Dombar Dommara Tribes

 Tamilnadu & Andhra Pradesh

 

DOMBAR DOMMARA
TAMILNADU
( REDDY DOMBAR & DOMBA REDDY)

DOMBARS are essentially a wandering tribe, though like similar wandering tribes, such as Korachas, many of them have settled down in towns and villages. They are, as a class, illiterate, and rarely &how any inclinalion to send their children to school.

 The Common name by which the caste is called is Dombar, a later form of the original word Dombaru or Dommara. They have no other names in this State. In the Vizagapatam District of the Madras Presidency, they are known as Itevallu. They are described a~ people who exhibit different shows, such as wrestling. The titles used by the headman of the cajlte are Reddi,  Nayadu and Naik. The suffix Gadu is added at the end of the personal name of males when addressed by persons of higher caste, while the common suffixes of Appa and Ayya are used for males when they are addressed either by persons of their own or of an inferior caste. The Dombars are  a Telugu caste.

Language: 

All Dombars found in this State speak Telugu. Dombars who speak Mahratti are rarely seen here. Mahommedans who follow the profession of acrobats and wrestlers are known as Pehlwans, but they have no connection with the Telugu or Mahratti Dombars. Internal Structure of the Tribe: The Telugu Dombars, who are also known as Reddi Dombars are divided into two endogamous groups, namely, the settled (Urn . * Accounts differ as to the section of t~e Kapu. Reddis to which their original ancestor belonged. Some say Kodatl Reddl, some pakkanatis some other Sljjana Reddis and so on, the section of the Reddis which they claim being that of the Reddis who are found in largest numbers in or about the place where the informants reside. This is of little importance when we remember that all the Reddis were originally of one tribe, and the sections named are the endogamous groups of the main caste of Reddis. Dombars) and the nomad (Kadu Dombars). The wandering Dombars eat in the houses of the settled, but not vice versa. They seem to be subject to no exogamous restrictions; nor is any trace seen of hypergamy. But they all have, whether settled 0[“ nomadic, some sub-divisions which are neither endogamous nor exogamous, but which seem to be based on territorial or other distinctions. A list of these is given below: .

Aisarapollu 

 Mallepuvvaaluvallu

Mannepulavallu 

Gandhapurajuvallu 

 MatJivallu 

 Gopudasuvallu 

Murarivallu 

Lattivallu 

Nadumulenivallu 

KaggadiVallu 

Natakarayainvallu 

Kalabandivallu 

Pallekondalavallu 

Kanacardd I vallu 

 Somalarajuvvallu

 Kaserupuvallu 

Sonduruvallu 

 Kasrturivall u 

 Tolangivallu 

Kutaravallu 

Uppuvallu

Dombar houses are mere huts, somewhat similar to those of the Bedas, Odda , Koravars and Joghis. They are made of palmyra leaves plaited into mats with seven strands. The huts or gudisays are located on the outskirts of villages, and are carried on the backs of donkeys in their wanderings from one place to another. Stolen clothes uniless they are of value, are not generally Sold, but hidden on the backs of their donkeys to be worn after a time. Their furniture and domestic utensils are next to nothing, beyond a few earthen pots of their own making. Cooking is done mostly in the open air. A Dombar family is always occupied. *

Marriage Customs and Ceremonies:

 Polygamy is common. Dombar women play a very activ~ part in household and other kinds of work, and so men either marry or keep as concubines more than one woman. It of en happens that low class women of loose character, married, unmarried or widowed, take the opportunity of the visit of a troupe of Dombars to join them, and attach themselves to their party.

Pregnancy and Childbirth:

 The Dombars observe no ceremonies when a woman is pregnant. When living in villlages, her parents bring the woman to their house for the first delivery; but wandering fam.ili~ naturally leave them where they are. During confinement, the mother and child are kept apart in a separate hut or room, and the treatment of the patient is generally the same as in other castes. She i!l kept warm, laid on a cot of coir rope, and is given some arrack and other stimulating drugs. On the second day, a pit is dug in the verandah or in front of the house, in which the after-birth and the naval string are buried, and a fowl is killed on the .~t. On the third day, the mother is given some chicken broth. On the fifth, the seventh or the ninth day, the child and the mother are bathed. Castemen are given a dinner, and the child is put into a cradle, which, for the wandering Dombars, consistS of a cloth swung like a hammock between two posts, or on branches of trees. The maternal uncle ties the waist-thread to the child, whether male or female. The midwife is taken that evening to a toddy.’ Shop, where she is liberally entertained. The custom of consUlting the scothsayer for giving a name to the child is very common.

 The names of the individuals are generally the same as those used by other castes of similar status, Mara and Marl, Yalla and Yalli and Sunka and Sunki being common. Hanumantha is a popular name, as connoting strength and prowess. The names most common for women who lead an unmarried life are Chinni, Lachmi and Venkati. They sOmetimes name children Galiga (wind or spirit), to appease the spirit which, according to their belief, makes children in the family, die. When frequent deaths of children

 Occur, they make a vow and name the surviving child after a family or village god. Tonsure is performed for male children in the first or the third year after birth, when either a barber or the child’s maternal uncle crops the hair. Then a yede is kept: in the names of the deceased ancestors, and some caste111en are invited to a dinner with toddy.

Religion:

 All the Dombars, whether settled or wandering, have great faith in sorcery, magic, omens, oracles etc. Whenever they commence Any important event, they consult a soothsayer or ask for a flower. As they style it, from their tribal deity.The name of their tribal God is Gurumurthi and their tribal goddess is Yellamma. Like other wandering trlbes., they aloo wors.hip Maramma, Sankalamma and other maleficient deities. In recent years they have been largely influenced by the Vaishnava faith, and many have undergone the branding of the symbols of that faith namely, sanka and chakra, at the hands of the Satanis, and undertaken pilgrimages to Tirupati, the shrine of the Venkataramanaswami in the North Arcot district. In the quarters of the settled Dombars, where there is a sufficiently large number of houses, they invariably have a temple for Yellamma, whom they worship under the name (recently given) of Adi-Sakti. They strongly believe that any neglect shown to the worship of this goddess is sure to bring on misfortune to their families. The yajaman of the caste is the pujari, and he worships the goddess every Tuesday making offerings of cocoanuts, plantains and cooked ric,~. Once a year, on the Lunar New Year’s day, animals are sacrificed before this temple.

 They periodically hold a grand feast in the name of Yellamma. On such occasions, the settled sections all meet together in one place, generally Tumkur, but the nomadic sections celebrate the worship when three or four groups happen to meet together at a place. The worship comes on Tuesday. On a spot cleaned with cow-dung and water, six or seven pots of toddy are arranged in a row on planks laid thereon, the central pot being considered as representing the goddess. Margosa leaves and cotton thread dipped in turmeric paste and Kunkuma, are tied to each, turmeric paste and Kunkuma being also applied to them. All the people of khe caste assembled there take a bath, and put on washed clothes. Tbe yajaman who has observed fast on the previous evening also bathes, and dressing himself in washed clothes, supplied by the washerman, worships the pots with great reverence. All the people sit round with folded hands. Offerings of cocoanuts and flowers are made, and frankincense is burnt in large quantities. Then a number of sheep and goats are killed by the pu;ari after sprinkling thirtha o.n them. The Asadi o.f the Madiga caste, who has been invited for the occasion, sings the praises of YeIIamma, who takes possessio.n of one of them. The toddy in the pots, except the central one, with more added if necessary, Is distributed among aD those assembled, who get fully drunk. The revelry continues the whole night. Early in the next morning, mangalarathi is waved to the remaining pot, and the liquor therein is also distributed to all present as thirtha. This is followed by a general dinner. When Sankalamma is worshipped, an earthen pot filled with water, is installed on a Tuesday under a tree, and before it, on a plantain leaf, cooked rice and curds with an onion are offered. Turmeric and Kun_kuma are put on the pot. No animal is killed.

 Dombars worship a number of minor gods and goddesses. Such as Munisvara, Gurumurthi, Maramma and Kortigeramma (a local goddess). An.other peculiar goddess is known as Kaluvaliamma. This is a goddess of epidemics, and is believed to accompany travellers when they return from a long journey. To propitiate this 4eity, those who have just returned to their settlement repair to a grive, and there set up three small stones under a tree, and worship them with the offering of a fowl or sheep. The sacrificed animal is cooked there, and is eaten by the people attending the worship.

SociaI Status: The Dombars are low in social status. The wandering section eat at the hands of Oddas and Bedas. But the settled peopie draw the line at the Bestas. Except Holeyas and Madigas, no one eats in their houses.

Dietary of the Caste :

 They eat flesh of Goat , Pigs and Squirrel .

Appearance, Dress and Ornaments:

 Dombars are a strong muscular set of people, and are found in all shades of complexion. Tribesmen living in the vicinity of towns are better dressed and put on a better appearance . The women of the former class are of average stature, better dressed and better ornamented like those of high-caste women. The Dombar males are generally tall, stout, muscular and hardy.