Konga.— Konga or Kongu is a territorial term,meaning inhabitant of the Kongu country. It has, at recent times of census, been returned as a division of a large number of classes, mostly Tamil, which include Ambattan, Kaikōlan, Kammālan, Kūravan, Kusavan, Malayan, Oddē, Pallan, Paraiyan, Shānān, Uppara, and Vellāla. It is used as a term of abuse among the Badagas of the Nīlgiri hills. Those, for example, who made mistakes in matching Holmgren's wools, were scornfully called Konga by the onlookers. Similarly, in parts of the Tamil country, a tall, lean and stupid individual is called a Kongan.
Konga Vellāla.— For the following note on the Konga Vellālas of the Trichinopoly district, I am indebted to Mr. F. R. Hemingway. They seem to have little in common with the other Vellalās, except their name, and appear to hold a lower position in society, for Reddis will not eat with them, and they will dine with Tottiyans and others of the lower non- Brāhman castes. They live in compact communities, generally in hamlets. Their dwellings are generally thatched huts, containing only one room. They are cultivators, but not well off. Their men can generally be recognized by the number of large gold rings which they wear in the lobes of the ears, and the pendant (murugu), which hangs from the upper part of the ears. Their women have a characteristic tāli (marriage badge) of large size, strung on to a number of cotton threads, which are not, as among other castes, twisted together. They also seem always to wear an ornament called tāyittu, rather like the common cylindrical talisman, on the left arm.
The Konga Vellālas are split into two endogamous divisions, viz., the Konga Vellālas proper, and the Tondan or Ilakanban-kūttam (servant or inferior sub-division).
