Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 3.djvu/288

KARNA SALE (January- February). The god is represented by a mud idol made for the occasion. The pūjāri (priest) throws flowers over it in token of adoration, and sits before it with his hands outstretched and his mouth closed until one of the flowers falls into his hands." The Karnabattus have no regular caste titles, but sometimes the elders add Ayya or Anna as a suffix to their name.  Karna Sālē.— The Karna Sālēs are a caste of Telugu weavers, who are called Sēniyans in the Tamil country, e.g., at Madura and Tanjore. They seem to have no tradition as to their origin, but the name Karna would seem to have its origin in the legend relating to the Karnabattus. These are, in the community, both Saivites and Vaishnavites, and all members of the Illabaththini sept are Vaishnavites. They are said to have only one gōtra, Kāsi (Benares), and numerous exogamous septs, of which the following are examples: — In some places, the office of headman, who is called Setti, is hereditary. He is assisted by a Pedda Kāpu, and Nela Setti, of whom the latter is selected monthly, and derives his name from the Telugu nela (month). In their marriage ceremonial, the Karna Sālēs closely follow the Padma Sālēs, but they have no upanāyanam (sacred thread rite), or Kāsiyathrē (mock pilgrimage to Benares), have twelve pots brought for worship, and no pot-searching. As among other Telugu castes, when a girl reaches puberty, twigs of Strychnos Nux-vomica are placed in the 