Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 6.djvu/340

SAMMERAYA Sammērāya.——A name for Telugu beggars employed as servants and messengers by the heads of Lingāyat mutts (religious institutions). It is derived from sammē, denoting confederacy or league, and denotes those who are bound to the rules laid down by Lingāyats.  '''Sāmolo. —''' A title of Doluva.  Sampigē.——Sampigē and Sampangi (champac: Michelia Champaca) have been recorded as an exogamous sept of Kurni and Oddē. Champac flowers are used in the manufacture of temple garlands.  '''Samudra. —''' Samudra, Samudram, or Samudrala, meaning the ocean, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of Telugu Brāhmans, Koravas, Kurubas, Balijas, and Mālas. The equivalent Tamudri occurs as the title of the Zamorin, who is the sea-king or ruler of Calicut.  '''Sāni. —''' The Sānivāllu, who are a Telugu dancing-girl caste, are described, in the Vizagapatam Manual, as women who have not entered into matrimony, gain money by prostitution, and acting as dancers at feasts. Sāni is also a title of the Oriya Doluvas in Ganjam, who are said to be descended from Puri Rājas by their concubines. The streets occupied by Sānis are, in Ganjam, known as Sāni vīdhi. I have heard of missionaries, who, in consequence of this name, insist on their wives being addressed as Ammāgaru instead of by the customary name Dorāsani.

In a note on the Sānis of the Godāvari district, Mr. F. R. Hemingway writes as follows. " In this district, dancing-girls and prostitutes are made up of six perfectly distinct castes, which are in danger of being confused. These are the Sānis proper, Bōgams, Dommara Sānis, Turaka Sānis, Mangala Bōgams, and Mādiga Bōgams. Of these, the Bōgams claim to be superior, and will not dance in the presence of, or after 