# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Haddi

​Haddi.—The Haddis are a low class of Oriyas, corresponding to the Telugu Mālas and Mādigas, and the Tamil Paraiyans. It has been suggested that the name is derived from haddi, a latrine, or hada, bones, as members of the caste collect all sorts of bones, and trade in them. The Haddis play on drums for all Oriya castes, except Khondras, Tiyoros, Tulābinas, and Sānis. They consider the Khondras as a very low class, and will not purchase boiled rice sold in the bazaar, if it has been touched by them. Castes lower than the Haddis are the Khondras and Jaggalis of whom the latter are Telugu Mādigas, who have settled in the southern part of Ganjam, and learnt the Oriya language.
The Haddis may be divided into Haddis proper, Rellis, and Chachadis, which are endogamous divisions. ​The Haddis proper never do sweeping or scavenging work, which are, in some places, done by Rellis. The Relli scavengers are often called Bhatta or Karuva Haddis. The Haddis proper go by various names, e.g., Sudha Haddi, Gōdomālia Haddi, etc., in different localities. The Haddis work as coolies and field labourers, and the selling of fruits, such as mango, tamarind, Zizyphus Jujuba, etc., is a favourite occupation. In some places, the selling of dried fish is a monopoly of the Rellis. Sometimes Haddis, especially the Karuva Haddis, sell human or yak hair for the purpose of female toilette. The Haddis have numerous septs or bamsams, one of which, hathi (elephant) is of special interest, because members of this sept, when they see the foot-prints of an elephant, take some dust from the spot, and make a mark on the forehead with it. They also draw the figure of an elephant, and worship it when they perform srādh (memorial service for the dead) and other ceremonies.
There are, among the Haddi communities, two caste officers entitled Bēhara and Nāyako, and difficult questions which arise are settled at a meeting of the officers of several villages. It is said that sometimes, if a member of the caste is known to have committed an offence, the officers select some members of the caste from his village to attend the meeting, and borrow money from them. This is spent on drink, and, after the meeting, the amount is recovered from the offender. If he does not plead guilty at once, a quarrel ensues, and more money is borrowed, so as to increase the debt. In addition to the Bēhara and Nāyako, there are, in some places, other officials called Adhikāri or Chowdri, or Bodoporicha and Bhollobhaya. The caste title is Nāyako. Members of higher castes are sometimes, ​especially if they have committed adultery with Haddi women, received into the caste.
Girls are married after puberty. Though contrary to the usual Oriya custom, the practice of mēnarikam, or marriage with the maternal uncle's daughter, is permitted. When the marriage of a young man is contemplated, his father, accompanied by members of his caste, proceeds to the home of the intended bride. If her parents are in favour of the match, a small space is cleared in front of the house, and cow-dung water smeared over it. On this spot the young man's party deposit a pot of toddy, over which women throw Zizyphus Jujuba leaves and rice, crying at the same time Ulu-ula. The village officials, and a few respected members of the caste, assemble in the house, and, after the engagement has been announced, indulge in a drink. On an auspicious day, the bridegroom's party go to the home of the bride, and place, on a new cloth spread on the floor, the bride-price (usually twenty rupees), and seven betel leaves, myrabolams (Terminalia fruits), areca nuts, and cakes. Two or three of the nuts are then removed from the cloth, cut up, and distributed among the leading men. After the wedding day has been fixed, an adjournment is made to the toddy shop. In some cases, the marriage ceremony is very simple, the bride being conducted to the home of the bridegroom, where a feast is held. In the more elaborate form of ceremonial, the contracting couple are seated on a dais, and the Bēhara or Nāyako, who officiates as priest, makes fire (hōmam) before them, which he feeds with twigs of Zizyphus Jujuba and Eugenia Jambolana. Mokuttos (forehead chaplets) and wrist-threads are tied on the couple, and their hands are connected by the priest by means of a turmeric-dyed thread, and then disconnected by an unmarried girl. ​The bride's brother arrives on the scene, dressed up as a woman, and strikes the bridegroom. This is called solabidha, and is practiced by many Oriya castes. The ends of the cloths of the bride and bridegroom are tied together, and they are conducted inside the house, the mother-in-law throwing Zizyphus leaves and rice over them.
Like other Oriya castes, the Haddis observe pollution for seven days on the occasion of the first menstrual period. On the first day, the girl is seated, and, after she has been smeared with oil and turmeric paste, seven women throw Zizyphus leaves and rice over her. She is kept either in a corner of the house, or in a separate hut, and has by her a piece of iron and a grinding-stone wrapped up in a cloth. If available, twigs of Strychnos Nux-vomica are placed in a corner. Within the room or hut, a small framework, made of broom-sticks and pieces of palmyra palm leaf, or a bow, is placed, and worshipped daily. If the girl is engaged to be married, her future father-in-law is expected to give her a new cloth on the seventh day.
The Haddis are worshippers of various Tākurānis (village deities),e.g.,Kalumuki, Sathabavuni, and Baidaro. Cremation of the dead is more common than burial. Food is offered to the deceased on the day after death, and also on the tenth and eleventh days. Some Haddis proceed, on the tenth day, to the spot where the corpse was cremated or buried, and, after making an effigy on the ground, offer food. Towards night, they proceed to some distance from the house, and place food and fruits on a cloth spread on the ground. They then call the dead man by his name, and eagerly wait till some insect settles on the cloth. As soon as this happens, the cloth is folded up, carried home, and shaken over the ​floor close to the spot where the household gods are kept, so that the insect falls on sand spread on the floor. A light is then placed on the sanded floor, and covered with a new pot. After some time, the pot is removed,and the sand examined for any marks which may be left on it. This ceremony seems to correspond to the jola jola handi (pierced pot) ceremony of other castes (see Bhondāri).
"The Rellis," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,* "are a caste of gardeners and labourers, found chiefly in the districts of Ganjam and Vizagapatam. In Telugu the word relli or rellis means grass, but whether there is any connection between this and the caste name I cannot say. They generally live at the foot of the hills, and sell vegetables, mostly of hill production."
For the following note on the Rellis of Vizagapatam, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The Rellis are also known as Sachchari, and they further call themselves Sapiri. The caste recognises the custom of mēnarikam, by which a man marries his maternal uncle's daughter. A girl is usually married after puberty. The bride-price is paid sometime before the day fixed for the marriage. On that day, the bride goes, with her parents, to the house of the bridegroom. The caste deities Odda Pōlamma (commonly known as Sapiri Daivam) and Kanaka Durgālamma are invoked by the elders, and a pig and sheep are sacrificed to them. A string of black beads is tied by the bridegroom round the bride's neck, and a feast is held, at which the sacrificed animals are eaten, and much liquor is imbibed. On the following morning, a new cloth, kunkumam (red powder), and a few pieces of turmeric are placed in a ​small basket or winnow, and carried in procession, to the accompaniment of music, through the streets by the bride, with whom is the bridegroom. The ceremony is repeated on the third day, when the marriage festivities come to an end. In a note on the Rellis of Ganjam, Mr. S. P. Rice writes * that " the bridegroom, with the permission of the Village Magistrate, marches straight into the bride's house, and ties a wedding necklace round her neck. A gift of seven and a half rupees and a pig to the castemen, and of five rupees to the bride's father, completes this very primitive ceremony." Widows are allowed to remarry, but the string of beads is not tied round the neck. The caste deities are usually represented by crude wooden dolls, and an annual festival in their honour, with the sacrifice of pigs and sheep, is held in March. The dead are usually buried, and, as a rule, pollution is not observed. Some Rellis have, however, begun to observe the chinnarōzu (little day) death ceremony, which corresponds to the chinnadinamu ceremony of the Telugus. The main occupation of the caste is gardening, and selling fruits and vegetables. The famine of 1875-76 reduced a large number of Rellis to the verge of starvation, and they took to scavenging as a means of earning a living. At the present day, the gardeners look down on the scavengers, but a prosperous scavenger can be admitted into their society by paying a sum of money, or giving a feast. Pollution attaches only to the scavengers, and not to the gardening section. In the Census Report, 1901, the Pākais or sweepers in the Godāvari district, who have, it is said, gone thither from Vizagapatam, are returned as a sub-caste of Relli. The usual title of the Rellis is Gādu. ​The Haddis who inhabit the southern part of Ganjam are known as Ghāsis by other castes, especially Telugu people, though they call themselves Haddis. The name Ghāsi has reference to the occupation of cutting grass,especially for horses. The occupational title of grass- cutter is said by Yule and Burnell * to be " probably a corruption representing the Hindustani ghāskodā or ghāskātā, the digger or cutter of grass, the title of a servant employed to collect grass for horses, one such being usually attached to each horse, besides the syce or horse-keeper (groom). In the north, the grass-cutter is a man; in the south the office is filled by the horsekeeper's wife." It is noted in 'Letters from Madras ' † that "every horse has a man and a maid to himself; the maid cuts grass for him; and every dog has a boy. I inquired whether the cat had any servants, but I found he was allowed to wait upon himself." In addition to collecting and selling grass, the Ghāsis are employed at scavenging work. Outsiders, even Jaggalis (Mādigas), Paidis, and Pānos, are admitted into the Ghāsi community.
The headman of the Ghāsis is called Bissoyi, and he is assisted by a Bēhara and Gonjari. The Gonjari is the caste servant, one of whose duties is said to be the application of a tamarind switch to the back of delinquents.
Various exogamous septs or bamsams occur among the Ghāsis, of which nāga (cobra), asvo (horse), chintala (tamarind), and liari (parched rice) may be noted. Adult marriage is the rule. The betrothal ceremony, at which the kanyo mūlo, or bride-price, is paid, is the occasion of a feast, at which pork must be served, and the Bissoyi of the future bride's village ties a konti (gold or silver bead) on her neck. The marriage ceremonial corresponds in ​the main with that of the Haddis elsewhere, but has been to some extent modified by the Telugu environment. The custom, referred to by Mr. S. P. Rice, of suspending an earthen pot filled with water from the marriage booth is a very general one, and not peculiar to the Ghāsis. It is an imitation of a custom observed by the higher Oriya castes. The striking of the bridegroom on the back by the bride's brother is the solabidha of other castes, and the mock anger (rusyāno) in which the latter goes away corresponds to the alagi povadam of Telugu castes.
At the first menstrual ceremony of a Ghāsi girl, she sits in a space enclosed by four arrows, round which a thread is passed seven times.
The name Odiya Tōti (Oriya scavenger) occurs as a Tamil synonym for Haddis employed as scavengers in Municipalities in the Tamil country.
* ↑ * Madras Census Report, 1891.
* ↑ * Occasional Essays on Native South Indian Life,
* ↑ * Hobson-Jobson.
* ↑ † Letters from Madras. By a Lady. 1843.