The members of the caste reverence a deity called Ekkaladevata, who is said to have been left behind at their original home. The dead are cremated, and the chinna rozu (little day) death ceremony is observed. On the third day, cooked rice is thrown over the spot where the corpse was burnt.
Gudavandlu.--Recorded, in the Nellore Manual, as Vaishnavites, who earn their livelihood by begging. The name means basket people, and probably refers to Satanis, who carry a basket (guda) when begging.
Gudi (temple).--A sub-division of Okkiliyan, an exogamous sept of Jogi, and a name for temple Dasaris, to distinguish them from the Donga or thieving Dasaris.
Gudigara.--In the South Canara Manual, the Gudigaras are summed up as follows. "They are a Canarese caste of wood-carvers and painters. They are Hindus of the Saivite sect, and wear the sacred thread. Shivalli Brahmans officiate as their priests. Some follow the aliya santana mode of inheritance (in the female line), others the ordinary law. They must marry within the caste, but not within the same gotra or family. Infant marriage is not compulsory, and they have the dhare form of marriage. Among those who follow the aliya santana law, both widows and divorced women may marry again, but this is not permitted among the other sections. The dead are either cremated or buried, the former being the preferential mode. The use of alcoholic liquor, and fish and flesh is permitted. Their ordinary title is Setti."
"The Gudigars, or sandal-wood carvers," Mr. D'Cruz writes, [153] "are reported to have come originally from Goa, their migration to Mysore and Canara having been occasioned by the attempts of the early Portuguese invaders to convert them to Christianity. The fact that their original language is Konkani corroborates their reputed Konkanese origin. They say that the derivation of the word Gudigara is from gudi, a temple, and that they were so called because they were, in their own country, employed as carvers and painters in the ornamentation of temples. Another derivation is from the Sanskrit kuttaka (a carver). They assert that their fellow castemen are still employed in turning, painting, and other decorative arts at Goa. Like the Chitrakaras (ornamenters or decorative artists), they claim to be Kshatriyas, and tradition has it that, to escape the wrath of Parasu Rama in the sixth incarnation of Vishnu, who vowed to destroy all Kshatriyas, they adopted the profession of carvers and car-builders. They are also expert ivory-carvers, and it has been suggested that they may be distantly connected with the Kondikars, or ivory-carvers of Bengal. The art of sandalwood carving is confined to a few families in the Sorab and Sagar taluks of the Shimoga district, in the north-west corner of the province. There are two or three families in Sagar, and about six in Sorab, which contribute in all about thirty-five artisans employed in the craft. The art is also practiced by their relations, who found a domicile in Hanavar, Kumpta, Sirsi, Siddapur, Biligi, and Banavasi in the North Canara district. But the work of the latter is said to be by no means so fine as that executed by the artisans of Sorab and Sagar. The artisans of North Canara, however, excel in pith-work of the most exquisite beauty. They usually make basingas, i.e., special forehead ornaments, richly inlaid with pearls, and worn on the occasion of marriage. The delicate tools used by the wood-carvers are made from European umbrella spokes, ramrods, and country steel. The main stimulus, which the art receives from time to time at the present day, is from orders from the Government, corporate public bodies, or Maharajas, for address boxes, cabinets, and other articles specially ordered for presentations, or for the various fine-art exhibition, for which high prices are paid." In conversation with the workmen from Sorab and Sagar for work in the palace which is being built for H. H. the Maharaja of Mysore, it was elicited that there are some Gudigars, who, from want of a due taste for the art, never acquire it, but are engaged in carpentry and turning. Others, having acquired land, are engaged in cultivation, and fast losing all touch with the art. At Udipi in South Canara, some Gudigars make for sale large wooden buffaloes and human figures, which are presented as votive offerings at the Iswara temple at Hiriadkap. They also make wooden dolls and painted clay figures.