Donga Dasari caste is surname of many people in southern India. Donga Dasari caste meaning is Dasari (servant of the god), Mr. Francis writes,61 in the strict sense of the word, is a religious mendicant of the Vaishnavite sect, who has formally devoted himself to an existence as such, and been formally included in the mendicant brotherhood by being branded on the shoulders with Vaishnavite symbols. Far different are the Donga, or thief Dasaris, who receive their name from the fact that the men and women disguise themselves as Dasaris, with perpendicular Vaishnava marks on their foreheads, and, carrying a lamp (Garuda kambum), a gong of bell-metal, a small drum called jagata, and a tuft of peacock feathers, go begging in the villages, and are at times treated with the sumptuous meals, including cakes offered to them as the disciples of Venkatesvarlu.62
In an interesting article on the Donga Dasaris, Mr. S. M. Natesa Sastri writes as follows.63 Quite opposed to the gudi (temple) Dasaris are Donga Dasaris. They are the most dreaded of the criminal classes in the Bellary district. In the early years of their settlement in Bellary, these Donga Dasaris were said to have practiced kidnapping boys and girls of other castes to strengthen their number, and even now, as the practice stands, any person can become a Donga Dasari though very few would like to become one. But, for all that, the chief castes who furnished members to this brotherhood of robbery were the scum of the Lingayats and the Kabberas. Of course, none of the respectable members of these castes would join them, and only those who were excommunicated found a ready home among these [192]Donga Dasaris. Sometimes Muhammadan budmashes (bad-mash, evil means of livelihood) and the worst characters from other castes, also become Donga Dasaris. The way an alien is made a Donga Dasari is as follows. The regular Donga Dasaris take the party who wants to enter their brotherhood to the side of a river, make him bathe in oil, give him a new cloth, hold a council, and give a feast. They burn a twig of the sami (Prosopis spicigera) or margosa (Melia Azadirachta) tree, and slightly burn the tongue of the party who has joined them. This is the way of purification and acceptance of every new member, who, soon after the tongue-burning ceremony, is given a seat in the general company, and made to partake of the common feast. The Donga Dasaris talk both Telugu and Kanarese. They have only two bedagas or family names, called Sunna Akki (thin rice) and Ghantelavaru (men of the bell). As the latter is a family name of the Kabberas, it is an evidence that members of the latter community have joined the Donga Dasaris. Even now Donga Dasaris intermarry with Kabberas, i.e, they accept any girl from a Kabbera family in marriage to one of their sons, but do not give one of their daughters in marriage to a Kabbera boy. Hanuman is their chief god. Venkatesa, an incarnation of Vishnu, is also worshipped by many. But, in every one of their villages, they have a temple dedicated to their village goddess Huligavva or Ellamma, and it is only before these goddesses that they sacrifice sheep or fowls. Vows are undertaken for these village goddesses when children fall ill. In addition to this, these Donga Dasaris are notorious for taking vows before starting on a thieving expedition, and the way these ceremonies are gone through is as follows. The gang, before starting on a [193]thieving expedition, proceed to a jungle near their village in the early part of the night, worship their favourite goddesses Huligavva or Ellamma, and sacrifice a sheep or fowl before her. They place one of their turbans on the head of the sheep or fowl that was sacrificed, as soon as the head falls on the ground. If the turban turns to the right, it is considered a good sign, the goddess having permitted them to proceed on the expedition; if to the left, they return home that night. Hanuman is also consulted in such expeditions, and the way in which it is done is as follows. They go to a Hanuman temple which is near their village, and, after worshipping him, garland him with a wreath of flowers. The garland hangs on both sides of the neck. If any flowers on the right side drop down first, it is considered as a permission granted by the god to start on plundering expeditions, and, conversely, these expeditions are never undertaken if any flowers happen to drop from the left side first. The Donga Dasaris start on their thieving raids with their whole family, wife and children following. They are the great experts in house-breaking and theft, and children are taught thieving by their mothers when they are five or six years old. The mother takes her boy or girl to the nearest market, and shows the child some cloth or vessel, and asks it to bring it away. When it fails, it is thrashed, and, when stroke upon stroke falls upon its back, the only reply it is taught to give is that it knows nothing. This is considered to be the reply which the child, when it grows up to be a man or woman, has to give to the police authorities when it is caught in some crime and thrashed by them to confess. Whenever the Donga Dasaris are caught by the police, they give false names and false castes. They have a cipher language among themselves. The Donga [194]Dasari woman is very loose, but, if she go astray with a Brahman, Lingayat, Kabbera, Kuruba, Upparava, or Rajput, her tongue is burnt, and she is taken back into the community. Widow remarriage freely prevails. They avoid eating beef and pork, but have no objection to other kinds of flesh.
Donga Dasari caste is one of the many castes subcastes of India.
India has thousands of castes and subcastes, they are in existence and practice since the Vedic times. They were created to solve the problem of division of labor. Donga Dasari caste name could indicate the type of work people belonging to the Donga Dasari caste do or did in earlier times. Many last names in India indicate the place the person originally belongs to. All castes sub castes are primarily divided into 4 categories:
1.Brahmins – The learned or priestly class
2.Khastriyas – The warrior class or those with governing functions
3.Vaishyas – The trader, agriculturalists or cattle rearers class
4.Shudra – The class that serves other three categories
Donga Dasari caste belongs to one of the above 4 categories. Indian caste system is the best system to solve the problem of division of labor. In earlier times there was no rigidity in caste system. Indian caste system is still the best solution for the problem of division of labor, the only change that is needed as per changed times is that rather than having a vertical hierarchical system with Brahmins on top and Shudras at bottom, it would be good to have a horizontal socialist system with Brahmins, Khastriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras all at same level.
The caste system of India is in ruins at present. It is also cause of bloody quarrels in certain parts of the rural India. People of backward castes have reservations in government jobs, this facility is widely misused in India. Many of the backward caste people have become rich and still use the facility for their benefit. Many in India believe reservation in jobs should be given on the basis of poverty rather than caste because there are many poors in upper castes as well.
Many criticize the Indian caste system because of bad material condition of lower castes but if they observe in an unbiased way they would find that there are many in upper castes with bad material conditions. The problem lies in power not in castes, power can corrupt anyone be it from upper caste or lower caste.
All cultures, all countries, all religions have caste system in one form or the other. Christians have different churches depending on the region or language or skin color of people. Muslims have a priestly class that tries to control everything. Arab Muslims before the oil boom were so much divided among tribes that if you drank water from a well of a different tribe you could be shot dead. Tribal divisions still exists among Muslims. You can also see the caste system in a different form in your corporate companies. I had seen different food and drinking facilities for people at different levels.
Donga Dasari caste is also known as Donga Dasari Gotra.
Caste situation is quiet different in urban India, people in urban areas especially youngsters don?t bother about castes. Inter caste, inter religious, inter lingual marriages are quiet common in urban India. Inter caste, inter religious and inter lingual marriages in rural areas attract severe criticism and many times people are expelled from community for not marrying as per religious and caste rules.