Note 64 — T (continued 3)

The ordinary Tsākalas are called Bāna Tsākala, in contradistinction to the Gūna or Velama Tsākāla. Bāna is the Telugu name for the large pot, which the washermen use for boiling the clothes.64 The Gūna Tsākalas are dyers. In a note on the Velamas, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes65 that “some say they form a sub-division of the Balijas, but this they themselves most vehemently deny, and the Balijas derisively call them Gūni Sākalavāndlu (hunchbacked washermen). The pride and jealousy of Hindu castes was amusingly illustrated by the Velamas of Kālahasti. The Deputy Tahsildar of that town was desired to ascertain the origin of the name Gūni Sākalavāndlu, but, as soon as he asked the question, a member of the caste lodged a complaint of defamation against him before the District Magistrate. The nickname appears to have been applied to them because in the northern districts some print chintz, and, carrying their goods in a bundle on their backs, walk stooping like a laden washerman. This derivation is more than doubtful, for, in the Godāvari district, the name is Gūna Sākalavāndlu, gūna being the large pot in which they dye the chintzes.”