Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India.djvu/238

 offshoot of the Kāpu or Reddi caste. The caste is rather a mixed one, for they will admit, without much scruple, persons who have been expelled from their proper caste, or who are the result of irregular unions. The bulk of the Balijas are now engaged in cultivation, and this accounts for so many having returned Kāpu as their main caste, for Kapu is also a common Telugu word used for a ryot (farmer). It is not improbable that there was once a closer connection than now between the Kāpus and the Balijas, and the claim of the Balijas to belong to the Kāpu caste may have a foundation in fact. In their customs there is very little difference between the Kāpus and Balijas. Their girls are married both before and after puberty. The re-marriage of widows is forbidden. They eat flesh, and alcohol is said to be freely indulged in [There is a proverb 'If a man be born a Balija, he must crack the arrack bottle']. Like the Bōgams and Sānis, the Balija females usually wear a petticoat instead of the long robe of ordinary Hindus. The general name of the caste is Naidu." "The Balija Naidu," it has been said, " is to be met with in almost every walk of life — railway station-masters, head coolies, bakers, butlers, municipal inspectors, tappal (post) run- ners, hawkers, and hotel-keepers. The title Chetti is by some used in preference to Naidu." It is noted in the Bellary Manual that the Balijas " have by common consent obtained a high place in the social system of South India. Some are land-owners, residing on and working their own property with the help of members of inferior castes ; but the majority live by trade." At Tirupati, a number of Balija families are engaged in the red sanders wood (Pterocarpus santalinus), carving