Chalavādi (Chalawadi, Chalwadi, Chelvadi, Chelavadi) is a dravida community, mainly belonging to

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, "who are generally called formerly as Adi Dravida (Balagai), Channaiah or Channayya"(Bidar, Belgaum, Bijapur and Dharwad districts), Toti, Byagara, Whalliaru or Whallias, Holia's or Mha'rs (Belgaum side) ( Synonym's: Holar) is the servant of the right-hand, or eighteen-caste section of the community, and the custodian of its symbol, namely, the bell and the ladle (Gandadabatlu). These are made of

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

and are connected together by a chain of the same metal, and sometimes they are placed before Sangameshwara gaddige and Pūjā made to them. The members use, among themselves, the term Balagai as they are classified among the eighteen castes that form the right-hand section of the community in Dravida countries. Chalavadi's are well dressed and stands with a blanket under his arm. He carries a brass image of

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

seated on a

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...

. The image is overshadowed by the hood of a snake and is fixed to the upper end of a brass spoon. A brass bell hangs from the handle of the spoon to the Chelvadi’s knee in front. From time to time, the Chelvadi sings hymns in honour of

and rings the bell.

Origin

Chalvadi is said to be a disciple of Basava. They came with the Maharaja of the

Vijayanagar empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belonging to ...

and settled in different districts. They are considered as the right-hand caste as opposed to the left-hand who are the Madars or Madiga. Chalavadi's were agricultural labourers during the 17th century to 18th century and were divided into ''Kuliyalugalu'' (hired labourer's) and ''Muladalugalu'' or ''Mulada Holeya'' (hereditary

serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed dur ...

) depending on nature of employment in

agrarian society An agrarian society, or agricultural society, is any community whose economy is based on producing and maintaining crops and farmland. Another way to define an agrarian society is by seeing how much of a nation's total production is in agricultur ...

Subdivision

Karnataka

The important sections of Holeyas were the Pombada (Bhuta dancers), the Bakuda or Mundala, the Holeya or Mari Holeya, the Koragar (basket maker) & Nalke (Bhuta Dancers). but only Holeya or Mari Holeya considered Chalavadis, not others.

References

{{Reservation in India Dalit communities Scheduled Castes of Karnataka