Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 2.djvu/217

Rh '''Dondia. —''' A title of Gaudo.  '''Donga Dāsari. —''' Dāsari (servant of the god), Mr. Francis writes, " in the strict sense of the word, is a religious mendicant of the Vaishnavite sect, who has formally devoted himself to an existence as such, and been formally included in the mendicant brotherhood by being- branded on the shoulders with Vaishnavite symbols." Far different are the Donga, or thief Dāsaris, who receive their name from the fact that "the men and women disguise themselves as Dāsaris, with perpendicular Vaishnava marks on their foreheads, and, carrying a lamp (Garuda kambum), a gong of bell-metal, a small drum called jagata, and a tuft of peacock feathers, go begging in the villages, and are at times treated with the sumptuous meals, including cakes offered to them as the disciples of Venkatēsvarlu. " In an interesting article on the Donga Dāsaris, Mr. S. M. Natesa Sastri writes as follows. "Quite opposed to the gudi (temple) Dāsaris are Donga Dāsaris. They are the most dreaded of the criminal classes in the Bellary district. In the early years of their settlement in Bellary, these Donga Dāsaris were said to have practiced kidnapping boys and girls of other castes to strengthen their number, and even now, as the practice stands, any person can become a Donga Dāsari though very few would like to become one. But, for all that, the chief castes who furnished members to this brother hood of robbery were the scum of the Lingayats and the Kabbēras. Of course, none of the respectable members of these castes would join them, and only those who were excommunicated found a ready home among these 