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Gouds
is a caste of
Andhra Pradesh, involved in Toddy
Tapping, Liquor sales, Ayurveda
doctors and Farming.
Origins
Some claim that they were many kings who hailed
from this caste such as the Cholas,
Chalukya, Nadars from
Tamil Nadu are from the
Pandya .
Goud community originally thrived near the
Godavari River whose trade of
living on Palm tree products (Toddy) is derived from Kerala.
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Goud
community has legend that they originated from Sage Koundinya who
they believe originally invented toddy tapping. There was also a
famous Brahmin king named Koundinya who is a founder of the Goud
Saraswat Brahmins. The Goud community may have been patronized by
him and so took on his name as a gotra. The community resides in West
Bengal, Maharastra and Karnataka.
They are identified by different names in Andhra
such as:
1.
Edigas
in Rayalaseema region, South Coastal Andhra
2.
Setty
Balijas in East Godavari, West Godavari,
Visakhapatnam Krishna and Sri Sayanas in Vishakapatanam,
Vizayanagaram,
Srikakulam.
Telangana
- Goud
Andhra -
Setti Balija, Srisayana
Rayalaseema - Eediga
Karnataka - Eediga
Mangalore - Bhillavas, Poojaris
Maharastra - Bhandari's Shetty
U.P & M.P. - Jaiswal
Bihar
- Paswan
Tamilnadu - Nadars
Kerala - Ezhava
Legend
Setti
Balijas and Sri Sayanas original name was Goud. Their surnames
Gudala, Geddada, Gouthu suggests that their original name was Goud.
The new name came around the 18th and 19th century. Legend says that
a Dommeti Venkat Reddy (who is a Goud), was like a cheiftain, and
changed their community name to Setti Balija. Dommeti Venkat Reddy
lived in Bodasakurru village near Kakinada of East Godavari Dt.
Gouds are numerically one of the largest Bacward
Castes.
What is a
toddy?
For centuries,
inhabitants of tropical areas have tapped palms for their
sap. The sweet liquid provided energy as well as fluids in
the hot climate. Three species of palms were regularly
tapped in tropical Asia and the associated islands of the
Indonesian archipelago—the sugar or wine date palm (Phoenix
sylvestris Roxburgh), the palmyra (Borassus
flabellifer Linnaeus), and the coconut (Cocos
nucifera Linnaeus).
Sugar date palms are
native to bottom land soils along rivers in northern India
and Pakistan. The Palmyra prefers drier habitats and was
found in India, Southeast Asia, and on the islands of Sri
Lanka and New Guinea. The coconut was a castaway growing
on sandy soils wherever the large seed landed.
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The palms were tapped by slicing into the peduncle (main
stem) of the inflorescence. A bamboo cane, bottle gourd,
or coconut shell was tied below the cut to receive the
dripping sap.
Although palm sap could be used immediately, it was
preferentially used to make two products—jaggery and
toddy. Jaggery, jaghury, or goor is a coarse brown sugar
made by heating the sap to evaporate the water. "Jaggery"
entered the English language in 1598 and appears related
to kejur, khakri, khajuri, or khujjoor, just a few of the
many names of the sugar date palm in India. (Name listing
from "Phoenix sylvestris", C. Parmar and M.K. Kaushal,
Wild Fruits, Kalyani Publishers, 1982)
Palm sap, if left to stand for a few hours, ferments.
James A. Duke ("Phoenix dactylifera", Handbook of Energy
Crops, 1983) mentioned that date palm sap collected in the
morning can have as much as five percent alcohol content
by evening.
The highly intoxicating sap was a very popular drink. The
toddy probably first 'entertained' English sailors who
visited the East Indies since it entered into the English
language in 1609. The name is thought derived from tārī or
tādī, the Indian name for the palmyra. |
