Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 3.djvu/9



KABBĒRA.—The Kabbēras are a caste of Canarese fishermen and cultivators. "They are," Mr. W. Francis writes,* "grouped into two divisions, the Gaurimakkalu or sons of Gauri (Parvati) and the Gangimakkalu or sons of Ganga, the goddess of water, and they do not intermarry, but will dine together. Each has its bedagus (exogamous septs), and these seem to be different in the two sub-divisions. The Gaurimakkalu are scarce in Bellary, and belong chiefly to Mysore. They seem to be higher in the social scale (as such things are measured among Hindus) than the Gangimakkalu, as they employ Brahmans as priests instead of men of their own caste, burn their dead instead of burying them, hold annual ceremonies in memory of them, and prohibit the remarriage of widows. The Gangimakkalu were apparently engaged originally in all the pursuits connected with water, such as propelling boats, catching fish, and so forth, and they are especially numerous in villages along the banks of the Tungabhadra." Coracles are still used on various South Indian rivers, e.g., the Cauvery, Bhavani, and Tungabhadra. Tavernier, on