Ganiga

^[1]Ganiga is a community of India. Mostly found in South India.

Ganiga or Gandlas, as they are called in Telugu are Oil Pressers and also Oil-Mongers.

A division of this caste styles themselves as Jyotinagaradavaru, or the people of the city of light. They are largely found in old Mysore province.

Their origins are claimed to be as follows:

When Iswara(God) found it necessary to remove the darkness of the world at night, and to keep up the perpetual light, he created a man from the sweat of his body, and commissioned him to the trade of oil-pressing. This man is said to be the progenitor of the caste.

Gangigas are divided into three main groups

1. Jyothinagaradavaru, Bramhins consider them as Vaishyas and Dwijas and invest them with the sacred thread worn by the twice borns, they are treated almost like Nagartas with high social status.
2. Sajjanas, who are Lingayat converts from the main body of Ganigas.
3. Other Ganigas, who call themselves simply Jyothiphanadavaru, and do not wear scared thread.

On the basis of language, there are Kannada Ganigas, Telugu Ganigas and Tamil Ganigas, and are found only in large towns.

The Ganigas of Bangalore, alias Bengaluru, live in a particular locality known as Ganiga pete. Their houses tend to have oil-mills either in front of the house or in their compounds.

More detailed information about the caste and its traditions and customs could be found in the scanned book hosted on 'Digital Library Of India' portal.

References

1. "When a well-oiled system came to a halt". The Hindu. 2012-12-19. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2016-02-29.