Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Vāriyar
Vāriyar.— For the following note on the Vāriyar section of the Ambalavāsis, I am indebted to Mr.N. Subramani Aiyar. The name is believed to be derived from Parasava, which, according to Yajnavalkya and other law-givers, is the name given to the son of a Brāhman begotten on a Sūdra woman, and suggests the fact that the Vāriyar is no Brāhman, though the blood of the latter may course through his veins, and though such marriages were regarded as sacraments in early days. This is the derivation given by Pachumuttalu in his Kēralavisēshamāhātmya, who adds that the chief occupation of the Vāriyars is to sweep the floor of the temples. In some of the Asauchavidhis (works on pollution) of Kērala, the commentator explains the word Parasava as Vāriya. Many Vāriyars add the title Parasava to their name, when writing in Sanskrit. Some derive the word from varija or one born of water, in accordance with a tradition that Parasurāma created from water a class of persons for special service in temples, and to take the place of Sūdras, who, being meat-eaters, were ineligible for the same. Others again, like the late Professor Sundaram Pillay, would take Vāriyar as being derived from varuka, to sweep. Recently, some ingenuity has been displayed in splitting the word into two words, giving it a meaning equivalent to pseudo- Aryan. The title Asan, or teacher, is possessed by certain families, whose members have held the hereditary position of tutors in noblemen's houses. In mediæval times, many Vāriyar families received royal edicts, conferring upon them the privileges of being tutors and astrologers. These special rights are even now possessed by them.
The following legend is narrated concerning the origin of the Vāriars. A Sūdra woman removed a bone from within a temple in obedience to the wish of certain Brāhman priests, and was excommunicated from her caste. The priests,on hearing this,were anxious to better her condition, and made her the progenitor of a class of Ambalavāsis or temple servants, who were afterwards known as Vāriyars. According to another legend, the corpse of a Mārān, which was found inside a Nambūtiri's house, was promptly removed by certain Nāyars, who on that account were raised in the social scale, and organised into a separate caste called Vāriyar. There is a still further tradition that, in the Treta Yuga, a Sūdra woman had five sons, the first of whom became the progenitor of the Tiyatunnis, and the second that of Vāriyars. A fourth account is given in the Kerala-mahātmya. A young Brāhman girl was married to an aged man. Not confident in unaided human effort, under circumstances such as hers, she devoted a portion of her time daily to preparing flower garlands for the deity of the nearest temple, and conceived. But the Brāhman welcomed the little stranger by getting the mother thrown out of caste. Her garlands could no longer be accepted, but, nothing daunted, she worked as usual, and made a mental offering of the garlands she prepared, which, through an unseen agency, became visible on the person of the deity. Though the people were struck with shame at their unkind treatment of the innocent girl, they were not prepared to take her back. The Vāriyan caste was accordingly constituted, and her child was brought up by the Azhancheri Tambrakkal, and accommodated in the padippura or out-house at the entrance gate. In the Pāsupata Tantra, the Vāriyars are called Kailāsavāsins, or those who live in Kailās, as they are supposed to be specially devoted to the worship of Siva. Kailāsa is the abode of Siva, whither the blessed go after death.
The Vāriyars of Travancore are divided into four groups, called Onattukara, Venattukara, Ilayetattunad (or Ilayathu), and Tekkumkur. The Venattukaras have the privilege of interdining with the Onattukaras, and having their ceremonies performed by priests from that group. But the ceremonies of the Onattukaras appear to be performed without the Venattukaras being admitted into their midst. The third and fourth groups take food in the houses of the first and second, though the reverse seldom happens. The Vāriyars in British Malabar are divided into several other groups.
The Vāriyars are generally well-read, especially in Sanskrit, make excellent astrologers, and are also medical practitioners. A Vāriyars house is called variyam, as the Pishārati's is known as pishāram.
Married women have the hair-knot on the left side of the head, like Nāyar ladies. They cover the breast with a folded cloth, and never wear a bodice or other innovations in the matter of dress. The marriage ornament is called mātra, and is in the shape of a maddalam or drum. Other neck ornaments are called entram and kuzhal. The todu, or ornament of Nāyar women, is worn in the ear-lobes. Women mark their foreheads, like Nambūtiri ladies, with sandal paste.
The Vāriyars, Pushpakans, and Pishāratis, are said to constitute the three original garland-making castes of Malabar, appointed by Parasurāma. At the present day, in all the important temples, except in South Travancore, where Kurukkals perform that function, garlands can only be prepared by one of these castes. The technical occupation of a Vāriyar in a temple is called kazhakam, which is probably derived from the Dravidian root kazhaku, to cleanse. Kazhakam is of two kinds, viz., malakkazhakam or garland-making service, and talikkazhakam or sweeping service, of which the former is more dignified than the latter. Under the generic term kazhakar are included making flower garlands for the temple, preparing materials for the offering of food, sweeping the beli offering, carrying lights and holding umbrellas when the god is carried in procession, having the custody of the temple jewels, etc. The Vāriyar is at the beck and call of the temple priest, and has to do sundry little services from morning till evening. He is remunerated with some of the cooked food, after it has been offered to the deity. The Văriyars are to Saivite temples what the Pishāratis are to Vaishnavite temples. Their prayers are prominently addressed only to Siva, but they also worship Vishnu, Subramanya, Sasta, Ganěsa, and Bhadrakāli. Their chief amusement is the farce called Kuttappathakam, the hero of which is one Vankāla Nikkan, and the heroine Naityar. An Ilayatu is the stage-manager, and a Pisharāti the actor. Parangotan is the buffoon, and Mappa his wife. In the eighteenth century, a grand festival lasting over twenty-eight days, called mamangam, was celebrated in British Malabar. The above characters are represented as proceeding to this festival, which came off once in twelve years on the Magha asterism in the month of Magha, and is hence popularly called Mahāmagha.
The Vāriyar caste is governed in all matters by the Nambūtiri Brāhmans, but they have their own priests. The Ilayatus believe that they were the preceptors of all the Ambalavāsi castes in former times, but were dislodged from that position owing to most of them employing priests from among their own caste men. Even at the present day, Ilayatus are known to express their displeasure when they are asked to drink water from a Vāriyar's well. As, however, consecrated water from the Nambūtiris is taken to a Vāriyar for its purification, they entertain no scruples about cooking their food there, provided they carry with them the aupasana fire.
Inheritance among the Vāriyars of Cochin and British Malabar is in the female line (marumakkathāyam). Among the Vāriyars of Travancore, chiefly these belonging to the Onattukara section, a kind of qualified makkathāyam prevails, in accordance with which both sons and daughters have an equal right to inherit ancestral property. The eldest male member is entitled to the management of the estate in all undivided families. Partition, however, is largely followed in practice.
The tāli-kettu ceremony of the Vāriyars generally takes place before a girl reaches puberty, and, in the case of boys, after the ceremony of Sivadiksha has been performed, that is between the twelfth and sixteenth years. If the marriage is in the kudi-vaippu form, or, in other words, if there is an intention on the part of both parties to treat the marital alliance as permanent, no separate sambandham need be celebrated afterwards; and, in all cases where marriages are celebrated between members of the same section, the kudi-vaippu form is in vogue. If a girl is unmarried when she reaches puberty, she is not permitted to take part in any religious ceremonies, or enter any temple until she is married. The first item of a Vāriyar's marriage is ayani-unu, when the bridegroom, decked in new clothes and ornaments, dines sumptuously with his relations. He then goes in procession to the bride's house, and, after bathing, puts on clothes touched by the bride. After this some prayers are recited, and a sacrifice is offered. The bride is then brought to the marriage hall, and, all the Brāhmanical rites are strictly observed. After sunset, some grass and a leopard's skin are placed on the floor on which white cloth is spread. The bridegroom, who is seated on the northern side, worships Ganapati, after which the couple take their seats on the cloth bed spread on the floor. Lights are then waved in front of them. This ceremony is known as dikshavirikkuka. In the kudi-vaippu form of marriage, the bride is taken to the house of the bridegroom, where the dikshavirippu is observed. Otherwise the marital rite becomes a mere tāli-kattu ceremony, and the girl, when she comes of age, may receive clothes in token of conjugal connection with another person. When the first husband dies, clothes may be received from another Vāriyar, or a Brāhman, whose wife the woman becomes.
Most of the ceremonies observed by Malayāli Brāhmans are also performed by the Vāriyars, the vratas and upanayana being among those which are omitted. Sivadiksha, as already indicated, is observed between the twelfth and sixteenth years. The festival lasts for four days, though the religious rites are over on the first day. At an auspicious hour, the priest and the Vāriyar youth put on the tattu dress, or dress worn for ceremonial purposes, and worship a pot full of water with incense and flowers, the contents of which are then poured by the priest over the youth. The priest and a Mārān then perform the tonsure, and the youth bathes. Some Nambūtiris are then engaged to perform the purificatory rite, after which the Vāriyar wears the tattu as well as an upper cloth, marks his forehead with ashes and sandal paste, and decorates himself with jewels, rudrāksha (Elœocarpus Ganitrus) beads, and flowers. Alms are received by the young Vāriyar from his mother, and he takes seven steps in a northerly direction which symbolise his pilgrimage to Benares. It is only after the performance of this rite that the Vāriyar is believed to become a grihastha (married person, as opposed to a bachelor). The funeral rites of the caste have been elaborated in many places. Death pollution lasts for twelve days, and the sanchayana (milk ceremony) is observed on the seventh or ninth day. Anniversary ceremonies are celebrated in memory of close relations, and others are propitiated by the performance of srādh, and the feeding of a Vāriyar on a new-moon day.
In an account of a royal wedding in Travancore in 1906, I read that "a number of Vāriyars left the thēvarathu koikal, or palace where worship is performed, for a compound (garden) close by to bring an areca palm. It is supposed that they do this task under divine inspiration and guidance. One man is given a small rod by the Potti or priest in the palace, and, after receiving this, he dances forward, followed by his comrades, and all wend their way to a compound about a furlong away. On reaching the spot, they uproot a big areca palm without the use of any implement of iron, and take it away to the thēvarathu koikal without its touching the ground, to the accompaniment of music. They then plant it in front of the portico, and do some pūja (worship) after the manner of Brāhmans. The function is comparable to the dhwajarohanam, or hoisting of the flag during temple utsavams. The Vāriyans dance round the tree, singing songs, and performing pūja. A piece of white cloth is tied to the top of the tree, to serve as a flag, and a lamp is lighted, and placed at the foot of the tree."
The Vāriyars are described, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, as " a caste whose traditional duty is to sweep the temple precincts (vāruga). At the present day, some members of the caste are important land-owners or petty chieftains, occupying a very high social position. They generally follow the marumakkatāyam principle, but they have also a form of marriage called Kudivekkal similar to the Brahman Sarvasvadhānam, by which the wife is adopted as a member of the family into which she marries, and her children also belong to it. The Vāriyars names and ceremonies indicate Sivaite proclivities, just as those of the Pishārodi are tinged with Vishnavism. The Vāriyars house is called a Vāriyam, and his woman-folk Varassiars. This class is perhaps the most progressive among the Ambalavāsis, some of its members having received a Western education and entered the learned professions."