# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Sātāni

​Sātāni.— The Sātānis are described in the Madras Census Report, 1891, as "a class of temple servants very much like the Mālis of Bengal. The word Sātāni is a corrupt form of Sāttādavan, which, literally means one who does not wear (the sacred thread and tuft of hair). For temple services Rāmānuja classed Vaishnavites into Sāttinavan and Sāttādavan. The former are invariably Brāhmans, and the latter Sūdras. Hence Sātāni is the professional name given to a group of the Vaishnava creed. It is sometimes stated that the Sātānis of the Madras Presidency are the disciples of the famous Bengali reformer Chaitanya (15th century), from whom, they say, the term Sātāni took its origin. But, so far as I can ascertain, this supposition rests on no better foundation than the similarity in sound of the two names, and it seems to me more than doubtful. There is no evidence of Chaitanya having ever preached in the Dravidian country, and the tenets of the Sātānis of this Presidency differ widely from those of the followers of Chaitanya. The former worship only Krishna, while the latter venerate Vishnu in the form of Nārāyana also. The Sātānis, too, have as much reverence for Rāmānuja as the followers of Chaitanya have towards their guru, who is said to be an incarnation of Krishna. With ​regard to their religion, it will suffice to say that they are Tengalai Vaishnavites. They shave their heads completely, and tie their lower cloth like a Brāhman bachelor. In their ceremonies they more or less follow the Brāhmans, but the sacred thread is not worn by them. Though the consumption of alcoholic liquor and animal food is strictly prohibited, they practice both to a considerable extent on all festive occasions, and at srādhs. Drinking and other excesses are common. Some Sātānis bury the dead, and others burn them. The principal occupations of Sātānis are making garlands, carrying the torches during the god's procession, and sweeping the temple floor. They also make umbrellas, flower baskets and boxes of palmyra leaves, and prepare the sacred balls of white clay (for making the Vaishnavite sectarian mark), and saffron powder. Their usual agnomen is Aiya."
In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Sātānis are summed up as being "a Telugu caste of temple servants supposed to have come into existence in the time of the great Valshnavite reformer Sri Rāmānujāchārya (A.D.1100). The principal endogamous sub-divisions of this caste are (1) Ekākshari, (2) Chaturākshari, (3) Ashtākshari, and (4) Kulasēkhara. The Ekāksharis (ēka, one, and akshara, syllable) hope to get salvation by reciting the one mystic syllable Ōm; the Chaturāksharis believe in the religious efficacy of the four syllables Rā-mā-nu-jā; the Ashtāksharis hold that the recitation of the eight syllables Ōm-na-mō-nā-rā-ya-nā-ya (Om! salutation to Nārāyana) will ensure them eternal bliss; and the Kulasēkharas, who wear the sacred thread, claim to be the descendants of the Vaishnava saint Kulasēkhara Ālvār, formerly a king of the Kērala country. The first two sections make umbrellas, flower garlands, etc., and ​are also priests to Balijas and other Sūdra castes of the Vaishnava sects, while the members of the other two have taken to temple service. In their social and religious customs, all the sub-divisions closely imitate the Tengalai Vaishnava Brāhmans. The marriage of girls after puberty, and the remarriage of widows, are strictly prohibited. Most of them employ Brāhman purōhits, but latterly they have taken to getting priests from their own caste. They attach no importance to the Sanskrit Vēdas, or to the ritual sanctioned therein, but revere the sacred hymns of the twelve Vaishnava saints or Ālvārs, called Nālāyira Prabandham (book of the four thousand songs), which is in Tamil. From this their purōhits recite verses during marriages and other ceremonies." At the census, 1901, Rāmānuja was returned as a sub-caste of Sātāni. In the Manual of the North Arcot district, Mr. H. A. Stuart describes the Sātānis as "a mixed religious sect, recruited from time to time from other castes, excepting Paraiyans, leather-workers, and Muhammadans. All the Sātānis are Vaishnavites, but principally revere Bāshyakār (another name for Rāmānuja), whom they assert to have been an incarnation of Vishnu. The Sātānis are almost entirely confined to the large towns. Their legitimate occupations are performing menial services in Vishnu temples, begging, tending flower gardens, selling flower garlands, making fans, grinding sandalwood into powder, and selling perfumes. They are the priests of some Sūdra castes, and in this character correspond to the Saivite Pandārams."
In the Census Report, 1871, the Sātānis are described as being "frequently religious mendicants, priests of inferior temples, minstrels, sellers of flowers used as offerings, etc., and have probably recruited their numbers ​by the admission into their ranks of individuals who have been excommunicated from higher castes. As a matter of fact, many prostitutes join this sect, which has a recognised position among the Hindus. This can easily be done by the payment of certain fees, and by eating in company with their co-religionists. And they thus secure for themselves decent burial with the ceremonial observances necessary to ensure rest to the soul."
In the Mysore Census Report, 1891, it is noted that Sātānis are also styled Khādri Vaishnavas, Sāttādavāl, Chātāli, Kulasēkhara, and Sāmērāya. These names, however, seem to have pricked their amour propre in the late census, and they took considerable pains not only to cast them off, but also to enrol themselves as Prapanna Vaishnavās, Nambi, Venkatapura Vaishnavās, etc. The idea of being tabulated as Sūdras was so hateful to them that, in a few places, the enumerators, who had so noted down their caste according to precedent, were prosecuted by them for defamation. The cases were of course thrown out. Further, the Mysore Census Superintendent, 1901, writes that "the sub-divisions of the Sātānis are Khadri Vaishnavās, Natacharamurti, Prathama Vaishnava, Sameraya or Samogi, Sankara, Suri, Sattādhava, Telugu Sātāni, and Venkatapurada. Some are employed in agriculture, but as a rule they are engaged in the service of Vishnu temples, and are flower-gatherers, torch-bearers, and strolling minstrels."
The Sātānis are also called Dāsa Nambis. They are flesh-eaters, but some have now become pure vegetarians. There are, for example, at Srivilliputtūr in the Tinnevelly district, a large number who have abandoned a meat dietary. They are connected with the temple of Āndāl, and supply flowers and tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) leaves ​for worship, carry torches before the goddess during processions, and watch the gate of the temple during the night. The small income which they derive from the temple is supplemented by the manufacture and sale of palmyra leaf baskets, and umbrellas made from Pandanus leaves. As a class, the Sātānis are given to liquor, and all important ceremonial occasions are made the excuse for copious potations. This weakness is so well known that, in the north of the Presidency, the term Rāmānuja Matham is used to denote the consumption of meat and drink at death or srādh ceremonies, just as Saivam signifies vegetarianism. The Sātāni mendicant can be recognised by the peculiar flat gourd-shaped brass pot and palm leaf fan which he carries. The Sātānis claim to have sprung from the sweat of Virāt Purusha (lord of the universe). The following legend is told, as accounting for the removal of the kudumi (tuft of hair on the head), and wearing the cloth without a fold behind. In the time of Rāmānuja, the Sātānis enjoyed certain privileges in the temples, but, not satisfied with these, they claimed to take rank next to Brāhmans. This privilege was accorded, and, when flowers and other things used in the worship of the god were to be distributed, they were handed over to the Sātānis. They, however, were unable to decide who should be deputed to represent the community, each person decrying the others as being of low caste. Rāmānuja accordingly directed that they should shave their heads, and wear their loin-cloths with a fold in front only.
In addition to other occupations already noted, Sātānis sell turmeric, coloured powders, and sacred balls of white clay used by Vaishnavites. Some act as priests to Balijas and Kōmatis, at whose death ceremonies the presence of a Sātāni is essential. Immediately after ​death, the Sātāni is summoned, and he puts sect marks on the corpse. At the grave, cooked food is offered, and eaten by the Sātāni and members of the family of the deceased. On the last day of the death ceremonies (karmāndiram), the Sātāni comes to the house of the dead person late in the evening, bringing with him certain idols, which are worshipped with offerings of cooked rice, flesh, and liquor in jars. The food is distributed among those present, and the liquor is doled out from a spoon called parikam, or a broom dipped in the liquor, which is drunk as it drips therefrom.
Sātāni women dress just like Vaishnava Brāhman women, from whom it is difficult to distinguish them. In former days, the Sātānis used to observe a festival called ravikala (bodice) utchavam, which now goes by the name of gandapodi (sandal powder) utchavam. The festival, as originally carried out, was a very obscene rite. After the worship of the god by throwing sandal powder, etc., the Sātānis returned home, and indulged in copious libations of liquor. The women threw their bodices into vessel, and they were picked out at random by the men. The woman whose bodice was thus secured became the partner of the man for the day.
For the following note on Sātānis in the Vizagapatam district I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. Sātāni is said to be the shortened form of Saththādavan, the uncovered man. They are prohibited from covering three different parts of their bodies, viz., the head with the usual tuft of hair, the body with the sacred thread, and the waist with the customary strip of cloth. All devout Sātānis shave their heads completely. [There is a proverb "Tie a knot on the Sātāni's tuft of hair, and on the ascetic's holy thread." The Sātānis shave the ​whole head, and the Sanyāsis have no sacred thread.]* The caste is divided into exogamous septs, or intipērulu. The custom of mēnarikam, according to which a man marries his maternal uncle's daughter, is observed. The remarriage of widows and divorce are not allowed. Attempts have been made by some members of the caste, in other parts of the Madras Presidency, to connect themselves with Chaitanya. But, so far as the Vizagapatam district is concerned, this is repudiated. They are Rāmānuja Vaishnavas of the Tenkalai persuasion. Their gurus are known as Paravasthuvāru — a corruption of Paravāsu Dēva, whose figure is on the vimāna of the Srīrangam temple, and who must be visited before entering the principal sanctuary. They live at Gūmsūr in Ganjam, and have Sadachārulu, or ever-devout followers, who act as their agents in Vizagapatam. They brand the shoulders of Sātānis with the Vaishnavite emblems, the sankha and chakra, and initiate them into the mysteries of the Vaishnava religion by whispering into their ears the word Rāmānuja. The Sātāni learns by heart various songs in eulogy of Srīrangam and its deity, by means of which he earns his living. He rises in the early morning, and, after a bath, adorns his forehead and body with the Vaishnavite nāmam, ties round his clean-shaved head a string of tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) beads known as thirupavithram, puts a tulsi garland round his neck, and takes a fan called gajakarnam, or elephant's ear, in his right hand. In his left hand he carries a copper gourd-shaped vessel. He is generally accompanied by another Sātāni similarly got up. When begging, they sing the songs referred to above, and collect the rice which is given to them in their vessels. ​At the end of their round they return home, and their wives clean the rice, bow down before it, and cook it. No portion of the rice obtained by begging should be sold for money. The Sātānis play an important part in the social life of the Vaishnavites of the district, and are the gurus of some of the cultivating and other classes. They preside at the final death ceremonies of the non-Brāhman Vaishnavite castes. They burn their dead, and perform the chinna (little) and pedda rōzu (big day) death ceremonies.