bandi Bandi is the same as Kola with the addition of dragging about a clumsy kind of car, on which the Poinbada priest representing the Bhuta is seated. I 111 (3; Nema or Dharma Nema It is a private ceremony in honour of the Bhuta held in the house of any one who is so inclined. It is performed once in ten, fifteen or twenty years by well-to-do Bunts. (4) Agelu Tambila It is a kind of worship, offered only to the Baiderlu and that annually by the Billavas only. Mari-Amma, the small-pox goddess of South India is also greatly venerated in Kanara and a temple de­ dicated to her service is used for minor offerings, the blood of goats and fowls. 59

2.7 SERPgNT WORSHIP BROUGHT BY BRAHMINS : From its extreffie prevalence and the number of snake stones to be found throughout the district,one would almost imagine that serpent worship was indi­ genous, but the best authorities can trace no evi­ dence about it. The aricient Dravidian beliefs and the coincidence of an unusually extensive serpent- worship, side by side with undiminished attachment to primitive Dravidian rites and practices, is probs- bly due to the fact that the Brahminism, which first influenced the people of South Kanars., was itself unusually tinted with serpent worship being imported according to tradition from "Ahl-Kshetra" or the land of snakes. The Chief Seat of serpent-worship in South India in the Brahmin temple of Subramanya in the Uppi- nangadi Taluk, end it is the higher, or most Hindui- zed, classes that show the most veneration for snake stones, which have also most commionly been set up on platforms under the sacred peepul tree (Ficusr eligi- osq).

The usual object of serpent-worship is to pro­ cure fecundity, the most common offerings being flow­ ers, ghee and milk, the latter being frequently act­ ually drunk by a Cobra, whose dwelling place is near the Shrine. 60

2'8 FOUR_SUB::piVISipNS_gF_BUNT_CASTE : There are four principal sub-divisions of the ca^te, viz., Masadika Bunts, who are the ordinary Bunts of Tuluva, the Nadava or Nad-Bunts, who speak Kanarese and are found in the northern part of the

t district, the Parivara Bunts and the Jain Bunts. Parivares are confined to the Southern taluks of South Kanara district. They may interdine, but not inter-ica.rry with the other sections Brahman pri­ ests are engaged for the various ceremonials, so the Parivaras are more Brahmanised than Nad or Masa­ dika Bunts. The Parivare may resort to the wells us­ ed by Brahmins and they consequently claim superio­ rity over the other sections. The remarriage of wi­ dows is not in vogue. Intermarriage is permitted between the Nad or Nadavas and Masadika Bunts. The system peculiar to the West Coast under which all property is vested in females and is mana­ ged by the seniors of the family was also favoura­ ble to the continuance of large landed properties. Dr.LKsrve in her book, ' Kinship Organization in India ' has written " In the Kanara district the Bunt's family is matrilineal and matrilocal".

1. Dr. I. Kajve. Kinship Organization in India. Asia Publishing House. Bombay-1965. P. 212. 61

All the 3unts, except the small section known as Parivar ^iunts snd a few Jains follow the "Aliya- Santana" systeni of inheritance whereas Parivar Bunts follow the rule of inheritance which is "irnkkala Kattu" -- in the male line. It is a survival of a time when the military followers of conquering Invaders or local chiefs married women of the local land-owning classes, and the most important male members of the family were usually almost in camp or at court, while the women remained at the fa,mily house on the estate and managed the farms. The titles and the 'Pattams' or dignities have always been held by the male members, but as they also go with tne landed property, they necessarily de­ volve on the sister's son of a deceased holder,whence 2 has arisen the name "Aliya Santana" which means "Sis­ ter's Son lineage". The Bunts do not usually as a rule wear the sa­ cred thread, but there is a section of them called !• ' ;^i^§_3ant ana' means Sister's son lineage. A story is embodied^in.-traditions attributing the origin of the system'^f the fit of a king called 'Bhutal Pandya' , whose wife refused to give her son for sacrifice while hf^ sister was more pious. She offered her son to her brother, for the saine pur­ pose. So this prince inherited his kingdom from his maternal uncle and not from his father. He ruled that his own exainple should be followed by his subjects and it was thus that the Aliya San- tana law was established about A.D. 77. 2. Please see G.Krishna Rao.' Treat is e on Aliya San­ tana Law ana Usage.*;'Mangalore, 1898, G2

Ballals, amongst whom heads of fajnilies wear the sa­ cred thread. The origin of the Ballals is explained by a proverb which says that when a Bunt becomes powerful he becomes a Ballal. Bunts are non vegeta­ rians but not Ballals. The headman among the Bunt is generally called "Guttinaya", meaning person of the ' Guttu' or site. Every village, or group of villages, possesses,or holds in possession the house or site set apart as the guttu, as the 'Guttinaya', In some villages, the headman is, as among some other castes, called ' Gurikara' , whose appointment is hereditary. Those who have the dignity called 'Pattam' and the heads of certain families, known as ' Shettivalas' or 'Heggades', also wear the sacred thread and are usually managers or 'Mukhtesars' of the temples, and 'Bhutasthans' or demon-shrines are found within the area over which in form_er days they are said to have exercised a more extended jurisdiction deal­ ing not only with caste disputes, but settling nu­ merous civil and criminal matters, The most common title among the Bunts, is • Shet- ty'. In all there are fortyfive titles in vogue. R3

These are"^:-

1. Alva 23. Kottari 2. Arasa 24. Malli 3. Ajila 25. Manai 4. Adapa 26. Mada 5. Adhikari 27. Maria 6. Adyantha.ya 28. Melanti 7. Atre 29. Nayaka 8. Arala 30. Nanaya 9. Bunt 31. Poonja 10. Bunga 32. Pakkala 11. Budale 33. Pulai 12. Baitajni 34. Pergade 13. Bhandari 35. Poovani 14. Ballal 36. Shetty 15. Ghauts 37. Shek 16. Ghambhirya 38. Sooda 17. Heggade 39. Semita 18. Kambali 40. Shenava 19. Kave 41. Sulai 20. Konde 42. SajDani 21. Kadamba 43. Soraff 22. Kajava 44. Servegar 45. Tolar 2.9 BUNT'S OTHER CHARACTERISTICS : The Bunts are a fine stalwart race with sturdy independence of manner and the comparatively fair complexions common to west coast. The more well-to- do classes usually occupy spacious houses on their estates, in many of which there is much fine wood­ work and in some cases the pillers in the porches and verandha, and the doorways, are elaborately car­ ved.

!• Mr.H^.A.Stuart, I.C.S. Kannada Weekly, Prajamata May 7th, 1972. "Buntara Reeti Neeti Yinoda Vihara" p. 33. G;

They have not as a rule yet largely availed them­ selves of modern education, and consequently there are but few of them in the government service, but amongst these few, some have attained high office and have been much respected. They are fonci of out-door sports, foot-ball and Buffalo-racing being amongst their favourite amuse- 2 ments, but the most popular of all is cock-fighting and large assemblages of cocks are found at every fair and festival throughout South Kanara, The Bunts are divided into twenty 'balls'. In a 3 memorandum by Mr. M. Mundappa Bangera, it is stated !• Buffalo-race; This is a sport that has grown up among a race of cultivators of wet land. It is,pe­ culiar to South Kanara. where all the cultivation worth mentioning is wet. The Bunts and Jains and other landowners of position, own and run buffaloes. The Billava or toddy drawers, have also entered the racing world. Every rich Bunt keeps his kambla field consecrated to buffalo-racing and his pair of racing buffaloes, costing from Rs. 1000 to 5000 are splendid animals, and except for an occasionail plough-drawing at the beginning of the cultiva.tion season, are used for no purpose all the year, except racing. 2« Cock-fighting: The outsider cannot fail to be struck with the tremendous exitement that attends a vil­ lage fair in South Kanara. Large number of cocks are displayed for sale, and groups of exited people may be seen huddled together, bending do'wn with in­ tense eagerness to watch every detail in the pro­ gress of a combat between two celebrated village game-cocks. Cock-fights on an elaborate scale take place on the day after the Dlpavali,Sankaranthi or Vlnayak Chathurthi; the village boundary." 3» Mr.M.Mundappa Bangera.Report of Malabar Marriage Com- "mission, 1891. 65

that " ball in Ally a Santana families corresponds to gotra of the Krahmins governed by Hindu law, but differs in that it is derived from mother's side, whereas gotra is always derived from father's side."

Children fbelong to the same ball cannot marry and the prohibition extends to certain allied (koodu) balls. Moreover a man cannot marry his paternal uncle's daughter, though she belongs to a different ball. Bali is a common name for exogamous sects of the Tuluva castes. The twenty balls of the Bunts are as follows :

I I 1. Begettinava 11. Kundalannaya 2. Bangarannpya 12. Nelabannaya, or 3. Barmarannaya Ujjettibannaya 4. Bonnyannaya 13. Pangalannaya 5. Hlribann^ya or 14. Pergadanna^a Slribannaya^ ~ 15. Pulyattannaya 6. Karambarapnaya 16. Salabann^ya or 7. Karburannay^ Aiyabapnaya 8. Kellarabannaya 17. Salannaya ^ 9. Kochatta-bannaya or 18. Talarabannaya Kojjarannaya 19. Ullbanna^a 10. Kundonibannaya 20. Upparannaya 2.10 MARRIAGE SYSTEM : There are two forms of marriage, one called kaidhare for marriages between virgins and bachelors, and the other budu-dhare, for the marriage of widows. After a match has been arranged the formal be­ trothal called 'Poonapathera' or ' nischaya tambula', takes place. The bridegroom's relatives and friends 06

proceed in a body on the appointed day to the bride's house and are entertained there at a grand dinner,to which the bride's relatives and friends are also in­ vited. Subsequently, the elders of the two families formally pledge to perform the marriage, and plates of bet el-nut are exchanged and the betal leaf and nut are partaken by the two parties. The actual marriage ceremony is performed in the house of the bride or bridegroom, as may be most convenient. The essential and binding part of the ceremony, called "dhare" , then takes place. The bridegroom then makes a gift to the bride, this is called 'tird- ochhi' and varies in amount according to the position of the parties. This must be returned to the husband if he leaves her or if she is divorced for misconduct. Though divorce and remeirriage are permitted to women, there are formal rules and ceremonies obser­ ved in connection with them, and amongst the well-to- do classes divorce is not looked upon as respectable, nor is it frequent. 2.11 AGRICULTURE,AND TRADE : Bunt was by reputation and appearance a farming

1.Dhare: The right hand of the bride being placed over the right hand of the bridegroom, a silver vessel (Dharegindi) filled with water,with a coconut over the mouth and the flower of the o\reca-nut palm on the coconut is placed on the joined hands. R7

community as we had discussed up to now. The land was the most important of Bunt's natural resources. The rice lands are classified most with regard to the water-supply than to the nature of the soil. The first class is called 'bail'. In some parts of South Kanara, three rice crops, called respectively, Yenelu or Kartika, Suggi and Kolake are raised on th'e best land of the bail kind. Bail, producing three crops of rice in a year, is called Kolake gadde (Kanarese gadde means field), after the name of the third rice crop. The same kind of land giving two rice crops annually is called ei­ ther merely bail gadde from the fact that the great­ er part of bail gives only two crops, or suggi gadde after the name of the second crop. Those bail fields which lie so low as to be submerged during the first few months of the monsoon are called 'Patta' gadde and yield, as a rule only one rice crop after the rains are over, which, however, is a very abundant one, SECONDCLASS OF glCfi LANP._Og._THE._'.MAJAL' This consists of those fields in the higher parts of the valleys which, though not entirely dependent on the annual rainfall, have yet a considerably smal­ ler supply of water than those situated lower down. 68

On the majal fields two crops of rice or one of rice and another of some dry grain or pulse, are raised every year. THIRp_CLASS_gF_RICfi_LANp

This is called ' bottu' and comprises those fie­ lds which are entirely dependent on the rain-fall (bane bottu, from bane a hill or grass land), and those which have a supply of water only sufficient to last during a short break in the monsoon. As rain­ fall, however, is very abundant, one good crop of rice is usually obtained from the bottu lands where the soil is of a good quality. Garden land specially adapted for the formation of coconut and areca-nut plantations is called Bagayet. 2.12 LAUD TENURES : As in North Kanara, the only land tenure that is found in South Kanara is the Ryatwari system without any intermediaries between the Government and the occupant. Lands in Zamindari category are totally absent. The main modes under which lands are held and cultivated are the peasant proprietorship and the land­ lord tenant system, the latter being the more common types. Under the land-lord tenant system, the lands are held by tenants either on fixed rentals or on a crop sharing (Waram) basis, the former being more con- 69

ducive to efficient cultivation. t The proprietors or wargdars, either cultivate their lands themselves through their own labourers, or lease thern out to tenants, who are broadly divided into two classes, Mulageni and Chalgeni, according to the nature of their leases. The Mulgenidars are permanent tenants with heri­ table rights under the 'Mulwargdar' or landlord. Such tenants cannot be ousted except for nonpayment of rent, and even then not till they have been recompensed by the 'Mulwargdar' for permanent leasees, if any, made by them. Subject of rent, they have the right to sub­ let, mortgage, and in some cases, sell their interests, in the land, The Chalgenidars are temporary leasees under the 'Mulwargdar' or Mulgenidars' and their tenure used to be for a limited period only. In their case there used to be no security tenure or fixity of rent. There Is I t I also a third class of tenants called 'Vaidegenidars, whose lease lasts only for a specified term of years, Before reaping a crop, a tenant is bound to pre­ sent his landlord with what is known as bele-kanlke (crop present). The landlord then takes the opportu­ nity of looking up his account with the tenant and if there are any arrears an agreement has to be arrived 70

at before the present is accepted, acceptance being an intimation that the reaping of the crop may be proceeded with. The ryots cultivate their lands by means of bul­ locks and buffaloes. The climate of South Kanara is unfavourable to cattle, which are not bred in the district, except to a very limited extent. The coarse rice grown in the Suggi is boiled be­ fore husking. The principal varieties of rice are :

t 1 1. Jira Sale 11. Mundale 2. Ganda Sale 12. Allige 3. Menthe Sale 13. Dadde 4. Soma sale 14. Kapikaje 6 . Kalame 15. Kudrubija 6. Ambatte 16. Sungal 7. Doddare 17. Vonthecare 8. Kayame 18. Kumderakutti 9. Kinniblja 19. Thekka^boliari .0. Samunge 20. Ajipasale

DIVI3I0i\iS OF TIME : Among the natives of South Kanara both the solar (Sauramana) and lumi-solar (Chandramana) Calendars are in common use. The Solar year begins about the 12th April, and the luni-solar year on the new moon immediately preceding the beginning of the solar year, but the name-year of the cycle is used for both. That the Solar system was the one in earliest use in Kana­ ra may be inferred from the fact that there are Tulu 71

names for the Solar, but not for the luni-solar months.1 The Solar system enters rarely into do­ cuments, but solar days are given conjointly with lunar ones in horoscopes and other astrological writings, It furnishes dates for no festivals ex­ cept New Year's Day, the birth of Krishna, and cer­ tain festival days peculiar to special temples, such as the ' Pariyaya ' at Udipi and the Kollur festival, They all cremate their dead, except in the case of children under seven months and those who have died of leprosy or epidemics like Cholera or small-pox. The obsequies take place on the ninth, eleventh or thirteenth day, when people are fed in large numbers. This day is known as ' Suddha'. The ' Shradha' ceremony is not common, but once a year, generally in October-- deceased ancestors are pro­ pitiated. This ceremony is called ' agelu'.

1. Sanskrit Tulu 1. Mesha 1. Paggu 2. Vrishabha 2. Besha 3. Mithuna 3. Kartel 4. Karkataca 4. Atec 5. Sinha 5. Sona 6. Kanya 6. Nirnala or Kanya 7. Tula 7. Bont el 8. Vrishchika 8. Jarde 9. Dhanus 9. Perardp 10. Makara 10. Puy Intel 11. Kumbha 11. M^yi 12. Mina 12. Suggi 72

CHAPTER III ; DESIGN OP THE STUDY

3.1 The Purpose of This Research Work 3.2 Objectives,Hypothesis and the Design of the Study 3.3 Devices to Evoke Proper Response 3.4 Difficulties in Investigation

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