Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Velama
Velama.— The Velamas, or, as they are sometimes called, Yelamas, are a caste of agriculturists, who dwell in the Telugu country and Ganjam. Concerning them Mr. H. A. Stuart writes as follows.*[1] " Who the Velamas were it seems difficult to decide. Some say they form a sub-division of the Balijas, but this they themselves most vehemently deny, and the Balijas derisively call them Gūna Sākala (or Tsākala) vāndlu (hunch-backed washermen). The pride and jealousy of Hindu castes was amusingly illustrated by the Velamas of Kālahasti. The Deputy Tahsildar of that town was desired to ascertain the origin of the name Gūni Sākalavandlu, but, as soon as he asked the question, a member of the caste lodged a complaint of defamation against him before the District Magistrate. The nickname appears to have been applied to them, because, in the northern districts, some print chintzes, and, carrying their goods in a bundle on their backs, walk stooping like a laden washerman. This derivation is more than doubtful, for, in the Godavari district, the name is Gūna Sākalavandlu, gūna being the big pot in which they dye the chintzes. Some Velamas say that they belong to the Kammas, but divided from them in consequence of a difference of opinion on the subject of gōsha, most Velama females being now kept in seclusion. [In the Kurnool Manual it is noted that the Velama women are supposed to be gōsha, but, owing to poverty, the rule is not strictly observed.] Both Kammas and Velamas, before they divided, are said to have adopted gōsha from the Muhammadans, but, finding that they were thus handicapped in their competition with other cultivating castes, it was proposed that the original custom of their ancestors should be reverted to. Those who agreed signed a bond, which, being upon palm leaf, was called kamma, and from it they took this name. The dissentients retained gōsha, and were therefore called outsiders or Velamas. This does not, however, explain what the original name of the caste was, and the truth of the story is doubtful. Since this dispute, the Velamas have themselves had a split on the subject of gōsha, those who have thrown it off being called Adi or original Velamas, and the others Padma Velamas. The Velamas seem to have come south with the Vijayanagara kings, and to have been made Menkāvalgars, from which position some rose to be Poligars. Now they are chiefly the hangers-on of poligars or cultivators. To distinguish them from the Vellālas in the southern tāluks, they call themselves Telugu Vellālas, but it seems very improbable that the Velamas and Vellālas ever had any connection with one another. They are styled Naidus." [The Velamas style themselves Telugu Vellālas, not because of any connection between the two castes, but because they are at the top of the Telugu castes as the Vellālas are of the Tamil castes. For the same reason, Vellālas are sometimes called Arava (Tamil) Velamalu.]
The most important sub-divisions returned by the Velamas at the census, 1891, were Kāpu, Koppala, Padma, Ponnēti, and Yānādi. "It is," the Census Superintendent writes, "curious to find the Yānādi sub-division so strongly represented, for there is at the present day a wide gulf between Velamas and Yānādis " (a Telugu forest tribe). In the Vizagapatam Manual, a class of cultivators called Yānādulu is referred to; and, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, it is recorded that entries under the name Yānāti "were clubbed with Yānādi; but it has since been reported that, in Bissam-cuttack tāluk of the Vizagapatam Agency, there is a separate caste called Yānāti or Yēnēti Dora which is distinct from Yānādi." It would appear that, as in the south, the Velamas call themselves Telugu Vellālas, so in the north they call themselves Yānātis.
Concerning the Gūna Velamas, the Rev. J. Cain writes*[2] that "in years gone by, members of this class, who were desirous of getting married, had to arrange and pay the expenses of two of the Palli (fisherman) caste, but now it is regarded as sufficient to hang up a net in the house during the time of the marriage ceremony." The custom had its origin in a legend that, generations ago, when all the members of the caste were in danger of being swept off the face of the earth by some of their enemies, the Pallis came to the rescue with their boats, and carried all the Gūna Velamas to a place of safety. The Gūna Velamas, Mr. Cain continues, were " formerly regarded as quite an inferior caste, but, as many members of it have been educated in Anglo- Vernacular schools, they have found their way into almost every department and risen in the social scale. Their caste occupation is that of dyeing cloth, which they dip into large pots (gūnas). The term Gūna Tsākala is one of reproach, and they much prefer being called Velamalu to the great disgust of the Rāca (Rāja) Velamalu." To the Rāca Velama section belong, among other wealthy land-owners, the Rājas of Bobbili, Venkatagiri, Pittapūr, and Nuzvīd. At the annual Samasthānam meeting, in 1906, the Mahārāja of Bobbili announced that "none of the Velamavāru were working in any of the offices at the time when I first came to Bobbili. There were then a small number acting as mere supervisors without clerical work. Only from the commencement of my administration these people have been gradually taken into the office, and induced to read at the High School."
For the following note on the Velamas who have settled in the Vizagapatam district, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The following sub-divisions of the caste may be noted: —
(1) Pedda or Padma found chiefly in the Bobbili tāluk. Those composing it are said to be the descendants of the military followers and dependents of Pedda Rājudu, the founder of the Bobbili family, who received a territorial grant in 1652 from Shēr Muhammad Khān, the Moghul Fauzdar of Chicacole. It is to this sub-division that Orme refers, when he says *[3] that they " esteem themselves the highest blood of Native Indians, next to the Brāhmans, equal to the Rajpoots, and support their pre-eminence by the haughtiest observances, insomuch that the breath of a different religion, and even of the meaner Indians, requires ablution; their women never transfer themselves to a second, but burn with the husband of their virginity." The remarriage of widows is forbidden, and women remain gōsha (in seclusion), and wear gold or silver bangles on both wrists, unlike those of the Koppala section. The title of members of this sub-division is Dora.
(2) Kamma Velama found chiefly in the Kistna district, from which some families are said to have emigrated in company with the early Rājas of Vizianāgram. They are met with almost solely in the town of Vizianāgram. The remarriage of widows is permitted, but females are gōsha. The title is Nāyudu.
(3) Koppala, or Toththala, who do not shave their heads, but tie the hair in a knot (koppu) on the top of the head. They are divided into sections, e.g., Nāga (cobra), Sankha (chank shell, Turbinella rapa), Tulasi (Ocimum sanctum), and Tābēlu (tortoise). These have no significance so far as marriage is concerned. They are further divided into exogamous septs, or intipērulu, of which the following are examples: — Nalla (black), Doddi (court-yard, cattle-pen or sheep-fold), Reddi (synonym of Kāpu). The custom of mēnarikam, by which a man marries his maternal uncle's daughter, is observed. A Brāhman officiates at marriages. Widows are permitted to remarry seven times, and, by an unusual custom, an elder brother is allowed to marry the widow of his younger brother. Women wear on the right wrist a solid silver bangle called ghatti kadiyam, and on the left wrist two bangles called sandēlu, between which are black glass bangles, which are broken when a woman becomes a widow. The titles of members of this sub-division are Anna, Ayya, and, when they become prosperous, Nāyudu.
In a note on the Velamas of the Godāvari district, Mr. F. R. Hemingway writes that they "admit that they always arrange for a Māla couple to marry, before they have a marriage in their own houses, and that they provide the necessary funds for the Māla marriage. They explain the custom by a story to the effect that a Māla once allowed a Ve'ama to sacrifice him in order to obtain a hidden treasure, and they say that this custom is observed out of gratitude for the discovery of the treasure which resulted. The Rev. J. Cain gives*[4] a similar custom among the Velamas of Bhadrāchalam in the Godāvari district, only in this case it is a Palli (fisherman) who has to be married."
There is, a correspondent informs me, a regular gradation in the social scale among the Velamas, Kammas, and Kāpus, as follows: —
- Velama Dora = Velama Esquire.
- Kamma Vāru = Mr. Kamma.
- Kāpu.
A complaint was once made on the ground that, in a pattah (title-deed), a man was called Kamma, and not Kamma Vāru.
It is noted by Mr. H. G. Prendergast †[5] that the custom of sending a sword to represent an unavoidably absent bridegroom at a wedding is not uncommon among the Telugu Rāzus and Velamas.