Kaikadi people
The Kaikadi are a community in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Their name is derived from kai and kade, while the community derives its name from kai and kadi. Traditionally, they were nomadic, mainly wandering in the Vidarbha region of the state, but most have now settled down. They speak Kaikadi, a Dravidian language closely related to Tamil with significant Indo-Aryan admixture. They practice the puberty function like other Tamil communities.
History
Colonial scholars had a significant disdain for the community, with Robert Vane Russell calling them "disreputable" and with "bad morals." Russell claimed their name derived from and, while the community derives its name from and . Russell recorded their occupation as basket-making. Colonial scholars claimed the community arrived from Telangana, and they were related to the Yerukala.They touch supposedly "polluted" communities above the Kunbi in the caste hierarchy, and they are barred from entering village temples, although they can live inside.
They are classified as a Denotified Tribe for purposes of Reservation. However, in much of Vidharbha, they are classified as Scheduled Castes, and they are central cast come under the OBC class. The Kaikadis mainly worship Nagas, mainly on Nag Panchami, but also pay reverence to Khandoba.