Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 2.djvu/288

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GANDIKOTA
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or Gandhapodi (sandal perfume sellers). The paste made by rubbing sandal (Santalum album) wood on a stone with water is widely used in connection with Hindu ceremonial observance. A Brāhman, for example, after worshipping, smears his body with the paste. At festivals, and other ceremonial occasions, sandal paste is distributed to guests along with betel leaves and areca nuts (pān-supāri). Gandhapodi also occurs as an exogamous sept of Bōya.

Gandikōta. — A sub-division of Kamma. Gandi Kōttei is recorded *[1] as a sub-division of Kāpu or Reddi, "found only in Madura and Tinnevelly, and also known simply as Kōttei Reddis. Kōttei is the Tamil for a fort, the corresponding Telugu word being kōta. Their females do not appear in public."

Gāndla.——Gāniga.

Gangadikāra.— Gangadikāra, said doubtfully to mean those who lived on the banks of the Ganges, has been recorded as a sub-division of the Holeyas, Okkiliyans, and Vakkaligas. The name probably refers to Gangavādi, the country of the Gangas, a royal line which ruled over the greater part of the modern Mysore in former times.

Gangeddu.— The Gangeddulu are a class of mendicants, who travel about the country exhibiting performing bulls. "The exhibition of sacred bulls, known as Gangeddulu (Ganga's bulls) is very common in the towns and villages of Southern India. The presence of the swāmi (god) bull, as he is popularly called, is made known by his keeper playing on a small drum, which emits a dismal, booming sound, in the intervals of addressing his dumb companion in a piercing voice. The bull is led

  1. * Madras Census Report, 1891.