THE ANTIQUITIES OF MUKHALINQAM. 
89 
An examination of these ruins will not fail to be instructive. 
26. Kdlinga. — Thei-e is a class of persons known by 
tbis name^ dwelling in some parts of Ganjam and Vizaga- 
patam, but rarely met with elsewhere. As the priests of the 
Mukhalingam temples belong to this class and as they 
claim to have been such from time immemorial, I think it 
will not be out of place to give a short account of these 
people. As their name Kalinga implies, they must be 
preeminently the inhabitants of the Kalinga country. 
In the Malay countries, all natives of India are designated 
as ' Kalings ' A sect of Baniyas or Komatis in this 
district are called Kalinga Komatis ; but between the 
Kalingas and these Kalinga Komatis there is no con- 
nection whatever. The Kalingas must have maintained 
their individuality for a long time. They do not inter- 
marry with any other caste; and they eat only food 
cooked by Brahmans. They generally speak Telagu, 
but a few of them living in the north of the district 
speak Oriya, the prevailing language there. They are divi- 
ded in two classes, the Kintali Kalingas and the Booragam 
Kalingas. The former allow the re-inariage of widows and 
the divorced, and do not intermarry with the latter though 
they dine with them. The religion of the Kalingas is 
mainly Saiva, though many now profess Vaishnavism ; but 
religion does not create any social differences, a Vaishnava 
being allowed to marry a Saiva, provided that both belong 
to the same class. The profession generally followed by 
these persons is idol-worship, cultivation, and cart-driving. 
There are some landlords and a few oiiicials among them ; 
but as a class they are poor and uneducated. They are, no 
doubt, a hard-working and contented people, never once 
stooping to beg. 
27. What makes these people interesting to a curious 
observer, is their anomolous position in society. The 
