Untouchables 299 Untouchables ETHNONYMS: Adi-Dravida, depressed caste, external caste, Harijan, Panchama, Pariah, Scheduled Caste The word "Untouchable" was first applied-to this cate- gory of Hindus by the Maharaja Sayaji Rao III of Baroda in a lecture he gave in 1909, to describe their most essential char- acteristic vis-a-vis higher-ranking castes. Some twenty years later Mahatma Gandhi named them 'Harijans," which means roughly 'children of God." Later still the government of India drew up a list of the most disadvantaged castes, hence generating a new euphemism, 'Scheduled Castes." Drawing on Sanskrit, Untouchables have called themselves "Panchama," or the 'fifth varna," a term that is not often heard today; or, in South India, they are 'Adi-Dravidas," meaning 'original Dravidians." The British have long called them 'Pariahs," in reference to a major Untouchable group of Tamil Nadu. The Untouchables are collectively all those castes, in any part of South Asia, who are Hindus or former Hindus and rank below the Sudra vama. Their numbers are not known precisely, but in 1991 India probably had between 130 and 140 million Untouchables, and the subcontinental total would be close to 200 million. The low rank of the Untouchables is explained by the general belief that their traditional occupations and other habits are or were polluting to higher castes in a spiritual way as they had something to do with blood, dirt, or death. Thus the families of leather workers, scavengers, and butchers are Untouchables, simply by reason of their traditional occupa- tions. Furthermore, it is felt that this karma comes to Un- touchables as a punishment for sins committed in a previous existence. Although these numerous castes all fall below the 'pollution line," they are not undifferentiated in rank but rather recognize a range of social distinctions. Some, who rank higher than other Untouchables, serve as priests to the rest, at their own shrines, because it is impossible to get Brah- mans or other priests of very high status to serve the religious offices of these people. The marks of their supposed pollution were traditionally expressed in a variety of ways. Very commonly, a cheri or sepa- rated, satellite hamlet was established for the Untouchables of a village; otherwise, they would inhabit a segregated quar- ter. The use of their own wells and even in some areas the use of their own footpaths and bridges were thought to be ways of protecting the rest of Hindu society from their polluting pres- ence. In Kerala until a century ago there were various pre- scribed distances, ranging from 12 to 96 paces, closer than which the particular Untouchable castes could not approach higher-status Hindus. Some were said to be so polluting that they could pollute a corpse-itself considered highly polluting-or should only move around at nighttime. Some groups in Kerala polluted a Hindu of higher caste if only their shadow fell on him; others had to actually touch him or his food to do so. In modem times the requirements of public transporta- tion and daily living have made many of these observances anachronistic, if not quite unthinkable. Yet the Untoucha- bles remain the most backward and least educated sector of the community. Various sorts of government uplift programs provided especially for the Scheduled Castes have gone some way toward improving the health, education, political repre- sentation, and employment opportunities for Untouchables. Yet they remain, in all South Asian countries, a somewhat de- spised and underprivileged category. Sizable numbers of Untouchables have over the past century or so been converted to Christianity or Buddhism, partly in response to the relative egalitarianism of these faiths, and partly because membership in these communities might obscure one's Untouchable background and so im- prove the chances for better employment. Untouchability is by no means confined to South Asia, for it has also been reported in Japan (the Buraku), Korea (the Paekchong), Tibet (the Ragyappa), and Burma (Pagoda slaves); in each case there is no association with Hinduism. See also Castes, Hindu; Chamar; Mahar; Neo-Buddhist; Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Bibliography Fuchs, Stephen (1950). The Children of Hari. Vienna: Verlag Herold. Mahar, J. Michael, ed. (1972). The Untouchables in Contem- porary India. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. PAUL HOCKINGS 300 Vaisya Vaisya ETHNONYM: Vaishya The Vaisyas are the third-highest of the four varnas or categories into which Hindu society is traditionally divided, ranking above the Sudras. Vaisya includes a large number of distinct castes of similar ranking, traditionally traders, moneylenders, or farmers. They are entitled to wear a sacred thread. It is distinctly less common to encounter castes claim- ing Vaisya status in Sri Lanka and south India than in the north. The category is certainly a very ancient one, for it is re. ferred to in the Rig Veda (c. twelfth century B.C.). Vaisyas are clearly referred to in other early hymns as being Aryas, the In. do-European invaders, rather than Dasas, the Dravidian and other Aborigines of the subcontinent. According to the Zend Avesta, the Zoroastrian holy book, there was in ancient Persia a social category called "Vastrya," who ranked third in society below the Atharvas and Rethaesvas and bore a name that is cognate with the Sanskrit "Vaisya." The classical Indian law- giver Manu (c. second century A.D.) spells out the duties of the Vaisya: "to keep herds of cattle, to bestow largesses, to sacrifice, to read the scripture, to carry on trade, to lend at in- terest, and to cultivate land." The economy depended on them, and the description of Manu still holds true See also Bania; Castes, Hindu Bibliography Hutton, John H. (1963). Caste In India. 4th ed. London: Ox- ford University Press. PAUL HOCKINGS Vedda ETHNONYMS: Vadda, Veddah, Veddha, Vaddo Orientation Identification. The Veddas are a small group of people liv- ing in the center of Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India. 'Vedda" is a Dravidian word meaning "hunter." Con- temporary Vedda culture is strongly marked by prolonged in- teraction both with the Sinhalese and with the Tamils, the two largest ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, but the Vedda people themselves are generally reputed to be descended from the aboriginal population of the island and to have maintained until recent times a distinctive way of life based on hunting and gathering. The Veddas are divided into three regional groups (the Bintenne Veddas, the Anuradhapura Veddas, and the Coast Veddas) whose members have little or no con- tact with one another, although they acknowledge a remote kinship. Location. Sri Lanka is located between 50 55' and 90 51' N and 790 41' and 810 53' E. Veddas formerly lived in all of the more isolated parts of the island, but today they are restricted to the arc of country between the predominantly Sinhalese areas in the west, south, and center of the island and the pre- dominantly Tamil areas in the north and east. The Bintenne Veddas inhabit an area in the southeast of the island, inland from the towns of Batticaloa and Trincomalee and extending westward to the Verugal, Mahaweli, and Gal Oya rivers. The Coast Veddas live along the coast between Batticaloa and Trincomalee. The Anuradhapura Veddas live in the North Central Province. All three groups are located within Sri Lanka's dry zone, where the annual rainfall is normally less than 190 centimeters, most of which falls between October and December. Demography. The Veddas constitute only a very small proportion of the total population of Sri Lanka, which was es- timated at nearly 15 million by the 1981 census. There is, however, no consensus as to just how small this proportion is, because the criteria used to identify the Veddas vary widely. They were last enumerated separately in the census of 1963, at which time they numbered 400. In 1970, however, a census of the Anuradhapura Veddas, conducted as part of an ethno- graphic study, counted more than 6,600 of them. The main reason for this discrepancy is that government officials have tended to treat as Veddas only those who subsist from hunt- ing and gathering-a criterion that would have excluded vir- tually all of the Anuradhapura Veddas-while the ethnogra- pher's census included all those who identified themselves as Veddas. Estimates of the size of the Bintenne and Coast Vedda populations are not available, but both are probably much less than that of the Anuradhapura Veddas. Linguistic Affiliation. Only faint traces of what might once have been a distinct Vedda language have been de- tected. Contemporary Veddas speak colloquial forms of ei- ther Sinhala or Tamil, depending on which of the two main ethnic groups predominates in their local area. The Bintenne and Anuradhapura Veddas mostly speak Sinhala, which is an Indo-European language, while the Coast Veddas speak Tamil, which is Dravidian. Peculiarities in the speech pat- terns of the Veddas can be attributed to their relative isola- tion, low level of formal education, and low socioeconomic status. History and Cultural Relations The weight of physical anthropological evidence is that cer- tain groups of Veddas show stronger biological affinities with prehistoric inhabitants of the island than do any other groups in present-day Sri Lanka. This lends support to the common assertion that the Veddas are the remnant descendants of an aboriginal population that inhabited Sri Lanka before the emergence of a literate civilization in the later centuries of the first millennium B.C. The extent to which this civilization was an indigenous development and not just the creation of im- migrant settlers remains a matter of controversy, but un- doubtedly there was considerable exchange-both cultural and genetic-between the descendants of the prehistoric in- Vedda 301 habitants and later immigrants. These relations are expressed in the popular myth that the contemporary Veddas are de- scended from a union between Kuveni, an aboriginal demoness, and Prince Vijaya, the legendary founder of the Sinhalese nation who came from India. In historic times, however, the most prominent feature-virtually the defining characteristic-of the Veddas has been their social marginal- ity. They have made their living on the peripheries of Sinhalese and Tamil polities, in relation to both of which they came to represent the uncivilized element in society. Thus while actual Vedda culture reveals a variable pattern that merges readily with that of the rural Sinhalese, the cate- gorical opposition between Vedda and Sinhalese radically distinguishes the former, as a group of savage and pagan for- agers, from the more civilized, paddy-cultivating Buddhist Sinhalese. A similar pattern obtains between the Tamil- speaking Coast Veddas and the Hindu Tamils. In the last hundred years, however, with the rapid expansion of Sri Lanka's population, improved communications, and in- creased settlement in the dry zone, embodiments of the ideal or typical Vedda, defined in polar opposition to the civilized Sinhalese or Tamil, have become extremely hard to find. Nevertheless, because of its compatibility with the disposi- tion of nineteenth-century European scholars to discover a pristine Vedda culture that was unambiguously associated with a distinct racial group, this idealized representation of the Vedda has exercised a commanding influence over the anthropological imagination. Recent studies of the Anuradhapura and Coast Veddas have encompassed groups that deviate significantly from the ideal, but representations of the Bintenne Veddas are still dominated by C. G. and Brenda Seligmann's classic study, published in 1911, which, in its ambition to describe the pure culture of pure-blooded Veddas, depicts a way of life that was followed only by a small minority of those who then identified themselves as Veddas. Settlements According to the Seligmanns, Bintenne Veddas lived both in permanent villages of up to 40 families and in temporary set- tlements, near their cultivation plots, which contained be- tween 1 and 5 families of varying size. The Anuradhapura Veddas occupy 32 villages and 14 satellite hamlets that are scattered among the much more numerous Sinhalese villages in the region. In 1970 their largest village had a population of 552. Their settlement pattern is similar to that of the local Sinhalese, the core of the village being a cluster of houses built close to the village reservoir. The Coast Veddas live in small villages near the sea consisting of a cluster of com- pounds with two or three houses to a compound. Some of the Bintenne Veddas are reported to have been cave dwellers for- merly, but by the Seligmanns' time they were mostly living in huts made of wattle and daub or in more temporary shelters consisting of a wooden frame covered with animal skins, bark, and/or leaves. The Anuradhapura Veddas live in wattle-and- daub houses with floors of packed earth. Coast Vedda houses are simple huts made of plaited palm. Some Veddas have re- cently received government-subsidized housing built of brick and plaster with concrete floors and tin roofs. Economy Subsistence and Commercial Activities. The distinction between "Wild," 'Jungle," or 'Rock Veddas," who live from hunting and gathering and sometimes also shifting cultiva- tion, and 'Village Veddas," who live in permanent settle- ments and subsist principally from cultivation, is long estab- lished, but already by the time of the Seligmanns' study there were very few Veddas who lived principally from foraging. The Anuradhapura Veddas until recently have derived their living mainly from shifting cultivation, supplemented where possi- ble by wet-rice agriculture. Crops grown under shifting culti- vation include millet, maize, beans, squashes, manioc, chilies, eggplants, tomatoes, and okra. Under present conditions of rapidly increasing population pressure and greater market in- volvement, many of the Anuradhapura Veddas now obtain the major part of their livelihood as agricultural wage laborers outside their own villages. At the same time an increasing proportion of what they produce in their own fields is now marketed rather than consumed at home. Coast Veddas put a greater emphasis on fishing, combining this with shifting cul- tivation and, less frequently, paddy cultivation. Fishing is done with nets cast from outrigger canoes, from rafts, or from platforms set up in the surf. Prawns are the principal catch. Like the Anuradhapura Veddas, many Coast Veddas now also work as casual wage laborers. A few individuals in all three groups hunt occasionally as a means of supplementing their income. Some Veddas also collect wild honey, one of their traditionally ascribed occupations. Veddas keep cattle, water buffalo, goats, chickens, and dogs, although the relative importance of these species varies greatly between different communities. Industrial Arts. The Bintenne Veddas formerly made most of their own hunting equipment, such as bows and ar- rows, spears, axes, etc., although by 1900 those who hunted had already come to rely on metal for the heads of their spears, arrows, and axes, which they obtained through barter. Some had even begun to use guns to bring down their prey. The Anuradhapura Veddas obtain their agricultural tools in the market, as do the Coast Veddas. The Coast Veddas are, however, capable boat builders. Trade. The Bintenne Veddas are reputed at one time to have engaged in "silent trade" with the Sinhalese. Exchange relations among the Veddas were formerly governed princi- pally by rules of reciprocity, but in the last few decades all groups have become much more deeply involved in market re- lations. Only a few Veddas, however, have successfully estab- lished themselves as traders or shopkeepers. Division of Labor. Men do most of the agricultural work, especially in paddy cultivation, while women gather wild foods and firewood, cook, care for children, tend domestic gardens, and assist in shifting cultivation and harvesting paddy. Among the Coast Veddas men do most of the fishing. Both male and female Veddas engage in wage labor. Occupa- tional specialization and economic differentiation between households are not pronounced. Land Tenure. Access to irrigated land is normatively ob- tained by inheritance, but sales and mortgages are common. Most of the jungle land on which shifting cultivation is prac- ticed is claimed by the state, but Veddas see it as the commu- nal property of the village it surrounds. Rapid population 302 Vedda growth and the shift to cash cropping have intensified pres- sure on the land, resulting in increased landlessness and a dangerous reduction of the fallow period in shifting cultiva- tion. A few Veddas have obtained land in development proj- ects funded by the state. Some Bintenne Veddas who claim still to live from hunting and gathering have joined a move- ment to have a Vedda reservation established in the region. Kinship Kin Groups and Descent. The Seligmanns' claim that the Bintenne Veddas practiced matrilineal descent has been strongly challenged by other researchers. The Anuradhapura Veddas reckon kinship bilaterally. Above the level of the household their significant kin groups are the village commu- nity, all the members of which consider one another to be their kin, and the variga, a largely endogamous grouping that includes all the Anuradhapura Veddas. The Coast Veddas also reckon kinship bilaterally, but they do not recognize variga as a cultural category for regulating descent and mar- riage. They do, however, see themselves as related to all other Veddas in the vicinity and generally marry among themselves, forming loosely structured kindred groups. Traces of matrilineal descent and clan organization have also been noted among the Coast Veddas. Kinship Terminology. Kinship terminology is Dravidian, both among the Sinhala-speaking and the Tamil-speaking Veddas. Marriage and Family Marriage. As is implied by Dravidian kinship terminology, the Veddas practice classificatory cross-cousin marriage. Among the Anuradhapura Veddas approximately 15 percent of marriages are between first cross cousins. The percentage is lower among the Coast Veddas, who also intermarry with outsiders more frequently than do the Anuradhapura Veddas. Almost all marriages within all three groups of Veddas are monogamous. The independent family household is the ideal. Most newly married couples, however, live for a while either in or close to the household of one of their par- ents. Divorce is common in the early years of marriage. Domestic Unit. Among the Anuradhapura and Coast Veddas the normal unit is the nuclear family household whose members work together and eat from the same hearth. Among the Bintenne Veddas, it is common to find more than one related family living in the same shelter or house. Inheritance. All sons and daughters have equal rights of inheritance, but among the Bintenne Veddas the daughter's inheritance, usually land, is typically given to her husband at the time of marriage, although this is not specifically referred to as dowry. Dowry is not significant among the Veddas as a whole, although some wealthier Veddas in all three groups give it in emulation of higher status Tamil or Sinhalese fami- lies living in the vicinity. Socialization. Children are raised by parents and older sib- lings. Vedda children have comparatively poor access to the educational institutions in Sri Lanka. Sociopolitical Organization Social Organization. Social relations within Vedda vil- lages are structured mainly by rules of kinship. Apart from hi- erarchies of age and gender, social relations are generally egal- itarian. Caste also plays a role in regulating interaction between Veddas and their Tamil and Sinhalese neighbors, at least in the Anuradhapura and Coast regions. The caste spe- cialization of the Veddas has been identified both as hunting and as spirit mediumship, although it is also claimed that the Veddas stand entirely outside either the Sinhalese or the Tamil caste system since they lack formal structural ties with other castes. The Anuradhapura Veddas collectively consti- tute a single variga (caste or subcaste), but their variga court, which used to regulate internal caste affairs, has not func- tioned since the 1950s. The Coast and Bintenne Veddas have apparently never had any kind of overarching caste court. Political Organization. The Veddas formerly enjoyed con- siderable autonomy, being located at or beyond the effective limits of Sinhalese or Tamil political power. Within the vil- lages leadership was provided by influential male elders. The Veddas were increasingly subordinated to state authority dur- ing the period of British colonial rule, a trend that has inten- sified since Sri Lanka became independent in 1948. Agricul. tural cooperatives, development societies, and other state- sponsored organizations have been established in many villages. In Anuradhapura and Bintenne the local officers of these organizations often are village leaders, but among the Coast Veddas the leadership is nearly always provided from among the Tamil elite in nearby Tamil villages. Social Control. Everyday social life in Vedda villages is still largely governed by norms of kinship, although recourse is also made to state officials, and the police are a more fre- quent presence than in the past. Sorcery accusations can also act as an informal means of social control. Conflict. Competition between kin-based factions has long been a prominent feature of village life. The Coast Veddas usually participate in local politics as subordinate members of Tamil-led factions. Today factional struggles typ- ically appear in the guise of conflict between the local branches of the national political parties and focus on the distribution of welfare and development resources. Religion and Expressive Culture Religious Beliefs. The religious beliefs of the Veddas over- lap considerably with those of Sinhalese villagers, who are predominantly Buddhists, and with those of Tamil villagers, who are mostly Hindus. All worship a hierarchical pantheon of deities, to whom offerings are made in the hope of gaining favors or relief from suffering. As described by the Selig- manns, the Bintenne Veddas had no knowledge of Bud- dhism. Their religion was apparently based on worship of re- cently deceased ancestors, various local demons, and other minor gods. In contrast, the Anuradhapura Veddas describe themselves as Buddhists, although their participation in Bud- dhist rites is infrequent. The Coast Veddas are more influ- enced by their Hindu Tamil neighbors and engage in various forms of temple worship associated with Hindu deities, as well as propitiating local deities and demon spirits. The pan- theon extends from locally resident spirits and demons whose Vellala 303 disposition is generally malevolent to powerful and benevo- lent, but more remote, major gods. For those who profess Buddhism, these major gods themselves derive their authority from the Buddha. The most important high gods for the Anuradhapura Veddas are Kataragama and Pulleyar. For the Coast Veddas they are Shiva, Murugan, Pillaiyar, and Valli. The Bintenne Veddas cut off the hierarchy at a lower level and attend only to more localized gods, demons, and ancestor spirits, although a few also worship the high god Kataragama. Religious Practitioners. Among the Anuradhapura and Bintenne Veddas one of the most important religious practi- tioners is the kapurala, who intercedes with a god on behalf of his fellow villagers. Among the Anuradhapura Veddas there is also the anumatirala, who becomes possessed by a minor god or demon and performs exorcisms. Specialized religious practitioners are rare among the Coast Veddas. Ceremonies. The Bintenne Veddas engage in many differ- ent ceremonial dances in which a specialized practitioner be- comes possessed by a god or demon. These dances are always a part of an exorcism or an attempt to procure favors or infor- mation from the spirit being. The Anuradhapura Veddas hold an annual ceremony at which offerings are made collec- tively to the village's tutelary deity. Other ceremonies, such as exorcisms, are organized by individual households. The Coast Veddas observe the Hindu festival calendar, but their most important rituals are locally organized possession ceremonies, which are conducted jointly by all concerned Vedda villagers. Personal rites of propitiation and protection are also common among all groups of Veddas. Arts. Ritual performances, especially possession ceremo- nies that include dancing, chanting, instrumental music mak- ing, and the construction of temporary shrines, provide some of the principal occasions for artistic expression among all Vedda groups. The plastic arts are otherwise little emphasized beyond acts of individual decoration. The Seligmanns noted that the Bintenne Veddas were once adept at making artifacts and utensils from animal skins and also engaged in rock and cave drawings. Singing is a popular form of recreation among the Veddas. Medicine. Persons familiar with at least some aspects of the South Asian tradition of Ayurvedic medicine are found among both the Anuradhapura and the Coast Veddas. They use herbal compounds to adjust the balance of humors in the body. Some illnesses are attributed to demonic possession and are treated by exorcism. Among the Bintenne Veddas, al- most all illness was treated through ritual ceremonies. Many Veddas now have access to the free medical care, based on Western science and technology, that is provided by the state. Death and Afterlife. Among the Anuradhapura and Coast Veddas, beliefs and practices regarding death are shaped by Buddhist and Hindu concepts of karma, reincarna- tion, and the transmigration of souls. The Bintenne and the Coast Veddas also practice rituals to propitiate and commu- nicate with recently deceased ancestors who are believed to be able to influence events in the present life. See also Sinhalese; Tamil of Sri Lanka Bibliography Brow, James (1978). Vedda Villages of Anuradhapura District: The Historical Anthropology of a Community in Sri Lanka. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press. Dart, Jon (1985). "Ethnic Identity and Marginality among the Coast Veddas of Sri Lanka." Ph.D. dissertation, Univer- sity of California, San Diego. Kennedy, K. A. R., W. F. Roertgen, J. Chiment, and T. Disotell (1987). "Upper Pleistocene Fossil Hominids from Sri Lanka." American Journal of Physical Anthropology 72:441-461. Seligmann, C. G., and Brenda Seligmann (1911). The Veddas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. JAMES BROW AND MICHAEL WOOST Vellala ETHNONYMS: Mudaliar, Pandaram, Pillaimar (Pillai), Velalar (Velalan) Orientation Identification. The Vellala are a major agricultural caste who live in Tamil Nadu, a state ofsouthern India. They speak Tamil and are Hindu. The Velama and Ballal castes of the neighboring states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, respec- tively, are believed to be historically related to the Vellala, but at present the three groups are separate and distinct. The Vellala are divided on a territorial basis and subdivided fur- ther into endogamous jatis or subcastes. As an integral part of an intercaste network, both ideologically and in daily life, Vellala culture is not an independent entity. It can be under- stood only in relation to other castes. The Vellala are a large heterogeneous category into which several upwardly mobile subcastes have successfully assimilated, at various points in time. They have done so by imitating a Vellala life-style. A popular saying throughout Tamil Nadu is: "Kallar, Maravar, Ahamudayar [three castes that rank lower than Vellalal grad- ually become Vellalar." Hence identity is a matter of great concern to "true" Vellala subcastes who take enormous pains to keep their purity intact through strict endogamy, extreme caution when forming marriage alliances, restrictions on women, and so forth. Broadly, the numerous Vellala subcastes constitute two major categories ranked hierarchi- cally. Usually a subcaste's name has a prefix denoting a place, a further prefix, and an honorific suffix used in a particular re- gion, together forming a term such as "Tondaimandalam Kondaikatti Vellala Mudaliar." Location. The Vellala live throughout Tamil Nadu. Differ- ent subcastes are localized in different regions. For example, Mudaliar subcastes are prominent in Tondaimandalam (with 304 Vellala a concentration in Chinglepet), Choliya Pilli and Karkattar in Cholamandalam (concentrated in Thanjavur), Kongu Vellala or Kavundar in Kongumandalam (concentrated in Coimbatore), and Saiva Pillaimar, Karkattar, and Nangudi Vellala in Pandimandalam (concentrated in Madurai and Tirunelveli). In general, the first category of Vellala (who often call themselves vegetarian Vellala) predominate in the paddy-growing river-valley regions. Demography. Since the Vellala are heterogeneous and live in multicaste environments, an estimate of the popula- tion is difficult. Current censuses do not provide statistics by caste. In some of the British period census reports, caste fig- ures were given for some districts, and the Vellala constituted about 10 percent of the population. However, the criteria for defining Vellala seems to vary and there is no clear basis for interdistrict comparison. linguistic Affiliation. Among the living Dravidian lan- guages, Tamil has the oldest recorded history and classical lit- erary tradition. It is closely related to Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam, which are spoken in the neighboring states. (Dravidian languages are also spoken in small pockets in cen- tral and eastern India, and in Pakistan.) The contemporary Tamil script is derived from the Brahmi script, which is also the source for the scripts of the Indo-Aryan Language Group. The Vellala speak a dialect that is common among high-caste non-Brahmans in Tamil Nadu. It is different from the highly Sanskritized language of the Brahmans and also from the lan- guage of the lowest castes. The Vellala of different districts flavor their speech with the local dialects. History and Cultural Relations Most Vellala subcastes share broadly similar origin myths that stress their links with the soil as agriculturists (as con- trasted with artisans), their origin in the Ganga (Gangetic Valley) and migration from northern to southern India dur- ing the distant past, and their close relationship with the three ancient Tamil dynasties-Chera, Chola, and Pan- dya-in spite of the Vellalas' ineligibility for kingship. There is fairly strong literary and archeological evidence linking core Vellala subcastes with a group of chieftains called velir; the earliest references are found in the Sangam literature (first to third century A.D.). Until about the fourteenth century A.D., the velir were prominent in the Tamil polity, economy, and society, and they have been linked with virtually all the major ruling dynasties. They were autonomous and collectively wielded significant political influence. Although ineligible to be crowned as kings, they were bride givers to the three .crowned" kings. They were active militarily but also had a strong base as landholders of fertile, paddy-growing tracts. They were celebrated for their large and lavish charities and for their patronage of literature and poetry. In the post- Sangam period, velir autonomy decreased, although they continued as feudatories, with key civic and military posi- tions. Their position as a landed elite with military and ad. ministrative power continued through the subsequent periods-the Nayak, the Nawab of Arcot, and the British. The Vellala served as revenue officers, temple trustees and managers, magistrates, administrative agents, rentiers, village chiefs, and village accountants. The literary sources on the Vellala make a distinction between those "who eat by plowing the land" and those "who eat by getting the land plowed (through others)." Even now, this distinction serves as an index of internal hierarchical differentiation. Settlements The Vellala live in all the districts of the state and in both urban and rural areas. In the latter, the settlement pattern is typically multicaste villages. Depending on the region, the Vellala may be the dominant caste, may share dominance with another caste, or may be a minority. In villages along the river basins, where wet rice cultivation is prominent, the dom- inant caste is often Vellala (of either category). Within a vil- lage, each Vellala subcaste, as indeed every subcaste, tends to live in a separate street. In larger villages and towns, this pat- tern gets blurred. There is no one distinct style of Vellala housing because house style is a function ofwealth and loca- tion (rural or urban). Economy Most Vellala are engaged in agriculture full-time or as a side occupation. In areas of wet paddy cultivation, traditional techniques continue to be popular, both among small peas- ants and among noncultivating landholders who lease out to tenants. However, use of high-yielding varieties of seeds and chemical fertilizers is quite widespread. Tenancy is less fa- vored now, because of the difficulties of getting the land back from tenants, but the traditional norm of having men and women of Untouchable castes perform the major labor is still intact. Some mechanization has been introduced by large landowners who have stopped tenanting out and started di- rectly overseeing farming. Landholding Vellala had, in the past, an elaborate and complex patron-client relationship with subcastes who worked for them-both agricultural subcastes as well as artisan and service subcastes like priests, potters, barbers, etc. The relationship, in which economic and ritual dimensions are fused, approximates the jajmani re- lations that have been documented for other regions in India. Elements of jajmani continue to the present day. In areas where the Vellala of the second category predominate, cash crops, peasant proprietorship, and commercial agriculture are more common and there is greater mechanization. Women from the first category do not work in the fields. In the sec- ond, involvement with one's own family land is not uncom- mon, though working on another's field is considered unde- sirable and resorted to only in cases of extreme poverty. For various reasons, chief among which is the government's land reform policy, a sizable section of Vellala of the first category have taken to higher education and urban professional em- ployment; however, they are less likely to enter entre- preneurial activities today than in the past. Kinship Kin Groups and Descent. The predominant Hindu pat- tern of patrilineal, patrivirilocal kinship in descent, inheri- tance, succession, and residence is the norm among the Vellala. Exceptions are the Nangudi Vellala and Kottai Pillaimar, who have matrilineal descent, patri-matrilineal in- heritance, and uxorilocal residence. Exogamous units called gotram, membership in which is traced from a common ances- tor or place, are found in some subcastes of the first category. Vellala 305 In other subcastes, the unit is called kilai. Members may be scattered over several villages. The local branch of the exogamous unit acts as a corporate entity for certain eco- nomic and ceremonial functions. Kinship Terminology. Kin terms follow the Dravidian system. Marriage and Family Marriage. Although polygynous marriages were permitted and prevalent in the past, most marriages today are monoga- mous. With a few urban exceptions, marriage is usually ar- ranged by elders, although some expression of disapproval may be available to the youth. The Dravidian pattern of pref- erential cross-cousin (both matrilateral and patrilateral) and maternal uncle-niece marriage is strongly adhered to. A breach of this norm often leads to an acrimonious dispute be- tween families. Even traditionally, prepuberty or child mar- riage was not prevalent. Widow remarriage is not approved of, although it is now legal. Traditionally, divorce was not per- mitted. Despite modifications in Hindu law, divorce is still infrequent. Domestic Unit. Various degrees of complexity of the ex- tended patrilocal household are found both across Vellala subcastes and within any single Vellala subcaste. The neolocal or nuclear household is not uncommon, but it is em- bedded within the matrix of patrilineal kinship. It is thus dif- ferent in character from the Western ideal type of nuclearity. Although patrilineal kinship places women in a weak struc- tural position, there are aspects of the kinship system that leaven this situation. Upon marrying, a woman may join a family already related and known to her, she often lives in her natal village, and her natal and affinal relatives are continu- ally interacting; all of these factors support her position in the family. Inheritance. This follows the general principle of classical Hindu law, where land and immovables are inherited by sons. Daughters are given a dowry at marriage. Sometimes women are given small gifts of land (manjal-kani) but these are not treated as shares. One of the reasons for their strict endogamy and high rate of consanguineous marriage, say the Vellala, is their strong need to keep land in the family. Sociopolitical Organization Social Organization. The relation of the Vellala to other castes as well as Vellala internal ideology must be understood as both influencing all aspects of Vellala economic, political, religious, and kinship activities. The schematic division of Indian society into four hierarchical varnas (castes) - Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra-does not accurately reflect the situation in Tamil Nadu. While the Brahmans rank at the top and the Untouchables or Scheduled Castes at the bottom, between these two extremes are a wide range of castes and subcastes whose exact standing in relation to one another depends on the region and the village. Generally, a distinction is made between 'clean" non-Brahmans, who adopt a Sanskritized life-style, and the others. The former are vegetarians, do not drink alcohol, eschew manual labor in- cluding plowing (if they are agriculturalists), and have very conservative attitudes and customs regarding women. The other category of upper non-Brahmans conforms to the Kshatriya ideal, which emphasizes manual strength, a land base, command over labor, political authority, more interac- tion with other castes, and so on. Although there is a greater emphasis on warriorlike qualities than on ritual status, con- cern with women's purity is high, especially in groups that were connected to royal dynasties of the past. In the twofold division of the Vellala, the second category (e.g., Kavundar, Nangudi Vellala, Tuluva Vellala) falls clearly into the Kshatriya model. The first category (e.g., Kondaikatti Vellala, Karkattar, Saiva Pillaimar) combines aspects of the two mod- els: (1) high ritual status expressed through strict rules of interdining and intermarriage (according to a popular prov- erb, the Vellala are more orthodox than Brahmans), and (2) land base and political visibility (in traditional society). Thus the two Vellala categories occupy different structural posi- tions in the social order. Political Organization. The Vellala were, in the past, prominent in political networks constituted by the court, temple, and caste councils. They maintained their domi- nance through endowments to temples, charity to the poor, and patronage of the labor and service castes. In attempting to convert this prominence to secular political status, they have had mixed success. Often, they have been pushed out by lower castes, whose collective ethriic identity is perhaps stronger. The Vellalas' internal hierarchies and their fixed ideological positions have in part prevented the development of a unified political identity. One occasion when such an identity did develop was in the early twentieth century when the census classified the Vellala as Sudra. The Vellala re- sponded angrily by citing evidence that as agriculturists they rightly belonged to the third varna (i.e., Vaisya). At about the same time, a journal Vellalan was also published for some years, focusing on the problems of the community and the need for educational and occupational advancement. Today many Vellala subcastes have their own associations, which are more social than political. The Justice party of Tamil Nadu, formed early in this century, was mainly a reaction to Brahman social and political domination. Considerable early support for the party came from Vellala subcastes. However, later developments based on Tamil linguistic identity (as ex- emplified by the D.K. and D.M.K. movements), blurred the distinctive Vellala component. In the state as a whole, the Vellala are politically weak, though they are very active in cer- tain districts. Religion Religious Beliefs. A small minority of Vellala are Chris- tians, via individual conversion rather than mass conversion of an entire subcaste. The majority are Hindu, and the opera- tive principles of Hinduism pervade all spheres of life and ac- tivity. Although there is a division between Shaivites (follow- ers of Shiva) and Vaishnavites (followers of Vishnu) there is no bar on intermarriage. While squarely within the orthodox Hindu tradition, the Vellala look to Tamil/indigenous forms in devotion, metaphysics, and philosophy. Thus Shaiva Siddhanta, a respected religious and philosophic system with Vellala as main figures, ultimately stresses Brahmanic values. However, the sources and metaphors are drawn from a Tamil cultural base. At one point in its history, Shaiva Siddhanta was used as a political weapon against Brahman domination. The Vellala owe allegiance to different mathans (apex reli- 306 Vellala gious organizations) that are wealthy, landed, and influential. The Vellala also maintain traditional links to the classical (Sanskritic) temples as trustees, donors, and receivers of tem- ple honors. Ceremonies. The Vellala cycle of worship and festivals in- cludes forms of worship of deities and other folk goddesses/ non-Sanskritic deities associated with lower castes. Vellalas' involvement is structured in such a way that their ritual status is not compromised, while the demands of powerful indige- nous traditions are satisfied. Either a Brahman priest or a Vellala priest called a gurukkal can officiate. Life-cycle cere- monies are generally as prescribed for upper castes. The rules of purity and pollution for birth, menstruation, and death are elaborate. The grammar of these rules indicates the rank of Vellala as being immediately below that of Brahmans. The mantra (incantations in Sanskrit) component is relatively ab- breviated, but the public display of status during cere- monies-especially puberty, wedding, and funeral rituals-is very important and includes large-scale feeding of relatives, service and labor castes, and the poor. See also Tamil; Tamil of Sri Lanka Bibliography Arokiaswami, M. (1954). The Early History of the Vellar Basin. Madras: Amudha Nilayam. Zamindar ETHNONYMS: Landlord, Seth, Zemindar Orientation Zamindars are from the Muslim Rajput castes who settled in rural areas of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, from Pakistan to Ban- gladesh. Horsemen of these lineages were of higher status, while the foot troopers were from the lower castes. The root words, zamin and dar, are Persian, together meaning "land- owner." Relationships of the Zamindars with the premodern state varied from region to region, as did the origin of the Zamindar class. Among examples mentioned by Tom Kessinger are caste or lineage groups that conquered an area, or at least became the dominant settlers there; officials who were able to make their land grants hereditary; rajas who had held on to some land after being deposed; and the descen- dants of holy men (Sadhus) who had received grants of land. In each case the crucial factor was state recognition of a re- sponsibility on the part of Zamindars to collect and transmit revenue from a specified area. From a local point of view Zamindars, wherever they existed, were always a force to be reckoned with; for not only did they have an official sanction to collect revenue, but they could commonly back up their position with fortresses and small contingents of armed en- forcers. These Zamindars were in charge of supervising new immigrants to the village and of organizing lands for cultiva- tion. In return for their effort a share of the product was taken by them. The right of ownership of the land was through de- Arunachalam, M. (1975). "A Study of the Culture and His- tory of the Karkattar." Bulletin of the Institute of Traditional Cultures January-June:1-72. Bamett, Stephen A. (1970). "The Structural Position of a South Indian Caste-Kontaikkatti Velalars in Tamilnadu." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Chicago. Beck, Brenda E. F. (1972). Peasant Society in Konku: A Study of Right and Left Subcastes in South India. Vancouver: Univer- sity of British Columbia Press. Ponnambalam, M., ed. (1932-1933). Velalan (Tuticorin) ITamil joumall. Thurston, Edgar, and Kadamki Rangachari (1909). "Vellala." In Castes and Tribes of Southern India, edited by Edgar Thurston and Kadamki Rangachari. Vol. 7, 361-389. Madras: Government Press. Reprint. 1975. New Delhi: Cos- mos Publications. KAMALA GANESH scent within the same family. Division of land was never marked specifically; therefore, land was jointly held and the income shared. Under the British, landownership was formal- ized for the organization of tax revenues. In 1857, permanent ownership was granted to those with land occupancy and Zamindars were held responsible to pay taxes to the govern- ment in cash and not in grain. In some areas, as in Dhanbad District, Uttar Pradesh, the amount of rent paid by cultiva- tors to the Zamindars was not controlled by any law but rather was established at the will of the Zamindars. As time passed Zamindars gained power while the cultivators became weak and abused. Before the abolition of the Zamindari sys- tem in 1948, the Zamindars had the habit of spending money frivolously, often to the point of having to borrow more money to pay off their debts. The situation caused them loss of prestige and honor. In contrast to the district of Dhanbad is the village of Mohla in the district of Gujrat in Punjab State, where land and prestige go hand in hand. Zamindars there have certain obligations toward the farming people that make them trustworthy persons. Economy and Social Organization Social status ranges greatly according to the amount of land owned by any given Zamindar man. He is variously identified as a generous, authoritarian, logical, and friendly person, along with his patrilineage. A Zamindar man's chief concern is for his land and its productivity. He depends greatly on other people for their labor, especially on the artisans, be- cause they make the tools needed for his land. The largest lands belong to the most powerful and influential Zamindars. Zamindar 307 They spend, entertain, and associate with prominent people on occasions such as marriage, circumcision, and harvesting. Each such occasion can increase their status, honor, and prestige. The call by a Zamindar to mang (collective labor) is a test of people's loyalty. The main social effect of mang is the reinforcement of relations between the Zamindar and the community. Zamindars are adopting new cultural changes and im- provements. They are willing to go to the cities to learn new ways and introduce them to their village. New equipment for the cultivation of land is being bought, water glasses are now preferred, and tea sets are becoming fashionable. They are moving toward renewing business and raising the standard of living. At the same time, legal ceilings on landholdings in most states have been make it increasingly difficult in recent decades for the Zamindars to hold onto large tracts of land. Nevertheless, they try to do so, often by registering ownership of various plots of land in the names of different family mem- bers, whether male or female. Whatever they do, they never leave the village life behind and cannot be uprooted from it. Kinship Through biraderi (patrilineage), families maintain unity, which is very important in every aspect of life. Land is inher- ited from the male side by the sons; under normal circum- stances none goes to the daughters. If a Zamindar dies with- out leaving any sons, then his daughters will inherit. The selling of land cannot occur without consultations with fam. ily members. A Zamindar must then establish a good reason, such as marriage or a need to pay off debts, and if the reason is accepted by others he may sell. The first option to purchase the land goes to his brother, then his brother's son, his fa- ther's brother's son, or any biraderi kinfolk. Zamindars are greatly attached to their biraderi and their village. They prefer to keep land and village in the family, because newcomers do not feel as reliable to them. The strong attachment within a patrilineage enhances the prestige of every member. Inheri- tance through a mother is called nanki virsa, and people who inherit from a mother are considered outsiders. This latter sit- uation is not the only basis of a woman's dominance in a household. A chief needs the support of his wife and mother to develop his status among his people. Women are in charge of money and the food of the household. Currently women are voicing their own needs, even though they may be hesi. tant to do so. For a woman to ask for her share of inheritance is a very risky situation, even though the law permits it, be- cause she is going against her brothers and traditionally such an action would destroy respect. The new law of equality in respect to inheritance has helped women to get their share and not feel guilty. Parents are also concerned about their daughters' education. It has become a strong prerequisite in choosing a respectable mate. Marriage and Family The major function of marriage is to form a bond between two families or to strengthen a previous bond. As in other parts of India the two families investigate the social and fi- nancial status of each other. They normally choose a mate close in age and skin complexion, the male being slightly older. Zamindars marry within their status category among other Zamindars. Marriage with other working-class people is disapproved of and done without paternal consent. The girl's parents are content when their daughter is treated well by her groom's family and is given a fair amount of gifts. The boy's family is pleased according to the amount of dowry brought and later gift giving by her family to the wife, her husband, and her children every time she visits her natal home. Religion Islam is devoutly followed by most Zamindars and it seems to be the uniting factor among them. They do not evaluate each other on the basis of caste. They believe that all belong to one caste and that it is Islam. To the Zamindars, the caste system borrowed from the Hindus is the equivalent of an occupa- tional class structure. People celebrate every religious holiday and occasion. The wealthy Zamindars send food, sweets, and drinks to the mosque during the month of Ramadan (the fasting month). Prayers are said five times a day in the mosque over the loudspeakers. The people have put their faith in the hands of God, because they believe that God does not punish but helps. Zamindars also believe that while peo- ple must strive for a prosperous life, they must not let the ma- terial attachments of life hold them down. It is through prayers that they reach toward God and depend on his help. Zamindars in more easterly parts of the Indo-Gangetic plain tend to be Hindus, except for those in Bangladesh who again are Muslim. See also Kambi Bibliography Eglar, Zekiye (1960). A Punjabi Village in Pakistan. New York: Columbia University Press. Kessinger, Tom G. (1974). Vilyatpur, 1848-1968: Social and Economic Change in a North Indian Village. Berkeley: Univer- sity of California Press. Reprint. 1979. Delhi: Young Asia Publishers. Metcalf, Thomas R (1979). Land, Landlords, and the British Raj: Northern India in the Nineteenth Century. Berkeley and London: University of California Press. Rothermund, Dietmar, and D. C. Wadhwa, eds. (1978). Zamindars, Mines, and Peasants: Studies in the History of an In- dian Coalfield and Its Rural Hinterland. New Delhi: Manohar. SAIDEH MOAYED-SANANDAJI . is em- bedded within the matrix of patrilineal kinship. It is thus dif- ferent in character from the Western ideal type of nuclearity. Although patrilineal kinship places women in a weak struc- tural position, there are aspects of the kinship system that leaven this situation. Upon marrying, a woman may join a family already related and known to her, she often lives in her natal village, and her natal and affinal relatives are continu- ally interacting; all of these factors support her position in the family. Inheritance. This follows the general principle of classical Hindu law, where land and immovables are inherited by sons. Daughters are given a dowry at marriage. Sometimes women are given small gifts of land (manjal-kani) but these are not treated as shares. One of the reasons for their strict endogamy and high rate of consanguineous marriage, say the Vellala, is their strong need to keep land in the family. Sociopolitical Organization Social Organization. The relation of the Vellala to other castes as well as Vellala internal ideology must be understood as both influencing all aspects of Vellala economic, political, religious, and kinship activities. The schematic division of Indian society into four hierarchical varnas (castes) - Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra-does not accurately reflect the situation in Tamil Nadu. While the Brahmans rank at the top and the Untouchables or Scheduled Castes at the bottom, between these two extremes are a wide range of castes and subcastes whose exact standing in relation to one another depends on the region and the village. Generally, a distinction is made between 'clean" non-Brahmans, who adopt a Sanskritized life-style, and the others. The former are vegetarians, do not drink alcohol, eschew manual labor in- cluding plowing (if they are agriculturalists), and have very conservative attitudes and customs regarding women. The other category of upper non-Brahmans conforms to the Kshatriya ideal, which emphasizes manual strength, a land base, command over labor, political authority, more interac- tion with other castes, and so on. Although there is a greater emphasis on warriorlike qualities than on ritual status, con- cern with women's purity is high, especially in groups that were connected to royal dynasties of the past. In the twofold division of the Vellala, the second category (e.g., Kavundar, Nangudi Vellala, Tuluva Vellala) falls clearly into the Kshatriya model. The first category (e.g., Kondaikatti Vellala, Karkattar, Saiva Pillaimar) combines aspects of the two mod- els: (1) high ritual status expressed through strict rules of interdining and intermarriage (according to a popular prov- erb, the Vellala are more orthodox than Brahmans), and (2) land base and political visibility (in traditional society). Thus the two Vellala categories occupy different structural posi- tions in the social order. Political Organization. The Vellala were, in the past, prominent in political networks constituted by the court, temple, and caste councils. They maintained their domi- nance through endowments to temples, charity to the poor, and patronage of the labor and service castes. In attempting to convert this prominence to secular political status, they have had mixed success. Often, they have been pushed out by lower castes, whose collective ethriic identity is perhaps stronger. The Vellalas' internal hierarchies and their fixed ideological positions have in part prevented the development of a unified political identity. One occasion when such an identity did develop was in the early twentieth century when the census classified the Vellala as Sudra. The Vellala re- sponded angrily by citing evidence that as agriculturists they rightly belonged to the third varna (i.e., Vaisya). At about the same time, a journal Vellalan was also published for some years, focusing on the problems of the community and the need for educational and occupational advancement. Today many Vellala subcastes have their own associations, which are more social than political. The Justice party of Tamil Nadu, formed early in this century, was mainly a reaction to Brahman social and political domination. Considerable early support for the party came from Vellala subcastes. However, later developments based on Tamil linguistic identity (as ex- emplified by the D.K. and D.M.K. movements), blurred the distinctive Vellala component. In the state as a whole, the Vellala are politically weak, though they are very active in cer- tain districts. Religion Religious Beliefs. A small minority of Vellala are Chris- tians, via individual conversion rather than mass conversion of an entire subcaste. The majority are Hindu, and the opera- tive principles of Hinduism pervade all spheres of life and ac- tivity. Although there is a division between Shaivites (follow- ers of Shiva) and Vaishnavites (followers of Vishnu) there is no bar on intermarriage. While squarely within the orthodox Hindu tradition, the Vellala look to Tamil/indigenous forms in devotion, metaphysics, and philosophy. Thus Shaiva Siddhanta, a respected religious and philosophic system with Vellala as main figures, ultimately stresses Brahmanic values. However, the sources and metaphors are drawn from a Tamil cultural base. At one point in its history, Shaiva Siddhanta was used as a political weapon against Brahman domination. The Vellala owe allegiance to different mathans (apex reli- 306 Vellala gious organizations) that are wealthy, landed, and influential. The Vellala also maintain traditional links to the classical (Sanskritic) temples as trustees, donors, and receivers of tem- ple honors. Ceremonies. The Vellala cycle of worship and festivals in- cludes forms of worship of deities and other folk goddesses/ non-Sanskritic deities associated with lower castes. Vellalas' involvement is structured in such a way that their ritual status is not compromised, while the demands of powerful indige- nous traditions are satisfied. Either a Brahman priest or a Vellala priest called a gurukkal can officiate. Life-cycle cere- monies are generally as prescribed for upper castes. The rules of purity and pollution for birth, menstruation, and death are elaborate. The grammar of these rules indicates the rank of Vellala as being immediately below that of Brahmans. The mantra (incantations in Sanskrit) component is relatively ab- breviated, but the public display of status during cere- monies-especially puberty, wedding, and funeral rituals-is very important and includes large-scale feeding of relatives, service and labor castes, and the poor. See also Tamil; Tamil of Sri Lanka Bibliography Arokiaswami, M. (1954). The Early History of the Vellar Basin. Madras: Amudha Nilayam. Zamindar ETHNONYMS: Landlord, Seth, Zemindar Orientation Zamindars are from the Muslim Rajput castes who settled in rural areas of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, from Pakistan to Ban- gladesh. Horsemen of these lineages were of higher status, while the foot troopers were from the lower castes. The root words, zamin and dar, are Persian, together meaning "land- owner." Relationships of the Zamindars with the premodern state varied from region to region, as did the origin of the Zamindar class. Among examples mentioned by Tom Kessinger are caste or lineage groups that conquered an area, or at least became the dominant settlers there; officials who were able to make their land grants hereditary; rajas who had held on to some land after being deposed; and the descen- dants of holy men (Sadhus) who had received grants of land. In each case the crucial factor was state recognition of a re- sponsibility on the part of Zamindars to collect and transmit revenue from a specified area. From a local point of view Zamindars, wherever they existed, were always a force to be reckoned with; for not only did they have an official sanction to collect revenue, but they could commonly back up their position with fortresses and small contingents of armed en- forcers. These Zamindars were in charge of supervising new immigrants to the village and of organizing lands for cultiva- tion. In return for their effort a share of the product was taken by them. The right of ownership of the land was through de- Arunachalam, M. (1975). "A Study of the Culture and His- tory of the Karkattar." Bulletin of the Institute of Traditional Cultures January-June: 1-7 2. Bamett, Stephen A. (1970). "The Structural Position of a South Indian Caste-Kontaikkatti Velalars in Tamilnadu." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Chicago. Beck, Brenda E. F. (1972). Peasant Society in Konku: A Study of Right and Left Subcastes in South India. Vancouver: Univer- sity of British Columbia Press. Ponnambalam, M., ed. (193 2-1 933). Velalan (Tuticorin) ITamil joumall. Thurston, Edgar, and Kadamki Rangachari (1909). "Vellala." In Castes and Tribes of Southern India, edited by Edgar Thurston and Kadamki Rangachari. Vol. 7, 36 1-3 89. Madras: Government Press. Reprint. 1975. New Delhi: Cos- mos Publications. KAMALA GANESH scent within the same family. Division of land was never marked specifically; therefore, land was jointly held and the income shared. Under the British, landownership was formal- ized for the organization of tax revenues. In 1857, permanent ownership was granted to those with land occupancy and Zamindars were held responsible to pay taxes to the govern- ment in cash and not in grain. In some areas, as. local area. The Bintenne and Anuradhapura Veddas mostly speak Sinhala, which is an Indo-European language, while the Coast Veddas speak Tamil, which is Dravidian. Peculiarities in the speech pat- terns of the Veddas can be attributed to their relative isola- tion, low level of formal education, and low socioeconomic status. History and Cultural Relations The weight of physical anthropological evidence is that cer- tain groups of Veddas show stronger biological affinities with prehistoric inhabitants of the island than do any other groups in present-day Sri Lanka. This lends support to the common assertion that the Veddas are the remnant descendants of an aboriginal population that inhabited Sri Lanka before the emergence of a literate civilization in the later centuries of the first millennium B.C. The extent to which this civilization was an indigenous development and not just the creation of im- migrant settlers remains a matter of controversy, but un- doubtedly there was considerable exchange-both cultural and genetic-between the descendants of the prehistoric in- Vedda 301 habitants and later immigrants. These relations are expressed in the popular myth that the contemporary Veddas are de- scended from a union between Kuveni, an aboriginal demoness, and Prince Vijaya, the legendary founder of the Sinhalese nation who came from India. In historic times, however, the most prominent feature-virtually the defining characteristic -of the Veddas has been their social marginal- ity. They have made their living on the peripheries of Sinhalese and Tamil polities, in relation to both of which they came to represent the uncivilized element in society. Thus while actual Vedda culture reveals a variable pattern that merges readily with that of the rural Sinhalese, the cate- gorical opposition between Vedda and Sinhalese radically distinguishes the former, as a group of savage and pagan for- agers, from the more civilized, paddy-cultivating Buddhist Sinhalese. A similar pattern obtains between the Tamil- speaking Coast Veddas and the Hindu Tamils. In the last hundred years, however, with the rapid expansion of Sri Lanka's population, improved communications, and in- creased settlement in the dry zone, embodiments of the ideal or typical Vedda, defined in polar opposition to the civilized Sinhalese or Tamil, have become extremely hard to find. Nevertheless, because of its compatibility with the disposi- tion of nineteenth-century European scholars to discover a pristine Vedda culture that was unambiguously associated with a distinct racial group, this idealized representation of the Vedda has exercised a commanding influence over the anthropological imagination. Recent studies of the Anuradhapura and Coast Veddas have encompassed groups that deviate significantly from the ideal, but representations of the Bintenne Veddas are still dominated by C. G. and Brenda Seligmann's classic study, published in 1911, which, in its ambition to describe the pure culture of pure-blooded Veddas, depicts a way of life that was followed only by a small minority of those who then identified themselves as Veddas. Settlements According to the Seligmanns, Bintenne Veddas lived both in permanent villages of up to 40 families and in temporary set- tlements, near their cultivation plots, which contained be- tween 1 and 5 families of varying size. The Anuradhapura Veddas occupy 32 villages and 14 satellite hamlets that are scattered among the much more numerous Sinhalese villages in the region. In 1970 their largest village had a population of 552. Their settlement pattern is similar to that of the local Sinhalese, the core of the village being a cluster of houses built close to the village reservoir. The Coast Veddas live in small villages near the sea consisting of a cluster of com- pounds with two or three houses to a compound. Some of the Bintenne Veddas are reported to have been cave dwellers for- merly, but by the Seligmanns' time they were mostly living in huts made of wattle and daub or in more temporary shelters consisting of a wooden frame covered with animal skins, bark, and/or leaves. The Anuradhapura Veddas live in wattle-and- daub houses with floors of packed earth. Coast Vedda houses are simple huts made of plaited palm. Some Veddas have re- cently received government-subsidized housing built of brick and plaster with concrete floors and tin roofs. Economy Subsistence and Commercial Activities. The distinction between "Wild," 'Jungle," or 'Rock Veddas," who live from hunting and gathering and sometimes also shifting cultiva- tion, and 'Village Veddas," who live in permanent settle- ments and subsist principally from cultivation, is long estab- lished, but already by the time of the Seligmanns' study there were very few Veddas who lived principally from foraging. The Anuradhapura Veddas until recently have derived their living mainly from shifting cultivation, supplemented where possi- ble by wet-rice agriculture. Crops grown under shifting culti- vation include millet, maize, beans, squashes, manioc, chilies, eggplants, tomatoes, and okra. Under present conditions of rapidly increasing population pressure and greater market in- volvement, many of the Anuradhapura Veddas now obtain the major part of their livelihood as agricultural wage laborers outside their own villages. At the same time an increasing proportion of what they produce in their own fields is now marketed rather than consumed at home. Coast Veddas put a greater emphasis on fishing, combining this with shifting cul- tivation and, less frequently, paddy cultivation. Fishing is done with nets cast from outrigger canoes, from rafts, or from platforms set up in the surf. Prawns are the principal catch. Like. is em- bedded within the matrix of patrilineal kinship. It is thus dif- ferent in character from the Western ideal type of nuclearity. Although patrilineal kinship places women in a weak struc- tural position, there are aspects of the kinship system that leaven this situation. Upon marrying, a woman may join a family already related and known to her, she often lives in her natal village, and her natal and affinal relatives are continu- ally interacting; all of these factors support her position in the family. Inheritance. This follows the general principle of classical Hindu law, where land and immovables are inherited by sons. Daughters are given a dowry at marriage. Sometimes women are given small gifts of land (manjal-kani) but these are not treated as shares. One of the reasons for their strict endogamy and high rate of consanguineous marriage, say the Vellala, is their strong need to keep land in the family. Sociopolitical Organization Social Organization. The relation of the Vellala to other castes as well as Vellala internal ideology must be understood as both influencing all aspects of Vellala economic, political, religious, and kinship activities. The schematic division of Indian society into four hierarchical varnas (castes) - Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra-does not accurately reflect the situation in Tamil Nadu. While the Brahmans rank at the top and the Untouchables or Scheduled Castes at the bottom, between these two extremes are a wide range of castes and subcastes whose exact standing in relation to one another depends on the region and the village. Generally, a distinction is made between 'clean" non-Brahmans, who adopt a Sanskritized life-style, and the others. The former are vegetarians, do not drink alcohol, eschew manual labor in- cluding plowing (if they are agriculturalists), and have very conservative attitudes and customs regarding women. The other category of upper non-Brahmans conforms to the Kshatriya ideal, which emphasizes manual strength, a land base, command over labor, political authority, more interac- tion with other castes, and so on. Although there is a greater emphasis on warriorlike qualities than on ritual status, con- cern with women's purity is high, especially in groups that were connected to royal dynasties of the past. In the twofold division of the Vellala, the second category (e.g., Kavundar, Nangudi Vellala, Tuluva Vellala) falls clearly into the Kshatriya model. The first category (e.g., Kondaikatti Vellala, Karkattar, Saiva Pillaimar) combines aspects of the two mod- els: (1) high ritual status expressed through strict rules of interdining and intermarriage (according to a popular prov- erb, the Vellala are more orthodox than Brahmans), and (2) land base and political visibility (in traditional society). Thus the two Vellala categories occupy different structural posi- tions in the social order. Political Organization. The Vellala were, in the past, prominent in political networks constituted by the court, temple, and caste councils. They maintained their domi- nance through endowments to temples, charity to the poor, and patronage of the labor and service castes. In attempting to convert this prominence to secular political status, they have had mixed success. Often, they have been pushed out by lower castes, whose collective ethriic identity is perhaps stronger. The Vellalas' internal hierarchies and their fixed ideological positions have in part prevented the development of a unified political identity. One occasion when such an identity did develop was in the early twentieth century when the census classified the Vellala as Sudra. The Vellala re- sponded angrily by citing evidence that as agriculturists they rightly belonged to the third varna (i.e., Vaisya). At about the same time, a journal Vellalan was also published for some years, focusing on the problems of the community and the need for educational and occupational advancement. Today many Vellala subcastes have their own associations, which are more social than political. The Justice party of Tamil Nadu, formed early in this century, was mainly a reaction to Brahman social and political domination. Considerable early support for the party came from Vellala subcastes. However, later developments based on Tamil linguistic identity (as ex- emplified by the D.K. and D.M.K. movements), blurred the distinctive Vellala component. In the state as a whole, the Vellala are politically weak, though they are very active in cer- tain districts. Religion Religious Beliefs. A small minority of Vellala are Chris- tians, via individual conversion rather than mass conversion of an entire subcaste. The majority are Hindu, and the opera- tive principles of Hinduism pervade all spheres of life and ac- tivity. Although there is a division between Shaivites (follow- ers of Shiva) and Vaishnavites (followers of Vishnu) there is no bar on intermarriage. While squarely within the orthodox Hindu tradition, the Vellala look to Tamil/indigenous forms in devotion, metaphysics, and philosophy. Thus Shaiva Siddhanta, a respected religious and philosophic system with Vellala as main figures, ultimately stresses Brahmanic values. However, the sources and metaphors are drawn from a Tamil cultural base. At one point in its history, Shaiva Siddhanta was used as a political weapon against Brahman domination. The Vellala owe allegiance to different mathans (apex reli- 306 Vellala gious organizations) that are wealthy, landed, and influential. The Vellala also maintain traditional links to the classical (Sanskritic) temples as trustees, donors, and receivers of tem- ple honors. Ceremonies. The Vellala cycle of worship and festivals in- cludes forms of worship of deities and other folk goddesses/ non-Sanskritic deities associated with lower castes. Vellalas' involvement is structured in such a way that their ritual status is not compromised, while the demands of powerful indige- nous traditions are satisfied. Either a Brahman priest or a Vellala priest called a gurukkal can officiate. Life-cycle cere- monies are generally as prescribed for upper castes. The rules of purity and pollution for birth, menstruation, and death are elaborate. The grammar of these rules indicates the rank of Vellala as being immediately below that of Brahmans. The mantra (incantations in Sanskrit) component is relatively ab- breviated, but the public display of status during cere- monies-especially puberty, wedding, and funeral rituals-is very important and includes large-scale feeding of relatives, service and labor castes, and the poor. See also Tamil; Tamil of Sri Lanka Bibliography Arokiaswami, M. (1954). The Early History of the Vellar Basin. Madras: Amudha Nilayam. Zamindar ETHNONYMS: Landlord, Seth, Zemindar Orientation Zamindars are from the Muslim Rajput castes who settled in rural areas of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, from Pakistan to Ban- gladesh. Horsemen of these lineages were of higher status, while the foot troopers were from the lower castes. The root words, zamin and dar, are Persian, together meaning "land- owner." Relationships of the Zamindars with the premodern state varied from region to region, as did the origin of the Zamindar class. Among examples mentioned by Tom Kessinger are caste or lineage groups that conquered an area, or at least became the dominant settlers there; officials who were able to make their land grants hereditary; rajas who had held on to some land after being deposed; and the descen- dants of holy men (Sadhus) who had received grants of land. In each case the crucial factor was state recognition of a re- sponsibility on the part of Zamindars to collect and transmit revenue from a specified area. From a local point of view Zamindars, wherever they existed, were always a force to be reckoned with; for not only did they have an official sanction to collect revenue, but they could commonly back up their position with fortresses and small contingents of armed en- forcers. These Zamindars were in charge of supervising new immigrants to the village and of organizing lands for cultiva- tion. In return for their effort a share of the product was taken by them. The right of ownership of the land was through de- Arunachalam, M. (1975). "A Study of the Culture and His- tory of the Karkattar." Bulletin of the Institute of Traditional Cultures January-June: 1-7 2. Bamett, Stephen A. (1970). "The Structural Position of a South Indian Caste-Kontaikkatti Velalars in Tamilnadu." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Chicago. Beck, Brenda E. F. (1972). Peasant Society in Konku: A Study of Right and Left Subcastes in South India. Vancouver: Univer- sity of British Columbia Press. Ponnambalam, M., ed. (193 2-1 933). Velalan (Tuticorin) ITamil joumall. Thurston, Edgar, and Kadamki Rangachari (1909). "Vellala." In Castes and Tribes of Southern India, edited by Edgar Thurston and Kadamki Rangachari. Vol. 7, 36 1-3 89. Madras: Government Press. Reprint. 1975. New Delhi: Cos- mos Publications. KAMALA GANESH scent within the same family. Division of land was never marked specifically; therefore, land was jointly held and the income shared. Under the British, landownership was formal- ized for the organization of tax revenues. In 1857, permanent ownership was granted to those with land occupancy and Zamindars were held responsible to pay taxes to the govern- ment in cash and not in grain. In some areas, as