Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Vettiyān
Vettiyān.— Vettiyān is the name applied to one of the officials of a Tamil Paraiyan settlement, who is also called Tōti or Thōtti. The former title is said to be more respectful as an appellation than the latter, but this is a distinction without a difference.*[1] The name Vettiyān is said to be equivalent to Bittiyān (bitti, for nothing),or one who does service, e.g., collecting grass, firewood, etc., without remuneration. Tōti is derived from thott, to go round, as he is the purveyor of news, and has to summon people to appear before the village tribunal, or from tondu, to dig.
The duties of the Vettiyān are multifarious. He it is who goes round the rice fields, and diverts the water-courses to the various fields, according to the rights of the ryots (agriculturists). The Vettiyān beats the drum for public notices and ceremonies. As a servant of Government, he has to carry the revenue which has been collected to the treasury. He is sometimes entrusted with large sums of money, and has never been known to abscond with it. It is said that the Village Munsiff will trust the Vettiyān, but not the Taliāri, who is never sent alone with money. The Vettiyān is in charge of the burial ground, and those who repair thither have to pay him for his services. He is also the grave-digger, and officiates when a Paraiyan corpse is burnt or buried. Hence the Tamil proverb against meddling in what ought to be left to some one else: — " Let the Vettiyān and corpse struggle together." At a Paraiyan funeral, the Vettiyān, in some places, carries the pot of fire to the grave. To bring down rain, some of the lower classes, instead of addressing their prayers to the rain-god Varuna, try to induce a spirit or dēvata named Kodumpāvi (wicked one) to send her paramour Sukra to the affected area. The belief seems to be that Sukra goes away to his concubine for about six months, and, if he does not return, drought ensues. The ceremony consists in making a huge figure of Kodumpāvi in clay, which is placed on a cart, and dragged through the streets for seven to ten days. On the last day, the final death ceremonies of the figure are celebrated. It is disfigured, especially in those parts which are usually concealed. Vettiyāns, who have been shaved, accompany the figure, and perform the funeral ceremonies. This procedure is believed to put Kodumpavi to shame, and to get her to induce Sukra to return and stay the drought.
At Paraiyan marriages certain pots are worshipped, and it is, in some places, the Vettiyān who says "The sun, the moon, the pots, and the owner of the girl have come to the marriage booth. So make haste, and fill the pots with water."
The office of the Vettiyān village official is hereditary, and the holder of it is entitled to some respect among his brethren, and to certain emoluments in kind, e.g., grain at the harvest season. There is a proverb that "whatever may be the wealth of the lord who comes to rule over him, his duty of supplying him with a bundle of grass is not to cease." This relates to the demands which were, and perhaps are still, made on him in rural parts of the country. In some places, lands, called Vettiyān Māniyam, are given rent-free to Vettiyāns.
The Vettiyān is said to possess the right of removing dead cattle from villages, and in return to supply leather for agricultural purposes. He is further said to make drum heads and tom-toms from raw hides.*[2]
The Vettiyāns belong to the right-hand section during disputes between the right and left hand factions.