# Devanga

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Hindu caste of South India

Devanga Classification Backward caste Religions Mostly Lingayat sect of Hinduism Languages Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Tulu, Konkani Populated states Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha Related groups Padmashali

**Devanga** (also known as **[Lingayat](/source/Lingayat) Devanga**, **Devanga Shetty**, **Devanga Chettiar**)[1][2][3] is a [Hindu](/source/Hindu) [caste](/source/Caste_system_in_India) from [South India](/source/South_India) that traditionally followed the occupation of textile merchandise, [weaving](/source/Weaving) and [farming](/source/Farming)[2] mostly found in the [Indian](/source/Indian_people) [states](/source/States_and_union_territories_of_India) of [Karnataka](/source/Karnataka), [Kerala](/source/Kerala), [Andhra Pradesh](/source/Andhra_Pradesh), [Tamil Nadu](/source/Tamil_Nadu) and [Odisha](/source/Odisha).[4][5]

## Origin and culture

The caste claims to be descended from [Devala](/source/Devala), an ancient [Hindu](/source/Hinduism) sage.[5] They originated from [Andhra Pradesh](/source/Andhra_Pradesh) and [Karnataka](/source/Karnataka), and during the reign of the [Vijayanagara Empire](/source/Vijayanagara_Empire) they migrated to [Tamil Nadu](/source/Tamil_Nadu).[6] They are of [Shudra](/source/Shudra) status in the [Hindu caste system](/source/Caste_system_in_India).[7][8][9][10] However, they use the *Devanga Purana*, a text sacred to the Devangas, to claim Brahmin status, despite having a non-Brahmin profession.[11][12] They replaced their native local [gotras](/source/Gotra) with [Sanskritic](/source/Sanskritisation) gotras.[13]

Devanga is a Sanskrit word that means "Body of the God".[14]

### Religion

There is a theory that the Devanga and [Padmashali](/source/Padmasali_(caste)) communities were once a single entity, with a split arising when the Devanga element took up [Shaivite](/source/Shaivism) [Lingayatism](/source/Lingayatism) or [Veerashaivism](/source/Veerashaiva) while the Padmashalis were [Vaishnavs](/source/Vaishnavism).[15][16] While some Devangas wear the [yagnopaveetam](/source/Yagnopaveetham) or [janivara](/source/Janivara), others consider the Viramustis as their traditional preceptors, from whom they take precepts and wear *[lingam](/source/Lingam)*.[5]

During the medieval period, the Veerashaiva weavers supported anti-caste movements such as that of [Basava](/source/Basava). However, that movement itself became consumed with caste superiority against other Veerashaivas and Brahmins (who were non-Veerashaivas). The weavers began claiming higher caste status and claim that in 1231 a king granted them rights that were traditionally accorded to upper castes, such as wearing the [sacred thread](/source/Sacred_thread), riding a [palanquin](/source/Palanquin), and displaying a flag.[16]

The main goddess of the Devanga people is Sri Ramalinga [Chowdeshwari Amman](/source/Chowdeshwari_Temple) in the South Karnataka, Andhra and Tamil Nadu regions.[17][4]

In the Central and North Karnataka regions the main goddess of the Devanga people is Sri [Banashankari Amma Temple](/source/Banashankari_Amma_Temple).[18]

### Devanga Purana

Around 1532, Devangas of the [Godavari](/source/Godavari) requested the [Telugu](/source/Telugu_language) poet Bhadralinga Kavi to write their *kulapuranam*, or mythological history. He composed the *[Devanga Purana](/source/Devanga_Purana)* in the dasimatra-dvipadi style.[19] The Godavari Devangas also helped to Sanskrtize Devangas from eastern [Andhra](/source/Andhra_Pradesh).[16]

## Occupation

Most members of this community were professional artisans who were specialized in weaving silk apparels with motifs and specialized with brocade, damask and matelassé. They were accordingly primarily concentrated around major textile centres in the Godavari district.[15]

They were known for great craftsmanship in weaving clothes of silk and superfine quality cotton textiles. Weaving the loom is usually done by men whereas women dye the yarn and spin the thread and children assist tasks such as looming. They are also very good entrepreneurs and expert in marketing of clothes. Some of them are also engaged in farming.[5]

## Notable people

- [P. Theagaraya Chetty](/source/P._Theagaraya_Chetty)[20] - [T.Nagar](/source/Theagaraya_Nagar) is a locality in Chennai which is named after him.[21]

## Punishment for inter-caste marriage

In 2004, the Devanga leaders of a small village in [Belagur](/source/Belagur), [Chitradurga district](/source/Chitradurga_district), [Karnataka](/source/Karnataka), fined and socially excluded ten families from the community for marrying people outside the caste.[22] The decision was criticised and alleged to be unconstitutional[23] but a similar thing happened to five families in Shivani village, [Ajjampura](/source/Ajjampura), [Chikmagalur district](/source/Chikmagalur_district) in 2011.[24]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Gautham, Komal (30 April 2016). ["MGR magic still spins votes from Coimbatore weavers"](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/coimbatore/MGR-magic-still-spins-votes-from-Coimbatore-weavers/articleshow/52049522.cms). *The Times of India*. Retrieved 25 September 2019.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_2-1) Nainar, Nahla (21 March 2014). ["Silence of the looms"](https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/silence-of-the-looms/article5814798.ece). *The Hindu*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0971-751X](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0971-751X). Retrieved 18 November 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:28_3-0)** [Brown University "Page.8 (Lingayat Devanga), Page.11 (Devanga Shetty),"](https://adfdell.pstc.brown.edu/arisreds_data/public06/caste_codelist.pdf)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_4-1) George, Anubha. ["For 500 years, a Kannadiga community of weavers has produced Kerala's iconic white and gold saree"](https://scroll.in/magazine/881619/for-500-years-a-kannadiga-community-of-weavers-has-produced-keralas-iconic-white-and-gold-saree). *Scroll.in*. Retrieved 25 November 2018.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-sacred_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-sacred_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-sacred_5-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-sacred_5-3) Acharya, Prasant Kumar (2003). [*Sacred Complex of Budhi Santani: Anthropological Approach to Study Hindu Civilization*](https://books.google.com/books?id=h1dVrGpyM-0C&pg=PA240) (2003 ed.). New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. pp. 240–246. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-81-8069-049-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-81-8069-049-5).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Ramaswamy, Vijaya (2014). "Mapping Migrations of South Indian Weavers before, during and after the Vijayanagar Period: Thirteenth to Eighteenth Centuries". In Hoerder, Dirk (ed.). *Studies in Global History: Studies in Global Migration History*. Vol. 15. Brill. p. 108. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-90-04-27136-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-90-04-27136-4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Ramu, G. N. (1997). *Family and Caste in Urban India: A Case Study*. Vikas Publishing House. pp. 28, 171.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Kaushal, Molly (2001). *Chanted Narratives: The Living "katha-vachana" Tradition*. Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. p. 123.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Chaudhary, Bhupen (2006). *Indian Caste System: Essence and Reality*. Global Vision Publishing House. p. 213.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Schwalbe, Gustav Albert (1998). *Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anthropologie*. Vol. 82–83. E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung. p. 308.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Ramanujam, Srinivasa (2020). [*Renunciation and Untouchability in India: The Notional and the Empirical in the Caste Order*](https://books.google.com/books?id=sEyfDwAAQBAJ&dq=devanga+shudra+brahmin&pg=PT113). Taylor and Francis. pp. 978-0-429-31765-1. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781000113600](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781000113600).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Bhattacharya, Ranjit Kumar (2002). *Indian Artisans: Social Institutions and Cultural Values*. Anthropological Survey of India. pp. 24–25.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Ratnam, L. K. Bal (1991). *Anthropological Research and Tribal Situation*. Centre for Training and Research in Anthropology and Management. p. 43.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** [Mysore State Gazateer: Govt of Mysore. page 111](https://books.google.com/books?id=6q21AAAAIAAJ&q=Devanga)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_15-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_15-1) Swarnalatha, P. (2005). "The Social World of the Weaver". [*The World of the Weaver in Northern Coromandel, c. 1750 - c. 1850*](https://books.google.com/books?id=t5XlI91kP3YC). New Delhi: Orient Blackswan. pp. 36, 37. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-81-250-2868-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-81-250-2868-0).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:3_16-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:3_16-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:3_16-2) Reddy, Prabhavati C. (2014). *Hindu Pilgrimage: Shifting Patterns of Worldview of Srisailam in South India*. Routledge. p. 183.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["A ritual of pain to connect with the past - Times of India"](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/coimbatore/A-ritual-of-pain-to-connect-with-the-past/articleshow/16945540.cms). *The Times of India*. Retrieved 25 November 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Standing the test of Time"](https://www.deccanherald.com/content/604493/standing-test-time.html). *Deccan herald*. Retrieved 4 April 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-PS_2005_19-0)** Swarnalatha, P. (2005). "The Social World of the Weaver". [*The World of the Weaver in Northern Coromandel, c. 1750 - c. 1850*](https://books.google.com/books?id=t5XlI91kP3YC). New Delhi: Orient Blackswan. pp. 39–45. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-81-250-2868-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-81-250-2868-0).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** Roy, Tirthankar (28 January 2020). [*The Crafts and Capitalism: Handloom Weaving Industry in Colonial India*](https://books.google.com/books?id=AA3MDwAAQBAJ&q=theagaraya+chetty+devanga&pg=PT169). Taylor & Francis. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-000-02469-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-000-02469-2).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** ["Once upon a time in Thyagaraya Nagar…"](https://www.thehindu.com/features/downtown/once-upon-a-time-in-thyagaraya-nagar/article3436296.ece#:~:text=The%20area%20and%20the%20busy,carrying%20his%20name%20and%20statue.). *The Hindu*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** ["Ten families facing 'social boycott'"](http://www.thehindu.com/2004/12/22/stories/2004122205410300.htm). *[The Hindu](/source/The_Hindu)*. 22 December 2004. Retrieved 3 May 2015.[*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-23)** ["Seer calls for end to social boycott"](https://web.archive.org/web/20161128202048/http://www.thehindu.com/2004/12/23/stories/2004122305710300.htm). *[The Hindu](/source/The_Hindu)*. 23 December 2004. Archived from [the original](http://www.thehindu.com/2004/12/23/stories/2004122305710300.htm) on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** Khajane, Muralidhara (29 January 2011). ["Protection for 'social boycott' victims sought"](http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/protection-for-social-boycott-victims-sought/article1135939.ece). *The Hindu*. Retrieved 3 May 2015.

## Further reading

- Media related to [Devanga](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Devanga) at Wikimedia Commons

- Kidder, Robert L. (February 1974). "Litigation as a Strategy for Personal Mobility: The Case of Urban Caste Association Leaders". *The Journal of Asian Studies*. **33** (2): 177–191. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/2052183](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2052183). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [2052183](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2052183). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [147067108](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:147067108).

- Parthasarathi, Prasannan (2001). [*The Transition to a Colonial Economy: Weavers, Merchants and Kings in South India, 1720-1800*](https://books.google.com/books?id=x-rGFnZVxgUC). Cambridge University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-521-57042-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-57042-8).

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