Page:The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago.djvu/134

Rh session of their Lands, which they hold as petty Zemindars under the British Government. They are now known as Mudalis or the First Caste.” The Vellâla families who conquered Vadukam, or the modern Telugu country, were called Velamas, and the great Zemindars there still belong to the Velama caste. In the Canarese country, the Vellâlas founded the Bellàl dynasty which ruled that country for several centuries. The Vellâlas were also called the Gangakula or Gangavamsa, because they derived their descent from the great and powerful tribe named Gangàridœ which inhabited the valley of the Ganges, as mentioned b Pliny and Ptolemy. A portion of Mysore which was peopled mostly by Vellâlas was called Gangavâdi in the tenth and eleventh centuries of the Christian era. Another dynasty of kings of this tribe who ruled Orissa in the eleventh and twelfth centuries was known as the Gangavamsa.

Tho Aiyar and Vedduvar, or the shepherds and huntsmen, were next in rank to the Ulaver. Below the shepherds were the artizans such as Goldsmiths, Blacksmiths, Carpenters, Potters &c., and after them came the military class that is the Padai-ddchier or the armed men. Last of all were the Valayar and Pulayar or the fishermen and scavengers.

When men of the higher classes passed in the streets, the lower classes made way for them. The Pulayan or scavenger on meeting a nobleman bowed before him, with both his hands joined in a posture of supplication. Slavery was however unknown amongst the Tamils, and this is strong evidence of their superior civilisation in this early period.

The division of classes amongst the Tamils as described above bears a striking resemblance to that of the people of the ancient Magadha Empire as recorded by Megasthenes. According to him, the population was divided into seven classes. The first in rank were the philosophers: but in point of number they formed the smallest class. They were engaged by private persons to offer sacrifices and to perform other sacred rites. The king invited them at the beginning of the year to his palace, and