# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Nalke

​Nalke.— The Nalkes or Nalakēyavas are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart* as "a caste of mat, basket, and umbrella makers, who furnish the devil-dancers, who play such an important part in the worship of the Tulu people. They have the usual Tulu exogamous sub-divisions or balls. They are generally held to be Holeyas or Pariahs. In Canarese they are called Pānāras."
"Every village in Canara," Mr. Stuart writes further,† "has its Bhūtasthānam or demon temple, in which the officiating priest or pūjāri is usually a man of the Billava caste, and shrines innumerable are scattered throughout the length and breadth of the land for the propitiation of the malevolent spirits of deceased celebrities, who, in their lifetime, had acquired a more than usual local reputation whether for good or evil, or had met with a sudden or violent death. In addition to these there are demons of the jungle and demons of the waste, demons who guard the village boundaries, and demons whose only apparent vocation is that of playing tricks, such as throwing stones on houses, and causing mischief generally. The demons who guard the village boundaries seem to be the only ones who are credited with even indirectly exercising a useful function. The others merely inspire terror by causing sickness and misfortune, ​and have to be propitiated by offerings, which often involve the shedding of blood, that of a fowl being most common. There are also family Bhūtas, and in every non-Brāhman house a room, or sometimes only a corner, is set apart for the Bhūta, and called the Bhūtakotya. The Bhūtasthānam is generally a small, plain structure, 4 or 5 yards deep by 2 or 3 yards wide, with a door at one end covered by a portico supported on two pillars. The roof is of thatch, and the building is without windows. In front of it there are usually three or four T-shaped pillars. Flowers are placed, and cocoanuts broken on them at ceremonies. The temples of the more popular Bhūtas are often substantial buildings of considerable size. Inside the Bhūtasthānam there are usually a number of images, roughly made in brass, in human shape, or resembling animals, such as pigs, tigers, fowls, etc. These are brought out and worshipped as symbols of the Bhūtas on various ceremonial occasions.* A peculiar small goglet or vase, made of bell-metal, into which from time to time water is poured, is kept before the Bhūtas, and, on special occasions, kepula (Ixora coccinea) flowers, and lights are placed before them. In the larger sthānas a sword is always kept near the Bhūta, to be held by the officiating priest when he stands possessed and trembling with excitement before the people assembled for worship, † A bell or gong is also found in all Bhūtasthānams. In the case of Bhūtas connected with temples, there is a place set apart for them, called a gudi. The Bhūtasthānam of the Baiderlu is called a garudi.
NALKE DEVIL-DANCER.
"The Bhūta worship of South Canara is of four kinds, viz., kōla, bandi, nēma, and agelu-tambila. Kōla, or devil dancing, is offered to the Bhūtas in the sthana of the village in which they are supposed to reside. The Sudras of the village, and of those adjacent to it, assemble near the sthāna, and witness the kōla ceremony in public, sharing the cost of it by subscriptions raised among all the Sudra families in the village in which the ceremony is held. Bandi is the same as kōla, with the addition of dragging about a clumsy kind of car, on which the Pompada priest representing the Bhūta is seated. Nēma is a private ceremony in honour of the Bhūtas, held in the house of anyone who is so inclined. It is performed once in ten, fifteen, or twenty years by well-to-do Billavas or Bants. The expenses of the nema amount to about Rs. 600 or Rs. 700, and are borne by the master of the house in which the nēma takes place. ​During the nēma, the Bhūtas, i.e., the things representing them, are brought from the sthāna to the house of the man giving the feast, and remain there till it is over. Agelu-tambila is a kind of worship offered only to the Baiderlu, and that annually by the Billavas only. It will be seen that kōla, bandi, and nēma are applicable to all the Bhūtas, including the Baiderlu, but that the agelu-tambila is applicable only to the Baiderlu."
NALKE DEVIL-DANCER.
Of the three devil-dancing castes found in South Canara (Nalke, Parava, and Pompada), the Nalkes are apparently the lowest. Even a Koraga considers a Nalke or a Parava inferior to him. It is said that, when a Parava meets a Koraga, he is expected to raise his hand to his forehead. This practice does not, however,seem to be observed at the present day. The Nalkes, though living amidst castes which follow the aliya santana law of inheritance (in the female line), follow the makkalakattu law of inheritance from father to son. The caste has numerous balls (septs), which are evidently borrowed from the Bants and Billavas. As examples of these, Salannaya, Bangerannaya, Kundarannaya, and Uppenannayya may be cited. The Nalkes ​have a headman called Gurikāra, who settles disputes and other matters affecting the community, and acts as the priest at marriages, death ceremonies, and other ceremonials.
Girls are married after puberty, and a woman may marry any number of times. The marriage ceremony is concluded in a single day. The contracting couple are seated on planks, and the Gurikāra throws coloured rice over their heads, and ties a turmeric-dyed string with beads strung on it round their necks. Those assembled then throw rice over them, their hands are joined by the Gurikāra or their fathers, and the dhare water is poured thereon.
The dead are either buried or cremated. After burial or cremation, a mound (dhupe) is, as among other castes in Canara, made over the spot. Round it, four posts are stuck in the ground, and decorated so as to resemble a small car (cf. Billava). The final death ceremonies (uttarakriya) are generally performed on the fifth or seventh day. On this day, cooked food is offered to the deceased by placing it near the dhupe, or on the spot where he breathed his last. This is followed by a feast. If the ceremony is not performed on one of the recognised days, the permission of some Bants or Billavas must be obtained before it can be carried out.
JUMADI BHUTA.
Whenever people want to propitiate the Bhūtas, a Nalke or Parava is engaged. In some places, the Nalke disguises himself as any Bhūta, but, where Paravas are also to be found, the Nalke may not dress up as the Baiderkulu, Kodamanitaya, or Rakteswari. The propitiation of the Bhūta takes the form of a ceremony called Kōla, Nēma, or Agelu Tambila. Of these. Kōla is a periodical ceremony, in which various castes take part, and is always performed near a Bhūtasthāna. Nēma is usually undertaken by a single family, and is performed at the house. Agelu Tambila is celebrated by Billavas at their homes. The Kōla ceremony is usually performed for the propitiation of Bhūtas other than the Baiderkulu. The Muktesar or chief man, with the assistance of a Brāhman, fixes an auspicious day for its celebration. The jewels, and votive offerings made to the Bhūtas, are kept in the custody of the Muktesar. On the Kōla day, the people go in procession from the sthana to the Muktesar's house, and return to the sthana with the jewels and other articles. These are arranged on cots, and a Billava pūjāri places seven plantain leaves in a row on a cot, and heaps rice thereon. On each heap, a cocoanut is placed for the propitiation of the most important Bhūta. To the minor Bhūtas, these things are offered on three or five leaves placed on cots, or on the floor of the sthana, according to the importance of the Bhūta. A seven-branched torch must be kept burning near the cot of the principal Bhūta. The pūjāri goes to the courtyard of the sthana, and piles up a conical mass of cooked rice on a stool. Over this, ​pieces of plantain fruits are scattered. Round the mass, several sheaths of plantain leaves are arranged, and on them tender cocoanut leaves, cut in various ways, are stuck. The pūjāri, who wears a metal belt and other jewelry, does pūja to the Bhūtas, and retires. The Nalkes or Paravas then advance dressed up as Bhūtas, and request permission to put on their canopy (ani) and brass anklet (guggirē). They then dance, and sing songs connected with the Bhūtas which are being propitiated. When they are exhausted and retire, the pūjāri steps forwards, and addresses the assembly in the following terms: — "Oh! great men who are assembled, with your permission I salute you all. Oh! Brāhmans who are assembled, I salute you. Oh! priest, I salute you." In this manner, he is expected to run through the names of all important personages who are present. When he has finished, the devil-dancers do the same, and the ceremony is at an end.
Of the Bhūtas, the best known are Brahmeru, Kodamanitaya, Kukkintaya, Jumadi, Sarlu Jumadi, Pancha Jumadi, Rakteswari, Panjurli, Kuppe Panjurli, Rakta Panjurli, Urundarayya, Hosadēvata (or Hosa Bhūta), Dēvanajiri, Kalkutta, Ukkatiri, Gulige, Bobbariya, Nicha, Duggalaya, Mahisandaya, Varte, Chāmundi, Baiderukulu, Okkuballala, and Oditaya. According to some, Jumadi is the small-pox goddess Māri. There are only two female Bhūtas — Ukkatiri and Kallurti. The Bhūtas are supposed to belong to different castes. For example, Okkuballala and Dēvanajiri are Jains, Kodamanitaya and Kukkinataya are Bants, Kalkutta is a smith, Bobbariya is a Māppilla, and Nicha a Koraga.
In some temples dedicated to Siva, the Tantris offer food, etc., to the various Bhūtas on special occasions, ​such as Dīpavali and Sankarānthi. At Udipi, the Sanyāsis of the various mutts (religious institutions) seem to believe in some of the Bhūtas, as they give money for the performance of Kōla to Panjurli, Sarla Jumadi, and Chāmundi.
At Hiriadkāp in South Canara, where the Nalkes performed before me, the dancers wore spathes of the areca palm, forming spats to prevent the skin from being injured by the metal bells round their ankles as they danced.
The songs sung by the devil dancers are very numerous, and vary in different localities. Of the stories relating to Bhūtas, a very full account has been given by Mr. A. C. Burnell*
A collection of stories (pādanollu) belonging to the demon-worshippers of the Tulu country, and recited at their annual festivals, was published at the Mangalore Basel Mission Press in 1886.
* ↑ * Manual of the South Canara district.
* ↑ † Ibid.
* ↑ • M. J. Walhouse. Journ. Anthrop. Inst., V, 1876.
* ↑ † Devil Worship of the Tuluvas, Ind. Ant., XXIII, 1894.
* ↑ * Devil Worship of the Tuluvas. Ind. Ant., XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVI, 1894-7.