Baita Kammara, meaning outside blacksmiths, is applied to Kamsala blacksmiths, who occupy a lowly position, and work in the open air or outside a village.*[1]
Kammiyan.— A Tamil name for blacksmiths.
Kampa (bush of thorns). — An exogamous sept of Yerukala.
Kāmpo.— In the Manual of the Ganjam district, the Kāmpos are described as Oriya agriculturists. In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the name is taken as an Oriya form of Kāpu. Kāmpu is the name for Savaras, who have adopted the customs of the Hindu Kāmpos.
Kamsala. — The Kamsalas, or, as they are sometimes called, Kamsaras, are the Telugu equivalent of the Tamil Kammālans. They are found northward as far as Berhampore in Ganjam. According to tradition, as narrated in the note on Kammālans, they emigrated to the districts in which they now live on the disruption of their caste by a certain king. The Kamsalas of Vizagapatam, where they are numerically strong, say that, during the reign of a Chōla king, their ancestors claimed equality with Brāhmans. This offended the king, and he ordered their destruction. The Kamsalas fled northward, and some escaped death by taking shelter with people of the Ozu caste. As an acknowledgment of their gratitude to their protectors, some of them have Ozu added to their house-names, e.g., Lakkozu, Kattozu, Patozu, etc.
The Kamsalas have territorial sub-divisions, such as Murikinādu, Pākinādu, Drāvida, etc. Like the Kammālans, they have five occupational sections, called Kamsali (goldsmiths), Kanchāri or Mūsāri (brass-smiths), Vadrangi
- ↑ * Madras Census Report, 1901.
