Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 4 of 7

Excerpt: 'The word Korono is said to be derived from kirani, which means a writer or clerk. The origin of the Koronos is uncertain. One writer says that they are Kayasts of Northern India, who are of Kshatriya origin. Mr. R. C. Dutt says, in his History of Ancient India, that, according to Manu, the Koronos belong to the Kshatriya Vratyas, who do not perform the religious rites. And, in the Raghuvamsa, the poet Kalidasa describes Koronos as the offspring of a Vaisya and a Sudra woman, and he is supported by the lexicographer Amara Sinha. It is said that the ancestors of the Koronos were brought from Northern India by Yayatikesari, King of Orissa (447-526 A.D.), to supply the want of writers and clerks in certain parts of Orissa. The Koronos are worshippers of Vishnu. Their ceremonies are performed with the aid of Brahman priests. The remarriage of widows is not permitted. They eat [2]fish, and the flesh of goats and deer. The Uriya Koronos observe the gosha system, and carry it to such an extent that, after a girl attains puberty, she is not allowed to appear before her elder brother. Their titles are Patnaik and Mahanti.'