Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Tonti
Tonti.— The Tontis are said to be cotton-weavers of Bengal, who have settled in Ganjam.*[1] The name denotes threadmen, and the weaving of rough white cloths is the traditional occupation of the caste. All Tontis belong to a single gōtra named after Kāsyapa, one of the seven important rishis, and the priest of Parasurāma. Various bamsams or exogamous septs, the names of some of which occur also as titles, exist, e.g., Biswālo, Dasso, Pālo, Bono, Chondo, Parimaniko, Korono, Bēhara, and Mahāpātro. The marriage and death ceremonies conform to the standard Oriya type. On the fourth day of the marriage rites, a Bhondāri (barber) is presented with some beaten rice and sugar-candy in a new earthen pot. These are sold to those who have assembled, and the proceeds go to the Bhondāri. The corpse of a dead person is washed at the burning ground, instead of, in accordance with the common custom among other castes, at the house.
- ↑ • Cf. Tanti. Kisley, Tribes and Castes of Bengal.