Castes and tribes of southern India Assisted by K Rangachari . er are, or were until the other day, and probablyare still some of them in Cuttack, Balasore, Midnapur,Ahmedabad, Patna, Bombay, Secunderabad, and otherplaces. One of them attained a high position inBombay. Their ostensible profession is that of curingpiles and fistulas, but it is noticeable that, sooner orlater after their taking up their abode at any place, theKepmaries are to be found somewhere near, and theimpression, which is not quite a certainty but very nearlyso, is that they play the convenient role of receiver
Castes and tribes of southern India Assisted by K Rangachari . er are, or were until the other day, and probablyare still some of them in Cuttack, Balasore, Midnapur,Ahmedabad, Patna, Bombay, Secunderabad, and otherplaces. One of them attained a high position inBombay. Their ostensible profession is that of curingpiles and fistulas, but it is noticeable that, sooner orlater after their taking up their abode at any place, theKepmaries are to be found somewhere near, and theimpression, which is not quite a certainty but very nearlyso, is that they play the convenient role of receiversof property stolen by the Kepmaries. Kepmari isregarded as a very strong term of abuse, indicating, asit does, a rogue of the worst character. In the southerndistricts, the Kasukkar Chettis and Shanans are said tobe very much trusted by the Koravas in the disposal ofproperty. It is noted by Mr. H. A. Stuart * that the Koravasor Yerukalas are a vagrant tribe found throughout thePresidency, and in many parts of India. In the Telugu Madras Census Report, ^>*^ J^ - YE R UK ALAS. 441 KORAVA country they are called Yerukalavandlu or Koracha-vandlu, but they always speak of themselves as Kurru,and there is not the slightest room for the doubt thathas been expressed regarding the identity of the Koravasand Yerukalas. Several derivations of Yerukala havebeen proposed by Wilson and others. It has beensuggested, for example, that yeru is connected with erra,meaning red. In Telugu Yerukalavandlu would meanfortune-tellers, and Dr. Oppert suggests that this is theorigin of the name Yerukala. He says* it is highlyprobable that the name and the occupation of thefortune-telline Kuruvandlu or Kuluvandlu induced theTelugu people to call this tribe Yerukulavandlu. further connects Kurru with the root ku, amountam ; and, in a Tamil work of the ninth century,tKurru or Kura (Kuramagal) is given as the name of ahill tribe. A strone argument in favour of the castename being connect
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