Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 3.djvu/116

KAMBAN Kamban.— A title of the Ōcchans, to which caste the great Tamil epic poet Kamban is reputed to have belonged.  Kambha.— Kambha or Kambhāpu, meaning a pillar or post, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of Mādiga and Kōmati.  Kamma.— Writing collectively concerning the Kammas, Kāpus or Reddis, Velamas, and Telagas, Mr. W.Francis states * that "all four of these large castes closely resemble one another in appearance and customs, and seem to have branched off from one and the same Dravidian stock. Originally soldiers by profession, they are now mainly agriculturists and traders, and some of them in the north are zamindars (land-owners). The Rāzus, who now claim to be Kshatriyas, were probably descended from Kāpus, Kammas, and Velamas. The Kammas and Kāpus of the Madura and Tinnevelly districts seem to have followed the Vijayanagar army south, and settled in these districts when the Nāyak Governors were established there. Their women are less strict in their deportment than those of the same castes further north, the latter of whom are very careful of their reputations, and, in the case of one section of the Kammas, are actually gōsha (kept in seclusion) like Musalmānis."

Various stories are current, which point to the common ancestry of the Kammas, Kāpus, and Velamas. The word Kamma in Telugu means the ear-ornament, such as is worn by women. According to one legend "the Rishis, being troubled by Rākshasas, applied to Vishnu for protection, and he referred them to Lakshmi. The goddess gave them a casket containing one of her 