# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Vēdan

​Vēdan. — The Vēdans are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart, in the North Arcot Manual, as having been "formerly hunters and soldiers, and it is this caste which furnished a considerable and valuable contingent to the early Hindu kings, and later to the armies of Hyder and Tippoo. They are supposed by some to be the remnants of the earliest inhabitants of the peninsula, and identical with the Veddahs of Ceylon. They are also called Vālmīkulu, which means those who live on the products of ant-hills (vālmīkum)." It is noted, in the Census Report, 1891, that the two castes Bēdar (or Bōya) and Vēdan were, "through a misapprehension of instructions, treated as identical in the tabulation papers. The two words are, no doubt, etymologically identical, the one being Canarese and the other Tamil, but the castes are quite distinct." It may be noted that the name Vālmīka or Vālmīki is assumed by the Bōyas, who claim descent from Vālmīki, the author of the Rāmayana, who did penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill grew up round him.
In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Vēdans are described as "a Tamil-speaking labouring and hunting caste, the members of which were formerly soldiers, and subsequently dacoits. The name means a hunter, and is loosely applied to the Irulas in some places {e.g., Chingleput). There is some connection between the Vēdans and Tamil Vēttuvans, but its precise nature is not clear. The Vēttuvans now consider themselves superior to the Vēdans, and are even taking to calling themselves Vēttuva Vellālas. Marriage (among the Vēdans) is either infant or adult. Widows may marry their late husband's brother or agnates. Some employ Brāhmans as priests. They either burn or bury their ​dead. They claim descent from Kannappa Nāyanar, one of the sixty -three Saivite saints. Ambalakārans also claim to be descended from Kannappa Nāyanār. In Tanjore, the Valaiyans declare themselves to have a similar origin. The title of the Vēdans is Nāyakkan." In the Madura Manual, the Vēdans are described as a very low caste, who get their living in the jungles. They are not numerous now. They appear to have been naked savages not very long ago, and their civilisation is far from complete. They are held in the greatest contempt by men of all classes. They are described further, in the Coimbatore Manual, as "a very degraded, poor tribe, living by basket-making, snaring small game, and so on. They speak a low Canarese, and are as simple as savage. The delight of a party at the gift of a rupee is something curious." In the Salem district some Vēdans are said* to be "known by the caste name Tiruvalar, who are dintinguished as the Kattukudugirajāti, a name derived from a custom among them, which authorises temporary matrimonial arrangements."
(Upload an image to replace this placeholder.)
The Vēdars of Travancore are summed up by the Rev. S. Mateer * as "living in jungle clearings or working in the rice fields, and formerly sold and bought as slaves. They have to wander about in seasons of scarcity in search of wild yams, which they boil and eat on the spot, and are thorough gluttons, eating all they can get at any time, then suffering want for days. Polygamy is common, as men are not required to provide for the support of their wives. Some, who have been converted to Christianity, show wonderful and rapid improvement in moral character, civilisation and diligence."
For the following note on the Mala (hill) Vēdans of Travancore, I am indebted to Mrs. J. W. Evans.† "They live in wretched huts amid the rice-flats at the foot of the hills, and are employed by farmers to guard the crops from the ravages of wild beasts. The upper incisor teeth of both men and women are filed to a sharp point, like crocodile's fangs. One ugly old man, Tiruvātiran by name (the name of a star), had the four teeth very slightly filed. On being pressed for the reason why he had not conformed to Mala Vēdar fashion, he grinned, and said 'What beauty I was born with is enough for me.' Probably the operation had been more painful than he could bear, or, may be, he could not afford to pay the five betel leaves and areca nuts, which are the customary fee of the filer. Any man may perform the operation. A curved bill-hook, with serrated edge, is the instrument used. On being asked whether they had any tradition about the custom of tooth-filing, they replied that it was to distinguish their caste, and the ​god Chāttan would be angry if they neglected the custom. It may be noted that tooth-filing is also practiced by the jungle Kādirs (q.v.). Both males and females wore a cotton loin-cloth, mellowed by wear and weather to a subtle greenish hue. Red and blue necklaces, interstrung with sections of the chank shell (Turbinella rapa) adorned the necks and chests. One woman was of special interest. Her neck and breasts were literally concealed by a medley of beads, shells, brass bells, and two common iron keys — these last, she said, for ornament. Around her hips, over her cloth, hung several rows of small bones of pig and sāmbar (Cervus unicolor). The Mala Vēdars find these bones in the jungle. An aged priest said that he used to perform devil-dancing, but was now too stiff to dance, and had to labour like the younger men. The Mala Vēdans apparently possess no temples or shrines, but Hindus permit them to offer money at the Hindu shrines from a distance, at times of sudden sickness or during other seasons of panic. Their god Chāttan, or Sāttan, has no fixed abode, but, where the Mala Vēdans are, there is he in the midst of them. They bury their dead in a recumbent posture, near the hut of the deceased. The Mala Vēdans practice the primitive method of kindling fire by the friction of wood (also practiced by the Kānakars), and, like the Kānakars, they eat the black monkey. Their implements are bill-hooks, and bows and arrows. They weave grass baskets, which are slung to their girdles, and contain betel, etc."
The more important measurements of twenty-five Mala Vēdans examined by myself were —
| ——— | Max. | Min. | Average. |
| Stature (cm.) | 163.8 | 140.8 | 154.2 |
| Cephalic index | 80.9 | 68.8 | 73.4 |
| Nasal index | 102.6 | 71.1 | 85.0 |
(Upload an image to replace this placeholder.)
The following menstrual ceremony has been described * as occurring among the Vēdans of Travancore. "The wife at menstruation is secluded for five days in a hut a quarter of a mile from her home, which is also used by her at childbirth. The next five days are passed in a second hut, half way between the first and her house. On the ninth day her husband holds a feast, sprinkles his floor with wine, and invites his friends to a spread of rice and palm wine. Until this evening, he has not dared to eat anything but roots, for fear of being killed by the devil. On the tenth day he must leave his house, to which he may not return until the women, his and her sister have bathed his wife, escorted her home, and eaten rice together. For four days after his return, however, he may not eat rice in his own house, or have connection with his wife."
* ↑ * Manual of the Salem district.
* ↑ * Native Life in Travancore.
* ↑ † Madras Museum, Bull. III, I, 1900.
* ↑ * Crawley, The Mystic Rose. Fide Jagor. Zeitsch: Ethnol. XI, 164.