# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Dūdēkula

​Dūdēkula. — The Dūdēkulas are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart* as "Muhammadans who have taken to the trade of cotton-cleaning (dūde, cotton; ekula, to clean). By the Tamils they are called Panjāri or Panjukotti, which have the same significance. Though Muhammadans, they have adopted or retained many of the customs of the Hindus around them, tying a tāli to the bride at marriage, being very ignorant of the Muhammadan religion, and even joining in Hindu worship as far as allowable. Circumcision is, however, invariable, and they are much given to the worship of Muhammadan saints. In dress they resemble the Hindus, and often shave off the beard, but do not leave a single lock of hair upon the head, as most Hindus do. Over three hundred Hindus have returned their caste as either Dūdēkula or Panjāri, but these are probably members of other castes, who call themselves Dūdēkula as they are engaged in cotton-cleaning."
The Dūdēkulas are described by Mr. W. Francis †as "a Muhammadan caste of cotton-cleaners, and rope and tape-makers. They are either converts to Islām, or the progeny of unions between Musalmans and the women of the country. Consequently they generally speak the Dravidian languages — either Canarese or Telugu — but ​some of them speak Hindustāni also. Their customs are a mixture of those of the Musalmans and the Hindus. Inheritance is apparently according to Muhammadan law. They pray in mosques, and circumcise their boys, and yet some of them observe the Hindu festivals. They worship their tools at Bakrid and not at the Dasara; they raise the azān or Muhammadan call to prayers at sunset, and they pray at the tombs of Musalman saints." In the Vizagapatam district, the Dūdēkulas are described as beating cotton, and blowing horns.
For the following note on the Dūdēkulas of the Ceded Districts, I am indebted to Mr. Haji Khaja Hussain. They claim Bava Faqrud-din Pir of Penukonda in the Anantapur district as their patron saint. Large numbers of Muhammadans, including Dūdēkulas, collect at the annual festival (mēla) at his shrine, and offer their homage in the shape of a fatiha. This, meaning opener, is the name of the first chapter of the Kōran, which is repeated when prayers are offered for the souls of the departed. For this ceremony a pilau, made of flesh, rice and ghī (clarified butter) is prepared, and the Khāzi repeats the chapter, and offers the food to the soul of the deceased saint or relation.
The story of Faqrud-dīn Pīr is as follows. He was born in A.H. 564 (about A.D. 1122), and was King of Seistan in Persia. One day, while he was administering justice, a merchant brought some horses before him for sale. His attention was diverted, and he became for a time absorbed in contemplation of the beauty of one of the horses. Awakening from his reverie, he blamed himself for allowing his thoughts to wander when he was engaged in the most sacred of his duties as a king. He summoned a meeting of all the learned moulvis in his kingdom, and enquired of them what was the penalty ​for his conduct. They unanimously decreed that he should abdicate. Accordingly he placed his brother on the throne, and, becoming a dervish, came to India, and wandered about in the jungles. Eventually he arrived at Trichinopoly, and there met the celebrated saint Tabri- Ālam, whose disciple he became. After his admission into holy orders, he was told to travel about, and plant his miswāk wherever he halted, and regard the place where it sprouted as his permanent residence. The miswāk, or tooth-brush, is a piece of the root of the pīlū tree (Salvadora persica), which is used by Muhammadans, and especially Fakirs, for cleaning the teeth. When Bava Faqrud-din arrived at Penukonda hill, he, as usual, planted the miswāk, which sprouted. He accordingly decided to make this spot his permanent abode. But there was close by an important Hindu temple, and the idea of a Muhammadan settling close to it enraged the Hindus, who asked him to leave. He not only refused to do so, but allowed his disciples, of whom a number had collected, to slaughter a sacred bull belonging to the temple. The Hindus accordingly decided to kill Faqrud-din and his disciples. The Rāja collected an armed force, and demanded the restoration of the bull. Faqrud-din ordered one of his disciples to bring before him the skin, head, feet and tail of the animal, which had been preserved. Striking the skin with his staff, he exclaimed " Rise, Oh! bull, at the command of God." The animal immediately rose in a complete state of restoration, and would not leave the presence of his preserver. Alarmed at this miracle, the Hindus brandished their swords and spears, and were about to fall on the Muhammadans, when a dust-storm arose and blinded them. In their confusion, they began to slay each other, and left the spot in dismay. The ​Rāja then resolved to kill the Muhammadans by poisoning them. He prepared some cakes mixed with poison, and sent them to Faqrud-dīn for distribution among his disciples. The saint, though he knew that the cakes were poisoned, partook thereof of himself, as also did his disciples, without any evil effect. A few days afterwards, the Rāja was attacked with colic, and his case was given up by the court physicians as hopeless. As a last resort, he was taken before Faqrud-dīn, who offered him one of the poisoned cakes, which cured him. Falling at his feet, the Rāja begged for pardon, and offered the village of Penukonda to Faqrud-dīn as a jaghīr (annuity). This offer was declined, and the saint asked that the temple should be converted into a mosque. The Rāja granted this request, and it is said that large numbers of Hindus embraced the Muhammadan religion, and were the ancestors of the Dūdēkulas.
The Dūdēkulas, like the Hindus, like to possess some visible symbol for worship, and they enrol great personages who have died among the number of those at whose graves they worship. So essential is this grave worship that, if a place is without one, a grave is erected in the name of some saint. Such a thing has happened in recent times in Banganapalle. A Fakir, named Allā Bakhsh, died at Kurnool. A Dūdēkula of the Banganapalle State visited his grave, took away a lump of earth from the ground near it, and buried it in a village ten miles from Banganapalle. A shrine was erected over it in the name of the saint, and has become very famous for the miracles which are performed at it. An annual festival is held, which is attended by large numbers of Muhammadans and Dūdēkulas.
Some Dūdēkulas have names which, though at first sight they seem to be Hindu, are really Muhammadan. ​For example, Kambannah is a corruption of Kamal Sahib, and Sakali, which in Telugu means a washerman, seems to be an altered form of Sheik Āli. Though Dūdēkulas say that they are Muhammadans of the Sheik sect, the name Sheik is only occasionally used as a prefix, e.g., Sheik Hussain or Sheik Āli. Names of males are Hussain Sa, Fakir Sa, and Khāsim Sa. Sa is an abbreviated form of Sahib. One old Dūdēkula stated that the title Sahib was intended for pucka (genuine)Muhammadans, and that the Dūdēkulas could not lay claim to the title in its entirety. Instead of Sa, Bhai, meaning brother, is sometimes used as a suffix to the name, e.g., Ghudu Bhai. Ghudu, meaning ash-heap, is an opprobrious name given to children of those whose offspring have died young, in the hope of securing long life to them. The child is taken, immediately after birth, to an ash-heap, where some of the ashes are sprinkled over it. Some Dūdēkulas adopt the Hindu termination appa (father), anna (brother), or gadu, e.g., Pullanna, Nāganna, Yerkalappa, Hussaingadu, Hussainappa. Typical names of females are Roshammā, Jamalammā,and Madarammā. They have dropped the title Bibi or Bi, and adopted the Hindu title ammā (mother).
The ceremony of naming a child is generally performed on the sixth day after its birth. The choice of a name is entrusted to an elderly female member of the family. In some cases, the name of a deceased ancestor who lived to an advanced age is taken. If a child dies prematurely, there is a superstitious prejudice against its name, which is avoided by the family. Very frequently a father and son, and sometimes two or three brothers, have the same name. In such a case prefixes are added to their names as a means of distinguishing them, e.g., Pedda (big), Nadpi (middle), Chinna (little). Sometimes ​two names are assumed by an individual, one a Hindu name for every day use, the other Muhammadan for ceremonial occasions.
The Dūdēkulas depend for the performance of their ceremonies largely on the Khāzi, by whom even the killing of a fowl for domestic purposes has to be carried out. The Dūdēkula, like other Muhammadans, is averse to taking animal life without due religious rites, and the zabh, or killing of an animal for food, is an important matter. One who is about to do so should first make vazu (ablution), by cleaning his teeth and washing his mouth, hands, face, forearms, head and feet. He should then face the west, and an assistant holds the animal to be slaughtered upside down, and facing west. Water is poured into its mouth, and the words Bismillā hi Allā hu Akbar uttered. The operator then cuts the throat, taking care that the jugular veins are divided. In remote villages, where a Khāzi is not available, the Dūdēkulas keep a sacrificial knife, which has been sanctified by the Khāzi repeating over it the same words from the Korān as are used when an animal is slaughtered.
The first words which a Muhammadan child should hear are those of the azān, or call to prayer, which are uttered in its ear immediately after birth. This ceremony is observed by those Dūdēkulas who live in towns or big villages, or can afford the services of a Khāzi. It is noted by Mr. Francis that the Dūdēkulas raise the azān at sunset. A few, who have been through a course of religious instruction at a Madrasa (school), may be able to do this. A Muhammadan is supposed to raise the azān five times daily, viz., before sunrise, between noon and 3 P.M., between 4 and 6 P.M., at sunset, and between 8 P.M. and midnight. ​At the naming of an infant on the sixth day, the Dūdēkulas do not, like other Muhammadans, perform the aguigā ceremony, which consists of shaving the child's head, and sacrificing a he-goat. Children are circumcised before the tenth year. On such occasions the Muhammadans generally invite their friends, and distribute sweets and pān-supāri (betel leaf and areca nuts). The Dūdēkulas simply send for a barber, Hindu or Muhammadan, who performs the operation in the presence of a Khāzi, if one happens to be available. When a girl reaches puberty, the Dūdēkulas invite their friends to a feast. Other Muhammadans, on the contrary, keep the fact a secret.
At the betrothal ceremony, when sweets and pān-supāri are taken by the future bridegroom and his party to the house of the girl whom he seeks in marriage, the female members of both families, and the girl herself, are present. This fact shows the absence of the Muhammadan gōsha system among Dūdēkulas. A Muhammadan wedding lasts over five or six days, whereas the ceremonies are, among the Dūdēkulas, completed within twenty-four hours. On the night preceding the nikka day, a pilau is prepared, and a feast is held at the bridegroom's house. On the following morning, when it is still dark, the bridegroom, accompanied by his relations, starts on horseback in procession, with beating of drums and letting off of fireworks. The procession arrives at the bride's house before sunrise. The Khāzi is sent for, and the mahr is settled. This is a nominal gift settled on the wife before marriage by the bridegroom. On the death of a husband, a widow has priority of claim on his property to the promised amount of the mahr. Two male witnesses are sent to the bride, to obtain her assent to the union, and to the amount of ​the mahr. The Khāzi, being an orthodox Muhammadan, treats the Dūdēkula bride as strictly gōsha for the time being, and, therefore, selects two of her near relatives as witnesses. The lutcha (marriage badge), consisting of a single or double string of beads, is brought in a cup filled with sandal paste.
The Khāzi chants the marriage service, and sends the lutcha in to the bride with his blessing. It is tied round her neck by the female relations of the bridegroom, and the marriage rites are over.
The usual Muhammadan form of greeting among Muhammadans is the familiar "Peace be with you." " And with you be peace." When a Dūdēkula greets a Muhammadan, he simply bows, and, with members of his own community, uses a Telugu form of salutation, e.g., nīku mokkutāmu.
The Dūdēkulas, male and female, dress exactly like Hindus, but, as a rule, the men do not shave their beard.
Disputes, and social questions affecting the community, are settled by a Khāzi.
With the increase in cotton mills, and the decline of the indigenous hand-weaving industry, the demand for cotton-cleaning labour has diminished, and some Dūdēkulas have, of necessity, taken to agriculture. Land-owners are very scarce among them, but some are abkari (liquor) contractors, village school-masters, and quack doctors. In the Ceded Districts, the cotton-cleaning industry is solely confined to the Dūdēkulas.
The synonyms of Dūdēkula, Ladaf and Nūrbāsh, recorded at times of census, are corruptions of Nad-dāf (a cotton dresser) and Nūrbāf (weaving).
* ↑ * Manual of the North Arcot district ; Madras Census Report, 1891.
* ↑ † Madras Census Report, 1901.