Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 2.djvu/306

GAUDO the legendary history of the origin of the caste. The Apoto and Bhatta Gaudos are sometimes employed as palanquin-bearers. The Mogotho Gaudos, who live on the hills, are regarded as an inferior section, because they do not abstain from eating fowls. The Sollokhondia section is regarded as superior, and consequently all Oriya castes, Brāhman and non- Brāhman, will accept water at the hands of members thereof An orthodox Oriya non- Brāhman, and all Oriya Brāhmans, will not receive water from Telugu or Tamil Brāhmans, whom they call Komma Brāhmans, Komma being a corrupt form of karma, i.e., Brāhmans who are strict in the observance of the various karmas (ceremonial rites). The Sollokhondia Gaudos are agriculturists, rear cattle and sheep, and sometimes earn a living by driving carts. They have gōtras, among which the most common are Moiro (peacock), Nāgasiro (cobra), and Kochimo (tortoise). Their caste council is presided over by a hereditary headman called Mahānkudo, who is assisted by a Bhollobaya, Desiya, and Khorsodha or Dhondia. The Khorsodha is the caste servant, and the Desiya eats with a delinquent who is received back into the fold after he has been tried by the council. The Sollokhondias are for the most part Paramarthos, i.e., followers of the Chaitanya form of Vaishnavism. They show a partiality for the worship of Jagannāthaswāmi, and various Tākurānis (village deities) are also reverenced. Bairāgis are the caste priests. The marriage prohibitions among the Sollokhondias are those which hold good among many Oriya castes, but marriage with the maternal uncle's daughter (mēnarikam) is sometimes practiced. On the evening preceding the marriage day (bibha), after a feast, the bride and bridegroom's parties go to a temple, taking with