Vokkaliga

The Gangadikara Vokkaligas, also known as the Gangatkar[4][10] With various theories on the origins of the Gangas, this is hard to prove but some scholars do opine that the Gangas were local chieftains who ascertained their power and rose to dominance during the political unrest caused in South India after the invasion of Samudragupta I. It is however, a fact that the administrative setup of Gangas vested power, at various levels of administration and apart from administrative duties the Gauda was expected to raise militia when called for.[11] The Gangadikaras and the Kongu Vellalars are said to share a common origin and they regard themselves Ganga Kshatriyas. In fact, the word Kongu is the Tamil equivalent for Ganga. There is a significant number of Gounders in Kollegal and T. Narsipur in Chamarajanagar.[8]

The Gangadikara Vokkaligas have as many as 40 kulas, exogamous clans, known in Kannada as Bedagu.[9][12]

The ancestors of Kempe Gowda I of the Yelahanka Nadaprabhus (the founder of Bangalore city and himself a Morasu Vokkaliga) are recorded to have migrated to these districts from Alur of Kanchi around the 15th century under Rana Bhaire Gowda, who built the fort at Devanahalli.[13] This fort would remain in their family for 3 centuries, until it was conquered by Mysore in 1749. Bhaire Gowda founded other forts at Palyapet and Doddaballapur. Other leaders of the community were in Hoskote, Kolar, Anekal and Koratagere who were subdued by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan in the 18th century, and some received pensions after Tipu's defeat and the Wodeyar restoration.

According to Burton Stein, the region of modern-day Bangalore and Tumkur districts was known as Morasu Nadu, dominated by the Morasu Vokkaligas.[14] In fact Hosur which borders Bangalore claims to have been called Murasu Nadu during the Sangam Age[15] and has a significant population of Morasu Vokkaligas.

The four main sub-divisions being the Musuku, Hosadevru (Beralu), Palyadasime and Morasu proper which is again divided into three lines called Salu viz. Kanu salu, Nerlegattada salu, Kutera salu. The Musuku sect is so-called because the bride wears a veil or 'Musuku' during the wedding ceremony.[8]

Although Morasu Vokkaligas are a sub-section of the Vokkaliga community, they are not a fully-defined caste as they can intermarry with other sections. Polygamy is rare, and child marriage was rare. Marriage is done outside bedagu lines, and marriage with a maternal uncle or paternal aunt or elder sister is especially promoted. In most cases, a younger sister's daughter is not married except in unusual cases. Varase, which regulates marriage between those considered analogous to parent and child or brother and sister, is also observed.

After consulting the astrologer, the two families meet for the first ceremony called Oppu-vilya: where the groom's father goes to the bride's house and receives food from them. On the next day, the Vilyada shastra occurs, where the groom's family presents new clothes and jewels to the bride's family. Placing a simhasana on a kambli and taking a kalasha, puja is done to this setup and the bride-to-be is smeared with saffron and presented with fruits and flowers. Marriage letters, called lagnapatrikas, are then exchanged between the families. On the first day, mooladarshina is done where the kuladevata is worshipped and the bride and bridgroom are smeared with arshna. The Pandal is raised next with atti or nerale wood, unless either's bedagu is one of the aforementioned woods. In the ceremony called elevara, another twig of nerale wood is tied to the main post. The bride's party arrives in the evening, and women of both families worship a pot filled with 9 types of grain in karaga puja. In some families, the bridegroom goes to an intersection of three paths and offers cooked food to a human figure then leaves silently without looking back. This biragudi is meant to appease evil spirits.

The next day, the bridegroom goes to the temple or an Aswhata tree and sits while his maternal uncle ties a bhasinga on his forehead and 5 married women pour rice on his head, shoulders and knees. The bridegroom and his party then go in procession to the bride's house 3 times, with the bridegroom only coming at the least time. They are then seated opposite each other, and the two exchange kanakanas and then the groom puts the thali over his bride's head. In the evening, they worship an anthill and take dirt from it and place balls at the bottom of 12 pillars of the pandal. At the Nagavali ceremony the next day, a lime and jewel are placed in a pot in front of the couple. It is said whoever picks up the jewel will be more important in domestic life, and the kanakanas are taken off. Finally there is a simhasina puja, where a trishula is drawn with areca nuts and betel leaves in the middle and ash at the edges. The headman of the caste now does puja to a group of beings in order of precedence. They then return to the bride's house (tiruvali) and throw a feast (maravali). A bride price is also paid. Divorce is allowed for both men and women, but divorced women can't remarry but live in concubinage only.

The community celebrates Osige, or the puberty function.

They are concentrated mostly in Tumkur, Chitradurga and the cities of Bangalore and Mysore. They are also found in Salem, Coimbatore and Theni districts of Tamil Nadu.

The Namadhari Vokkaliga group is the first largest Vokkaliga sub-group.[4]

Halakki Vokkaligas are an indigenous tribe in of Uttar Kannada district. Taking cognisance of the tribe’s demands to be recognised as a Scheduled Tribe a study was commissioned by the social welfare department in 2010 and a report was submitted.[16]