Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 3.djvu/458

KONGA VELLALA The latter are admittedly the offspring of illegitimate intercourse with outsiders by girls and widows of the caste, who have been expelled in consequence of their breach of caste rules. The Kongas proper have an elaborate caste organisation. Their country is divided into twenty-four nādus, each comprising a certain number of villages, and possessing recognised head-quarters, which are arranged into four groups under the villages of Palayakottai, Kāngayam, Pudūr and Kadayūr, all in the Coimbatore district. Each village is under a Kottukkāran, each nādu under a Nāttu-kavundan or Periyatanakkāran, and each group under a Pattakkāran. The last is treated with considerable respect. He wears gold toe-rings, is not allowed to see a corpse, and is always saluted with clasped hands. He is only occasionally called in to settle caste disputes, small matters being settled by the Kottukkārans, and matrimonial questions by the Nāttu-kavundan. Both the Kongas proper, and the Tondans have a large number of exogamous septs, the names of which generally denote some article, the use of which is taboo, e.g., kādai (quail), pannai (Celosia argentea, a pot-herb). The most desirable match for a boy is his maternal uncle's daughter. To such an extent is the preference for such unions carried out, that a young boy is often married to a grown-up woman, and it is admitted that, in such cases, the boy's father takes upon himself the duties of a husband until his son has reached maturity, and that the wife is allowed to consort with any one belonging to the caste whom she may fancy, provided that she continues to live in her husband's house. With widows, who are not allowed to remarry, the rules are more strict. A man convicted of undue intimacy with a widow is expelled from the caste, unless