Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Dāsari
Dāsari. — " Dāsari or Tādan," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,† [1]" is a mendicant caste of Vaishnavas, the reputed descendants of a wealthy Sūdra of one of the northern districts, who, being devoid of offspring, vowed that, should he be blessed with children, he would devote one to the service of his god. He subsequently had many sons, one of whom he named Dāsan (servant), and placed entirely at the service of the deity. Dāsan forfeited all claim to participate in his father's estate, and his offspring are therefore all beggars.
"The caste, like that of the Sātānis, is reinforced by idle members of the lower Sūdra classes, who, being branded by the gurus of Tirupati and other shrines, become Dāsaris thereby. They usually wander about. singing hymns to a monotonous accompaniment upon a leather instrument called tappai (tabret). Some Sūdra castes engage them thus to chant in front of the corpse at funerals, and many, accompanying bands of pilgrims travelling to Tirupati, stimulate their religious excitement by singing sacred songs. A few, called Yerudāndis, (q.v.), take possession of young bulls that have been devoted to a swāmi, and teach them to perform tricks very cleverly. The bulls appear to understand what is said to them, and go through various antics at the word of command. Some Dāsaris exhibit what is called the Panda Sērvai performance, which consists in affecting to be possessed by the spirit of the deity, and beating themselves all over the body with a flaming torch, after covering it probably with some protecting substance.In such modes do they wander about and receive alms,each wearing as a distinction a garland of beads made of tulasi (Ocimum sanctum) wood. Every Dāsari is a Tengalai. They have six sub-divisions, called Balija, Janappa, Palli, Valluva, Gangeddula, and Golla Dāsaris, which neither eat together nor intermarry. As these are the names of existing and distinct castes, it is probable that the Dāsaris were formerly members of those classes, who, through their vagabond tastes, have taken to a mendicant life. Beyond prohibiting widow remarriage, they have no social restrictions."
Concerning the mendicants of Anantapur, Mr. W.Francis writes*[2] that "the beggars who are most in evidence are the Dāsaris. This community is recruited from several castes, such as the Kāpus, Balijas, Kurubas, Bōyas, and Mālas, and members of it who belong to the last two of these (which are low in the social scale) are not allowed to dine with the others. All Dāsaris are Vaishnavites, and admission to the community is obtained by being branded by some Vaishnavite guru. Thence-forward the novice becomes a Dāsari, and lives by begging from door to door. The profession is almost hereditary in some families. The five insignia of a Dāsari are the conch shell, which he blows to announce his arrival; the gong which he strikes as he goes his rounds; the tall iron lamp (with a cocoanut to hold the oil for replenishing it) which he keeps lighted as he begs; the brass or copper vessel (sometimes with the nāmam painted on it) suspended from his shoulder, in which he places the alms received; and the small metal image of Hanumān, which he hangs round his neck. Of these, the iron lamp is at once the most conspicuous and the most indispensable. It is said to represent Venkatēsa, and it must be burning, as an unlighted lamp is inauspicious. Dāsaris also subsist by doing pūja (worship) at ceremonial and festival occasions for certain of the Hindu castes." In the Kurnool district, when a girl is dedicated as a Basavi (dedicated prostitute), she is not, as in some other parts of the country, married to an idol, but tied by means of a garland of flowers to the tall standard lamp (garudakambham) of a Dāsari, and released by the man who is to receive her first favours, or by her maternal uncle.
The Dāsaris in Mysore are described in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, as "mendicants belonging to different classes of Sūdras. They become Dāsas or servants dedicated to the God at Tirupati by virtue of a peculiar vow, made either by themselves or their relatives, at some moment of anxiety or danger, and live by begging in His name. Dāsaris are always Vaishnavites, as the vows are taken only by those castes which are worshippers of that deity. Dāsaris are invited by Sūdras on ceremonial days, and feasted. Properly speaking, Dāsari is not a caste, but simply an occupational division. Among certain castes, the custom of taking a vow to become a Dāsari prevails. In fulfilment of that vow the person becomes a Dāsari, and his eldest son is bound to follow suit, the others taking to other walks of life. The following castes take the vow of becoming Dāsari: — Telugu Banajiga, Holeya, Tigala, and Vakkaliga. The duty of a Dāsari requires that he should daily bathe his head, and take care that, while eating with the profane, their victuals do not get mixed with his. Every Saturday, after bathing and praying for some hours, he must cook his own food in a clean pot. They go about the streets singing some Hari Keerthanams, with a gong and conch to relieve the dull monotony of their mumblings."
Concerning the synonym Tādan, this is stated[3] to be "a corruption of the Sanskrit dāsa which, with the Tamil termination an, stands for dāsan. The word is often used in this form, but often as Dāsari. The word is applied to Vaishnava mendicants. They go out every morning, begging for alms of uncooked rice, and singing ballads or hymns. They play on a small drum with their fingers, and often carry a conch shell, which they blow. They are given to drinking." In the Nellore Manual, the Dāsrivandlu are summed up as being "mendicants and thieves in the Telugu and Canarese countries. They usually practise what is known as scissor-theft.' The mendicant Dāsaris, who are dealt with in the present note, are stated by Mr. S. M. Natesa Sastri[4] to be called Gudi Dāsari, as the gudi or temple is their home and to be a set of quiet, innocent and simple people, leading a most idle and stupid life. " Quite opposed," he adds, " to the Gudi Dāsaris in every way are the Donga Dāsaris or thieving Dāsaris. They are the most dreaded of the criminal classes in the Bellary district. These Donga Dāsaris are only Dāsaris in name." (See Donga Dāsari.)
Some Dāsaris are servants under Vaishnava Brāhmans, who act as gurus to various castes. It is their duty to act as messengers to the guru, and carry the news of his arrival to his disciples. At the time of worship, and when the guru approaches a village, the Dāsari has to blow a long brass trumpet (tārai). As the Brāhman may not approach or touch his Paraiyan disciples, it is the Dāsari who gives them the holy water (thirtham). When a Paraiyan is to be branded, the Brāhman heats the instruments bearing the devices of the chank and chakaram, and hands them to the Dāsari, who performs the operation of branding. For councils, settlement of marriage, and the decision of other social matters, the Dāsaris meet, at times of festivals, at well-known places such as Tirutani, Tirupati or Tiruvallūr.
At the annual festival at the temple at Kāramadi in the Coimbatore district, which is visited by very large numbers, belonging for the most part to the lower orders, various vows are fulfilled. These include the giving of kavalam to Dāsaris. Kavalam consists of plantain fruits cut up into small slices, and mixed with sugar, jaggery (crude sugar), fried grain, or beaten rice. The Dāsaris are attached to the temple, and wear short drawers, with strings of small brass bells tied to their wrists and ankles.They appear to be possessed, and move wildly about to the beating of drums. As they go about, the devotee 
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leaves into the mouths of the Dāsaris, who, after chewing them, spit them into the mouths of the devotees. At night the Dāsaris carry large torches made of rags, on which the devotees pour ghi (clarified butter). Some say that, many years ago, barren women used to take a vow to visit the temple at the festival time, and, after offering kavalam, have sexual intercourse with the Dāsaris. The temple authorities, however, profess ignorance of this practice.
When proceeding on a pilgrimage to the temple of Subramanya Swāmi at Palni, some devotees pierce their cheeks with a long silver skewer, which traverses the mouth cavity; pierce the tongue with a silver arrow, which is protruded vertically through the protruded organ; and place a silver shield (mouth-lock) in front of the mouth. Some Dāsaris have permanent holes in their cheeks, into which they insert skewers when they go about the country in pursuit of their profession.
For the following note on Dāsaris in the Vizagapatam district, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The caste is an endogamous unit, the members calling themselves Sankhu (or conch-blowing) Dāsaris, and is divided into numerous exogamous septs. The mēnarikam custom, according to which a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter, is followed. The remarriage of widows is permitted, but divorce is forbidden. The dead are cremated, and the chinna (small) and pedda rōzu (big day) death ceremonies are observed. These Dāsaris profess the Tengalai form of Vaishnavism, and get themselves branded. The caste is more secular, and less religious than in the southern districts. A Dāsari of the North Arcot or Anantapur type, with conch-shell, metal gong, iron lamp, copper vessel, and metal image of Hanumān on his neck, is scarcely met with. The Vizagapatam Dāsaris are the most popular among ballad-singers, and sing songs about heroes and heroines, of which the following are the most appreciated: —
- 1. Bobbilipāta, which describes the siege and conquest of Bobbili by Bussy in 1757.
- 2. Ammi Nāyudupāta, which describes the tyrannical behaviour of one Ammi Nāyudu, a village headman in the Pālkonda tāluk, who was eventually murdered, to the great relief of those subject to him, by one of his dependents.
- 3. Lakshmammapāta, which relates the life and death of Lakshmamma, a Velama woman, who went
against the mēnarikam custom of the caste, and was put to death by her husband.
- 4. Yerakammapērantalā-pāta, which recounts the story of one Yerakamma, who committed sati.
Yerakamma is the local goddess at Srungavarapukōta in the Vizagapatam district. The ballads sung about her say that she was the child of Dāsari parents, and that her birth was foretold by a Yerukala woman (whence her name), who prophesied that she would have the gift of second sight. She eventually married, and one day she begged her husband not to go to his field, as she was sure he would be killed by a tiger if he did. Her husband went notwithstanding, and was slain as she had foreseen. She committed sati on the spot where her shrine still stands, and at this there is a festival at Sivarātri. As ballad-singers, two Dāsaris generally travel about together, begging from house to house, or at the weekly market, one singing, while the other plays, and joins in the chorus.
The titles of these Dāsaris are Anna and Ayya. Dāsari has been recorded as an exogamous sept of the Koravas, Mālas, and Yerukalas.