Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Mattiya
Mattiya.— The Mattiyas are summed up as follows in the Madras Census Report, 1901. " In Vizagapatam these are hill cultivators from the Central Provinces, who are stated in one account to be a sub-division of the Gonds. Some of them wear the sacred thread, because the privilege was conferred upon their families by former Rājas of Malkanagiri, where they reside. They are said to eat with Rōnas, drink with Porojas, but smoke only with their own people. The name is said to denote workers in mud (matti), and in Ganjam they are apparently earth-workers and labourers. In the Census Report, 1871, it is noted that the Matiyās are 'altogether superior to the Kois and to the Parjās (Porojas). They say they sprang from the soil, and go so far as to point out a hole, out of which their ancestor came. They talk Uriyā, and farm their lands well.' "
For the following note, I am indebted to Mr.C. Hayavadana Rao. The caste is divided into at least four septs, named Bhāg (tiger), Nāg (cobra), Chāli (goat), and Kochchimo (tortoise). A man may claim his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage. Girls are, as a rule, married after puberty. When a match is contemplated, the would-be husband presents a pot of liquor to the girl's parents. If this is accepted, a further present of liquor, rice, and a pair of cloths, is made later on. The liquor is distributed among the villagers, who, by accepting it, indicate their consent to the transfer of the girl to the man. A procession, with Dōmbs acting as musicians, is formed, and the girl is taken to the bridegroom's village. A pandal (booth) has been erected in front of the bridegroom's house, which the contracting couple enter on the following morning. Their hands are joined together by the presiding Dēsāri, they bathe in turmeric water, and new cloths are given to them. Wearing these, they enter the house, the bridegroom leading the bride. Their relations then exhort them to be constant to each other, and behave well towards them. A feast follows, and the night is spent in dancing and drinking. Next day, the bride's parents are sent away with a present of a pair of cows or bulls as jholla tonka. The remarriage of widows is allowed, and a younger brother usually marries the widow of his elder brother. Divorce is permitted, and, when a husband separates from his wife, he gives her a new cloth and a bullock as compensation. A divorced woman may remarry. By the Mattiyas, and other Oriya castes, the ghorojavai (house son-in-law) custom is practiced. According to this custom, the poorer folk, in search of a wife, work, according to a contract, for their future father-in-law for a specified time, at the expiration of which they set up a separate establishment with his daughter. To begin married life with, presents are made to the couple by the father-in-law.
The dead are burnt, and the spot where cremation takes place is marked by setting up in the ground a bamboo pole, to which one of the dead man's rags is attached. The domestic pots, which were used during his last illness, are broken there. Death pollution is observed for eight days. On the ninth day, the ashes, mixed with water, are cleared up, and milk is poured over the spot. The ashes are sometimes buried in a square hole, which is dug to a depth of about three feet, and filled in. Over it a small hut-like structure is raised. A few of these sepulchral monuments may be seen on the south side of the Pangām stream on the Jeypore-Malkangiri road. The personal names of the Mattiyas are often taken from the day of the week on which they are born.