Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 4.djvu/315

Rh insist upon any candidate for admission undergoing a probation of ten or twelve years. The authorities at Ujjini state that there is a recognised scale of probation ranging from three years for the Brāhman to twelve years for the Sūdra, but the Jangams admit that no Brāhmans are ever converted now, and the probation period is probably not enforced. The castes from which outsiders occasionally come are the various sub-divisions of the Kāpu or Reddi caste. It is not uncommon to find all the Neredi Kāpus in one village wearing the lingam, while the people of the same caste in a neighbouring village are not Lingāyats. The Pakanāti Kāpus illustrate the same rule. Lingāyat and non-Lingāyat Kāpus who are relatives eat together, and in some cases intermarry.

Lingāyatism has recently made converts from other castes. In the last century, many weavers of Tuminkatti in the Dharwar district of Bombay were converted by a Jangam from Ujjini, and are now known as Kurvinavāru. They have abandoned all social inter-course with the parent caste.

According to Basava's teaching, even the lowest castes could join the community, and obtain equality with other Lingāyats. The Abbé Dubois wrote that, "even if a Pariah joins the sect, he is considered in no way inferior to a Brāhman. Wherever the lingam is found, there they say is the throne of the deity, without distinction of class or rank. The Pariah's humble hut containing the sacred emblem is far above the most magnificent palace where it is not." These were undoubtedly the views of the founder, but his orders are not followed at the present day. The authorities at Ujjini deny that any Māla or Mādiga can become a Lingāyat, and say that, even if he wears a lingam, it has