Kalinga Caste

Kalinga (also known as Kalingi/Kalinji/kalanji/Kaalinga) is an Indian caste of temple priests and cultivators, found mainly in Ganjam , Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, and Visakhapatnam. The Kalingas are essentially Odia and are found mainly on the borderland between the districts of Ganjam and Vizagapatam.[1]

History

They are an endogamous population.[2] The same class of people are known as the Kalinjis in the country north of the Vamsadhara river. In the Telugu parts they are called Kalingas and in the Oriya country they are known as Kalinjis.[3] Kalingas are not found south of Chipurupalle in the Vizagapatam district. Most of them are now found confined to the south of Ganjam district, but some are found scattered all over the Oriya country along the coast.

Kalinga are a caste of temple priests and cultivators. A few come under the sub-division of Komatis, who "were formerly the inhabitants of the ancient Kalinga country. They are considered inferior to the other sub-divisions, on account of their eating flesh.

In the Ganjam Manual, they are described as "traders and shopkeepers, principally prevalent in the Chicacole division. The name Kling or Kaling is applied, in the Malay countries, including the Straits Settlements, to the people of peninsular India, who trade thither, or are settled in those regions." It is recorded by Dr. N. Annandale that the phrase Orang Kling Islam (i.e., a Muhammadan from the Madras coast) occurs in Patani Malay.

In the Ganjam Manual, the Kalinjis are described as agriculturists in that district, and, in the Vizagapatam Manual, the Kalingas or Kalingulu are stated to be cultivators in the Vizagapatam district, and a caste of Paiks or fighting men in Jeypore. In the Census Report, 1891, the Kalingis are said to be "most numerous in Ganjam, but there is a considerable number of them in Vizagapatam also.

The word means a native of Kalinga, the name of the seaboard of the Telugu country; the word Telugu itself is supposed by Dr. Caldwell to be a corruption of ri-Kalinga. The three large sub- divisions of the caste are Buragam, Kintala, and Odiya.

Subdivisions and customs

In the Kintala sub-division, a widow may remarry. But the remarriage of widows is not allowed in other sub-divisions. The use of flesh and alcoholic liquor is permitted. Naidu and Chaudari are their titles." Further, in the Census Report, 1901, the Kalingis are described as follows : " A caste of temple priests and cultivators, found mainly in Ganjam and Vizagapatam, whither they are supposed to have been brought by the Kalinga kings to do service in the Hindu temples, before the advent of the Brahmans. They speak either Oriya or Telugu. They have two sub-divisions, the Kintali Kalingas, who live south of the Langulya river, and the Buragam Kalingis, who reside to the north of it, and the customs of the two differ a great deal. There is also a third section, called Pandiri or Bevarani, which is composed of outcastes from the other two. Except the Kalingis of Mokhalingam in Vizagapatam district, they have headmen called Nayakabalis or Santos. They also have priests called Kularazus, each of whom sees to the spiritual needs of a definite group of villages. They are divided into several exogamous gotras, each comprising a number of families or vamsas, some of which, such as Arudra, a lady-bird, and Revi-chettu, the Ficus religiosa tree, are of totemistic origin. Each section is said to worship its totem. Marriage before puberty is the rule, and the caste is remarkable for the proportion of its girls under twelve years of age who are married or widowed. Mokhalingam is in Ganjam, not Vizagapatam. As usual, the ceremonies at the wedding of a widow differ from those at the marriage of a maid. Some turmeric paste is placed on a new cloth, which is then put over a pot of water, and the ceremony takes place near this. The binding portion of it is the tying of a saffron-coloured string to the woman's wrist. The Kalingis pay special reverence to Sri Radha Krishna and Chaitanya. Some of the caste officiate in temples, wear the sacred thread, and call themselves Brahmans, but they are not received on terms of equality by other Brahmans. All Kalingis bury their dead, but sraddhas (memorial services) are performed only by the Kintali sub-division. The Buragam Kalingis do not shave their heads in front. Kalingi women wear heavy bangles of brass, silver bell-metal and glass, extending from the wrist to the elbow. The titles of the castes are Naidu, Nayarlu, Chowdari, Bissoyi, Podhano, Jenna, Swayi, and Naiko." In the foregoing account, the Oriya-speaking Kalinjis, and Telugu-speaking Kalingis, are both referred to. The Kalinjis are, Oriyas, and seem to be closely allied to the agricultural castes, Doluva, Alia, Bosantiya, etc. The Kalinjis can be easily distinguished from the Kalingis, as the latter wear the sacred thread. The following story is told in connection with the origin of the Kalinji caste. A band of robbers was once upon a time staying in a fort near Bhattu Kunnarade, and molesting the people, who invited the king of Puri to come and drive the robbers away. Among the warriors who were recruited for this purpose, was a member of the Khondaito caste, who, with the permission of the king, succeeded in expelling the robbers. He was named by the people Bodo-Kalinja, or one having a stout heart. He and his followers remained in the Ganjam country, and the Kalinjis are their descend- ants. The caste is widespread in the northern part thereof. There do not seem to be any sub-divisions among the Kalinjis, but there is a small endogamous group, called Mohiri Kalmji. Mohiri is a well-known division in Ganjam, and Kalinjis who dwell therein intermarry with others, and do not form a separate community. It has been suggested that the Mohiri Kalinjis are Telugu Kalingis, who have settled in the Oriya country. Like other Oriya castes, the Kalinjis have gotras, e.g., bano (sun), sukro (star), sanko (conch-shell), bhago (tiger) and nago (cobra). There is a good deal of confusion regarding the gotras in their connection with marriage. The same gotra, e.g., sukro, is exogamous in some places, and not so in others. Many titles occur among the Kalinjis, e.g., Borado, Bissoyi, Bariko, Behara, Dolei, Gaudo, Jenna, Moliko, Naiko, Patro, Podhano, Pulleyi, Ravuto, Santo, Savu, Swayi, Guru. In some places, the titles are taken as representing bamsams (or vamsams), and, as such, are exogamous. Families as a rule refrain from marrying into families bearing the same title. For example, a Dolei man will not marry a Dolei girl, especially if their gotras are the same. But a Dolei may marry a Pullei, even if they have the same gotra. The headman of the Kalinjis is styled Santo, and he is assisted by a Patro. There is also a caste messenger, called Bhollobhaya. For the whole community there are said to be four Santos and four Patros, residing at Attagada, Chinna Kimedi, Pedda Kimedi, and Mohiri. A man who is suffering from a wound or sore infested by maggots is said to be excommunicated, and, when he has recovered, to submit himself before the caste-council before he is received back into the community. Girls are generally married before puberty, and, if a real husband is not forthcoming, a maid goes through a mock marriage ceremony with her elder sister's husband, or some elder of the community. A bachelor must be married to the sado (Strebhis asper) tree before he can marry a widow. The remarriage of widows (thuvathuvvi) is freely allowed. A widow, who has a brother-in-law, may not marry anyone else, until she has obtained a deed of separation (tsado patro) from him. The marriage ceremonies conform to the standard Oriya type. In some places, the little fingers of the contract- ing couple are linked, instead of their hands being tied together with thread. On the fourth day, a Bhondari (barber) places on the marriage dais some beaten rice and sugar-candy, which the bride and bridegroom sell to relations for money and grain. The proceeds of the sale are the perquisite of the Bhondari. On the seventh day, the bridegroom breaks a pot on the dais, and, as he and the bride go away, the brother of the latter throws brinjal (Solanum Melongend) fruits at him. The dead are as a rule cremated. On the day after death, food, made bitter by the addition of margosa (Melia Azadirachtd] leaves, is offered. A piece of bone is carried away from the burning-ground, and buried under a pipal (Ficus religiosa} tree. Daily, until the tenth day, water is poured seven times over the spot in-4 B where the bone is buried. On the tenth day, if the deceased was an elder of the community, the jola-jola handi ceremony is performed with a pot riddled with holes.

References

  1. ↑ M. Krishna Kumari (1990). Social and Cultural Life in Medieval Andhra. Discovery Publishing House. pp. 18–. ISBN 978-81-7141-102-3.
  2. ↑ S, Sridevi (2014). "Scientific and Physical Anthropological Study of Kalinga Caste Population of Eastern Andhra Pradesh State in India" (PDF). International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences. 3 (12): 726–732. ISSN 2319-7706.
  3. ↑ M. L. Mathur (2004). Encyclopaedia of Backward Castes. Gyan Publishing House. pp. 195–. ISBN 978-81-7835-269-5.

For list gotras and surnames of kalinga caste refer http://kalingaworld.com/Gothralu.aspx#

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