HISTORY OF POOSALA CASTEIV. HOW WE LIVED?:
Some of the social customs which can be associated with our caste are:
Some of the social customs which can be associated with our caste are:
- Magic tricks like garadi etc.
- Hair-weaving or Savaralu
- Selling toys, combs, mirrors etc.
PROFESSIONS PURSUED:
The various professions we were involved over the period of time to earn a living are:
NOMADIC WAY OF LIFE:The shift from barter (exchange of merchandise) to trade (selling the merchandize) has brought in another revolutionary change in our lives. We realized that congregations like santhalu, thiranallu, theerthamulu etc are great opportunities for marketing the goods we had. The goods we sold also improvised to include bangles, ribbons, combs and forest produce such as medicinal herbs, jal jeera, lavanga etc. But one thing has not changed. We remained nomadic. Our people never liked a stationery life. Wandering was the way of life.
GENERAL HYGIENE:
The nomadic way of life has resulted in unhygienic conditions. Our ancestors did not use to bath regularly. They did not know the use of soap nor shaving. Hence the physical appearance was very dirty. Hunting and having the hunted animal or bird as the food made them rough and insensitive. Hence our people were kept away from the mainstream society in general.
NO CONCEPT OF SAVING:
There was no concept of saving. We led a very contended life on a day to day basis. The day’s earning was spent by the night – have liquor, food and sleep. Tomorrow never existed for them. This was a very liberal way of living. We were so accustomed to this way of living that we detested the very thought of a settled life. We used to go by the Telugu proverb “Vanta chesukunevadiki vokate ruchi, adukkunevadiki aravai ruchulu”. A nomadic life was more colorful than a settled life for us. That our people have gone far north like Delhi and far east like Kolkata in those days is a testimony of our mentality.
EDUCATION:
The major drawback in the way we lived was that there was no place for education. The kids always accompanied either of the parents. This greatly hampered our development and we remained backward for quite a long spell of time. The nomadic and freedom-loving nature of our people made us remain scattered and there was no feeling of oneness among us like all other castes or sections of the people. We can only count government servants in numbers and much less any senior or gazetted officers. Into the 21st century, we do not have a single elected representative in the legislative assembly.
THE PANCHAYITHI SYSTEM:
Another custom which was prevalent was the panchayithi. It is prevalent even now, but in a modified form and bereft of its malice. In those days, this customs can definitely be termed malicious as it spoiled the economic stability of our people. After spending days together away, the people returned to their native thanda or gudem, only to face the panchayithis. Whatever earned was lost in these panchayithis. The gudem head known as Gudigadu and his assistant known as Samegadu used to organize the panchayithis to fix the penalties on the alleged persons. This was a social evil. The entire panchayithi expenses had to be borne by the petitioner and the respondents. Apart from this, both of them had to lose their hard earned money towards penalties. The major implication of this unjust custom was that we could not purchase even a small extent of land and build any property for ourselves or our forthcoming generations.
The panchayat system in olden days was a very elaborate affair taking 7 to 10 days. Till such time the Panchayati is completed, all the expenses including food (non-vegetarian) and tea etc have to be borne from the advance (Yedagaya) taken from the litigants. Some times, the traveling expenses of elders coming from other places have also to be borne by the litigants. There was however, one thing unique about this. We never required a court of law. The judgements in these panchayats were rendered with a great degree of judiciousness. Now-a-days, this kind of panchayatis have come down drastically which is the result of inclination towards education, social and economic awareness etc. The system of financial penalties have come down. Panchayatis are now restricted to a few hours affair.
MARRIAGES:
In the olden days, the marriages were performed by our own people. There was no place for pandit. There used to be a system of Kanyashulkam (bridegroom’s father paying Rs.96/- to the parents of the bride). The boy was supposed to go with his inlaws, wander with them, hunt, share the food etc. After having a couple of kids, the couple can stay together or part depending upon their will. If they parted, the boy and the girl were re-married separately to others and this went on. This custom was called POOTA. Thus, a strange system of life style was prevalent. Later this system gave way to a single family with two or three kids. Family planning came to stay with our people as they realized the importance and economy of a small and settled family.
TOOLS:
Our people have used the following tools:
1. Pot (Kavadi)
2. Net (Vala)
3. Sponge (Panji)
4. Meetu
5. Guleru (An instrument used for hunting with stone)
6. Undeela
7. Barsa (Javelin)
8. Shoolam (Trishul sort of tool)
9. Gadasthambam
10.Jakata
Most of these were used for hunting the animals and cooking and leading a nomadic way of life.
OUR RITUALS:
Our caste people follow all the rituals of Hinduism – We adore vana, grama deities; on festivals and other occasions social offering of animals and sharing the meat; naming the kids; all rituals during marriage; all rituals for girls from birth till marriage etc are being followed by us. On demise we follow all the rituals of Hinduism.
MOVIES:
Our way of life has been depicted in two telugu movies also. One is Sarathi Studio’s “Minor Babu” acted by Shoban Babu and Vanisri. The other is “Memoo Manushulame” by Vasanthi Creations. Our traditions and culture have been truly depicted in these movies.
FESTIVALS:
We celebrate all Hindu festivals with pomp and gaiety. However, the festival we most adore is BONALU. We also adore goddesses like Pochamma, Mysamma, Poleramma, Muthyalamma etc., giving offers of animals. Vanabhojanas is another custom we used to follow. We have our own specific rituals in taking the bali gampa with ghattam as a procession and giving the bali and satisfying the ammavaru and thereby protecting our kids and gudem, which is a strong belief.
V. THE LOGO:
We have devised a Logo for our caste to epitomize our way of living in those days.
The logo clearly depicts the utter primitive way in which our people have lead their lives. The most conspicuous feature is the nomadic life-style. The male member of the family carries the merchandize box, sponge, a net, bedding, clothes and a dog held to a piece of string. The lady carries the basket on her head holding the beads, ribbons, pins, needles, spices etc. Some kids were left behind at the gudem along with dogs (for protection) and one or two kids were taken along with them. The kid represents a replica of their parents. The period of roaming is treated as the training period for him. He too carries some merchandize with him. After mid-day, they return to their gudem. While the wife remain busy in cooking, the husband goes for hunting with the help of hunting dogs, will have his liquor and brings the prey with liquor for his family. In this way, an erratic way of life coupled with consumption of liquor and eating hunted prey indicates a very primitive way of life which only took centuries for us to transform into the present modern way of life.
VI. THE NOMENCLATURE:
Poosala was and is not the only name used. There used to be another system of terminology depending upon the item our people sold. Like Bukkas those who sold bukka gulal, muthyalu those who sold pearls, yachalollu those who sold yechallu etc. Apart from this, there are other names likes dasari, komati, nayudu, Krishna balija and Vishnu balija etc. However, there are common gothras for their surnames and marriages are taking place across them.
VII. LANGUAGE:
Though we were a nomadic tribe with a primitive way of living, we have our own dialect (language without a script). Following are some of the words our people used or still use. This is another specific identification for our caste:
Nagana = keep quite
Vajinam = word
Valuko = sit down
Janu = go
Valingadu = udumu
Thodsigadu = squirrel
Mukkidigadu = pig
Narsigadu = fox
Ikinigadu = police
Beerusapadu = dora (sir, head)
Karinchutadu = kill
Sunapamu = gold
Kanchikamu = money.
These words are in use with other caste people also like dasari, jangam, pichakuntla etc.
VIII. OUR NUMERIC STRENGTH
We are about 70 lakhs in strength across India. Out of this 50 lakhs are supposed to be living in Andhra Pradesh with particular concentration in Telangana. Rest of the 20 lakhs are living scattered in all over India. The name “Poosala caste” is widely known in Telangana whereas in other parts of Andhra we are called with different names like dasari, komati, nayudu, Krishna balija and Vishnu balija etc.
Whatever is the name, there are 151 surnames and gotras in Poosala and its ancillary sections mentioned above. Marriages are taking place across these sections regularly.
DO WE JUSTIFY OUR POSITION IN BACKWARD CLASS (GR-D)?:
In the above backdrop of social evolution of a primitive tribe, let us examine the following facts for one and all to assess with an open mind whether we merit a place in B.C.(Gr-D) or we deserve a place in Scheduled Caste, if not Scheduled Tribe, since ours is basically a tribe.
Among us, highly educated are very few. We do not get any scholarships and other facilities from the Government. Moreover, we are placed under sl.no.24 of BC-D category wherein there is very stiff competition. Such a backward community should not be expected to compete with advanced and advancing sections of the society. 70% of our people are mostly leading a nomadic life style. We deserve a place in Scheduled tribes like Lambada, Chenchu etc as we live a life on par with such people.
The percentage of people who are literate in our caste is very low. With the kind of social background even today we have not realized the importance of education. With our caste placed under Group-D under Backward Classes, which everybody is aware is highly competitive group on par with OCs, and no scholarships, we remain a backward section.
Another aspect of our caste is that because of our social conditions, we have all along been treated as untouchables. Only for the last two to three generations, we have a better treatment socially. However, this has not stopped some of our caste people to embrace other religions, viz. Christianity. This has also weakened our strength.
There is no Governmental support either in the form of scholarships, loans, land pattas etc. to boost our social and economic conditions. The inclusion of our caste under BC-D group is highly irrational. We deserve to be included under Scheduled Castes, if not Scheduled Tribes. The latter is more appropri