Page:Castes and tribes of southern India, Volume 5.djvu/487

Rh Census Report, 1901, that Odiya, Orlya, or Uriya "is one of the vaguest terms in the whole of Table XIII (Caste and Tribe). The Odiyas are a race by themselves, split up into many castes. 'Odiya' also often means merely a man who speaks Oriya. The term is, however, so constantly returned by itself without qualification, that Odiya has perforce figured in the tables of all the censuses as a caste. The Odiyas of the hills differ, however, from the Odiyas of the plains, the Odiyas of Ganjam from those of Vizagapatam, and the customs of one muttāh (settlement) from those of the next." Mr.Narasing Doss writes to me that "Odiya literally means an inhabitant of Odissa or Orissa. There is a separate caste called Odiya, with several sub-divisions. They are cultivators by profession. Marriage is infant or adult. They employ Brāhmans at ceremonials. Widows and divorcées are remarried. They eat fish and meat, but not fowls or beef, and do not drink liquor. They burn the dead. Members of the Nāgabonso sept claim to be descendants of Nāgamuni, the serpent rishi." I gather that there are three main sections among the Odiyas, viz., Benāito, Nuniya, and Baraghoria, of which the first-named rank above the others in the social scale. From them Oriya Brāhmans and Koronos will accept water. The Benaitos and Nuniyas are found all over Ganjam, whereas the Baraghorias are apparently confined to villages round about Aska and Purushothapūr. There are numerous exogamous gōtras within the caste, among which are Nāgasira (cobra), Gonda (rhinoceros), 'Kochipo (tortoise), and Baraha (boar). The gods of the gōtra should be worshipped at the commencement of any auspicious ceremony. The Odiyas also worship Jagannātha, and Tākurānis (village deities). A number of titles occur in the caste, e.g., Bissoyi, Podhāno, Jenna,