rajakI

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Classical Tamil 'pulaitti' and Skt. 'rajakI'

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The meaning of 'rajakI' (washerwoman) in Sanskrit becomes clear

when compared with her name in the ancient Sangam tamil

literature. Washerwoman is called 'pulaitti' in Classical Tamil.

 

The Tamil lexicon (OTL) entry:

pulavu 1. dislike, abhorrence; 2. flesh, raw meat, fish;

3. smell of flesh or fish; 4. blood.

In Tamil, 'pulavu' is related to 'pulai' in pulaitti, just as

'vaLavu' (circular arc, curving street) has the

same root as 'vaLai'. Eg., In TuLu language, 'pole' (menstrual blood),

in Tamil, pulai is defilement, meat, etc.,

 

>From 'pulai' (blood, meat, dislike, etc.), traditional funerary ritualists =

 

are named 'pulaiyan' in sangam tamil (Cf.

Malayalam 'pulayan'/Kannada 'poleya').

 

All over the Indian subcontinent, the (ex)outcaste ritualists

were the animal sacrifing priests in village goddess festivals.

"During the cosmogonic New Year festival of Bisket jAtrA at

Bhaktapur, Bhairava is erected as the linga in the form of the

cross-shaped pole ....

On the last day of the year (Caitra masant), a buffalo is sacrificed

at the pITha of Bhadra-Kali and the Untouchables (Pore) bring

its head up to the central Taumadhi square ..."

(p.184, Criminal Gods and Demon Devotees, 1989).

"The Tamils hire a Pariya (i.e. drummer) to perform the decapitation at

their Badra Kâli sacrifices."--Kittel, in Ind. Ant. ii. 170, 1873.

 

The Indian caste system's axes of polarity - "Pure" vs. "Polluted" is

a)KannaDa maDi vs. pole, b) Tamil maTi vs. pulai,

c) Telugu madugu vs. pola, etc.

 

Ethnographic descriptions of a temple sacrifice:

http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/cgi-shl/WA.EXE?A2=ind0102&L=indology&P=R13470

 

Feminine 'pulaitti' correspond to masculine 'pulaiyan',

and it's rather common to encounter 'pulaitti' as washerwoman in

Classical Tamil (see examples in Note 1). Traditionally, the Barber caste

rank higher than the Dhobi caste in India because

of the washerfolks' association with cleaning the

blood stains in women's clothes and dirt, bodily excretions

in tainted unclean clothes. The old Indian jAti system ranks

castes based on an index of pollution: "For lower castes,

impurity is permanent. Lower caste members suffer a

kind of inherited defilement. The Barber deals with

bodily wastes-hair and nail clippings he washes the male

corpses, and his wife washes the female corpse of his

higher caste jajmans (clients). The Washerman washes

dirty clothing, stained by bodily excretions. The Sweeper

removes human filth ... So, degrees of defilement relate

to the ranks in a caste hierarchy. The Barber is less

defiled than the Washerman, who, in turn, is less defiled

than the Sweeper, and so on.

 

The idea od pollution-contagion is universal in Hindu India.

[...]

The underlying principle of this hierarchy is purity-impurity.

Following Stevenson, Dumont defines impurity as

'the erruption of the biological into social life'.

..... Castes are separate, but interdependent hereditary

groups of occupational specialists. It is the principle

of purity-impurity which operates to keep the segments

separate from one another. Each jAti closes its boundaries

to lower jAtis, refusing them the previlege of intermarriage

and other contacts defined as polluting to the higher jAti.

Each jAti, in turn, is excluded by the jAtis ranking above

it in a local caste hierarchy. Thus, differences in degree

of pollution create closed segments, as each segment tries to

preserve its own degree of purity from contamination by

lower castes."

(p. 80-81, P. Kolenda, Purity and Pollution, 78-96, in

Religion in India, edited by T. N. Madan, OUP, 1991)

 

The gAthAsaptazatI poem 5.17 mentions the value

system prevailing in India about 2000 years ago about barbers.

M. A. Selby's translation of gAthAsaptazatI

(see the bottom of the message):

INDOLOGY/message/1317

 

The implicit suggestion in gAthAsaptazatI 5.17

is that the woman accused of being bad is

at least keeping company with a high caste man, while going

after the barber is considered low.

Caste historians and anthropologists record washerfolks lower

in caste hierarchy than barbers because of their dealings

with stained blood pollution.

 

Thus, the Tamil classics written 2000 years ago use

the same name - for funerary ritualist-drummers (masculine

'pulaiyan') and for washerwomen (feminine 'pulaitti').

Ancient tantra works employing transgression of taboos

against the societal norms prefer tAntric rituals

with the polluting washerwoman (rajakI). The old encyclopaedia

of Tamil literature, A. Singaravelu MudaliyAr,

Abithaana Chintaamani, AES 1991 (p. 1381) also records

Washermen's low status compared to Barbers because

of the traditional occupation's contact with

pollutants like menstrual blood taints, dirt and

bodily excretions in clothes, A. S. MudaliyAr

writes about the low-caste status of dhobis

"vazakkattil ivarkaL ampaTTarukkut tAzntavarkaL".

 

The pulaiyan-pulaitti for traditinal funerary ritual

priests sacrificing buffalos, as well as washerfolks

based on the notion of pollution in sangam tamil indicates

the meaning of rajakI 'washerwoman' in Sanskrit.

 

Let's take a look at the related words in Sanskrit:

 

(Begin quote of Monier-Williams dict. p. 863, column i)

1. raja m. (g. pacAdi) = rajas, dust (cf. nI-,

vi-r); the pollen of flowers, PrasaGgAbh.; the

menstrual excretion (also n.), L; emotion, affection,L;

the quality of passion, U.n iv 216, Sch.;

 

2. raja, in comp. for rajas. -udvAsA, f. a woman

wo has put off her soiled clothes (after her impurity),

Kau's (cf. malodvAsas) .. Rajopama, mfn. (irreg. for

raja-up) resembling dust, Hit.

 

rajaH pl. dust Ragh. -paTala, n. of a coating

of dust, MW. -putra, m. 'son of passion' a vulgar

person of low origin, Cat. -pluta, mgn. filled with

(the quality of) passion, BhP. -'saya m. a dog, W.

-'suddhi, f. a pure or right condition of the menses, Su'sr.

-suvAsinI, f. a girl that has menstruated but still

lives in her father's house, MaanG.r.

 

rajaka, m. a washerman (so called from his cleaning or

whitening clothes; regarded as a degraded caste; accord. to L.

either 'the son of a Paara-dhenuka and a BraahmaNii' or 'the

son of a Nish.thya and an Ugrii), MBh.; Kaav. &c.;

a parrot or a garment ('suka or an'suka), L.; N. of a king,

VP (prob. w.r. for rAjaka); rajikA, f. washerwoman, Paa.n.

iii, I, 145. Pat.; rajakI, f. id. or the wife of a

washerman, ib.; N. of a woman on the third day of

her impurity, Bhpr.

(End quote of M-W. dict. entries)

 

Pulaitti - the naming of washerfolks identically as that

of funerary ritual drummers (ex-untouchable) in Classical

sangam texts, and the value system ranking barbers in

gAthAsaptazatI 5.17 in the South writtem some 2000 years

ago, and the Sanskrit lexicographical entries, raja, rajakI

linking with pollution, menstruation of women (analogous

to pollen ensuing forth of flowers) will be useful

to analyze the caste system of the classical India.

 

Regards,

N. Ganesan

 

pUjA etymology:

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http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/cgi-shl/WA.EXE?A2=ind0102&L=indology&P=R11418

 

Note 1: 'pulaitti' washerwoman in Classical Tamil

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a) vaRan2 il pulaitti elli tOytta

pukA pukar koNTa pun2 pU kaligkamoTu

 

-naRRiNai 90:3-4

b) nalattakai pulaitti pacai tOyttu eTuttu

talai puTai pOkki taN kayattu iTTa

nIrin2 piriyA parUu tiri

 

-kuRuntokai 330:1-3

 

c) pacai viral pulaitti neTitu picaintu UTTiya

pU tukil

 

-akanAn2URu 387:6-7

 

d) pacai kol mel viral peru tOL pulaitti

 

-akanAn2URu 34:11

 

e) kaLar paTu kUval tONTi nAL um

pulaitti kazIiya tU veL aRuvai

 

-puRanAn2URu 311:1-2

 

f) nATi nin2 tUtu ATi tuRai cellAL Uravar

ATai koNTu olikkum nin2 pulaitti kATTu en2RAL O?

 

-kalittokai 72:13-14

[Guest guest]

- In INDOLOGY, naga_ganesan@h... wrote:

 

[..]

 

> Thus, the Tamil classics written 2000 years ago use

> the same name - for funerary ritualist-drummers (masculine

> 'pulaiyan') and for washerwomen (feminine 'pulaitti').

> Ancient tantra works employing transgression of taboos

> against the societal norms prefer tAntric rituals

> with the polluting washerwoman (rajakI). The old encyclopaedia

> of Tamil literature, A. Singaravelu MudaliyAr,

> Abithaana Chintaamani, AES 1991 (p. 1381) also records

> Washermen's low status compared to Barbers because

> of the traditional occupation's contact with

> pollutants like menstrual blood taints, dirt and

> bodily excretions in clothes, A. S. MudaliyAr

> writes about the low-caste status of dhobis

> "vazakkattil ivarkaL ampaTTarukkut tAzntavarkaL".

>

> The pulaiyan-pulaitti for traditinal funerary ritual

> priests sacrificing buffalos, as well as washerfolks

> based on the notion of pollution in sangam tamil indicates

> the meaning of rajakI 'washerwoman' in Sanskrit.

 

[...]

 

In an original Kannada article written by Sri. Aerya Laxminarayan

Alva and translated by Mr. Kushal Shetty about the community of

Tuluva Bunts (and Kannadiga Naadavas), he says " Bunts do not follow

PUROHITASHAHI culture. We follow GURIKAARIKA culture. The GURIKAR

(Community Head) has the controlling power on community. From birth

to death, all rituals are supervised or controlled by the GURIKARA.

Village GURIKAR is under SEEME (area) GURIKAR. Earlier Bunts had two

SEEME, (Area) Mangalore and Barkur and both SEEME had SEEME GURIKARS.

On essential matters they had control over village GURIKARS. Brahmin

Purohits never performed our rituals, instead Barber and Laundry

ladies had played an important role in our family rituals. Barbers

used to sanctify the house and relatives of dead person. In this

point of view Barbers and Laundrymen are our purohits."

 

A continuation of Sangam era practices amongst the Tuluva Bunts of

Karanataka today?

 

The above can be see at http://www.yakshagana.com/

 

Raveen