Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India.djvu/342

BHATRAZU kamma (an ornament) without using abusive language. Those who ran away are Velamas, and those who secured it Kammas." In their ceremonial observances, the Bhatrāzus closely follow the standard Telugu type. At marriages, the bridal couple sit on the dais on a plank of juvvi (Ficus Tsiela) wood. They have the Telugu Janappans as their disciples, and are the only non- Brāhman caste, except Jangams and Pandārams, which performs the duties of guru or religious instructor. The badge of the Bhatrāzus at Conjeeveram is a silver stick.*

In the Madras Census Report, 1901, Bhāto, Kani Rāzu, Kannāji Bhāt and Padiga Rāju appear as synonyms, and Annāji Bhat as a sub-caste of Bhatrāzus. The following account of a criminal class, calling themselves Batturājas or Battu Turakas, was published in the Police Weekly Circular, Madras, in 1881.† "They are known to the Cuddapah and North Arcot Police as criminals, and a note is made whenever an adult leaves his village; but, as they commit their depredations far from home, and convert their spoil into hard cash before they return, it is difficult to get evidence against them. Ten or twelve of these leave home at once; they usually work in parties of three or four, and they are frequently absent for months together. They have methods of communicating intelligence to their associates when separated from them, but the only one of these methods that is known is by means of their leaf plates, which they sew in a peculiar manner, and leave after use in certain places previously agreed upon. These leaf plates can be recognised by experts, but all that these experts can learn from them is that Battu Turakas have been in