Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Unni
Unni.— For the following note on the Unnis of Travancore, I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. The word Unni, whatever its significance may have been of old, at present forms the common title of four castes of the Ambalavāsi group, whose manners and custom differ considerably in their details. They are known, respectively, as Pushpakans, Brāhmanis, Tiyattunnis, and Nattu Pattars, their social precedence being in this order. Pushpakan comes from pushpa, which in Sanskrit means either a flower or menses. Brāhmanis, more vulgarly known as Pappinis, are so named because they perform some of the priestly functions of the Brāhmans for the Sūdra population of Travancore. Tīyattunnis, also known as Taiyampatis in British Malabar, are so called from the peculiar religious service they perform in some Hindu temples. Nattu Pattars are also known as Pattar Unnis and Karappuram Unnis. Unni means a child, and is used as an honorific term to denote the male children of a Nambūtiri's household. The reason why these Ambalavāsi castes came to be so called was that they were looked upon as more respectable than the Nāyars, by whom the term must doubtless have been made use of at first. The Pushpakans are said to be divided into three classes, namely Pushpakans, Nambiassans, and Puppallis. The first section live only as far south as Evūr in Central Travancore, and are called Nambiyars in the north. The Nambiyassans live in Cochin and North Travancore, while the Puppallis are found only towards the south. There are no sub-divisions among the Brāhmanis and Karappuramunnis. But the Tīyattunnis are divided into two classes, namely the Tīyatinambiyans of the north, who are generally employed in the temples of Sastha, and Tīyattunnis proper, who perform a similar function in the shrines of Bhadrakāli. Women are also known as Atovarammamar and Kōvillammamar.
Pushpakans are said to have arisen out of the union of a Brāhman woman in her menses with her husband. Parasurāma set them apart, and gave them the occupation of making garlands in the temples of Malabar. Though this derivation is given in the Kēralamahatmya, it may be more easily believed that Pushpakan is derived from the occupation of working in flowers. Puppalli, at any rate, is thus derived, and, as Palli signifies anything sacred, the caste name arose from the occupation of preparing garlands for deities. Nambiyassans, called also Nambiyars and Nambis, must have been, as also the Puppallis and Brāhmanis, one with the Pushpakans. In some places, Nambiyassans are known to have kept gymnasia and military training schools. The Brāhmanis must have undergone some degree of degradation because of the religious songs which they sang during the marriages of the Nāyars, while those who did not take part therein became, as it were, a separate sept. Another tradition, accounting for the origin of the caste, is that, as in primitive ages early marriages prevailed among the Malayāla Brāhmans, the family of the Nambūtiri who first married his daughter after puberty was excommunicated, and gave origin to the Pushpakas. This is untrue, as, in Vēdic times, adult marriage was the rule, and the Nambūtiris in this respect have been known to follow a more primitive custom than the Brāhmans of the east coast. The Tīyattunnis are said to be the descendants of a Bhūta or demon directed by Siva to sing songs in praise of Bhadrakāli, and appease her anger after the murder of Darika. They must from the first have formed a distinct section of the Ambalavāsis. The Karappuram Unnis are supposed to have been elevated to their present status by Cheraman Perumāl, one of the rulers of ancient Kērala, as, though belonging to the Sūdra caste, they were obliged on one occasion to perform Brāhmanical service for him. Perumāl is believed to have permitted them to take the title of Unni, and call themselves Pattar, by which name East Coast Brāhmans are known in Malabar. Thus they came to own the three names Nattu Pattar, Pattar Unni, and Karappuram Unni, Karappuram or Shertallay being the territory where the sept received the above-mentioned social elevation from their sovereign. Even now, many of them reside in the tāluks of Ambalapuzha and Shertallay.
The house of a Pushpaka is variously known as pushpakam, pumatum, or padodakam, the last signifying a place where the water falls from the feet of the deity, on account of its close proximity to the temple, where the daily avocation of the Pushpaka lies. The houses of the Tīyattunnis and Nattu Pattars are only known by the name of bhavanam. As in the case of the Brāhmans, the Pushpanis and Brāhmanis cover their bodies with a piece of cloth, carry an umbrella, and are accompanied by Nāyar servant-maids when they go out in public. The women have one more fold in their dress than the Nambūtiris. The neck ornament of women is the cherutāli-kuttam, and the ear ornament the katila. Bell-metal bangles are worn round the wrists. Female Tīyattunnis and Nattu Pattars do not wear the last, and are generally unaccompanied by Nāyar servant-maids when they go out.
Pushpakans are believed to be the most fitting caste for the preparation of flower garlands to be used in temples. They also assist in the preparation of the materials for the daily offering. Nambiyassans were instructors in arms in days of old, and kalari or gymnasia are owned by them even at the present day. Their punyaha, or purificatory ceremony after pollution, is performed by Pushpakans. Brāhmani women sing religious songs on the occasion of marriage among all castes from Kshatriyas to Nāyars. In Kumaranallūr and other Bhagavati shrines, women are employed to sing propitiatory songs, while the men make garlands, sweep the floor of the inner court-yard and plinth, clean the temple vessels, and carry the lamp when images are taken round in procession. It is only the first of these temple services that the Pushpakas do, and their women never go out to sing on marriage occasions. The word Tīyattu or Teyyatu is said to be a corruption of Daivamattu, or dancing to please the deity. According to one tradition, they were degraded from Pushpakas for undertaking service in the temples. In more orthodox times, tīyattu could be performed only in temples and Brāhman houses, but now Sūdras also share the privilege of inviting the Tīyattunnis to their homes for this purpose, though the ceremony cannot be performed in their houses without a previous punyaha. The rite is extremely popular when epidemic disease prevails. Ganapati and Bhadrakāli are, as a preliminary measure, worshipped, to the accompaniment of musical instruments. As this has to be done in the noon, it is called uchchappattu, or noon-day song. In the evening, an image of Bhadrakāli is drawn on the ground with powders of five colours, white, yellow, black, green and red. At night, songs are sung in praise of that deity by the Tīyattunni and his followers. A member of the troupe then plays the part of Bhadrakāli in the act of murdering the demon Darika, and, in conclusion, waves a torch before the inmates of the house, to ward off the evil eye, which is the most important item in the whole ceremony. The torch is believed to be given by Siva, who is worshipped before the light is waved.
The Karappuram Unnis, unlike the other septs of their class, are mostly- agriculturists. The Unnis are all Smartas, but a partiality for Bhadrakāli is manifested by the Tīyattunnis and Brāhmanis. All social matters among the Unnis are superintended by Nambūtiri Brāhmans, but, in all that directly touches the social wellbeing, their own headmen are the judges. Before entering a Pushpaka's house for the observation of any ceremony, the Nambūtiris insist upon the performance of punyaha. Though the superiority of Ilayatus is acknowledged, they are never employed by the Pushpakas for priestly functions. The Ilayatus are believed to have once been the priests of the Nattu Pattars, though at the present time learned men from their own sept are employed for this purpose. The punyaha is, however, performed through the agency of Nambūtiris. The priests of the Nambiyassans, Tīyattunnis, and Brāhmanis are Ilayatus.
Adult marriage prevails, twelve being the earliest age of a girl when she ceases to be single. On the evening of the day before the wedding, the bride has a ceremonial bath, and performs the ceremony of growing a jasmine shoot, the flowers of which she should cull and present as an offering to the deity. On the marriage day, the bridegroom's party arrives in procession at the house of the bride, who awaits them with her face covered, and holding a brass mirror and garland of flowers in her hands. Her veil is removed, and the contracting couple gaze at each other. At the auspicious hour their hands are joined, and other items of the marriage rites carried out. In connection with a Pushpaka marriage, ammana āttam or tossing of metal balls, kaikottikali or the circular dance, and yātrakali are among the amusements indulged in. Divorce was common among the Pushpakas in bygone days, but, at the present time, the marriage tie is usually permanent, and it is only after the first husband's death that cloths may be received from a Malayāla Brāhman in token of sambandham (alliance). The Brāhmanis, however, have not given up the practice of divorce. Nambiyassans, Puppallis, Pattar Unnis, and Brāhmanis follow the marumakkattāyam system of inheritance (through the female line), while the Pushpakas and Tīyattunnis are makkattāyis, and follow the law of inheritance from father to son. The offspring of a Brāhmani by a Pushpaka woman are regarded as issue in a makkattāyam family. As is the custom among the Nambūtiris, only the eldest son marries, the other sons remaining as snātakas, and contracting alliances with Nāyar women. The Illam Nāyars, however, do not give their daughters to the Unnis.
The jatakarma, though not strictly proper, is observed in modern days. The namakarana takes place, along with the annaprasana, in the sixth month after birth. The chaula is performed in the third year, though, among the Nattu Pattars, it is a preliminary ceremony before upanayana. The proper time for the performance of the upanayana is between the eighth and sixteenth year. Samāvartana takes place on the fourteenth day after upanayana. Pollution lasts for only ten days among the Tīyattunnis, whereas the Brāhmanis observe twelve, and the Nattu Pattars thirteen days' pollution. Ten gayatris (hymns) are allowed to be recited thrice daily.
The Pushpakas are the highest of the thread-wearing sections of the Ambalavāsis, according to their traditional origin as well as their religious and social practices. The Pattar Unnis are the lowest, and are only a step higher than the Kurukkals. Consecrated water and flowers are not given to them directly by the temple priest, but they may stand on the right side of the stone steps leading to the inner shrine. This is the rule with all Ambalavāsi divisions. Other Ambalavāsis do not receive food from the Unnis. These sections of the Unnis which have Ilayatus for their priests accept food from them. As the Pushpakas proper employ only Nambūtiris for purificatory purposes, the latter freely cook food in their houses, as in those of the Mūttatus.
It is recorded by Mr. Logan*[1] that the Tīyattunnis or Tīyādis (ti, fire; āttam, play) are " a class of pseudo Brāhmans in Malabar, who derive their name from the ceremony of jumping through fire before temples." Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes, in this connection, that " I do not think Mr. Logan is quite right when he describes the service of the Tīyattunnis as jumping through fire. It is dancing with lighted wicks in the hands, to exorcise the genius representing the evil eye, or as a propitiatory service in temples. It answers to the pallippanna and kolantullal of the Kaniyans. A figure of Bhadrakāli is drawn on the ground with powders of different colours, and the chief incidents in the incarnate life of the deity are recited by the Tīyattunnis. After this, some cocoanuts are broken in two, and lighted wicks are then placed before the presiding deity if done in a temple as a propitiatory service, or before any particular individual or individuals, if the object is to free him or them from the effect of the evil eye."
- ↑ * Manual of the Malabar district.