Chola

“ La chola is seldom married “legally and Catholicly,” but if she has a baby, a mishap that not infrequently befalls her, she wears it as all Andean women wear their babies,—on her back. Instead of being carelessly slung in a blanket tied across mother’s chest, however, this fortunate mite sits in a whole nest of clean, gay garments, the spotless white lining hanging down a foot or more on all sides of it, ending in a lace fringe. Indeed, this better care of baby is notable in La Paz, and has its influence even among the Indian women. ”

“ Chola, as the name of a Tamil people and of their royal dynasty appears as Choḍa in one of Asoka's inscriptions, and in the Telugu inscriptions of the Chālukya dynasty. Nor can we doubt that the same name is represented by Σῶρα of Ptolemy who reigned at Ἀρκατοῦ (Arcot) , Σώρ-ναξ who reigned at Ὄρθουρα (Wariūr) , and the Σῶραι νομάδες who dwelt inland from the site of Madras. [34]
The word Soli, as applied to the Tanjore country, occurs in Marco Polo (Bk. iii. ch. 20) , showing that Chola in some form was used in his day. Indeed Soli is used in Ceylon. ”

“ On a barren knoll at the back of the town is a ruined adobe bull-ring, once large and ornate, and still higher up, before the monument to the “Heroes of Cochabamba,” the gaze stretches away across a yellowish land, flat as a sea, baking in the blazing sunshine. Costumes, too, show far less color than those of La Paz. La chola wears a similar hat, but it is flatter and therefore uglier, and she has neither the immaculateness, instinct for pleasing color combinations, nor the sprightliness of her Aymará cousin. Natives of pure Caucasian blood are so rare as to be almost conspicuous. ”

“ It wa the custom in this period for each King and his generals to wear on the battle-field garlands of a particular kind of flower, to distinguish his party from that of his enemy. The Pandya wore the flowers of the Margosa, the Chera those of the Palmyra, and the Chola the flowers of the Ar. In the stanza translated above, the poet says, that it is not the Pandya or the Chera that fights with the Chola, but a prince of the Chola family, as both wore the garlands of the Ar.
Distracted by civil wars, the Chola Kingdom was not very prosperous during the reign of Nalankilli. ”

“ He liked to come with his father to the Bazaar and watch him make the gold and silver into beautiful things. When Chola was older he would come every day to the Bazaar, and his father would teach him to be a silversmith like himself. Every little Hindu boy follows the same trade as his father. ”

“ When that king invaded the Chera kingdom and besieged the capital Karur, Kovur-killar and two other bards, Alathur-killar and Marokattu-Nappasalaiyar, were in the Chola camp. [45] The following is a translation of one of the stanzas addressed by him to his patron Nalan-killi.
“We are the devoted bards of Nalan-killi, the fierce and brave warrior king of Chola-Na& who riding on a steed with flowing mane and jewelled trappings leads ai army as vast as a sea and lays waste the lands of his foes. We seek not rewards from the hands of others by singing their praises. ”

“ They questioned Manimêkalai, and having ascertained from her, how and by whom he had been killed, they concealed the prince’s body in a separate room and proceeded to the palace. Having obtained permission through the guards, they appeared before the Chola king who was seated on his throne, majestic like Indra. “Hail monarch!, may thy reign be prosperous! may all thy days be happy!” said one of the monks, “even in former days, many men have died in this city for the women they loved. ”

“ The Chóla supremacy in Vengi was at this point disturbed for a few years by the aged Western Chálukya king Vikramáditya VI, who took advantage of the departure of Vikrama Chóla and the death of his old enemy Kulóttunga to invade this northern province of theirs. Their viceroy Chóda submitted to him, and from 1120 to 1124 Vikramáditya was undisputed king of Vengi. His rule cannot have lasted long, as inscriptions of Vikrama Chola, dated 1127 and 1135 respectively, occur in Kistna. ”

“ There are many things to buy for the wedding of my granddaughter," continued the old lady, who was [15] devoted to her grandchildren and really ruled the house.
"Oh, take me, too," cried Chola. "There are no lessons at the school; for thou knowest it is a holiday, and Mahala goes with his father to visit a cousin. I will be all alone."
[16]
CHAPTER II
A DAY IN THE BAZAAR
So it was settled that Chola should go, too. A little later the "ekka ghurrie" was ready in the courtyard, and they all stowed themselves away in it somehow. ”

“ This morning when the boys came in, they found that the offerings of dishes of rice and wreaths of flowers had already been placed around the old idol.
"Thou art late," called out Chola's father, who was sitting on the wide veranda in front of the great-room, smoking his big pipe called a hookah. It was very comfortable on the veranda, for all around it hung mats of woven grass to keep off the burning sun and yet let in a cooling breeze. You must know that India is a very hot country and that the people make use of all sorts of things to make [12] them comfortable. ”

“ The Chōla king, being much impressed with them, bestowed on them the privilege of placing the crown on the head of a new ruler at his coronation. At this time, the town of Kāveripumpattanam is said to have been in a very flourishing state, and the north street was occupied by Vaisyas from other countries. Being unwilling to disturb them, the king made the new settlers occupy the east, west, and south streets. ”

“ The women wear several short heavy skirts, and over woolen waists a shawl or two, in one of which a baby is apt to be carried on the back. The chola women are much gayer in attire, with many bright colored woolen skirts, red, green, blue, yellow, one showing below another, or with a richly embroidered, white under-petticoat, these standing out like a balloon. ”

“ Chola's baby brother had not been well for some weeks. His mother and grandmother had given him many bitter drinks made from various healing herbs until he cried and would take no more of the nasty things, just as children in our country cry over their medicine. [47] His mother even dressed him in girl's clothes, and then charms were brought from the temple written on pieces of paper, and Lalla, the baby's mother, soaked the ink off the bits of paper in water which she gave the baby to drink. ”

“ Arequipa, second city of Peru, in its desert oasis, backed by Misti Volcano
“Suddenly the bleak pampa falls away at one’s feet, and La Paz in its hole in the ground, 1,200 feet below, spreads out at the foot of Illimani and its sister peaks”
Third (to be marked Baedeker-fashion with two stars) comes the most picturesque figure in Bolivia, if not in South America,—la chola de La Paz. Her mate may blossom out in all the atrocities or “European” attire, but la chola clings tenaciously and wisely to the costume of her ancestors. ”

“ In Pliny’s day, owing to the silting up of the harbour, its glory had already decayed and the Pandya capital had been removed to Madura (Hist. Nat. vi. cap. xxiii. 26) , famous later as a centre of Tamil literature. The Chola kingdom, which four centuries before Christ had been recognized as independent by the great Maurya king Asoka, had for its chief port Kaviripaddinam at the mouth of the Cauvery, every vestige of which is now buried in sand. For the first two centuries after Christ a large sea-borne trade was carried on between the Roman empire and the Tamil kingdoms ”

“ A curry for thee and me."
"The little one is fretful. He is not well; and it may be that he has a fever, the mother [42] fears," said Shriya, stopping her song as the boys came up.
"I will make him a horse to play with," and Chola seated himself and began to mould the clay as he had seen the old potter do.
"I shall make a buffalo like the sacred one that stole the sweets yesterday," said Nao, falling to work.
"Tush! this only sticks to my fingers!" exclaimed Mahala, impatiently, after a few minutes' work. ”

“ The men dress in second class European style; the cholas, one might say, half and half. As a rule the cholos treat the Indians more harshly than do the real whites, while to the latter they are rather servile. Some cholos have distinguished themselves as writers and statesmen. Two thirds of the population are said to live at or above 12,000 feet. Several mining camps are at 15,000 to 16,000 feet. ”

“ There is much obscurity about the origin and proper application of the term. [The word is by some derived from Skt. chūḍa, the top-knot which every Hindu must wear, and which is cut off on conversion to Islam. In the same way in the Punjab, choṭīkaṭ, 'he that has had his top-knot cut off,' is a common form of abuse used by Hindus to Musulman converts; see Ibbetson, Panjab Ethnog. p. 240.] According to Sonnerat (i. 109) , the Chulias are of Arab descent and of Shīa profession. [The Madras Gloss. takes the word to be from the kingdom of Chola and to mean a person of S. India.] ”

“ Caldwell mentions as one of the names given, in Telugu, to the eastern coast. Padre Paolino gives the name more accurately as Ciola (i.e. Chola) maṇḍalam, but his explanation of it as meaning the Country of Cholam (or juwārī—Sorghum vulgare, Pers.) is erroneous. An absurd etymology is given by Teixeira (Relacion de Harmuz, 28; 1610) . He writes: "Choromãdel or Choro Bãdel, i.e. Rice Port, because of the great export of rice from thence." He apparently compounds H. chaul, chāwal, 'cooked rice' (!) and bandel, i.e. bandar (q.v.) ”

“ Entering into friendly chat with one of the leading members of the class, I gleaned the following legend of its origin, and of the homage accorded to it by the Pallis. In remote times, when Salivahana was king of the Chola country, with its capital at Conjeeveram, all the principal castes of South India had their head-quarters at the seat of government, where each, after its own way, did homage to the triple deities of the place, namely, Kamakshi Amman, Ekambrasvarar, and Sri Varadarājaswāmi. Each caste got up an annual car festival to these deities. ”

“ Presents of money are given to the child by relations and friends, and the maternal uncles have to give a larger sum than the others. On the second or third day the coral and bead ornaments are removed, and, on the fourth day, the child, if a male, is shaved, and must thenceforth have the head clean shaved throughout life. “The story goes that, when the Chōla king of Kāveripattanam persecuted them, the members of this caste resolved not to shave their heads until they quitted his territories. ”

“ Others are full of animation, constantly threaded by caravans of llamas, asses and mules, and thronged by a many-hued population of pure-blooded Indians, with garments negligent but picturesque; Cholas, or half-breed women, often extremely pretty, dressed in vivid colours, coquettish, wearing their home-made hats of white felt; and townsmen of white race, ladies of La Paz, and European folk: in brief, all the elements we shall have seen in the upland towns of Spanish America, where rich and poor do congregate together. ”

“ The women, or Cholas, many of whom are extremely pretty, are generally well made, with small hands and feet; their costume is conspicuous and characteristic. The Cholas of the more well-to-do classes are always extremely well shod, wearing high-laced boots with high heels, made of leather soft as a glove and of a light shade. ”

“ Hence it is possible to locate the expedition at those points only which are specifically named. Cholam is still a small village in the southwest corner of T 25 S, R 16 E.
2 The Yokuts subtribe Tachi occupied the area to the west of L. Tulare and its outlet sloughs as far as the coast ranges (see Kroeber, 1925, p. 484) . ”

“ The marriages are performed in batches, and the marriage season lasts over several months.
Palayasengadam in the Trichinopoly district is the head-quarters of a section of the Chettis called the Pannirendām (twelfth) Chettis. “These are supposed to be descended from eleven youths who escaped long ago from Kāvēripatnam, a ruined city in Tanjore. A [94] Chōla king, says the legend, wanted to marry a Chetti; whereupon the caste set fire to the town, and only these eleven boys escaped. They rested on the Ratnagiri hill to divide their property ”

“ The Asādi then takes some of this mixture, and sprinkles it round the shrine, saying ' Ko, bali,' i.e., accept the sacrifice. Then the basket is given to another Māla, who asks permission from the village officials and ryots to sprinkle the cholam. He also asks that a lamb may be killed. The lamb is killed by a washerman, and the blood allowed to flow into the cholam in the basket. The bowels of the lamb are taken out, and tied round the wrist of the Māla who holds the basket, and puts it round his neck. ”

“ In the very apex of India, the hilly districts of Southern Madras, are numerous early races and tribes, distinct and peculiar to themselves, of whom the Tudas and Cholas are most worthy of notice. The former is as superior in type to the latter as the Caucasian is to the Mongolian. The Tudas are chiefly found in the Nilgherry Hills; they are tall, athletic, and well-formed. Their women, though dark, are singularly pleasing when young. ”

“ The Cholo, or half-breed, race of the Cordillera—or indeed the lowlands—is, after the Indian, the most numerous element in the population. These folk unite the qualities of the Spaniard and the aboriginal.
"The Cholos of Bolivia possess excellent qualities. They are robust and well-built physically; they are courteous and intelligent, rapidly acquiring all sorts of knowledge; they are, as a rule, proud and courageous, and, like the Indians, make excellent soldiers. They are good industrial workers; many become foremen and artisans. ”