Chapter No: IV Kakhandaki, Goddess Yellamma: Describing the Context of Soolé Culture 4.1 History and Geographical location The village under study, Kakhandaki, lies 40 kms from Bijapur district headquarters as we travel towards Jamkandi. It is part of Bijapur district, the north western part of southern state of India, Karnataka. The present Bijapur district is bounded by Solapur district of Maharashtra on the north, Sangli district of Maharashtra on the north-west, Belgaum district of Karnataka on the west, Bhagalkote district of Karnataka on the south, Gulbarga district of Karnataka on the east and by Raichur of Karnataka on the south-east. Bijapur district is located 530 km north-west of Bangalore, the capital city the state of Karnataka. Source; Mapsofindia.2009 The undivided Bijapur district is one of the important territories in the cultural and political history of the state. This territory was once ruled by the Study Village
Transcript
Chapter No: IV
Kakhandaki, Goddess Yellamma:
Describing the Context of Soolé Culture
4.1 History and Geographical location The village under study, Kakhandaki, lies 40 kms from Bijapur district
headquarters as we travel towards Jamkandi. It is part of Bijapur district, the
north western part of southern state of India, Karnataka. The present Bijapur
district is bounded by Solapur district of Maharashtra on the north, Sangli
district of Maharashtra on the north-west, Belgaum district of Karnataka on the
west, Bhagalkote district of Karnataka on the south, Gulbarga district of
Karnataka on the east and by Raichur of Karnataka on the south-east. Bijapur
district is located 530 km north-west of Bangalore, the capital city the state of
Karnataka.
Source; Mapsofindia.2009
The undivided Bijapur district is one of the important territories in the
cultural and political history of the state. This territory was once ruled by the
Study Village
Chalukya dynasty of Kalyani. It was during the reign of Kalyani the name
Viajayapur, meaning, the city of victory came into existence and presently is
known as Bijapura. The Chalukyas ruled the territory during the 10th and 11
th
century. Bijapur in 1347 formed a part of Gulbarga province of the Bahamani
Kingdom. The Bahamani kingdom lost its strength in the last decades of 15th
century. During that time, Yusuf Adil Khan of Bijapur, the provincial governor
declared their independence. As a result of which came into existence the Adil
Shahi rule during 1489 in Bijapur region. The Adil Shahis ruled the region till
1686. Later on the Adil Shahi dynasty was capitulated by Aurangzeb and was
under the rule of Mughals up to 1723. The Peshwas ruled the region until 1818
and came under Bombay presidency during the colonial rule. After the
independence like many other provinces this region was acceded to Indian
union. Later as a part of process of adjoining Kannada states Bijapur was formed
into a district and was integrated with the Mysore state in the year 1956. In 1997
the district was divided in to two, that is, the present day Bijapur and Bhagalkote
(Gazetteer of Bombay State, Bijapur 1884).
The village Kakhandaki, says Shivanand Shastri, a key informant, the
historians from Pune once visited the village found inscriptions of Chalukya
period. They also found evidences on the years when the temples in the village
were built. It is said that the Maruti temple of the village has its history to 16th -
17th century. The Shivalaya and Veerabhadra temple has its history to 11
th
century (Archaeological survey of India 2002). The elders of the village also
trace the history of this village to the period of Adil Shahis. The building
structures, the mosques in the village and the abating walls around the village
represent the Adil Shahi architecture.
4.2 Legends relating to the Etymological origin of the village
The elders of the village recollect the legends relating to the etymological origin
of the village. The legend are narrated as follows, once upon a time there was a
village named Thangalageri on the other side of the present village. The area in
which the village is located now, was then a deep forest area. According to the
people of the village in this deep forest lived a 'kaka' (Sanskrit word) meaning
demon. The kaka had made the life of people living nearby miserable by
destroying their agriculture and scaring the people who lived nearby. The people
living in Thangalageri when could not tolerate the problems caused by the kaka,
destroyed the demon. The Kannada word used for destroy is kandisu and
therefore, the place where kaka was destroyed (kandisu) came to be known as
Kakhandaki (kaka=demon+ khandike = destroy=Kakhandaki= place were Kaka
was destroyed). The place continued to be deep forest for a long time. Over the
years there was outbreak of plague and cholera in the village Thangalegeri. The
epidemic was spread all over the village, as a result of which large number of
people died. The village Thangalgeri became a difficult place to live. The village
was filled with dead bodies. The people started moving out of the village and
getting settled in the forest area where the kaka lived earlier. Thus formed the
new settlement later formed into a village Kakhandaki. The area where the old
village Thangalageri was located at present is used as the graveyard by the
people of the village (field notes 2010). The people of the village say that, they
have found the remaining of the decayed village like materials of the
households, gold coins and other items when they dig the mud for burying the
dead bodies.
4.3 Topography, Climate, Rainfall and Seasons
Kakhandaki lies between north latitude 15020 and 17028 and east longitude
74059 and 76028 (www.bijapur.nic.in ). The village is located in the interior of
Deccan Plateaus to which people of this region refer to as belula, literally means
land that grows more food crops. It is 130km away from the west coast, the
malnad region where the rice is grown in large quantity. The state highway
Bijapur-Jamakandi runs tangentially towards the east of the settlement of the
village. The major three rivers that flow in the region are Krishna, Bhima and
Doni. The southern belt of Bijapur district is located includes the plains of
Bhima River and a stretch of barren land. The village does not actually have the
advantage of the rivers that flow in the district but have the advantages of banks
of the streams. The soil here is black and clayey. The variety of food crops
grown here includes jowar, wheat, and sugarcane. This geographical feature
brings about a difference in the agricultural practices of the people of the region
which in turn forms the life style of the inhabitants.
The main seasons of the district is similar with the adjoining districts in
the Deccan. The hottest months are April-May, though the summer commences
in mid of February and extends up to June. The south-west monsoon season
commences in June and extends up to September. During this period the weather
is cool and pleasant. The north-west monsoon is between October and November
while the cold season is from December to mid February. December is the
coldest month of the year when the average minimum temperature reaches at
about 14.80c and the temperature begins to rise rapidly from the latter half of the
February. The mean maximum temperature attains highest level of 38.60c in the
month of April and with the onset of monsoon the weather becomes cooler
(ibid.). The total rainfall of the region is not high but then gets benefit of both the
south-west monsoon and north-east monsoon. The south-west monsoon reaches
the region in the first week of June and continues to rain till the month of
August-September and in the months of October and November the region gets
the showers of north-east monsoon. The total rainfall that the region gets is not
high and therefore, this region is highly susceptible to drought and famine.
Owing to inadequate and untimely rainfall this region has frequently being
suffered from drought and famine. The region is prone to drought and famine
even when the three perennial rivers like Krishna, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha
flows in the region.
4.4Flora and Fauna
Very little of natural vegetation cover can be seen in this area. And as there is
scanty rainfall, the forest in the region is poor type and consist mostly scrub. The
forest of this region are in the nature of 'dry tropical thorn forest' of two
categories, the ‘hill forest’ and the 'plain forest' of the fuel and fodder reserves,
which is mainly confined to river banks and midstream islands (Gazetteer of
Bombay State, Bijapur 1884). The forest area of the surroundings of Kakhandaki
village includes the species like mashwal (Chloroxylon Swietenia), tugli
(Albizzia Amara). The predominant species of the plain forest around the village
is jali (Acacia Arabica). The other associate species that grow naturally include
hulgal (Pongamia Glabura), nerale (Eugenia Jambolana), bevu (neem), gandha
(sandal), hunsi (tamarindus indica). At present the scattered tree growth of jali
(Acacia Arabica) raised artificially. The open areas mostly harbour grasses and
shrubs which are not very nutritious as cattle feed. Amongst the minor forest
produces are the leaves of the tumri ( a leaf ) which is used for making of beedi (
local form of cigarette) making, bandurgi leaves (dodonea viswosa), upi sticks,
jenu (honey) and antu (wax) and hunchi huli (tamarind fruits) (field notes 2010
and Gazetteer of Bombay State, Bijapur 1884).
The wild animals exist in and around the village are very rare and small in
number or a few indeed. Kadu bekku (wild cat), wolf which was once found in
large numbers has decreased in the recent years says, the villagers. The other
animals found in and around the region include kempu nari (red fox) and hare
(rabbit). Smaller manga (brown monkeys) are also found in the village (ibid.).
Agriculture forms the source of livelihood for the people of the village.
The village economy and social life of the people of Kakhandaki depend on
agriculture. The festivals and feasts celebrated by the people are mostly related
to the agricultural activities. All members of the household participate in the
agricultural activities. The rainfall characteristics of the region have an influence
on the cultivation of major crops. The cultivable lands of Kakhandaki according
to the people can be classified into two categories. The first category is referred
to as yeri bhoomi. The characteristics of yeri bhoomi are that, the soil in this type
of land is black and has a great moisture holding capacity. It is popularly known
as dry crop land. Cultivation in yeri bhoomi entirely depends on the monsoon
and a single heavy rainfall is enough to give a fair crop in this category of land.
The second type of cultivable land found is referred to as maddi by the people of
the village. This type of land has less moisture holding capacity and therefore
crops can be grown only with irrigation facilities. The average rainfall that the
region gets is not sufficient for this type of land. The major part of the land
around Kakhandaki is yeri bhoomi.
The people of the village grow jola (jowar), godi (wheat), gonjala (maize).
Food crops also include kalu (pulses), kadle (bengal gram), madike (horse
gram), hesaru (green gram). Fruits like mavinhannu (mango), seebe (gawa),
nerale (black jamoon), chikku hannu (chikku) are also grown by the villagers.
The vegetables and spices are also grown by the people of the village. Non food
crops like cotton, sunflower, sea same, ground nut and sugarcane are also grown
in the village. Jowar is the staple crop of the district and the village. Jowar is
grown in large quantity as it is best suited to the black soil and medium soil of
the region. At the same time jola (jowar) can be conveniently grown with
amount of rainfall that the region gets. The ploughing is usually done in the
month of June and July during the monsoon and the seeds are sown in mid
September and the harvesting is done in February or March and at times in April.
The weekly market (sante) is conducted on the ground in front of the
Dasthageer sahib mandir. On this day farmers from the village and around the
village come to Kakhandaki to sell vegetables and other agricultural products.
On every Monday the villagers take leave from their agricultural and other work
activities and buy the things that are required in the household for next one
week. The village is full of activities on every Monday. The bus that comes to
Kakhandaki is full on every Monday. The village has around 7 grocery shops
(kirani angadi). There is also a photo studio, two pharmacies, three hotels,
4.5Village structure
Kakhandaki is a nucleated village. The streets of the village are referred to as
oni. As you travel from Babaleshwar towards the Kakakandaki at first we come
across huge plain land with number of new houses. It is the extended part of the
main settlement where the nuclear families from the broken extended family of
the main settlement living on the plain land. This area is referred to as ‘plot’ by
the people of the village. As we walk few steps further you reach the other
extended part of the main settlement, Agasanahalli. All the inhabitants of this oni
belong to agasru caste (community of people whose traditional occupation is
washing clothes) group. Then, there is a small lake. Traditionally, water from the
lake was used for washing clothes by the community of people belonging to
agasru caste, who earlier did the service of washing the clothes for the villagers.
At present water from the lake is used by every household of the village. As we
cross the lake and walk further, we reach Kakhandaki, the main settlement. As
we walk towards entrance on both the sides of the road we can find saloons,
hotels, medical stores, hardware, and grocery shops. Near to the bus stand we
find the union bank office. There is a huge tamarind tree (hunchi mara) near to
the bus stand. Round shaped sitting arrangement is made around the tamarind
tree which is also used as waiting place for the bus along with the bus stand. On
the opposite side of the bus stand is the panchayath office. The other public
amenity buildings that are present near the bus stand include agriculture co-
operative society, place where the ration is distributed, the post office. As you
move en route for south, we reach the main entrance of the village with huge
wall and a gate like structure. The entrance of the village is referred to as agasi.
The oni (streets) in the village are scattered. Largely people belonging to
same social group or sub group stay together in every oni. The streets therefore,
are named on the basis of caste or social group that stay in a particular oni. For
example- kurubara oni, is a place where majority of the kurubaru stay, the street
in which majority of people belonging to Muslim social group are referred to as
musulra oni.
The village Kakhandaki is known in and around the district for its temples
and temple tradition. Kakhandaki, therefore, is referred to as shri kshetra
Kakhandaki (temple village). On the eshanya (north-east) side of the village
there is Dasthageer Sahib gudi (temple). According to the villagers Dasthageer
Sahib, a Muslim saint from Bhagdad came with an aim to spread preachings of
the Prophet and Islam in the region. Dasthageer Sahib visited the region during
the period of Adil Shahis. The Adil Shahi of Bijapur built gudi (temple) in every
place wherever he had visited in order to spread the message of Islam after his
death. Every year in the month of January the death anniversary of Dastageer
Sahib is celebrated with much grandeur and celebration. People irrespective of
social groups and sub groups participate in the celebration. Not only people from
the village but from all around the district come to take the blessings of
Dastageer Sahib. This punyathithi (death anniversary) of Dastageer sahib is
referred to as urus which is celebrated for two days. People belonging to all the
caste and religion participate in the celebration, offer prayers. On the south east
side (agneya) of the village there is lord Beeradeva’s temple. People belonging
to kurubaru caste group mostly worship the lord Beeradeva. On the nairuthya
(south west) there is Shri Mahipati Dasara Matt, which is a worship place of
Brahmins of the village, belong to Shaiva tradition. On the vayuvya dikku (north-
west) of the village there is the temple that was built on the grave of saint
gyaneshwara swami who once upon a time lived in Kakhandaki. The other gudis
(temples) present in the village include Dyamavva temple in the lingayat oni
(street), Durgavva temples in madaru oni and harijan oni, Hanuma temple in the
agasi .
From the agasi, towards north east side of the village goes a road towards
holeyaru oni and madara oni respectively which the people of the village refer
to as keri. The keri is located outside the village proper. People of the village
make a clear distinction between the streets in the village proper which they call
as ooru and that street outside the village proper as keri. The villagers who stay
in the ooru do not enter the houses of the people living in the keri as it is
considered to be polluting. And neither do people living in keri enter the houses
belonging to the people living in the village proper for the same reason that they
belong to impure caste. The keri comprises of households belonging to madaru,
and holeya caste. There is a temple of Goddess Dyamavva in holeya oni and
madaru oni respectively.
Source: Villaga Panchayat, Kakhandaki (2011)
Social map of Kakhandaki Village
4.6The people
Kakhandaki is a village with a total 1224 households of people belonging to
different social groups (2011 census). The total population of the village is 7038
of which 3608 are males and 3430 are female population. Number of persons in
the age group of 0-6 is 1115 of which 580 are male and 535 are female children.
The total SC population of the village i.e madiga and holeya caste is 1485
among which 757 are male and 728 are female population. The sex ratio of the
village is 950 which is better than the Bijapur district (950), Karnataka state
(964) and India as whole (933). Sex ratio of the age group 0-6 is 922 which are
lesser than the total sex ratio of the village (2011 census).
Table 4.1: Demographic profile of the village
Population Person Male Female
Total
Population 7038 3608 3430
In the age
group 0-6
years
1115 580 535
Scheduled
Castes (SC) 1485 757 728
Sex ratio 950
Sex ratio 0-6 922
Source 2011 census
People belonging to different social groups live in the village. The
different social groups to which people of the village belong are Hindu, Muslims
and Jains. Various sub groups which is referred to as caste forms the Hindu
social group. The different sub categories of Hindu social group to which the
people of the village belong to are:
Kaduvokkaligaru- The people belonging to this caste form the dominant group
of the village. They have the economic power and the political leadership
therefore, wield a lot of influence in the village. Before the Panchayat raj came
into existence it was the lineage belonging to kaduvokkaliga caste that held the
gaudike (headman ship) of the village and even today the present gaudru
(headman) is consulted on major decisions regarding various issues of the
village. The traditional occupation of the kaduvokkaligaru is agriculture. They
follow the lingayat23
tradition and therefore, ritually associated with the ainaru
(priestly caste of the lingayats).
Kurubaru- Form another major caste in the village. The traditional occupation
of the kurubaru is tending sheep and knitting blankets. At present we rarely see
people belonging to kurubaru caste rearing sheep and knitting blankets. The
present households of the village belonging to kurubaru caste depend on
agriculture for their living.
Badigeru- Carpentry is the traditional occupation of the people belonging to
badigeru caste. This caste is more influenced by brahminical and vaishanva24
tradition. The badigers of the village practice carpentry even today. They repair
and make the agriculture implements. The present day badigers are also
involved in making furniture.
Brahmins- Brahmins are the priestly caste for all the sub groups who follow
brahmnical tradition. There are two subgroups of brahmins that are found in the
village the smarthru (devotees of lord Shiva) and the vaishnavru, devotees of
lord Vishnu. The Brahmins of the village has mostly shifted to the cities. They
have their households and landholdings in the village but most of them do not
reside in the village. The Brahmins, of the village are referred as hararu mandi
by the villagers. The people belonging to Brahmin caste believe that they are
highest in the Hindu caste structure and a touch or even sight of the other caste
will pollute them. It is said that, due to impure status of other caste groups that
the people belonging to Brahmins jumps whenever they feel that people
23 started by Basavanna in 12th century, tradition that denies caste system in Hindu religion and
treats everyone equal and are worshippers of lord Shiva.
24 followers of lord Vishnu.
belonging to other caste come near to them. Therefore, people of the village
referred to Brahmins as hararu mandi (people who jump).
Holeyaru- The traditional occupation of the holeyaru is agricultural labour
which is known as raitike (where the every holeyaru households of the village is
attached to one-three households of the peasant caste and work for them in their
agricultural field also perform menial works in their households). At present the
people belonging to holeyaru caste are involved mostly in agriculture labour,
construction work and other occupations.
Madaru– The traditional occupation of the madaru included leather work. They
were also considered as drummers of the village. The madaru of the village at
present depend on construction work, agriculture labour and on agriculture for
their livelihood.
Samagararu- The traditional occupation of the samagaru is chappal making.
The samagaru households of the village are even at present is involved in
chappal making. Some of them own shops in the town. The shift in the
occupation is also found among this social group. There are samagaru who do
agricultural labour, go for construction work and some of the households are
involved in agriculture.
Uppar- People belonging to uppar caste forms the largest group of the village in
terms of number of households according to the people of the village. The
traditional occupation of the people belonging to this caste is stone cutting.
Presently the majority of the upper caste follows agriculture as their occupation.
Agasru- The social group traditionally associated with washing clothes. There is
small number of the agasru households following the occupation of washing
clothes, ironing cloths at present. Majority of the people belonging to agasru
caste have taken up agriculture. There are households of agasru who depend
agriculture labour and construction work for their livelihood. The agasru mandi
of the village live in a small extension area of the village which is referred to as
Agasanahalli. This extension area is reached before you reach the agasi of the
Kakhandaki village when you travel from Bableshwar to Kakhandaki. It is said
that the stream that flows before you enter the village was used as place to wash
cloths by the agasru. The people belonging to agasru caste who earlier stayed
shifted to the place near to the stream and the place where the people belonging
to agasaru caste lived came to be known as Agasanahalli.
Ganigeru- People belonging to ganigeru caste forms another social group who
follow the lingayat tradition. The traditional occupation of people belonging to
ganigeru is extracting vegetable oil. Very few of the ganigeru households of the
village follow the occupation of extracting oil. Most of the households have
shifted to agriculture.
Hadpad- The traditional occupation of people belonging to hadapd caste is
cutting hair. They follow lingayat tradition. The two hair cutting saloons of the
village are run by the people belonging to hadpad caste groups. The other
hadpad mandi has given up their traditional occupation and are involved in
various other occupations like agriculture, agriculture labour, construction work
for their livelihood.
Banajigeru- A sub group of the Hindu social group that follow lingayat
tradition. People belonging to banajigeru caste traditionally are business people.
The kirani (grocery) shops and other petty shops of the village belonged to the
people belonging to banajigeru caste. The three of the kirani shops of the village
even at present belong to banajigeru households. The families belonging to
banajigeru caste of the village are now owners of land and are part of various
other businesses in the village and in the Bijapur city.
Ainaru- The ainars of the village form the priestly order of the lingayat
tradition. They are traditionally identified with the performance of rituals during
the life cycle crisis of all the households who follow lingayat tradition. These
rituals are performed by visiting the households. This practice of going to every
household to perform the rituals is referred to as urutana25
.
Patharu- In general referred to as akkasaligaru (goldsmiths). They work with
the gold and silver. The Pathars of the village still follow the traditional
occupation.
Musalmanru- Musalmanru social group of the village comprise of one
endogamous group called sayyads. They speak a type of urdu which is restricted
to their households. They talk in Kannada with the other people of the village.
Agriculture is the main source of income. Like the kaduvokkaligru caste of
Hindu social group even the Musalmanru of the village are in advantageous
position when it comes to economic power and political position and therefore
are part of the major decisions of the village is concerned.
Jains- There is one household who follow the Jain tradition. The Jain household
of the village depends on agriculture. One of the male member of this household
is the post man of the village and therefore in government service.
The above mentioned social groups and sub groups form the
characteristics of the people of the village. People belonging to kaduvokkaliga,
ainaru, brahmin, banajigeru and jains are vegetarians by tradition. People
belonging to musalmanru, upparu, kurubaru, hadpad, agasru, holeyaru, madaru
follow non vegetarian tradition. Cross cousin marriages and uncle-niece
marriages are commonly practiced by all the social groups of the village. The
social groups following lingayat traditions and musalmanru bury the dead body
and people belonging to barhminical tradition cremate the dead bodies.
4.7 The Village
Language:
Kannada is the language that is spoken and understood by all the people of the
village and people have their own colloquial version of speaking it. It transcends
25 The people belonging to ainaru caste are traditionally identified with the performance of rituals
during the life cycle crisis of the followers of lingayath tradition in the village. This practice of
going to every house to perform rituals is called as urutana.
all the boundaries of religion and caste. Urdu have native speaker in the village
but it is generally limited to their household.
Festivals and Fairs:
The important festivals celebrated by the people of the village include Ugadi,
which falls on the first day of chaitra month of Hindu calendar which marks the
New Year. On this day people of the village worship all the deities in the village,
share neem and jaggery with each other which symbolises that the sweet and
bitter truths of life has to be taken in equal spirits. The other festivals celebrated
in the village include Nagarpanchami in the month of sharvana according to the
Hindu calendar. On this day women of the house worship the snakes by offering
milk. Yellu amavasya another agricultural related festival celebrated by the
people of the village. On this day the members of the family go to their
respective fields carrying along with them a variety of dishes like holige, jowar
roti (bread from Bajra flour). They pick five stones from the field and worship
them, offer a small quantity of food brought by them to these stones which they
consider as Pandavas. Ramzan is celebrated in great grandeur by the people
belonging to Muslim community. The famous festival here is karuhunnive which
is observed on the full moon day of jyestha (June) by worshiping bullocks and
agricultural implements. A special feast is prepared in the afternoon. On this day
the people of the village decorate their cows, bullocks and calves. The owners of
the bullocks paint their bullocks in different colours. They perform arati (waving
the lamp) and worship their bullocks and cows. In the evening a ritual called
karihariyodu which involves bullock race. The bullocks which participate in the
race are bought in a procession to the entrance of the village. In the entrance of
the temple the men belonging to the boatman community will be standing
holding with a string made of neem leaves and dry coconuts. The chain which is
made of coconut and neem leaves is referred to as kari. The bullocks which have
come in the procession along with their owners at once move towards the kari to
hold it. Whoever touches the kari at first wins the race and the colour of the
bullock that touches the kari determines the fertility of the agriculture for the
coming year. For example if a white bull pulls off the kari, then it is believed
that the fertility of white jowar will be good in the coming year.
Dress Pattern
Traditional attire of the women in the village is a type of sari known as Ilkal
sari26
. They drape this sari and wear a kubsa (blouse) which is also made of
cotton or silk. The nylon saris, georgette or net saris which the young married
women are now shifted to drape are called as pathla. The young girls of the
village wear skirt-langa and an upper garment which is known as blouse. But
now a days the young girls have started wearing what they call as chudidaar.
The ornaments that a married women wear daily includes the chain which
the husband tie during marriage-gudaali, ear stud-bendole, and another ornament
on the upper portion of the ear lobe known as taloka. They also wear the
kalungara (toe ring) hasiru bale (green glass bangles). A woman with all these
ornaments and kumkuma (vermilion) on her forehead is considered as mutaide
(an auspicious woman). A woman whose husband is not alive usually does not
wear all these ornaments. She wears an ordinary chain and red glass bangles.
She is not allowed to put kumkuma on her forehead. Along with the glass
bangles, women also wear different patterns of gold bangles like tode and
bilwara. They wear these ornaments during the special occasions.
Traditionally, married men wear dhothra27
along with the Nehru shirt28
.
Along with that they wear a pataga (turbon). The pataga that they wear is
usually is gifted to them by their parents in law during marriage. Pataga is made
up of either cotton or silk. Men who do not wear the pataga use a type of cap
26 It is the traditional sari draped by the women in the Northern Karnataka. It
takes its name from the town Ilkal in Bagalkot district of Northern part of Karnataka where it is
produced.
27 A rectangular shaped unstitched cloth. Is a veshti which is a garment worn by men
28 a shirt which do not have collar which gets its name after the Jawahar Lal Nehru
known as Gandhi topige29
. We can see the elderly men of the village in this
attire. The younger men of the village wear shirt and trousers. It is also found
that the people of the village are not particular about the dress unless there is
festival or a special occasion. This above mentioned dress pattern holds good for
all the people of the village irrespective of their caste and religion.
Food Habits
Food habits represent the agriculture pattern and culture of a region. Food plays
an important role in various domains of social life, in fact it is an indispensable
part of any social occasion which has lot of meaning attached to it. The staple
food of the villagers is pan cake made out Jowar- jollada rotti, thick curry-
pallya, cooked rice-anna, and curry-saaru. Villagers usually grow that much of
Jowar that is required for the household purpose. Only when there is shortage of
the Jowar they buy from grocery shops. The rice used is mostly brought from the
shops and the ration rice that they get through their ration cards. They also grow
pulses that are required to prepare curry, like kadli kaalu (black gram), hesru
kaalu (green gram) and also grow vegetables like badne kai (brinjol), bende kai
(ladies finger), sauthe kayi (cucumber), hasi menasina kai (green chilli) that are
required for their daily consumption. The villagers usually do not prefer to buy
food grains and vegetables from outside and therefore, they grow most of it in
their fields at least for their daily consumption.
People of the village prepare different feasts on different festival, rituals
and ceremonies. They normally prepare sweet dishes. During nagar panchami
they prepare karikadbu, kuchikadbu, vada. During dewali- hatti habba they
prepare hurakki holige, byale kadbu, and shyavige. On the occasion of holi
hunnive they prepare a sweet dish out of pumpkin called as gaargi, during Ugadi
festival the same kind of sweet dishes are prepared. And during other rituals like
puberty, naming ceremony, marriage, pregnancy they prepare the same kind of
29 kind of a cap that was used by Gandhi.
sweet dishes.
During the summer season the women of the village take some time out
from their daily routine and make sandige, a kind of dry food prepared out of
rice flour, which is dried in sun and then preserved for the years to come in bags.
They also prepare shyavige, gulige, sounthi beeja from the wheat flour dry it in
the sun and preserve it. Later on this is used for making all kinds of sweet dishes
during the festivals and feasts. All these preserved food is used and given for
pregnant woman, relatives-beegru when they come home, and also to the girl
who has reached puberty.
Tea-cha is commonly used beverage in the village. They drink tea-cha
prepared with milk. But when there is shortage of milk they take black tea-kari
cha. Puffed rice-churumuri and tea-cha is used in between the meals.
There are also people who take non vegetarian food that is curry made of
chicken, mutton, and egg. The muslims, marathas, bajanthri, holeya, madiga,
kurbaru families of the village belong to non vegetarian tradition. There are also
people who consume arrack which is sold in petty shops and households of soolé
women.
Education in the village:
According to 2011 census total literate population of the village is 3420 of which
2054 are male literates and 1366 are female literacy. Total literacy rate of the
village is 48.5. Male literacy rate is high (56.9) compared to that of female
literacy rate (39.8) (census 2011). Even though people of the village give
importance to agriculture and spend most of the time in agricultural related
activities, they have off late started realising the importance of education. The
villagers have started taking time out from their agricultural activities and send
their children to school. There are government sponsored schools in the village
catering to the educational needs of the villagers. One is a Government Higher
Primary School. The school provides text books, mid day meals and also
uniforms to the students.
According to villagers comparatively low level literacy rate is due to the
fact that education affects the agricultural work. Villagers express that they
cannot afford to give complete education to their children due their economic
constraints. As a result of this, most of the children study till high school and
then discontinue their education. Later they are not in a position to do
agricultural work for which they are not used to and are also not able to find a
job outside for the level of education they have got. Even when they are sent to
school they are not guided properly by the elders at home to concentrate on
studies. Children at a very young age start going to the agricultural fields,
prepare food, graze the cattle and help their family in preparing the land for
sowing. This has its own impact on the education of the children. They are left
with very little time to go school and study. As a result of this they do not do
well in the exams and when they fail they discontinue the education.
There are two primary schools in the village of which, one is a kannada
medium school and the other one is a urdu school. There is also a kannada
medium high school in the village. The private English medium school of the
village is run by the trust in the village.
Table 4.2: Literacy and Education Facilities in the village
Literacy and Education facilities
Male Female Total
Literate Population 2054 1366 3420
Non Literate
Population 1554 2064 3618
Literacy Rate 48.5
Male Literacy Rate 56.9
Female Literacy Rate 39.8
Education facilities Available
Number of primary
schools 2
Number of middle
schools 2
Number of secondary
schools 1
Number of senior
secondary schools 1
Number of colleges 0
College available
within the range 9 Kms
Health care:
The village has a Primary Health Centre where there is one MBBS doctor, an
ANM, three nurses, a lab technician and a compounder which comes under the
District Health Centre, Bijapur. There are six RMP doctors in the village and
provide health care facilities for villagers. There is a veterinary hospital in the
village where the health services for cattle are provided.
The village has got two anganwadis (kindergarten) each with an
anganwadi teacher and an aya (helper). These anganwadi comes under the
Department of Women and Child Development and all the maternal and child
health services are provided through these Anganwadis in collaboration with
Department of Health and Family welfare. These anganwadis play an active role
in providing immunization services, nutritious food for both mother and child,
contraceptives, and also providing different incentives like Bhagya Lakshmi30
,
Janani Suraksha31
.
Table 4.3: Health Care Facilities in the Village
Health Care Facility
Medical facilities Available
Number of allopathic hospitals 0
Allopathic hospitals available within range More than 10
Kms
Number of ayurvedic hospitals 0
Number of unani hospital 0
Number of homeopathic hospital 0
Number of allopathic dispensary 2
Number of maternity and child welfare centre 1
Number of primary health centre 1
Number of primary health sub centre 2
Number of family welfare centre 1
Number of RMPs 6
Number of ASHAs32
6
Village Administration:
The village administration is through local self government called Panchayath
30 A government of Karnataka scheme that provides financial benefits to two girl children will
be given financial assistance. The assistance is given if the father and mother of the girl children
has undergone terminal family planning.
31 A programme under National Rural Health Mission which is a safe motherhood intervention
which provides assistance during pregnancy, delivery and post deliver period.
32 Accredited Social Health Activist are community health workers instituted by Government of
India under National Rural Health Mission
Raj. Apart from Kakhandaki the villages that come under the jurisdiction of
Kakhandaki Gram Panchyath includes Killarhatti, Agasanahalli and thanda33
.
The Panchayath Institution is formed through the elected representatives from
each of the wards. There is a secretary appointed who looks into all the
administrative matters like sanctioning of the schemes once it is approved by the
elected representatives, keeping up all the records related to four villages. There
is a clerk who assists the secretary in administrative works. The village
accountant looks into matters relating to land issues, like keeping up to date
information about the landholdings, mapping the boundaries of the agricultural
fields. Kakhandaki village comes under Bableshwar Police station which is
about 9kms from the village.
Water Facility:
The water supply to the village is given through the panchayath and a waterman
is appointed for this purpose. Tap water, well water, tank water, tube well water,
hand pump are different kinds of tap water facilities available in the village.
Table 4.4: Drinking Water Facilities in the Village
Type of Drinking Water Facilities
Tap water Available
Well water Available
Tank water Available
Tube well water Available
Hand pump Available
Transport and Communication:
There were hardly any roads, bridges and culverts in the region till the British.
The transportation of goods was mainly by bullock carts along the rough tracks
most of which could not be used during the monsoon season. The elders of the
33 a small settlement in between the forest where people belonging to Lambani tribes live.
village even today remember how they used to travel to Bijapur and Jamkandi in
order to bring necessary household items taking a long route through the forests.
At present the state run transport buses, tempos, the three wheeler rickshaws ply
quiet frequently towards Bableshwar and Bijapur and Jamkandi, Mudhol and
Bhagalkote. More recently the villagers have started using their own two
wheelers and four wheelers that have made it easy to travel to different places.
Other means of communication the villagers use Post Office which is
located and functioning in the house of the only Jain household. People use this
means of communication for sending marriage invitations, money orders, and
letters and receive the Government pensions. This Post Office is connected to
Bableshwar Sub Post Office which in turn is connected to Bijapur, Head Post
Office. There is a postman in the village that caters to the needs of the villagers.
Telephone is another means of communication that people make use of in
the village. There is a telephone exchange in the village which was started
fifteen years back. The staff of the telephone exchange includes Junior Telecom
Officer and a mechanic who look into the technical aspects of the
communication. There are also mobile towers in the village. Recently people
have started using mobile phones more than the Landline services.
People of the village have access to both regional newspapers as well as
national news papers but they read regional news papers like Samyukta
Karnataka, Vijaya Karnataka, Prajavani. We can see the men sitting in groups in
bus stand, reading news papers and discussing the issues that have appeared in it
in the evenings also there is a library which caters to the reading habit of the
people of the village.
Table 4.5: Transport and Communication Facilities in the Village
Transport and Communication Facilities
Post, telegraph and phone facilities Available
Number of post office 1
Number of post and telegraph office 1
Number of telephone connections 128
Communication facilities
Communication facilities Yes
Bus services Yes
Railways services No
House types
The houses in the village can be classified depending on the type of material
used to build the walls and the roof. There are basically five types of houses in
the village.
Gachina mane (House): In this type of houses walls are made up of black and
silver coloured stones. These roofs are supported by magadi (a vertical
framework which is made up of thin sheets slate stones. These types of houses
are called as gachina mane by the villagers.
Gilay mane: In this type of house the walls are made up of cement and sand and
the roofs are of red tiles or cement terrace which in modern day are referred to as
RCC house.
Janthi mane: Mixture of hullu and kempu mannu (straw and red soil). The roofs
in these types of houses are made up of red tiles or the walls are made up of
bamboo fibers mixed with red soil and roofs of these houses are made up of
mangaluru hanchu (Mangalore tiles). The villagers refer to these types of houses
as janthi mane.
Mannin mane: Walls of these kinds of houses are made up of blocks of red soil
(kiln burnt red soil) which is referred to as ittangi and the roof made up of red
tile which are referred to as mannin mane by the villagers.
Pathras mane: These are structures which are raised with or without the walls
and roofed by cement sheets.
“gachina mane” is considered as the traditional type of house by the
villagers. Magadi mane and the RCC houses are considered as expensive in
terms of money spent on constructing these types of houses.
Structure of a typical house in the village:
At the entrance of the house there is “chavani” (raised platform) on either side
of the door. This is meant for visitors who come from outside to take rest. The
long pathway from the munchi baagilu (front door) till the hittila baagilu (back
door) is referred to as “husi”. The next portion after the entrance usually towards
the right side is padsaali (hall) which is a raised place by the side of husi. This
padsaali (hall) is made of slate stones. This place is used by the residents of the
house to sleep and take rest. All the rituals and ceremonies are performed in
padasaali (hall). On the right side of padsaali there is devra kone (god’s room).
At the end of padsaali, towards the hithila baagilu on the same side there is
adigi kone (kitchen), which also incorporates bachlu kone (bathroom). Towards
the left side of the padsaali is the hakki (cattle shed). The back portion of the
house is called as hittila. Thus a typical house in the village belonging to any
caste has the munchibagilu (front entrance), padsaali (the hall), hithilu bagilu
(back door) and hittilu (the backyard).
Social organisation:
Mane, home forms the basic dwelling unit of the people of the village. The mane
(family) in the village, in general, is formed on the basis of patrilineal decent,
virilocal residence. The families in the village consist of people who are
patrilineally related and their wives and children living together. As girls grow
and reach the age of 14-15 they are made to marry and shift their residence from
their parental family or tavru mane (family of orientation) to stay with their
husbands in the gandana mane (conjugal home).
The families which were traditionally extended are now are getting
divided into nuclear families. The extended families are breaking into nuclear
families as the married sons move out of their family of orientation due to
various issues that arise between the brothers over the education of the children,
land disputes, difference of opinion between the wives of these brothers and for
independent economic pursuits. At times the nuclear families grow in to
extended families when it has more sons who are married and those sons are
engaged in different occupations and also cling to the traditional occupation of
agriculture and decide to stay together with their parents.
Jati (caste)
It’s a fact that any researcher studying Indian society cannot be able to
understand the culture and the social order without understanding the system of
caste in India. Membership to caste is also by birth and even today the social
interaction which takes place in the village is determined by caste status of the
people. The caste system in the village is based on the concept of purity and
pollution through which ritual status of the people are determined. This concept
of purity and pollution therefore tends to divide caste into two broad categories,
the clean castes who live in the village proper ooru (the main settlement, the
village) of the village and the impure caste that is people living in the keri and
the relationship between these castes is expressed through the commensal
relationships between them. The ritual status determines the rules for entering
the house. The people belonging to holeya and madiga caste of the keri cannot
enter any of the houses in the main settlement neither do the people living in the
ooru enter the houses in the keri. The ooru is the main village where all the non
Dalit castes from the Brahmins to the land owning castes to the people belonging
to the service castes live. All the major activities related to village occur in the
ooru. And the keri is the place where people belonging to holeya and madaru
caste are made to live traditionally and continue to live. It is separated from the
main structure of the village. There exists discrepancy and division among the
castes living in the ooru and the keri. This distinction between the middle level
and higher level castes cannot be denied. However, this distinction is not as
stringent as it is between the people living in the ooru and the keri. The village
structure of this particular pattern brings out the disparity and distinction existing
between these two sections. It explicitly explains the perpetuation of the power
hierarchy and the discrimination in the institution of caste. The very fact that the
people belonging to two particular castes that is holeya and madaru caste are
made to stay away from the mainstream village is because they belong to lower
structure of caste hierarchy proves this. There is also hierarchical division
between people living in the keri. According to the people of the village holeya
are considered to be in the higher level of power structure when compared to
that of madar caste.
This does not mean that this is the only type of hierarchy that exists in the
village. Authors like M.N Srinivas (1955) and A.C.Maeyer (1960) have pointed
out that hierarchy is clear between the top and bottom but does not have a
definite form in the middle level. It was observed that there is hierarchy among
the upper caste but it is little subtle compared to the overall hierarchy between
the clean and unclean caste as discussed above. The people belonging to ainar
caste assert their superiority over the other castes by the performance of various
rites and rituals necessary in everyone’s life. The commensal relationships
between the upper castes determine the hierarchy that exists between them. The
best example of commensality can be seen during the exchange of food and its
consumption on certain occasions like puberty rituals, death rites and also
pregnancy rituals. The castes which are at the top of the hierarchy of the village
take only raw food from the other castes. They do not eat cooked food from the
hands of these middle level castes.
The resistant sections of castes that may have existed in the past between
castes are broken to some extent due to the dynamic changes in social and
economic fields that usually accompanied by modernization, spread of
education, socio-economic and political reforms. The village under study today
is getting extended. The reason for this is breaking of the extended families into
nuclear families. The newly formed families build houses in the government
owned land by making use of the government housing schemes. These extended
areas of the villages are referred to as 'plot'. The houses in the plot are not
allotted based on the caste and therefore, we cannot find separate streets
belonging to a particular section. Thus people do not get a chance to follow the
traditional village structure when it comes to the extended areas of village. Thus
in this part of the village people belonging to higher power structure do not get a
chance to segregate the lower section as all of them are in a race to get the
house. If they wait or deny a house in the name of having to stay with the people
belonging to holeyaru and madaru caste they may lose the opportunity to get the
house under government scheme. Therefore, the non distinction is not because
they are convinced and believes in an equal and just living or in non hierarchy.
For them it’s a need, situations force them to do that. Then, how do they enjoy
the pleasure and power of belonging to a higher caste? For the people belonging
to higher level of caste hierarchy, traditional village structure is their legacy and
heritage. Therefore, every time they had to face the people belonging to holeya
and madaru in public spheres like for example while availing common public
water facility they felt a sense of loss and remember their past. It was clear when
they say earlier these people did not even dare to come near us. Belonging to
higher sections of caste hierarchy coming together and sharing public space with
the lower section of the caste hierarchy are ill effects of modernity and result of
'kaliyuga’ (Age of demon) according to the people of the village. This
compromise and change therefore, is not within and intentional but is for the
convenience. Therefore, as long as such compromises occur in the name of
convenience and necessity and when change is not planned by the people
differences tend to exist among the groups and instances of exploitation,
violence tend to exist and persist in various forms and names.
The power structure has often been described as one of the key concepts of
villages’ social structure. The shadow of a lower caste person supposed to cause
pollution, therefore, people belonging to lower caste is made to stay outside the
village known as keri even in the present day. But, no more caste operates within
this framework of purity and pollution. Caste today here is more political. The
change that was brought in by the state and modernity was not acceptable to the
people in the higher power structure. Long lasting reformist and revival
movements have brought in changes in the outlook of the existence of caste
today in the village.
The upper sections of caste hierarchy cannot deny public space for the
people living in keri in the name of pollution that they cause as the state has got
in the way of this traditional system by abolishing discrimination of any form
through law. Then, how do they get satisfaction of showing people that they are
powerful, pure and change is only state intended? As discussed above the two
castes that live in the keri is holeyaru and madaru who were ordained to perform
the unclean and polluted job and were labelled as polluted caste. The words
holeya and madaru today in the villages stands for an abusive word. You can
very often see in the village if a upper caste house is kept untidy, or if a girl raise
her voice while talking, the elders scold the girl saying why are you behaving
like ‘holeya’ woman by which they mean shameless or the house looks like a
‘madaru house’ by which they mean untidy and unclean or if there is argument
going on between two women in the ooru they scream at each other using the
word holeyaarki (woman belonging to holeya caste or madaraaki (woman
belonging to madaar caste) don’t you have shame?. Since these words denotes
caste groups that bears caste connotation and therefore, acts as an implicit
acceptance and even subscribing to the caste hierarchy of the age old institution
of caste system.
Upper castes always controlled and subordinated the lower section of the
power structure and consider them as creature of lesser worth (Kapadia 1962)
and tend to control even today. The people living in the keri refer to the upper
caste as ‘malakaru’ refers to master. It is these malakaru of the village who
decide who among the men or women living in the keri should compete in the
local self government elections in which people living in keri through their
reservation. The contestants from the keri get affiliated to one of the malakaru
and work for their interests. Therefore, in the democracy too the higher castes
dominate and control the lower sections of the power structure. All the rights of
a keri’s elected member is controlled by their malakaru. Therefore, the people if
they need to get the benefit of housing scheme or a pension scheme have to first
talk to the elected member who later will request his ‘malakaru’ to put that
person’s name in the beneficiary list.
With all this we cannot deny the fact that people living in the keri are now
becoming more caste conscious and assertive of their identity. Youths of keri
fight for their rights. They celebrate Ambedkar jayanthi34
with great honour and
pride. The men and women living in the keri raise their voice when they feel
people belonging to upper caste insult them, deny them their right to speak. The
following incidents brings out that the people living in keri have began reacting
to some extent.
That day Sangeeta was in the bank to find out whether money was credited
to her account. She enquired about the details and at the end of it Sangeeta asked the manager how many days will it take for the money to get
credited in her account. The bank official who belonged to the higher caste of the village was angry with Sangeeta. He was humiliated because a
woman belonging to lower caste raised her voice and questioned him in front of his colleagues. But the woman did not give up. She fought back.
When she left the bank his reaction was ‘these holeyaru and madaru
never dared to even come near us, see what has happened to our society’.
In later conversation with Sangeeta, she opined that she has realized the importance of fighting back. She says, if we give up these people will sit on
her head and always treat us low (excerpts from the field notes 2011).
34 Birth anniversary of Dr B.R Ambedkar.
Another incidence of resistance from living in keri is explained in this section. It is on a Life Education Skill programme which was initiated by one of the
voluntary organization for the girl children of devadasi women and the poor children. As part of this programme the social workers give them sex-
education, moral education and it also provides a platform to improve their confidence, teach them how to be away from ills of society. But, the
men in the ‘keri’ disagreed to send their children to these classes. They ask why we should send our children to these classes. Why do you decide to
teach morality and sex education only to our children? Are we not able to teach our children or do you think we have low moral? Why don’t you go and do these programmes in the ‘ooru’ for the children of upper caste.
They even argue we would send our children if they organized these programmes in the village along with other children of the ‘ooru’
(Excerpts from the field 2010).
This argument, affirmation and caste consciousness of the people living in
the keri often cause confrontations in the village. The loss of authority to rule
and denial of power to put conditions over a section of people cause frustration
among the people living in the ooru which in turn a poses a serious problem in
the village leading to conflicts and violence at times between youths and elders,
men, women in their relationship and world view. The brahmin, peasants and
other dominant castes of the village was exploiting the people in keri for years
now. For century’s men of higher caste has used the women belonging to lower
caste for sexual pleasure and continue to use. But, when holeyaru or madaru
men now have developed courage to converse with the women belonging to
higher caste, the whole section of people living in ooru revolt.
4.8 Holeya, Madiga: Social groups made to live in the keri:
Every households of the keri traditionally were supposed to undertake the
services of the family living in the ooru. The services included taking care of
their cattle’s, cleaning and helping them in agricultural activities, making
baskets, and ropes, broom sticks, beating drums and blowing the chronch during
the ceremonies and mending their footwear. This act of assigning one holeya and
madaru households in service to one family of upper caste referred to as
‘vokkalu or raithike. The two castes that live in the keri of the village are holeya
and madiga caste. There is a locally constructed perception that the word harijan
applies to holeya and therefore they are referred to as harijans and the streets in
which they live are referred to as harijan keri and the streets in which people
belonging to madiga caste is referred to as madara oni.
Social and Economic Profile of the Holeya and Madiga Caste
The household survey reflects that there are 173 households in the village
belonging to holeya and madaru caste living in the keri. Of the 173 households,
119 belong to holeya households and fifty four belong to madiga households.
Total number of persons living in the keri is 1483 of which 379 belong to
madaru caste and 1104 belong to holeya. Total persons in the age group of 0-6
are 273. Of the total population of 1483 living in keri 598 of them are literates,
of which 465 are males and 133 are female population. About 763 of the total
population are non literates.
Table 1.6 presents annual income of holeya and madiga households of the
village. About 45.7 percent of the households have annual income between Rs
45,000-Rs 60,000 and about 20.2 percent of the households have annual income
of more than Rs 60,000. The table also shows that 53.2 percent of the
households do not hold any agricultural land.
About 55.5 percentages of the households live in extended family
households of which 38.2 percentages of the extended households belong to
holeya caste and 17.3 are madiga households. Majority of the households in the
keri live in mannina mane i.e. 30.1 percent of households and 28.7 of them live
in cement houses.
Majority of the households in the keri do not have toilet facility (99.4) and
therefore, use open space. About 79.1 percent of the households have electricity
facility in the households.
Table 4.6: Demographic Profile of Holeya and Madar Caste of the Village
Sl.No Caste No. of
Households
No. of
Males
No.of
Females
Total
Persons
0-6
male
0-6
Female
0-6
Total 1 Holeya 119 512 592 1104 105 91 19
6
2 Madiga 54 162 217 379 50 27 77
Total 173 674 809 1483 155 118 27
3
Sl.No Caste Male
Literates
Female
Literates
Total
Literates
Male non
Literates
Femal
e non
literat
es
Total Non
literates
1 Holeya 296 169 465 211 332 543
2 Madiga 80 53 133 88 132 220
Total 376 222 598 299 464 763
Annual Income (in
%)
Caste
Holeya (%) Madiga(
%)
Total (%)
Less than
15000
0.6 0.0 0.6
15000-30000 3.5 4.0 7.5
30000-45000 13.9 12.1 26.0
45000-60000 32.9 12.7 45.7
More than
60000
17.9 2.3 20.2
Total 68.8 31.2 100 Type of Family Caste Holeya Madiga Total
Extended 38.2 17.3 55.5
Nuclear 30.6 13.9 44.5
Total 68.8 31.2 100 House Structure Caste
Gachina Mane
(Stone House)
15.6 1.7 17.3
Gilay Mane
(Cement
House)
22.5 6.4 28.9
Janthi Mane (
bamboo fibers
mixed with red
soil)
8.1 9.2 17.3
Mannin Mane
(Mud House)
19.1 11.0 30.1
Pathras Mane
(cement sheet
on the roof
with wall)
3.5 2.9 6.4
Total 68.8 31.2 100 Toilet Facility Caste
Holeya Madiga Total
Yes 0.6 0.0 0.6
No 68.6 30.8 99.4
Total 69.2 30.8 100
Electicity
Facility
Caste
Holeya Madig
a
Total
Yes 55.8 23.3 79.1
No 13.4 7.6 20.9
Total 69.2 30.8 100
Own Land Caste
Yes 38.7 8.1 46.8
No 30.1 23.1 53.2
Total 68.8 31.2 100
Acers of Land Caste
Holeya Madiga Total
No land 30.1 23.1 53.2
1-3 6.9 2.3 9.2
3-6 25.4 4.6 30.1
6-9 2.3 0.0 2.3
More Than 9 4.0 1.2 5.2
Source Income of Holeya and Madiga Caste
For majority of the households in the holeya and madiga non agriculture labour
forms the primary source of occupation (54.1%), about 50.1% of holeya and
56.2% of madiga households of the village earn their livelihood through non
agricultural labour. Agriculture, agriculture labour, salaried works are other
occupations on which the households of the harijan and madar oni depend upon
for their livelihood. Less than 5% (4.2%) of the households in the keri are
dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. About 3.4% of the households in
holeya and madar oni are dependent on salaried work which includes drivers,
conductors, working in the private firms and school teachers. Nearly one quarter
(23.3%) of the households depend on non agricultural labour like construction
work, road work for their livelihood. In the keri there are about 15.0% of the
households depending on dhandha35
for their livelihood.
Table 4.7: Source of Household income of the Holeya and Madiga Caste
Main
source of
income
Caste
Holeya
(%)
Madiga
(%)
Total
(%)
Agricultur
e Labour
20.4 25.5 23.3
Agricultur
e 2.1 3.1 4.2
Non-
agricultur
al labour
50.1 56.2 54.1
Salaried 1.2 5.2 3.4
Dhandha 26.2 10.0 15.0
Total 100 100 100
Educational Status
About 1/4th of the total population in the keri are non literates (43.5%) are not
literates. About 6.5% of the population has completed schooling up to secondary
education. Only 1.0% of the members have completed graduation while 22.5%
of the household members have completed primary education. About 7.4%
households in the keri have reached to the HSC levels. Less than 2.3% of the
members are pursuing various other courses like Diploma in Technical course,
Computers.
35 refers to work, in this context selling sex is referred to as work
Table 4.8: Educational Status of Holeya and Madaru Households
Educational Level
Caste
Holeya (%) Madaru (%) Total (%)
Non literates 41.4 45.7 43.5
Attending school 8.0 7.1 7.5
Primary 20.0 25.0 22.5
Secondary 13.0 6.0 6.5
SSC 8.0 4.0 9.3
HSC 7.1 8.1 7.4
Graduate 1.0 1.0 1.0
Other 1.5 3.1 2.3
Total 100 100 100
Social Organization of Holeya and Madar Caste
By social organization we mean the ways in which individuals as well as groups
are organized and related to one another, within the framework of a given
society. The culture of any society provides with blue print that lays out the
major tasks to be performed and specific direction to carry out assigned
functions (Hoebel and Frost 1972).
The social organization of the keri is based on two systems that are
kinship organization and jati (caste). It is the kinship and caste system that gives
an identity to the people of village in all forms of their social interaction. Both
aspects have their own principles which determine nature of social organization
of the keri.
Family and Household
‘mane’ forms as a concept of family and household for the people living in keri
i.e. for people belonging to harijan and madaru households. The members of
mane (family) live in a single dwelling, share a common hearth, pool their
resources and hold their property in common. The simplest domestic and
procreative unit in the keri is the nuclear family. Majority of the households in
the village are constituted by extended families. People in the keri take pride in
saying that they live in an extended family where in the siblings stay together
along with the soolé sisters and their begets. This form of family acts as a basic
unit of production and consumption. It is significant to note that among the
people of the keri the ties between patrilineally related households maintain
intimate social personal interactions with their families living in nearby houses.
This is commonly seen among the households of the brother’s or households of
the patrilineally related male parallel cousins. The reason for this they say is that
they are of the same blood and they worship the same family deity. Such kin
groups exhibit maximum degree of economic and social cooperation. Thus
patrilineal descent and virilocal residence and the tendency of the manetana
(lineage) to be localised among the people of this village give a man’s domestic
life a greater continuity than the woman’s.
While patrilineal descent and virilocal residence forms base for kin
relations for the families in the keri, the soolé traditions makes it possible for
existence of matrilineal decent and matrilocal residence in the patriarchy
dominant social system. The soolé women after their marriage with the goddess
stay at mother’s place. In both type of the households that is nuclear and
extended, it is the whole group that constitute a single economic unit where in all
the members are mutually dependent on one another for the production of food
and satisfaction of their day to day needs. The family is always under the
authority of oldest male member. He may be a father in the nuclear family, or he
may be an oldest son succeeding his father in the extended family setting and in
case a family with the soolé tradition, in the absence of a father, the soolé
woman becomes the authority. It is she who looks after all the affairs of the
households and holds the final say in all matters.
Villagers make a clear cut distinction between two types of families. One
of them is kude irodu (living together) and the other one is byare irodu (living
separately). Kude irodu (living together) therefore, can be understood as an
extended family where in the brothers live together with their wives, children
and parents or brothers living together along with their wives with the soolé
sisters and their children. Byare irodu (living separately) is referred to as nuclear
family where in brothers or soolé sisters get separated from the parental
extended family and live with their wife and children. Thus from people’s point
of view there are only two types of families, nuclear family and extended family.
Therefore, when we consider the social organization of people of the
village it is the centrality of the institution of caste and lineage that cuts across
all aspects of their social life. These two institutions determine their marriage,
family and their occupational structure. It is the manetana (lineage) that is the
core of kinship organization which embodies the rules of patrilineal descent and
virilocal residence. These principles are expressed through family and marriage.
The inter caste relationship and marriage among the villagers is determined by
the ritual status of the caste.
Marriage among holeya and madiga caste of the village
Marriage forms an important stage in the life of an individual. It is a kind of
social sanction for the union between man and woman and subsequently for
procreation. For the people of harijan and madaru caste like other social groups
of the village marriage is not just an union between two individuals but it is a
relation established between two manetanas (lineages). Marriage gives a new set
of relationships for the individual and the family as a whole. It symbolizes a
special alliance between two manetanas (lineages). The married man and
woman whose husband’s are alive, if they have children have special importance
in various rituals and ceremonies conducted on various social occasions.
Marriage is arranged by the elders in the family for the young people and
is not an individual affair. Apart from physical beauty and personal attributes the
elders see whether the boy or a girl would adjust with the family members or
not. People are of the opinion that these characteristics come from a family in
which he or she is born and brought up. Hence the parents look for such families
who have the reputation of having brought up the children according to their
own value system while choosing a suitable boy or a girl for marriage.
Every society has a specific set of rules concerning whom to marry and
whom not to marry. The people of keri follow the rule of manetana exogamy
and jati endogamy. Along with manetana (lineage) exogamy and jati endogamy
there was a practice of following bagi and bedagu. These bagi and bedagu were
clan like organizations are exogamous in nature. But people of keri say presently
they do not to follow this and consider only manetana (lineage) and caste while
choosing a suitable male or female for marriage. Majority of the families were
not even aware of the bagi and bedagu to which they belong to.
The rule of prohibition of marrying parallel cousins is also considered to
be important for the people in the keri. Marrying matrilateral parallel cousin is
also prohibited on the grounds that they are equivalent to one’s own siblings.
The rule of manetana exogamy takes care of patrilateral parallel cousin
marriage.
Among the people there is a preference for kin marriages. Marriages with
