Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 4.djvu/346

MADIGA interesting to note that Mātangas were an ancient line of kings 'somewhere in the south,' and the Mādigas call themselves Mātangi Makkalu or children of Mātangi or Durga, who is their goddess."

The system of making Basavis (see Dēva-dāsi), which prevails among the Mādigas of the Ceded districts, is apparently not in vogue among those of the Telugu country, where, however, there are, in some places, a class of prostitutes called Mātangi, Mātamma, or Mātha, who are held in much respect. In connection with the Basavi system, it is recorded, in the Madras Law Report, 1892, that "upon the whole, the evidence seems to be to establish that, among the Mādigas, there is a widespread custom of performing in the temple at Uchangidurgam, a marriage ceremony, the result of which is that the girl is married without possibility of widowhood or divorce; that she is at liberty to have intercourse with men at pleasure; that her children are heirs to her father, and keep up his family; and that Basavis' nieces, being made Basavis, become their heirs. The Basavis seem in some cases to become prostitutes, but the language used by the witnesses generally points only to free intercourse with men, and not necessarily to receipt of payment for use of their bodies. In fact, they acquire the right of intercourse with men, without more discredit than accrues to the men of their caste for intercourse with women who are not their wives."

The ceremony of initiation into Mātangihood is fully described by Emma Rosenbusch (Mrs. Clough).* In the Canarese country, e.g., at Tumkūr in Mysore, the ceremony of initiation is performed by a Vakkaliga