Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Samagāra
Samagāra. — The Samagāras have been described †[1] as "the principal class of leather-workers in the South Canara district. They are divided into two endogamous groups, the Canarese Samagāras and the Ārya Samagāras. The latter speak Marāthi. Though the Samagāras are in the general estimation as low a caste as the Holeyas, and do not materially differ from them in their religious and other ceremonies and customs, they are, as a rule, of much fairer complexion, and the women are often very handsome. The tanning industry is chiefly carried on by the Samagāras, and their modus operandi is as follows. The hides are soaked for a period of one month in large earthen vats containing water, to which chunam is added at the rate of two seers per hide. After the expiry of the above period, they are soaked in fresh water for three days, in view to the chunam being removed. They are then put into an earthen vessel filled with water and the leaves of Phyllanthus Emblica, in which they remain for twelve days. After this, they are removed and squeezed, and replaced in the same vessel, where they are allowed to remain for about a month, after which period they are again removed, washed and squeezed. They are then sewn up and stuffed with the bark of cashew, daddala, and neralē trees, and hung up for a day. After this, the stitching is removed, and the hides are washed and exposed to the sun to dry for a day, when they become fit for making sandals. Some of the hides rot in this process to such an extent as to become utterly unfit for use."
The badge of the Ārē Samagāra at Conjeeveram is said *[2] to be the insignia of the Mochis (or Mucchis), a boy's kite.