Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 3.djvu/293

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257
KATHTHIRAVANDLU

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."

Kāththavarāya.— A synonym for Vannān, derived from Kāththavarāya, the deified son of Kāli, from whom the Vannāns trace their descent.

Kaththē (donkey). — An exogamous sept of Mādiga.

Kaththi (knife). — An exogamous sept of Dēvānga and Mādiga.

Kaththiri (scissors). — An exogamous sept of Dēvānga, and sub-division of Gadaba.

Kaththiravāndlu (scissors people). — Concerning this section of the criminal classes, Mr. F. S. Mullaly writes to me as follows. "This is purely a Nellore name for this class of professional pick-pockets. The appellation seems to have been given to them from the fact that they frequent fairs and festivals, and busy railway platforms, offering knives and scissors for sale. And, when an opportunity presents itself, they are used for cutting strings of beads, ripping open bags, etc. Several of these light-fingered gentry have been found with small scissors in their mouths. Most of them wear shoes of a peculiar shape, and these form a convenient receptacle for the scissors. Bits of broken glass (to act as knives) are frequently found in their mouths. In different districts they are known by different appellations, such as Donga Dāsaris in North Arcot and parts of Cuddapah; Golla Woddars, Donga Woddars, and Muheri Kalas in Cuddapah, Bellary, and Kurnool; Pachupus in Kistna and Godāvari; Alagiris, Ena or Thogamalai Koravas in the southern districts. Individuals belonging to this class of thieves have been traced, since the opening of the East Coast Railway, as far as