Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Katasan

by Edgar Thurston

Katasan.— Recorded †^[1] as "a small caste of basket-makers and lime-burners in the Tinnevelly district. It has at least two endogamous sub-divisions, namely, Pattankatti and Nīttarasan. Widows are allowed to remarry. The dead are buried. The social position of the caste is above that of the Vēttuvans, and they consider themselves polluted if they eat food prepared by a Shānān. But they are not allowed to enter Hindu temples, they worship devils, and they have separate washermen and barbers of their own, all of which are signs of inferiority. Their title is Pattamkatti, and Kottan is also used."

1. † Madras Census Report, 1901.