# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Īdiga

​Īdiga. — The Telugu toddy-drawers, whose hereditary occupation is the extraction of the juice of the date and palmyra palms, go by different names in different localities. Those, for example, who live in the Salem, North Arcot and Chingleput districts, are called Īdigas ​or Indras. In the Northern Circars and the Nellore district, they are known as Gamallas or Gamandlas, and in the Cuddapah district as Asilis.
It is recorded, in the North Arcot Manual, that " Īdiga is one of the toddy-drawing castes of the Telugu country, the name being derived from Telugu Īdchu, to draw. The Īdigas are supposed to be a branch of the Balija tribe, separated on account of their occupation. They are chiefly Vaishnavites, having Sātānis as their priests. They are divided into two classes, the Dandu (army) * Īdigas and the Balija Īdigas, of whom the former used originally to distil arrack, but, now that the manufacture is a monopoly, they usually sell it. The Balija Īdigas extract toddy, the juice of the palm tree. They differ from the Shānāns in some of their professional customs, for, while the Tamilians in climbing tie their knives behind them, the Telugus tie them on the right thigh. Tamilian drawers extract the juice from palmyras and cocoanuts, but rarely from the date, and the Telugus from the palmyras and dates, but never from cocoanuts. The chief object of their worship is Yellamma, the deity who presides over toddy and liquor. On every Sunday, the pots containing liquor are decorated with flowers, saffron, etc., and offerings are made to them."
In the Madras Census Report, 1901, it is stated that "it is said that the Īdigas are the descendants of Balijas from Rajahmundry in Godāvari district, and that their occupation separated them into a distinct caste. They are divided into two endogamous sections called either Dandu and Palli, or Pātha (old) and Kotta (new). The headman of the caste is called Gaudu. They employ Brāhmans as purōhits for their ceremonies, and these ​Brāhmans are received on terms of equality by other Brāhmans. They bury their dead, and observe pollution for twelve days, during which they abstain from eating flesh. The consumption of alcohol is strictly prohibited, and is severely punished by the headman of the caste. They eat with all Balijas, except the Gāzulu section. Their titles are Aiya, Appa, and Gaudu."
It is noted by Mr. F. Fawcett that "in the northern districts, among the Telugu population, the toddy-drawers use a ladder about eight or nine feet in length, which is placed against the tree, to avoid climbing a third or fourth of it. While in the act of climbing up or down, they make use of a wide band, which is passed round the body at the small of the back, and round the tree. This band is easily fastened with a toggle and eye. The back is protected by a piece of thick soft leather. It gives great assistance in climbing, which it makes easy. All over the southernmost portion of the peninsula, among the Shānāns and Tiyans, the ladder and waist-band are unknown. They climb up and down with their hands and arms, using only a soft grummel of coir (cocoanut fibre) to keep the feet near together."
The Īdigas claim to be descended from Vyāsa, the traditional compiler of the Mahābhārata. In a note by Mr. F. R. Hemingway on the Īdigas of the Godāvari district, they are said to worship a deity, to whom they annually offer fowls on New Year's day, and make daily offerings of a few drops of toddy from the first pot taken from the tree. In this district they are commonly called Chetti.
The insigne of the Īdigas, as recorded at Conjeeveram, is a ladder.*
* ↑ * The Īdigas are said to have been formerly employed as soldiers under the Poligars.
* ↑ * J. S. F. Mackenzie, Ind. Ant., IV, 1875.