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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
II. Kshatriyalu.
6. Sûyravamsapu Razulu.-Most of these are immigrants from the Godâvarî Delta. I have only met with one Razu who professed to be a Chandravamsapu Razu, and he came from the neighbourhood of N. Arkâdu (Arcot). In the Godavari Delta there are several families of the Sûryavam sa pa Razulu, who are called Basava Razulu, in consequence, it is said, of one of their ancestors having accidentally killed a basava or sacred bull. As a penalty for this crime before any marriage takes place in any of these families they are bound to select a young bull and a young cow, and cause these two to be duly married first, and then they are at liberty to proceed with their own ceremony.
7. Velivêyabaḍina Razulu. These are descendants of excommunicated Sûryavamsapu Razulu, as the prefix Velivéyabaḍina signifies, and have come from the Godavari Delta. There they live chiefly in a group of six villages.
8. Razulu. These are reckoned, and most probably rightly so reckoned, an impure caste. They seem to have come originally from the Vijagapatam district, and they mostly live in a village three miles from Dummagudem. Strange to say, they had forgotten their family names some few years ago, but they have adopted a family name suggested to them by a great friend of theirs.
[AUGUST, 1879.
tapur, Nuzaviḍu, the Aramgir Sarkar, and the late Bhadrachellam Zamindar. The members of this caste are honoured by the affix doralu (see p. 34). In one of the verses of Vemana, the exact words of which I cannot now recollect, it is said that the scorpion has poison in his tail, the serpent in his head, but the whole body of the Vellama is full of poison.
13. Vella malu are another caste who claim to be Vellamala doralu, but the Raça Vellamalu disclaim all connection with them. They are chiefly cultivators.
IV. Vellamalu or Yella malu. 12. Raça Vella malu are a most highly respected caste, and several of the leading zamindârs in the Telugu districts are members of this caste, e.g. Venkatagiri, Bobbili, Pit
14. Gûna Vella malu or Gûna Tsâkalilu (washermen). Formerly this was regarded as quite an inferior Sûdra caste, but as many members of it have been educated in the different Anglo-vernacular schools, and are not troubled very much by caste scruples, they have found their way into almost every department, and have consequently greatly risen in the social scale. A large proportion of the girls in the caste girls' schools are of this caste. The caste occupation of the Gûna Vellamalu is that of dyeing cloth, which they dip into large pots called gúnas, hence their name. The term Gûna Tsakalalu is one of reproach, and they much prefer being called Vellamalu to the great disgust of the Raca Vellamalu. Many of them call themselves Naiḍus, but this honorific title is generally exclusively claimed by the Telagalu.
III. Vaisyalu or Komatlu.
In years gone by, members of this caste who
9. Gaura Kom a tlu.-These are reckon- were desirous of getting married had to arrange ed as the most honourable of all.
10. Komatlu.-The Gaura Komatlu and Komatlu may eat with one another but may not intermarry.
11. Bêri Komatlu.-The lowest in the scale: they have but little social intercourse with the above two sections of the Komathi caste. Formerly, before a marriage took place between any two Vaisyalu they had to arrange for and pay all the expenses of the marriage of two Madigas (shoemakers), but this custom has been abandoned, and they content themselves by giving an invitation as described ante, p. 36.
and pay the expenses of the marriage of two of the Palli (fisherman) caste, but now it is regarded as sufficient to hang up a net in the house during the time of the marriage ceremony. It is said that generations ago, when all the members of this caste were in danger of being swept off the face of the earth by some of their enemies, the Pallilu came to the rescue with their boats, and carried off all the Gûna Vellamalu to a place of safety, and that out of gratitude the latter pledged themselves never to marry without having first borne all the expenses of a marriage amongst their
rescuers.
15. Koppu Vella malu.-In these two taluqas the members of this caste are simply coolies, but probably they pursue more respected occupations in the Vijagapatam district from which they emigrated to these parts.
