Note 32 — Introduction.

There is a tradition that the Shivalli Brāhmans of the Tulu country came from Ahikshetra. As only males migrated from their home, they were compelled to take women from non-Brāhman castes as wives. The ranks are said to have been swelled by conversions from these castes during the time of Srī Mādhvāchārya. The Shivalli Brāhmans are said to be referred to by the Bants as Mathumaglu or Mathmalu (bride) in allusion to the fact of their wives being taken from the Bant caste. Besides the Shivallis, there are other Tulu Brāhmans, who are said to be recent converts. The Matti Brāhmans were formerly considered low by the Shivallis, and were not allowed to sit in the same line with the Shivallis at meal time. They were only permitted to sit in a cross line, separated from the Shivallis, though in the same room. This was because the Matti Brāhmans were supposed to be Mogers (fishing caste) raised to Brāhmanism by one Vathirāja Swāmi, a Sanyāsi. Having become Brāhmans, they could not carry on their hereditary occupation, and, to enable them to earn a livelihood, the Sanyāsi gave them some brinjal (Solanum Melongena) seeds, and advised them to cultivate the plant. From this fact, the variety of brinjal, which is cultivated at Matti, is called Vathirāja gulla. At the present day, the Matti Brāhmans are on a par with the Shivalli Brāhmans, and have become disciples of the Sodhe mutt (religious institution) at Udipi. In some of the popular accounts of Brāhmans, which have been reduced to writing, it is stated that, during the time of Mayūra Varma of the Kadamba dynasty,32 some Āndhra Brāhmans were brought into South Canara. As a sufficient number of Brāhmans were not available for the purpose of yāgams (sacrifices), these Āndhra Brāhmans selected a number of families from the non-Brāhman caste, made them Brāhmans, and chose exogamous sept names for them. Of these names, Manōli (Cephalandra Indica), Pērala (Psidium Guyava), Kudire (horse), and Ānē (elephant) are examples.