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diff --git a/42995-0.txt b/42995-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..170baa2 --- /dev/null +++ b/42995-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14470 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42995 *** + + CASTES AND TRIBES + OF + SOUTHERN INDIA + + By + + EDGAR THURSTON, C.I.E., + + Superintendent, Madras Government Museum; Correspondant Étranger, + Société d'Anthropologie de Paris; Socio Corrispondante, Societa, + Romana di Anthropologia. + + Assisted by + + K. Rangachari, M.A., + of the Madras Government Museum. + + + + Volume V--M to P + + Government Press, Madras + + 1909. + + + + + + + + + + + CASTES AND TRIBES OF SOUTHERN INDIA. + + VOLUME V. + + +MARAKKAYAR.--The Marakkayars are described, in the Madras Census +Report, 1901, as "a Tamil-speaking Musalman tribe of mixed Hindu and +Musalman origin, the people of which are usually traders. They seem +to be distinct from the Labbais (q.v.) in several respects, but the +statistics of the two have apparently been confused, as the numbers +of the Marakkayars are smaller than they should be." Concerning +the Marakkayars of the South Arcot district, Mr. Francis writes as +follows. [1] "The Marakkayars are largely big traders with other +countries such as Ceylon and the Straits Settlements, and own most +of the native coasting craft. They are particularly numerous in +Porto Novo. The word Marakkayar is usually derived from the Arabic +markab, a boat. The story goes that, when the first immigrants of this +class (who, like the Labbais, were driven from their own country by +persecutions) landed on the Indian shore, they were naturally asked +who they were, and whence they came. In answer they pointed to their +boats, and pronounced the word markab, and they became in consequence +known to the Hindus as Marakkayars, or the people of markab. The +Musalmans of pure descent hold themselves to be socially superior to +the Marakkaayars, and the Marakkayars consider themselves better than +the Labbais. There is, of course, no religious bar to intermarriages +between these different sub-divisions, but such unions are rare, +and are usually only brought about by the offer of strong financial +inducements to the socially superior party. Generally speaking, the +pure-bred Musalmans differ from those of mixed descent by dressing +themselves and their women in the strict Musalman fashion, and by +speaking Hindustani at home among themselves. Some of the Marakkayars +are now following their example in both these matters, but most of +them affect the high hat of plaited coloured grass and the tartan +(kambayam) waist-cloth. The Labbais also very generally wear these, +and so are not always readily distinguishable from the Marakkayars, +but some of them use the Hindu turban and waist-cloth, and let their +womankind dress almost exactly like Hindu women. In the same way, some +Labbais insist on the use of Hindustani in their houses, while others +speak Tamil. There seems to be a growing dislike to the introduction of +Hindu rites into domestic ceremonies, and the processions and music, +which were once common at marriages, are slowly giving place to a +simpler ritual more in resemblance with the nikka ceremony of the +Musalman faith." + +Of 13,712 inhabitants of Porto Novo returned at the census, 1901, +as many as 3,805 were Muhammadans. "The ordinary vernacular name +of the town is Farangipettai or European town, but the Musalmans +call it Muhammad Bandar (Port). The interest of the majority of +the inhabitants centres in matters connected with the sea. A large +proportion of them earn their living either as owners of, or sailors +in, the boats which ply between the place and Ceylon and other parts, +and it is significant that the most popular of the unusually large +number of Musalman saints who are buried in the town is one Malumiyar, +who was apparently in his lifetime a notable sea-captain. His fame as +a sailor has been magnified into the miraculous, and it is declared +that he owned ten or a dozen ships, and used to appear in command of +all of them simultaneously. He has now the reputation of being able to +deliver from danger those who go down to the sea in ships, and sailors +setting out on a voyage or returning from one in safety usually put +an offering in the little box kept at his darga, and these sums are +expended in keeping that building lighted and whitewashed. Another +curious darga in the town is that of Araikasu Nachiyar, or the one +pie lady. Offerings to her must on no account be worth more than +one pie (1/192 of a rupee); tributes in excess of that value are +of no effect. If sugar for so small an amount cannot be procured, +the devotee spends the money on chunam (lime) for her tomb, and this +is consequently covered with a superabundance of whitewash. Stories +are told of the way in which the valuable offerings of rich men have +altogether failed to obtain her favour, and have had to be replaced +by others of the regulation diminutive dimensions. The chief mosque +is well kept. Behind it are two tombs, which stand at an odd angle +with one another, instead of being parallel as usual. The legend goes +that once upon a time there was a great saint called Hafiz Mir Sahib, +who had an even more devout disciple called Saiyad Shah. The latter +died and was duly buried, and not long after the saint died also. The +disciple had always asked to be buried at the feet of his master, +and so the grave of this latter was so placed that his feet were +opposite the head of his late pupil. But his spirit recognised that +the pupil was really greater than the master, and when men came later +to see the two graves they found that the saint had turned his tomb +round so that his feet no longer pointed with such lack of respect +towards the head of his disciple." [2] + +In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Jonagans are separated from +the Marakkayars, and are described as Musalman traders of partly +Hindu parentage. And, in the Gazetteer of South Arcot, Mr. Francis +says that "the term Jonagan or Sonagan, meaning a native of Sonagan +or Arabia, is applied by Hindus to both Labbais and Marakkayars, but +it is usually held to have a contemptuous flavour about it." There +is some little confusion concerning the exact application of the name +Jonagan, but I gather that it is applied to sea-fishermen and boatmen, +while the more prosperous traders are called Marakkayars. A point, +in which the Labbais are said to differ from the Marakkayars, is that +the former are Hanafis, and the latter Shafis. + +The Marakkayars are said to admit converts from various Hindu classes, +who are called Pulukkais, and may not intermarry with the Marakkayars +for several generations, or until they have become prosperous. + +In one form of the marriage rites, the ceremonial extends over four +days. The most important items on the first day are fixing the mehr +(bride-price) in the presence of the vakils (representatives), and +the performance of the nikka rite by the Kazi. The nikka kudbha is +read, and the hands of the contracting couple are united by male +elders, the bride standing within a screen. During the reading of +the kudbha, a sister of the bridegroom ties a string of black beads +round the bride's neck. All the women present set up a roar, called +kulavi-idal. On the following day, the couple sit among women, and +the bridegroom ties a golden tali on the bride's neck. On the third +or fourth day a ceremony called paparakkolam, or Brahman disguise, +is performed. The bride is dressed like a Brahman woman, and holds +a brass vessel in one hand, and a stick in the other. Approaching +the bridegroom, she strikes him gently, and says "Did not I give you +buttermilk and curds? Pay me for them." The bridegroom then places +a few tamarind seeds in the brass vessel, but the bride objects to +this, and demands money, accompanying the demand with strokes of +the stick. The man then places copper, silver, and gold coins in the +vessel, and the bride retires in triumph to her chamber. + +Like the Labbais, the Marakkayars write Tamil in Arabic characters, +and speak a language called Arab-Tamil, in which the Kuran and other +books have been published. (See Labbai.) + +Maralu (sand).--A gotra of Kurni. + +Maran or Marayan.--The Marayans are summed up, in the Madras Census +Report, 1901, as being "temple servants and drummers in Malabar. Like +many of the Malabar castes, they must have come from the east coast, +as their name frequently occurs in the Tanjore inscriptions of 1013 +A.D. They followed then the same occupation as that by which they live +to-day, and appear to have held a tolerably high social position. In +parts of North Malabar they are called Oc'chan." + +"The development of this caste," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [3] +"is interesting. In Chirakkal, the northernmost taluk of the Malabar +district, and in the adjoining Kasargod taluk of South Canara, Marayans +are barbers, serving Nayars and higher castes; in the Kottayam and +Kurumbranad taluks they are barbers and drummers, and also officiate +as purohits (priests) at the funeral ceremonies of Nayars. In the +latter capacity they are known in those parts also as Attikurissi +Marayan. Going still further south, we find the Nayar purohit called +simply Attikurissi, omitting the Marayan, and he considers it beneath +his dignity to shave. Nevertheless, he betrays his kinship with the +Marayan of the north by the privilege which he claims of cutting +the first hair when a Nayar is shaved after funeral obsequies. On +the other hand, the drummer, who is called Marayan, or honorifically +Marar, poses as a temple servant, and would be insulted if it were +said that he was akin to the shaving Marayan of the north. He is +considered next in rank only to Brahmans, and would be polluted by +the touch of Nayars. He loses caste by eating the food of Nayars, +but the Nayars also lose caste by eating his food. A proverb says +that a Marayan has four privileges:-- + + + 1. Pani, or drum, beaten with the hand. + 2. Koni, or bier, i.e., the making of the bier. + 3. Natumittam, or shaving. + 4. Tirumittam, or sweeping the temple courts. + + +"In North Malabar a Marayan performs all the above duties even +now. In the south there appears to have been a division of labour, +and there a Marayan is in these days only a drummer and temple +servant. Funeral rites are conducted by an Attikurissi Marayan, +otherwise known as simply Attikurissi, and shaving is the duty of +the Velakattalavan. This appears to have been the case for many +generations, but I have not attempted to distinguish between the +two sections, and have classed all as barbers. Moreover, it is only +in parts of South Malabar that the caste has entirely given up the +profession of barber; and, curiously enough, these are the localities +where Nambudiri influence is supreme. The Marayans there appear +to have confined themselves to officiating as drummers in temples, +and to have obtained the title of Ambalavasi; and, in course of time, +they were even honoured with sambandham of Nambudiris. In some places +an attempt is made to draw a distinction between Marayan and Marayar, +the former denoting the barber, and the latter, which is merely the +honorific plural, the temple servant. There can, however, be little +doubt that this is merely an ex post facto argument in support of the +alleged superiority of those Marayans who have abandoned the barber's +brush. It may be here noted that it is common to find barbers acting +as musicians throughout the Madras Presidency, and that there are +several other castes in Malabar, such as the Tiyyans, Mukkuvans, +etc., who employ barbers as purohits at their funeral ceremonies." + +In the Cochin Census Report, 1901, Mr. M. Sankara Menon writes +that the Marars are "Sudras, and, properly speaking, they ought +to be classed along with Nayars. Owing, however, to their close +connection with services in temples, and the absence of free +interdining or intermarriage with Nayars, they are classed along +with Ambalavasis. They are drummers, musicians, and storekeepers in +temples. Like Tiyattu Nambiyars, some sections among them also draw +figures of the goddess in Bhagavati temples, and chant songs. In +some places they are also known as Kuruppus. Some sub-castes among +them do not dine, or intermarry. As they have generally to serve in +temples, they bathe if they touch Nayars. In the matter of marriage +(tali-kettu and sambandham), inheritance, period of pollution, etc., +they follow customs exactly like those of Nayars. In the southern +taluks Elayads officiate as purohits, but, in the northern taluks, +their own castemen take the part of the Elayads in their sradha +ceremonies. The tali-kettu is likewise performed by Tirumalpads in +the southern taluks, but by their own castemen, called Enangan, in +the northern taluks. Their castemen or Brahmans unite themselves with +their women in sambandham. As among Nayars, purificatory ceremonies +after funerals, etc., are performed by Cheethiyans or Nayar priests." + +For the following detailed note on the Marans of Travancore I am +indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Iyer, The name Maran has nothing to do +with maranam or death, as has been supposed, but is derived from the +Tamil root mar, to beat. In the Tanjore inscriptions of the eleventh +century, the caste on the Coromandel coast appears to have been +known by this name. The Marans correspond to the Occhans of the Tamil +country, and a class of Marans in North Malabar are sometimes called by +this designation. In the old revenue records of the Travancore State, +Mangalyam appears to be the term made use of. The two well-known +titles of the caste are Kuruppu and Panikkar, both conveying the idea +of a person who has some allotted work to perform. In modern days, +English-educated men appear to have given these up for Pillai, the +titular affix added to the name of the Sudra population generally. + +Marans may be divided into two main divisions, viz., Marans who +called themselves Marars in North Travancore, and who now hesitate to +assist other castes in the performance of their funeral rites; and +Marans who do not convert their caste designation into an honorific +plural, and act as priests for other castes. This distinction is most +clearly marked in North Travancore, while to the south of Alleppey +the boundary line may be said to remain only dim. In this part of +the country, therefore, a fourfold division of the caste is the +one best known to the people, namely Orunul, Irunul, Cheppat, and +Kulanji. The Orunuls look upon themselves as higher than the Irunuls, +basing their superiority on the custom obtaining among them of marrying +only once in their lifetime, and contracting no second alliance after +the first husband's death. Living, however, with a Brahman, or one +of a distinctly higher caste, is tolerated among them in the event +of that calamity. The word Orunul means one string, and signifies +the absence of widow marriage, Among the Irunuls (two strings) the +tali-tier is not necessarily the husband, nor is a second husband +forbidden after the death of the first. Cheppat and Kulanji were once +mere local varieties, but have now become separate sub-divisions. The +males of the four sections, but not the females, interdine. With what +rapidity castes sub-divide and ramify in Travancore may be seen from +the fact of the existence of a local variety of Marans called Muttal, +meaning substitute or emergency employée, in the Kalkulam taluk, +who are believed to represent an elevation from a lower to a higher +class of Marans, rendered necessary by a temple exigency. The Marans +are also known as Asupanis, as they alone are entitled to sound the +two characteristic musical instruments, of Malabar temples, called +asu and pani. In the south they are called Chitikans, a corruption +of the Sanskrit chaitika, meaning one whose occupation relates to the +funeral pile, and in the north Asthikkurichis (asthi, a bone), as they +help the relations of the dead in the collection of the bones after +cremation. The Marans are, further, in some places known as Potuvans, +as their services are engaged at the funerals of many castes. + +Before the days of Sankaracharya, the sole occupation of the Marans +is said to have been beating the drum in Brahmanical temples. When +Sankaracharya was refused assistance in the cremation of his dead +mother by the Nambutiri Brahmans, he is believed to have sought in +despair the help of one of these temple servants, with whose aid the +corpse was divided into eight parts, and deposited in the pit. For +undertaking this duty, which the Nambutiris repudiated from a sense of +offended religious feeling, the particular Maran was thrown out of his +caste by the general community, and a compromise had to be effected +by the sage with the rest of the caste, who returned in a body on +the day of purification along with the excommunicated man, and helped +Sankaracharya to bring to a close his mother's death ceremonies. In +recognition of this timely help, Sankara is believed to have declared +the Maran to be an indispensable functionary at the death ceremonies +of Nambutiris and Ambalavasis. It has even been suggested that the +original form of Maran was Muran, derived from mur (to chop off), +in reference to the manner in which the remains of Sankara's mother +were disposed of. + +The traditional occupation of the Marans is sounding or playing on the +panchavadya or five musical instruments used in temples. These are the +sankh or conch-shell, timila, chendu, kaimani, and maddalam. The conch, +which is necessary in every Hindu temple, is loudly sounded in the +early morning, primarily to wake the deity, and secondarily to rouse +the villagers. Again, when the temple service commences, and when the +nivedya or offering is carried, the music of the conch is heard from +the northern side of the temple. On this account, many Marans call +themselves Vadakkupurattu, or belonging to the northern side. The +asu and pani are sounded by the highest dignitaries among them. The +beating of the pani is the accompaniment of expiatory offerings to the +Saptamata, or seven mothers of Hindu religious writings, viz., Brahmi, +Mahesvari, Kaumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Indrani, and Chamunda. Offerings +are made to these divine mothers during the daily sribali procession, +and in important temples also during the sribhutabali hours, and on the +occasion of the utsavabali at the annual utsava of the temple. There +are certain well-established rules prescribing the hymns to be +recited, and the music to be played. So religiously have these rules +to be observed during the utsavabali, that the priest who makes the +offering, the Variyar who carries the light before him and the Marans +who perform the music all have to fast, and to dress themselves in +orthodox Brahmanical fashion, with the uttariya or upper garment +worn in the manner of the sacred thread. It is sincerely believed +that the smallest violation of the rules would be visited with dire +consequences to the delinquents before the next utsava ceremony. + +In connection with the musical instrument called the timila, the +following legend is current. There was a timila in the Sri Padmanabha +temple made of kuruntotti, and there was a Maran attached to the +temple, who was such an expert musician that the priest was unable to +adjust his hymn recitation to the music of the Maran's drum, and was +in consequence the recipient of the divine wrath. It was contrived +to get a Brahman youth to officiate as priest, and, as he could not +recite the hymns in consonance with the sounds produced by the drum, +a hungry spirit lifted him up from the ground to a height of ten +feet. The father of the youth, hearing what had occurred, hastened to +the temple, and cut one of his fingers, the blood of which he offered +to the spirit. The boy was then set free, and the old man, who was more +than a match for the Maran, began to recite the hymns. The spirits, +raising the Maran on high, sucked away his blood, and vanished. The +particular timila has since this event never been used by any Maran. + +The higher classes of Marans claim six privileges, called pano, koni, +tirumuttam, natumuttam, velichchor, and puchchor. Koni means literally +a ladder, and refers to the stretcher, made of bamboo and kusa grass or +straw, on which the corpses of high caste Hindus are laid. Tirumuttam +is sweeping the temple courtyard, and natumuttam the erection of a +small pandal (booth) in the courtyard of a Nambutiri's house, where +oblations are offered to the departed spirit on the tenth day after +death. Velichchor, or sacrificial rice, is the right to retain the +remains of the food offered to the manes, and puchchor the offering +made to the deity, on whom the priest throws a few flowers as part +of the consecration ceremony. + +A large portion of the time of a Maran is spent within the temple, +and all through the night some watch over it. Many functions are +attended to by them in the houses of Nambutiris. Not only at the +tonsure ceremony, and samavartana or closing of the Brahmacharya stage, +but also on the occasion of sacrificial rites, the Maran acts as the +barber. At the funeral ceremony, the preparation of the last bed, +and handing the til (Sesamum) seeds, have to be done by him. The +Chitikkans perform only the functions of shaving and attendance at +funerals, and, though they may beat drums in temples, they are not +privileged to touch the asu and pani. At Vechur there is a class +of potters called Kusa Maran, who should be distinguished from the +Marans proper, with whom they have absolutely nothing in common. + +Many families of the higher division of the Marans regard themselves +as Ambalavasis, though of the lowest type, and abstain from flesh +and liquor. Some Marans are engaged in the practice of sorcery, while +others are agriculturists. Drinking is a common vice, sanctioned by +popular opinion owing to the notion that it is good for persons with +overworked lungs. + +In their ceremonies the Marans resemble the Nayars, as they do also +in their caste government and religious worship. The annaprasana, +or first food-giving ceremony, is the only important one before +marriage, and the child is taken to the temple, where it partakes of +the consecrated food. The Nayars, on the contrary, generally perform +the ceremony at home. Purification by a Brahman is necessary to +release the Maran from death pollution, which is not the case with +the Nayars. In Travancore, at any rate, the Nayars are considered to +be higher in the social scale than the Marans. + +In connection with asu and pani, which have been referred to in +this note, I gather that, in Malabar, the instruments called maram +(wood), timila, shanku, chengulam, and chenda, if played together, +constitute pani kottugu, or playing pani. Asu and maram are the +names of an instrument, which is included in pani kottugu. Among the +occasions when this is indispensable, are the dedication of the idol +at a newly built temple, the udsavam puram and Sriveli festivals, +and the carrying of the tadambu, or shield-like structure, on which +a miniature idol (vigraham) is borne outside the temple, + +Marasari.--Marasari or Marapanikkan, meaning carpenter or worker in +wood, is an occupational sub-division of Malayalam Kammalas. + +Maratha.--Marathas are found in every district of the Madras +Presidency, but are, according to the latest census returns, most +numerous in the following districts:-- + + + South Canara 31,351 + Salem 7,314 + Tanjore 7,156 + Bellary 6,311 + + +It is recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1891, that "the term +Marathi denotes the various Marathi non-Brahman castes, who came +to the south either as soldiers or camp followers in the armies of +the Marathi invaders; but in South Canara, in which district the +caste is most numerous, it appears to be the same as Are, a class of +Marathi cultivators. Of the total number of 65,961, as many as 40,871 +have returned Marathi as both caste and sub-division. The number of +sub-divisions returned by the rest is no less than 305, of which the +majority are the names of other castes. Some of these castes are purely +Dravidian, and the names have evidently been used in their occupational +sense. For example, we have Bogam, Gandla, Mangala, etc." Mr. H. A, +Stuart writes further, in the South Canara Manual, that "Marathi, as a +caste name, is somewhat open to confusion, and it is probable that many +people of various castes, who speak Marathi, are shown as being of that +caste. The true Marathi caste is said to have come from Goa, and that +place is the head-quarters. The caste is divided into twelve wargs or +balis, which are exogamous sub-divisions. Caste disputes are settled +by headmen called Hontagaru, and allegiance is paid to the head of the +Sringeri math. The favourite deity is the goddess Mahadevi. Brahmans, +usually Karadis, officiate at their ceremonies. Marriage is both infant +and adult. The dhare form of marriage is used (see Bant). Widows may +remarry, but they cannot marry again into the family of the deceased +husband--a rule which is just the reverse of the Levirate. In some +parts, however, the remarriage of widows is prohibited. A husband +or a wife can divorce each other at will, and both parties may marry +again. Marathis are either farmers, labourers, or hunters. They eat +fish and flesh (except that of cattle and animals generally regarded +as unclean) and they use alcoholic liquors. They speak either the +ordinary Marathi or the Konkami dialect of it." The Marathis of South +Canara call themselves Are and Are Kshatri. + +In the North Arcot Manual, Mr, Stuart records that the term Marathi is +"usually applied to the various Maratha Sudra castes, which have come +south. Their caste affix is always Rao. It is impossible to discover +to what particular Sudra division each belongs, for they do not seem +to know, and take advantage of being away from their own country to +assert that they are Kshatriyas--a claim which is ridiculed by other +castes. In marriage they are particular to take a bride only from +within the circle of their own family, so that an admixture of the +original castes is thus avoided. Their language is Marathi, but they +speak Telugu or Tamil as well, and engage in many professions. Many +are tailors. [4] Others enlist in the army, in the police, or as peons +(orderlies or messengers), and some take to agriculture or trading." + +Of the history of Marathas in those districts in which they are most +prevalent, an account will be found in the Manuals and Gazetteers. + +The last Maratha King of Tanjore, Maharaja Sivaji, died in 1855. It +is noted by Mr. M. J. Walhouse [5] that "an eye-witness has recorded +the stately and solemn spectacle of his funeral, when, magnificently +arranged, and loaded with the costliest jewels, his body, placed in +an ivory palanquin, was borne by night through the torchlit streets +of his royal city amid the wail of vast multitudes lamenting the +last of their ruling race. The nearest descendant, a boy of twelve, +was carried thrice round the pile, and at the last circuit a pot of +water was dashed to pieces on the ground. The boy then lit the pile, +and loud long-sustained lament of a nation filled the air as the +flames rose." Upon the death of Sivaji, the Raj became, under the +decision of the Court of Directors, extinct. His private estate was +placed under the charge of the Collector of the district. In addition +to three wives whom he had already married, Sivaji, three years before +his death, married in a body seventeen girls. In 1907, three of the +Ranis were still living in the palace at Tanjore. It is recorded [6] +by the Marchioness of Dufferin that, when the Viceroy visited the +Tanjore palace in 1886 to speak with the Ranis, he was admitted behind +the purdah, "The ladies had not expected him, and were not dressed +out in their best, and no one could speak any intelligible language, +However, a sort of chattering went on, and they made signs towards +a chair, which, being covered with crimson cloth, Dufferin thought +he was to sit down on. He turned and was just about to do so, when +he thought he saw a slight movement, and he fancied there might be +a little dog there, when two women pulled the cloth open, and there +was the principal Rani--a little old woman who reached half way up +the back of the chair, and whom the Viceroy had been within an act +of squashing. He said it gave him such a turn!" + +A classified index to the Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Tanjore palace +was published by Mr. A. C. Burnell in 1880. In the introduction +thereto, he states that "the library was first brought to the +notice of European scholars by H.S.H. Count Noer, Prince Frederic of +Schleswig-Holstein, who brought an account of it to the late Professor +Goldstücker. But its full importance was not known till I was deputed, +in 1871, to examine it by the then Governor of Madras, Lord Napier +and Ettrick. The manuscripts are the result of perhaps 300 years' +collections; firstly, by the Nayaks of Tanjore; secondly, after about +1675, by the Mahratha princes. Some of the palm-leaf manuscripts +belong to the earlier period, but the greater part were collected +in the last and present centuries. All the Nagari Manuscripts belong +to the Mahratha times, and a large number of these were collected at +Benares by the Raja Serfojee (Carabhoji) about fifty years ago." + +In the Maratha Darbar Hall of the Tanjore palace are large pictures, +of little artistic merit, of all the Maratha kings, and the palace +also contains a fine statue of Sarabhoji by Chantrey. The small but +splendid series of Maratha arms from this palace constitutes one +of the most valuable assets of the Madras Museum. "The armoury," +Mr. Walhouse writes, [7] "consisted of great heaps of old weapons +of all conceivable descriptions, lying piled upon the floor of the +Sangita Mahal (music-hall), which had long been occupied by many +tons of rusty arms and weapons, in confused heaps, coated and caked +together with thick rust. Hundreds of swords, straight, curved and +ripple-edged, many beautifully damascened and inlaid with hunting +or battle scenes in gold; many broad blades with long inscriptions +in Marathi or Kanarese characters, and some so finely tempered as +to bend and quiver like whalebone. There were long gauntlet-hilts, +brass or steel, in endless devices, hilts inlaid with gold, and hilts +and guards of the most tasteful and elaborate steel-work. There were +long-bladed swords and executioners' swords, two-handed, thick-backed, +and immensely heavy. Daggers, knives, and poniards by scores, of all +imaginable and almost unimaginable shapes, double and triple-bladed; +some with pistols or spring-blades concealed in their handles, and +the hilts of many of the kuttars of the most beautiful and elaborate +pierced steel-work, in endless devices, rivalling the best medieval +European metal-work, There was a profusion of long narrow thin-bladed +knives, mostly with bone or ivory handles very prettily carved, ending +in parrot-heads and the like, or the whole handle forming a bird or +monster, with legs and wings pressed close to the body, all exquisitely +carved. The use of these seemed problematical; some said they were +used to cut fruit, others that they had been poisoned and struck about +the roofs and walls of the women's quarters, to serve the purpose +of spikes or broken glass! A curious point was the extraordinary +number of old European blades, often graven with letters and symbols +of Christian meaning, attached to hilts and handles most distinctly +Hindu, adorned with figures of gods and idolatrous emblems. There +was an extraordinary number of long straight cut-and-thrust blades +termed Phirangis, which Mr. Sinclair, in his interesting list of +Dakhani weapons, [8] says means the Portuguese, or else made in +imitation of such imported swords. A kuttar, with a handsome steel +hilt, disclosed the well-known name ANDREA FERARA (sic.). Sir Walter +Elliot has informed me that, when a notorious freebooter was captured +in the Southern Marâthâ country many years ago, his sword was found +to be an 'Andrea Ferrara.' Mr. Sinclair adds that both Grant Duff +and Meadows Taylor have mentioned that Râja Sivâji's favourite sword +Bhavânî was a Genoa blade [9].... Eventually the whole array (of arms) +was removed to Trichinapalli and deposited in the Arsenal there, and, +after a Committee of officers had sat upon the multifarious collection, +and solemnly reported the ancient arms unfit for use in modern warfare, +the Government, after selecting the best for the Museum, ordered the +residue to be broken up and sold as old iron. This was in 1863." + +It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Bellary district, that +"in 1790 Lord Cornwallis, then Governor-General of India, entered +into an alliance with the Marathas and the Nizam to reduce Tipu to +order, and it was agreed that whatever territories should be acquired +by them from Tipu should be equally divided between them. Certain +specified poligars, among whom were the chiefs of Bellary, Rayadrug +and Harpanahalli, were, however, to be left in possession of their +districts. Tipu was reduced to submission in 1792, and by the treaty +of that year he ceded half his territories to the allies. [10] Sandur +was allotted to the Marathas, and a part of the Bellary district to +the Nizam." The present Maratha chief of the little hill-locked Sandur +State is a minor, whose name and titles are Raja Venkata Rao Rao Sahib +Hindu Rao Ghorpade Senapati Mamalikat Madar. Of the eleven thousand +inhabitants of the State, the various castes of Marathas number over a +thousand. "Three families of them are Brahmans, who came to Sandur as +officials with Siddoji Rao when he took the State from the Jaramali +poligar. Except for two short intervals, Siddoji's descendants have +held the State ever since. The others are grouped into three local +divisions, namely, Khasgi, Kumbi, and Lekavali. The first of these +consists of only some eight families, and constitutes the aristocracy +of the State. Some of them came to Sandur from the Maratha country with +Siva Rao and other rulers of the State, and they take the chief seats +at Darbars and on other public occasions, and are permitted to dine +and intermarry with the Raja's family. They wear the sacred thread +of the Kshatriyas, belong to the orthodox Brahmanical gotras, have +Brahmans as their purohits, observe many of the Brahmanical ceremonies, +burn their dead, forbid widow re-marriage, and keep their womankind +gosha. On the other hand, they do not object to drinking alcohol or +to smoking, and they eat meat, though not beef. Their family god is +the same as that of the Raja's family, namely, Martanda Manimallari, +and they worship him in the temple in his honour which is in the Raja's +palace, and make pilgrimages to his shrine at Jejuri near Poona. [It +is noted by Monier-Williams [11] that 'a deification, Khando-ba (also +called Khande-Rao), was a personage who lived in the neighbourhood of +the hill Jejuri, thirty miles from Poona. He is probably a deification +of some powerful Raja or aboriginal chieftain, who made himself useful +to the Brahmans. He is now regarded as an incarnation of Siva in his +form Mallari. The legend is that the god Siva descended in this form +to destroy a powerful demon named Mallasura, who lived on the hill, +and was a terror to the neighbourhood. Parvati descended at the same +time to become Khando-ba's wife. His worship is very popular among the +people of low caste in the Maratha country. Sheep are sacrificed at +the principal temple on the Jejuri hill, and a bad custom prevails of +dedicating young girls to the god's service. Khando-ba is sometimes +represented with his wife on horseback, attended by a dog. A sect +existed in Sankara's time, who worshipped Mallari as lord of dogs.'] At +the marriages of the Khasgis, an unusual custom, called Vira Puja, +or the worship of warriors, is observed. Before the ceremony, the men +form themselves into two parties, each under a leader, and march to +the banks of the Narihalla river, engaging in mock combat as they +go. At the river an offering is made to Siva in his form as the +warrior Martanda, and his blessing is invoked. The goddess Ganga is +also worshipped, and then both parties march back, indulging on the +way in more pretended fighting. The second division of the Marathas, +the Kunbis, are generally agriculturists, though some are servants to +the first division. They cannot intermarry with the Khasgis, or dine +with them except in separate rows, and their womanfolk are not gosha; +but they have Brahmanical gotras and Brahman purohits. Some of them +use the Raja's name of Ghorpade, but this is only because they are +servants in his household. The third division, the Lekavalis, are +said to be the offspring of irregular unions among other Marathas, and +are many of them servants in the Raja's palace. Whence they are also +called Manimakkalu. They all call themselves Ghorpades, and members +of the Raja's (the Kansika) gotra. They thus cannot intermarry among +themselves, but occasionally their girls are married to Kunbis. Their +women are in no way gosha." [12] + +The cranial type of the Marathas is, as shown by the following table, +like that of the Canarese, mesaticephalic or sub-brachycephalic:-- + + + Cephalic Index + Av. Max. + + Canarese 50 Holeyas 79.1 87.4 + Marathi 30 Rangaris 79.8 92.2 + Canarese 50 Vakkaligas 81.7 93.8 + Marathi 30 Suka Sales 81.8 88.2 + Marathi 30 Sukun Sales 82.2 84.4 + + +Maravan.--"The Maravans," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [13] "are found +chiefly in Madura and Tinnevelly, where they occupy the tracts +bordering on the coast from Cape Comorin to the northern limits of +the Ramnad zemindari. The proprietors of that estate, and of the +great Sivaganga zemindari, are both of this caste. The Maravars must +have been one of the first of the Dravidian tribes that penetrated +to the south of the peninsula, and, like the Kallans, they have been +but little affected by Brahmanical influence. There exists among +them a picturesque tradition to the effect that, in consequence of +their assisting Rama in his war against the demon Ravana, that deity +gratefully exclaimed in good Tamil Maraven, or I will never forget, +and that they have ever since been called Maravans. But, with more +probability, the name may be connected with the word maram, which +means killing, ferocity, bravery and the like, as pointing clearly +to their unpleasant profession, that of robbing and slaying their +neighbours. In former days they were a fierce and turbulent race, +famous for their military prowess. At one time they temporarily +held possession of the Pandya kingdom, and, at a later date, their +armies gave valuable assistance to Tirumala Nayakkan. They gave the +British much trouble at the end of last (eighteenth) century and the +beginning of this (nineteenth) century, but they are now much the +same as other ryots (cultivators), though perhaps somewhat more bold +and lawless. Agamudaiyan and Kallan are returned as sub-divisions +by a comparatively large number of persons. Maravan is also found +among the sub-divisions of Kallan, and there can be little doubt +that there is a very close connection between Kallans, Maravans, +and Agamudaiyans." This connection is dealt with in the article +on the Kallans. But I may here quote the following legend relating +thereto. "Once upon a time, Rishi Gautama left his house to go abroad +on business. Devendra, taking advantage of his absence, debauched his +wife, and three children were the result. When the Rishi returned, +one of the three hid himself behind a door, and, as he thus acted +like a thief, he was henceforward called Kallan. Another got up a +tree, and was therefore called Maravan from maram, a tree, whilst +the third brazened it out, and stood his ground, thus earning for +himself the name of Ahamudeiyan, or the possessor of pride. This name +was corrupted into Ahambadiyan." [14] + +"Some say the word Maravan is derived from marani, sin; a Maravan being +one who commits sin by killing living creatures without feeling pity, +and without fear of god." [15] + +The Maravans claim descent from Guha or Kuha, Rama's boatman, who +rowed him across to Ceylon. According to the legend, Rama promised +Guha that he would come back at a fixed time. When he failed to return, +Guha made a fire, whereon to burn himself to death. Hanuman, however, +prevented him from committing suicide, and assured him that Rama would +shortly return. This came to pass, and Rama, on learning what Guha had +done, called him Maravan, a brave or reckless fellow. According to +another legend, the god Indra, having become enamoured of Ahalya, +set out one night to visit her in the form of a crow, and, seating +himself outside the dwelling of the Rishi her husband, cawed +loudly. The Rishi believing that it was dawn, went off to bathe, +while Indra, assuming the form of her husband, went in to the woman, +and satisfied his desire. When her husband reached the river, there +were no signs of dawn, and he was much perturbed, but not for long, as +his supernatural knowledge revealed to him how he had been beguiled, +and he proceeded to curse Indra and his innocent wife. Indra was +condemned to have a thousand female organs of generation all over his +body, and the woman was turned into a stone. Indra repented, and the +Rishi modified his disfigurement by arranging that, to the onlooker, +he would seem to be clothed or covered with eyes, and the woman was +allowed to resume her feminine form when Rama, in the course of his +wanderings, should tread on her. The result of Indra's escapade was +a son, who was stowed away in a secret place (maravuidam). Hence his +descendants are known as Maravan. [16] + +The head of the Maravans is the Setupati (lord of the bridge), or +Raja of Ramnad. "The Sethupati line, or Marava dynasty of Ramnad," +the Rev. J. E. Tracy writes, [17] "claims great antiquity. According +to popular legendary accounts, it had its rise in the time of the +great Rama himself, who is said to have appointed, on his victorious +return from Lanka (Ceylon), seven guardians of the passage or bridge +connecting Ceylon with the mainland.... Another supposition places +the rise of the family in the second or third century B.C. It rests +its case principally upon a statement in the Mahawanso, according +to which the last of the three Tamil invasions of Ceylon, which took +place in the second or third century B.C., was under the leadership +of seven chieftains, who are supposed, owing to the silence of the +Pandyan records on the subject of South Indian dealings with Ceylon, +to have been neither Cheras, Cholas, or Pandyans, but mere local +adventurers, whose territorial proximity and marauding ambition had +tempted them to the undertaking.... Another supposition places the rise +of the family in the eleventh or twelfth century A.D. There are two +statements of this case, differing according to the source from which +they come. According to the one, which has its source in South India, +the rise of the family took place in or about 1059 A.D., when Raja +Raja, the Chola king, upon his invasion of Ceylon, appointed princes +whom he knew to be loyal to himself, and who, according to some, had +aided him in his conquest of all Pandya, to act as guardians of the +passage by which his armies must cross to and fro, and supplies be +received from the mainland. According to the other statement, which +has its source in Sinhalese records, the family took its rise from the +appointment of Parakrama Bahu's General Lankapura, who, according to a +very trustworthy Sinhalese epitome of the Mahawanso, after conquering +Pandya, remained some time at Ramespuram, building a temple there, +and, while on the island, struck kahapanas (coins similar to those of +the Sinhalese series). Whichever of those statements we may accept, +the facts seem to point to the rise of the family in the eleventh +or twelfth century A.D., and inscriptions quoted from Dr. Burgess by +Mr. Robert Sewell [18] show that grants were made by Sethupati princes +in 1414, again in 1489, still again in 1500, and finally as late as +1540. These bring the line down to within two generations of the time +when Muttu Krishnappa Nayakka is said, in 1604, to have found affairs +sadly disordered in the Marava country, and to have re-established the +old family in the person of Sadaiyaka Tevar Udaiyar Sethupati. The +coins of the Sethupatis divide themselves into an earlier and later +series. The earlier series present specimens which are usually larger +and better executed, and correspond in weight and appearance very +nearly to the well-known coins of the Sinhalese series, together +with which they are often found, 'These coins' Rhys Davids writes, +[19] 'are probably, the very ones referred to as having been struck +by Parakrama's General Lankapura.' The coins of the later series are +very rude in device and execution. The one face shows only the Tamil +legend of the word Sethupati, while the other side is taken up with +various devices." + +A poet, in days of old, refers to "the wrathful and furious Maravar, +whose curled beards resemble the twisted horns of the stag, the +loud twang of whose powerful bowstrings, and the stirring sound +of whose double-headed drums, compel even kings at the head of +large armies to turn their back and fly." [20] The Maravans are +further described as follows. "Of strong limbs and hardy frames, and +fierce looking as tigers, wearing long and curled locks of hair, the +blood-thirsty Maravans, armed with the bow bound with leather, ever +ready to injure others, shoot their arrows at poor and defenceless +travellers, from whom they can steal nothing, only to feast their +eyes on the quivering limbs of their victims." [21] In a note on +the Maravans of the Tinnevelly district, it is recorded [22] that +"to this class belonged most of the Poligars, or feudal chieftains, +who disputed with the English the possession of Tinnevelly during +the last, and first years of the present (nineteenth) century. As +feudal chiefs and heads of a numerous class of the population, +and one whose characteristics were eminently adapted for the roll +of followers of a turbulent chieftain, bold, active, enterprising, +cunning and capricious, this class constituted themselves, or were +constituted by the peaceful cultivators, their protectors in time of +bloodshed and rapine, when no central authority, capable of keeping +the peace, existed. Hence arose the systems of Desha and Stalum +Kaval, or the guard of a tract of country comprising a number of +villages against open marauders in armed bands, and the guard of +separate villages, their houses and crops, against secret theft. The +feudal chief received a contribution from the area around his fort +in consideration of protection afforded against armed invasion. The +Maravars are chiefly the agricultural servants or sub-tenants of the +wealthier ryots, under whom they cultivate, receiving a share of the +crop. An increasing proportion of this caste are becoming the ryotwari +owners of land by purchase from the original holders." + +Though the Maravans, Mr, Francis writes, [23] "are usually +cultivators, they are some of them the most expert cattle-lifters in +the Presidency. In Madura, they have a particularly ingenious method +of removing cattle. The actual thief steals the bullocks at night, and +drives them at a gallop for half a dozen miles, hands them over to a +confederate, and then returns and establishes an alibi. The confederate +takes them on another stage, and does the same. A third and a fourth +man keep them moving all that night. The next day they are hidden and +rested, and thereafter they are driven by easier stages to the hills +north of Madura, where their horns are cut and their brands altered, +to prevent them from being recognised. They are then often sold at the +great Chittrai cattle fair in Madura town. In some papers read in G.O., +No. 535, Judicial, dated 29th March 1899, it was shown that, though, +according to the 1891 census, the Maravans formed only 10 per cent. of +the population of the district of Tinnevelly, yet they had committed +70 per cent. of the dacoities which have occurred in that district in +the previous five years. They have recently (1899) figured prominently +in the anti-Shanar riots in the same district." (See Shanan.) + +"The Maravans", Mr. F. S. Mullaly writes, [24] "furnish nearly the +whole of the village police (kavilgars, watchmen), robbers and thieves +of the Tinnevelly district. Very often the thief and the watchman +are one and the same individual. The Maravans of the present time, of +course, retain only a shadow of the power which their ancestors wielded +under the poligars, who commenced the kavil system. Still the Marava +of to-day, as a member of a caste which is numerous and influential, +as a man of superior physique and bold independent spirit, thief and +robber, village policeman and detective combined--is an immense power +in the land." + +It is noted, in the Madras Police Report, 1903, that "a large +section of the population in Tinnevelly--the Maravans--are criminal by +predilection and training. Mr. Longden's efforts have been directed to +the suppression of a bad old custom, by which the police were in the +habit of engaging the help of the Maravans themselves in the detection +of crime. The natural result was a mass of false evidence and false +charges, and, worst of all, a police indebted to the Maravan, who was +certain to have his quid pro quo. This method being discountenanced, +and the station-house officer being deprived of the aid of his tuppans +(men who provide a clue), the former has found himself very much at +sea, and, until sounder methods can be inculcated, will fail to show +successful results. Still, even a failure to detect is better than a +police in the hands of the Maravans." Further information concerning +tuppukuli, or clue hire, will be found in the note on Kallans. + +From a very interesting note on the Maravans of the Tinnevelly +district, the following extract is taken. [25] "On the principle of +setting a thief, to catch a thief, Maravars are paid blackmail to +keep their hands from picking and stealing, and to make restitution +for any thefts that may possibly take place, notwithstanding the +vigilance of the watchmen. (A suit has been known to be instituted, +in a Munsiff's Court, for failure to make restitution for theft after +receipt of the kudikaval money.) As a matter of fact, no robberies +on a large scale can possibly take place without the knowledge, +connivance, or actual co-operation of the Kavalgars. People living in +country places, remote from towns, are entirely at the mercy of the +Maravars, and every householder or occupier of a mud hut, which is +dignified by being called a house, must pay the Maravars half a fanam, +which is equal to one anna eight pies, yearly. Those who own cattle, +and there are few who do not, must pay one fanam a year. At the time +of the harvest, it is the custom in Southern India for an enemy to go +and reap his antagonist's crops as they are growing in the fields. He +does this to bring matters to a climax, and to get the right side of +his enemy, so that he may be forced to come to terms, reasonable or +otherwise. Possession is nine points of the law. On occasions such +as these, which are frequent, the advantage of the employment of +Kavalgars can readily be understood. The Maravars are often true to +their salt, though sometimes their services can be obtained by the +highest bidder. The plan of keeping kaval, or going the rounds like +a policeman on duty, is, for a village of, say, a hundred Maravars, +to divide into ten sections. Each section takes a particular duty, +and they are paid by the people living within their range. If a robbery +takes place, and the value of the property does not exceed ten rupees, +then this section of ten men will each subscribe one rupee, and pay +up ten rupees. If, however, the property lost exceeds the sum of ten +rupees, then all the ten sections of Maravars, the hundred men, will +join together, and make restitution for the robbery. How they are +able to do this, and to recoup themselves, can be imagined. Various +attempts for many years have been made to put a stop to this system of +kudi-kaval. At one time the village (Nunguneri) of the chief Maravar +was burnt down, and for many years the police have been on their +track, and numerous convictions are constantly taking place. Out +of 150,000 Maravars in the whole district, 10,000 are professional +thieves, and of these 4,000 have been convicted, and are living at +the present time. The question arises whether some plan could not +be devised to make honest men of these rogues. It has been suggested +that their occupation as watchmen should be recognised by Government, +and that they should be enlisted as subordinate officials, just as +some of them are now employed as Talayaris and Vettiyans.... The +villages of the Maravars exist side by side with the other castes, +and, as boys and girls, all the different classes grow up together, +so that there is a bond of sympathy and regard between them all. The +Maravans, therefore, are not regarded as marauding thieves by the other +classes. Their position in the community as Kavalgars is recognised, +and no one actually fears them. From time immemorial it has been the +mamool (custom) to pay them certain dues, and, although illegal, who +in India is prepared to act contrary to custom? The small sum paid +annually by the villagers is insignificant, and no one considers it a +hardship to pay it, when he knows that his goods are in safety; and, +if the Maravars did not steal, there are plenty of other roving castes +(e.g., the Kuluvars, Kuravars, and Kambalatars) who would, so that, +on the whole, ordinary unsophisticated natives, who dwell in the +country side, rather like the Maravar than otherwise. When, however, +these watchmen undertake torchlight dacoities, and attack travellers on +the high-road, then they are no better than the professional thieves +of other countries, and they deserve as little consideration. It must +be borne in mind that, while robbery is the hereditary occupation of +the Maravars, there are thousands of them who lead strictly honest, +upright lives as husbandmen, and who receive no benefit whatever from +the kudi-kaval system. Some of the most noted and earnest Native +Christians have been, and still are, men and women of this caste, +and the reason seems to be that they never do things by halves. If +they are murderers and robbers, nothing daunts them, and, on the other +hand, if they are honest men, they are the salt of the earth." I am +informed that, when a Maravan takes food in the house of a stranger, +he will sometimes take a pinch of earth, and put it on the food before +he commences his meal. This act frees him from the obligation not to +injure the family which has entertained him. + +In a note entitled Marava jati vernanam, [26] from the Mackenzie +Manuscripts, it is recorded that "there are seven sub-divisions in the +tribe of the Maravas, respectively denominated Sembunattu, Agattha, +Oru-nattu, Upukatti, and Kurichikattu. Among these sub-divisions, +that of the Sembunattu Maravas is the principal one." In the Madras +Census Report, 1891, the following are returned as the most important +sub-divisions:--Agamudaiyan, Kallan, Karana, Kondaikatti, Kottani, +Sembanattu, and Vannikutti, Among the Sembanattus (or Sembanadus), +the following septs or khilais have been recorded:-- + + + Marikka. + Piccha. + Tondaman. + Sitrama. + Thanicha. + Karuputhra. + Katra. + + +"The Kondayamkottai Maravars," Mr. F. Fawcett writes, [27] "are +divided into six sub-tribes, or, as they call them, trees. Each tree, +or kothu, is divided into three khilais or branches. These I call +septs. Those of the khilais belonging to the same tree or kothu are +never allowed to intermarry. A man or woman must marry with one of a +khilai belonging to another tree than his own, his or her own being +that of his or her mother, and not of the father. But marriage is +not permissible between those of any two trees or kothus: there are +some restrictions. For instance, a branch of betel vine or leaves may +marry with a branch of cocoanut, but not with areca nuts or dates. I +am not positive what all the restrictions are, but restrictions of +some kind, by which marriage between persons of all trees may not +be made indiscriminately, certainly exist. The names of the trees +or kothus and of the khilais or branches, as given to me from the +Maraver Padel, a book considered to be authoritative, are these-- + + + ======================================================= + Tree. | Kothu. | Khilai. + ===============+====================+================== + | { |Viramudithanginan. + Milaku | Pepper vine { |Sedhar. + | { |Semanda. + | { |Agastyar. + Vettile | Betel vine { |Maruvidu. + | { |Alakhiya Pandiyan. + | { |Vaniyan. + Thennang | Cocoanut { |Vettuvan. + | { |Nataivendar. + | { |Kelnambhi. + Komukham | Areca nut { |Anbutran. + | { |Gautaman. + | { |Sadachi. + Ichang | Dates { |Sangaran. + | { |Pichipillai. + | { |Akhili. + Panang | Palmyra { |Lokhamurti + | { |Jambhuvar. + ======================================================= + + +"Unfortunately I am unable to trace out the meanings of all +these khilais. Agastya and Gautamar are, of course, sages of +old. Viramudithanginan seems to mean a king's crown-bearer. Alakhiya +Pandiyan seems to be one of the old Pandiyan kings of Madura (alakhiya +means beautiful). Akhili is perhaps intended to mean the wife of +Gautama, Lokamurti, the one being of the world, and Jambhuvar, a +monkey king with a bear's face, who lived long, long ago. The common +rule regulating marriages among Brahmans, and indeed people of almost +every caste in Southern India, is that the proper husband for the +girl is her mother's brother or his son. But this is not so among the +Kondayamkottai Maravars. A girl can never marry her mother's brother, +because they are of the same khilai. On the other hand, the children +of a brother and sister may marry, and should do so, if this can be +arranged, as, though the brother and sister are of the same khilai, +their children are not, because the children of the brother belong +perforce to that of their mother, who is of a different khilai. It +very often happens that a man marries into his father's khilai; indeed +there seems to be some idea that he should do so if possible. The +children of brothers may not marry with each other, although they +are of different khilais, for two brothers may not marry into the +same khilai. One of the first things to be done in connection with a +marriage is that the female relations of the bridegroom must go and +examine the intended bride, to test her physical suitability. She +should not, as it was explained to me, have a flat foot; the calf +of her leg should be slender, not so thick as the thigh; the skin on +the throat should not form more than two wrinkles; the hair over the +temple should grow crossways. The last is very important." A curl on +the forehead resembling the head of a snake is of evil omen. + +In one form of the marriage rites as carried out by the Maravans, the +bridegroom's party proceed, on an auspicious day which has been fixed +beforehand, to the home of the bride, taking with them five cocoanuts, +five bunches of plantains, five pieces of turmeric, betel, and flowers, +and the tali strung on a thread dyed with turmeric. At the auspicious +hour, the bride is seated within the house on a plank, facing east. The +bridegroom's sister removes the string of black beads from her neck, +and ties the tali thereon. While this is being done, the conch-shell +is blown, and women indulge in what Mr. Fawcett describes as a shrill +kind of keening (kulavi idal). The bride is taken to the house of the +bridegroom, where they sit side by side on a plank, and the ceremony +of warding off the evil eye is performed. Further, milk is poured +by people with crossed hands over the heads of the couple. A feast +is held, in which meat takes a prominent part. A Maravan, who was +asked to describe the marriage ceremony, replied that it consists +in killing a sheep or fowl, and the bringing of the bride by the +bridegroom's sister to her brother's house after the tali has been +tied. The Kondaikatti Maravans, in some places, substitute for the +usual golden tali a token representing "the head of Indra fastened to +a bunch of human hair, or silken strings representing his hair." [28] + +In another form of the marriage ceremony, the father of the bridegroom +goes to the bride's house, accompanied by his relations, with the +following articles in a box made of plaited palmyra leaves:-- + + + 5 bundles of betel. + 21 measures of rice. + 7 cocoanuts. + 70 plantains. + 7 lumps of jaggery (crude sugar). + 21 pieces of turmeric. + Flowers, sandal paste, etc. + + +At the bride's house, these presents are touched by those assembled +there, and the box is handed over to the bride's father. On the +wedding day (which is four days afterwards), pongal (cooked rice) is +offered to the house god early in the morning. Later in the day, the +bridegroom is taken in a palanquin to the house of the bride. Betel is +presented to him by her father or brother. The bride generally remains +within the house till the time for tying the tali has arrived. The +maternal uncle then blindfolds her with his hand, lifts her up, and +carries her to the bridegroom, Four women stand round the contracting +couple, and pass round a dish containing a broken cocoanut and a +cake three times. The bride and bridegroom then spit into the dish, +and the females set up their shrill keening. The maternal uncles join +their hands together, and, on receiving the assent of those present, +the bridegroom's sister ties the tali on the bride's neck. The tali +consists of a ring attached to a black silk thread. After marriage, +the "silk tali" is, for every day purposes, replaced by golden beads +strung on a string, and the tali used at the wedding is often borrowed +for the occasion. The tali having been tied, the pair are blessed, +and, in some places, their knees, shoulders, heads, and backs are +touched with a betel leaf dipped in milk, and blessed with the words +"May the pair be prosperous, giving rise to leaves like a banyan +tree, roots like the thurvi (Cynodon Dactylon) grass, and like the +bamboo." Of the thurvi grass it is said in the Atharwana Veda "May +this grass, which rose from the water of life, which has a hundred +roots and a hundred stems, efface a hundred of my sins, and prolong +my existence on earth for a hundred years." + +Still further variants of the marriage ceremonial are described by +Mr. Fawcett, in one of which "the Brahman priest (purohit) hands +the tali to the bridegroom's sister, who in turn hands it to the +bridegroom, who ties a knot in it. The sister then ties two more +knots in it, and puts it round the bride's neck. After this has +been done, and while the pair are still seated, the Brahman ties +together the little fingers of the right hands of the pair, which +are interlocked, with a silken thread. The pair then rise, walk +thrice round the marriage seat (manavanai), and enter the house, +where they sit, and the bridegroom receives present from the bride's +father. The fingers are then untied. While undergoing the ceremony, +the bridegroom wears a thread smeared with turmeric tied round the +right wrist. It is called kappu." + +In the manuscript already quoted, [29] it is noted that "should it so +happen, either in the case of wealthy rulers of districts or of poorer +common people, that any impediment arises to prevent the complete +celebration of the marriage with all attendant ceremonies according to +the sacred books and customs of the tribe, then the tali only is sent, +and the female is brought to the house of her husband. At a subsequent +period, even after two or three children have been born, the husband +sends the usual summons to a marriage of areca nut and betel leaf; and, +when the relatives are assembled, the bride and bridegroom are publicly +seated in state under the marriage pandal; the want of completeness +in the former contract is made up; and, all needful ceremonies being +gone through, they perform the public procession through the streets of +the town, when they break the cocoanut in the presence of Vignesvara +(Ganesa), and, according to the means possessed by the parties, the +celebration of the marriage is concluded in one day, or prolonged +to two, three or four days. The tali, being tied on, has the name of +katu tali, and the name of the last ceremony is called the removal of +the former deficiency. If it so happen that, after the first ceremony, +the second be not performed, then the children of such an alliance are +lightly regarded among the Maravas. Should the husband die during the +continuance of the first relation, and before the second ceremony be +performed, then the body of the man, and also the woman are placed upon +the same seat, and the ceremonies of the second marriage, according +to the customs of the tribe, being gone through, the tali is taken +off; the woman is considered to be a widow, and can marry with some +other man." It is further recorded [30] of the Orunattu Maravans that +"the elder or younger sister of the bridegroom goes to the house of +the bride, and, to the sound of the conch-shell, ties on the tali; +and, early on the following morning, brings her to the house of the +bridegroom. After some time, occasionally three or four years, when +there are indications of offspring, in the fourth or fifth month, the +relatives of the pair assemble, and perform the ceremony of removing +the deficiency; placing the man and his wife on a seat in public, +and having the sacrifice by fire and other matters conducted by the +Prohitan (or Brahman); after which the relatives sprinkle seshai +rice (or rice beaten out without any application of water) over the +heads of the pair. The relatives are feasted and otherwise hospitably +entertained; and these in return bestow donations on the pair, from +one fanam to one pagoda. The marriage is then finished. Sometimes, when +money for expenses is wanting, this wedding ceremony is postponed till +after the birth of two or three children. If the first husband dies, +another marriage is customary. Should it so happen that the husband, +after the tying on of the tali in the first instance, dislikes the +object of his former choice, then the people of their tribe are +assembled; she is conducted back to her mother's house; sheep, oxen, +eating-plate, with brass cup, jewels, ornaments, and whatever else she +may have brought with her from her mother's house, are returned; and +the tali, which was put on, is broken off and taken away. If the wife +dislikes the husband, then the money he paid, the expenses which he +incurred in the wedding, the tali which he caused to be bound on her, +are restored to him, and the woman, taking whatsoever she brought with +her, returns to her mother's house, and marries again at her pleasure." + +It is recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1891, that "a special +custom obtaining among the Marava zemindars of Tinnevelly is mentioned +by the Registrar of that district. It is the celebration of marriage +by means of a proxy for the bridegroom in the shape of a stick, +which is sent by the bridegroom, and is set up in the marriage booth +in his place. The tali is tied by some one representative of the +bridegroom, and the marriage ceremony then becomes complete.... Widow +re-marriage is freely allowed and practiced, except in the Sembunattu +sub-division." "A widow," Mr. Fawcett writes, "may marry her deceased +husband's elder brother, but not a younger brother. If she does not +like him, she may marry some one else." + +When a girl reaches puberty, news of the event is conveyed by a +washerman. On the sixteenth day she comes out of seclusion, bathes, +and returns home. At the threshold, her future husband's sister is +standing, and averts the evil eye by waving betel leaves, plantains, +cocoanuts, cooked flour paste (puttu), a vessel filled with water, +and an iron measure containing rice with a style (ambu) stuck in +it. The style is removed by the girl's prospective sister-in-law, +who beats her with it as she enters the house. A feast is held at the +expense of the girl's maternal uncle, who brings a goat, and ties it +to a pole at her house. + +Both burial and cremation are practiced by the Maravans. The Sembunattu +Maravans of Ramnad regard the Agamudaiyans as their servants, and the +water, with which the corpse is washed, is brought by them. Further, +it is an Agamudaiyan, and not the son of the deceased, who carries +the fire-pot to the burial-ground. The corpse is carried thither on +a bier or palanquin. The grave is dug by an Andi, never by a Pallan +or Paraiyan. Salt, powdered brick, and sacred ashes are placed on the +floor thereof and the corpse is placed in it in a sitting posture. The +Kondaiyamkottai Maravans of Ramnad, who are stone and brick masons, +burn their dead, and, on their way to the burning-ground, the bearers +of the corpse walk over cloths spread on the ground. On the second or +third day, lingams are made out of the ashes, or of mud from the grave +if the corpse has been buried. To these, as well as to the soul of the +deceased, and to the crows, offerings are made. On the sixteenth day, +nine kinds of seed-grain are placed over the grave, or the spot where +the corpse was burnt. A Pandaram sets up five kalasams (brass vessels), +and does puja (worship). The son of the deceased, who officiated as +chief mourner, goes to a Pillayar (Ganesa) shrine, carrying on his +head a pot containing a lighted lamp made of flour. As he draws near +the god, a screen is stretched in front thereof. He then takes a few +steps backwards, the screen is removed, and he worships the god. He +then retires, walking backwards. The flour is distributed among those +present. Presents of new cloths are made to the sons and daughters +of the deceased. In his account of the Kondaiyamkottai Maravans, +Mr. Fawcett gives the following account of the funeral rites. "Sandals +having been fastened on the feet, the corpse is carried in a recumbent +position, legs first, to the place of cremation. A little rice is +placed in the mouth, and the relatives put a little money into a small +vessel which is kept beside the chest. The karma karta (chief mourner) +walks thrice round the corpse, carrying an earthen vessel filled with +water, in which two or three holes are pierced. He allows some water +to fall on the corpse, and breaks the pot near the head, which lies +to the south. No Brahman attends this part of the ceremony. When he +has broken the pot, the karma karta must not see the corpse again; +he goes away at once, and is completely shaved. The barber takes the +cash which has been collected, and lights the pyre. When he returns to +the house, the karma karta prostrates himself before a lighted lamp; +he partakes of no food, except a little grain and boiled pulse and +water, boiled with coarse palm sugar and ginger. Next day he goes to +the place of cremation, picks up such calcined bones as he finds, +and places them in a basket, so that he may some day throw them in +water which is considered to be sacred. On the eleventh or twelfth day, +some grain is sown in two new earthen vessels which have been broken, +and there is continued weeping around these. On the sixteenth day, +the young plants, which have sprouted, are removed, and put into +water, weeping going on all the while; and, after this has been +done, the relatives bathe and enjoy a festive meal, after which the +karma karta is seated on a white cloth, and is presented with a new +cloth and some money by his father-in-law and other relatives who +are present. On the seventeenth day takes place the punyagavachanam +or purification, at which the Brahman priest presides, and the karma +karta takes an oil bath. The wood of the pipal tree (Ficus religiosa) +is never used for purposes of cremation." + +Concerning the death ceremonies in the Trichinopoly district, +Mr. F. R. Hemingway writes as follows. "Before the corpse is removed, +the chief mourner and his wife take two balls of cow-dung, in which +the barber has mixed various kinds of grain, and stick them on to the +wall of the house. These are thrown into water on the eighth day. The +ceremonial is called pattam kattugiradu, or investing with the title, +and indicates the succession to the dead man's estate. A rocket is +fired when the corpse is taken out of the house. On the sixth day, +a pandal (booth) of naval (Eugenia, Jambolana) leaves is prepared, +and offerings are made in it to the manes of the ancestors of the +family. It is removed on the eighth day, and the chief mourner puts +a turban on, and merry-making and dances are indulged in. There +are ordinarily no karumantaram ceremonies, but they are sometimes +performed on the sixteenth day, a Brahman being called in. On the +return home from these ceremonies, each member of the party has to +dip his toe into a mortar full of cow-dung water, and the last man +has to knock it down." + +Among some Kondaiyamkottai Maravans, a ceremony called palaya +karmandhiram, or old death ceremony, is performed. Some months +after the death of one who has died an unnatural death, the skull is +exhumed, and placed beneath a pandal (booth) in an open space near +the village. Libations of toddy are indulged in, and the villagers +dance wildly round the head. The ceremony lasts over three days, +and the final death ceremonies are then performed. + +For the following account of the jellikattu or bull-baiting, +which is practiced by the Maravans, I am indebted to a note by +Mr. J. H. Nelson. [31] "This," he writes, "is a game worthy of a bold +and free people, and it is to be regretted that certain Collectors +(District Magistrates) should have discouraged it under the idea that +it was somewhat dangerous. The jellikattu is conducted in the following +manner. On a certain day in the year, large crowds of people, chiefly +males, assemble together in the morning in some extensive open space, +the dry bed of a river perhaps, or of a tank (pond), and many of them +may be seen leading ploughing bullocks, of which the sleek bodies and +rather wicked eyes afford clear evidence of the extra diet they have +received for some days in anticipation of the great event. The owners +of these animals soon begin to brag of their strength and speed, and +to challenge all and any to catch and hold them; and in a short time +one of the best beasts is selected to open the day's proceedings. A +new cloth is made fast round his horns, to be the prize of his captor, +and he is then led out into the midst of the arena by his owner, and +there left to himself surrounded by a throng of shouting and excited +strangers. Unaccustomed to this sort of treatment, and excited by +the gestures of those who have undertaken to catch him, the bullock +usually lowers his head at once, and charges wildly into the midst of +the crowd, who nimbly run off on either side to make way for him. His +speed being much greater than that of the men, he soon overtakes one +of his enemies and makes at him to toss him savagely. Upon this the +man drops on the sand like a stone, and the bullock, instead of goring +him, leaps over his body, and rushes after another. The second man +drops in his turn, and is passed like the first; and, after repeating +this operation several times, the beast either succeeds in breaking +the ring, and galloping off to his village, charging every person he +meets on the way, or is at last caught and held by the most vigorous +of his pursuers. Strange as it may seem, the bullocks never by any +chance toss or gore any one who throws himself down on their approach; +and the only danger arises from their accidentally reaching unseen +and unheard some one who remains standing. After the first two or +three animals have been let loose one after the other, two or three, +or even half a dozen are let loose at a time, and the scene quickly +becomes most exciting. The crowd sways violently to and fro in various +directions in frantic efforts to escape being knocked over; the air is +filled with shouts, screams, and laughter; and the bullocks thunder +over the plain as fiercely as if blood and slaughter were their sole +occupation. In this way perhaps two or three hundred animals are +run in the course of a day, and, when all go home towards evening, +a few cuts and bruises, borne with the utmost cheerfulness, are the +only results of an amusement which requires great courage and agility +on the part of the competitors for the prizes--that is for the cloths +and other things tied to the bullocks' horns--and not a little on the +part of the mere bystanders. The only time I saw this sport (from a +place of safety) I was highly delighted with the entertainment, and +no accident occurred to mar my pleasure. One man indeed was slightly +wounded in the buttock, but he was quite able to walk, and seemed to +be as happy as his friends." + +A further account of the jallikat or jellicut is given in the +Gazetteer of the Madura district. "The word jallikattu literally +means tying of ornaments. On a day fixed and advertised by beat of +drums at the adjacent weekly markets, a number of cattle, to the +horns of which cloths and handkerchiefs have been tied, are loosed +one after the other, in quick succession, from a large pen or other +enclosure, amid a furious tom-tomming and loud shouts from the crowd +of assembled spectators. The animals have first to run the gauntlet +down a long lane formed of country carts, and then gallop off wildly +in every direction. The game consists in endeavouring to capture the +cloths tied to their horns. To do this requires fleetness of foot +and considerable pluck, and those who are successful are the heroes +of the hour. Cuts and bruises are the reward of those who are less +skilful, and now and again some of the excited cattle charge into +the on-lookers, and send a few of them flying. The sport has been +prohibited on more than one occasion. But, seeing that no one need +run any risks unless he chooses, existing official opinion inclines +to the view that it is a pity to discourage a manly amusement which +is not really more dangerous than football, steeple-chasing, or +fox-hunting. The keenness of the more virile sections of the community, +especially the Kallans (q.v.), in this game is extraordinary, and, +in many villages, cattle are bred and reared specially for it. The +best jallikats are to be seen in the Kallan country in Tirumangalam, +and next come those in Melur and Madura taluks." + +"Boomerangs," Dr. G. Oppert writes, [32] "are used by the Maravans and +Kallans when hunting deer. The Madras Museum collection contains three +(two ivory, one wooden) from the Tanjore armoury. In the arsenal of +the Pudukottai Raja a stock of wooden boomerangs is always kept. Their +name in Tamil is valai tade (bent stick)." To Mr. R. Bruce Foote, +I am indebted for the following note on the use of the boomerang in +the Madura district. "A very favourite weapon of the Madura country +is a kind of curved throwing-stick, having a general likeness to the +boomerang of the Australian aborigines. I have in my collection two +of these Maravar weapons obtained from near Sivaganga. The larger +measures 24 1/8'' along the outer curve, and the chord of the arc +17 5/8''. At the handle end is a rather ovate knob 2 1/4'' long and +1 1/4'' in its maximum thickness. The thinnest and smallest part of +the weapon is just beyond the knob, and measures 11/16'' in diameter +by 1 1/8'' in width. From that point onwards its width increases +very gradually to the distal end, where it measures 2 3/8'' across +and is squarely truncated. The lateral diameter is greatest three +or four inches before the truncated end, where it measures 1''. My +second specimen is a little smaller than the above, and is also rather +less curved. Both are made of hard heavy wood, dark reddish brown in +colour as seen through the varnish covering the surface. The wood is +said to be tamarind root. The workmanship is rather rude. I had an +opportunity of seeing these boomerangs in use near Sivaganga in March, +1883. In the morning I came across many parties, small and large, +of men and big boys who were out hare-hunting with a few dogs. The +parties straggled over the ground, which was sparsely covered with +low scrub jungle. And, whenever an unlucky hare started out near +to the hunters, it was greeted with a volley of the boomerangs, so +strongly and dexterously thrown that poor puss had little chance of +escape. I saw several knocked out of time. On making enquiries as +to these hunting parties, I was told that they were in observance +of a semi-religious duty, in which every Maravar male, not unfitted +by age or ill-health, is bound to participate on a particular day in +the year. Whether a dexterous Maravar thrower could make his weapon +return to him I could not find out. Certainly in none of the throws +observed by me was any tendency to a return perceptible. But for +simple straight shots these boomerangs answer admirably." + +The Maravans bear Saivite sectarian marks, but also worship various +minor deities, among whom are included Kali, Karuppan, Muthu Karuppan, +Periya Karuppan, Mathurai Viran, Aiyanar, and Munuswami. + +The lobes of the ears of Marava females are very elongated as the +result of boring and gradual dilatation during childhood. Mr. (now +Sir) F. A. Nicholson, who was some years ago stationed at Ramnad, +tells me that the young Maravan princesses used to come and play in +his garden, and, as they ran races, hung on to their ears, lest the +heavy ornaments should rend asunder the filamentous ear lobes. + +It was recorded, in 1902, that a young Maravan, who was a member of +the family of the Zemindar of Chokampatti, was the first non-Christian +Maravan to pass the B.A. degree examination at the Madras University. + +The general title of the Maravans is Tevan (god), but some style +themselves Talaivan (chief), Servaikkaran (captain), Karaiyalan +(ruler of the coast), or Rayarvamsam (Raja's clan). + +Marayan.--A synonym of Maran. + +Mari.--Mari or Marimanisaru is a sub-division of Holeya. + +Mariyan.--Said to be a sub-division of Kolayan. + +Markandeya.--A gotra of Padma Sale and Seniyan (Devanga), named after +the rishi or sage Markandeya, who was remarkable for his austerities +and great age, and is also known as Dirghayus (the long-lived). Some +Devangas and the Salapus claim him as their ancestor. + +Marri. (Ficus bengalensis).--An exogamous sept of Mala and +Mutracha. Marri-gunta (pond near a fig tree) occurs as an exogamous +sept of Yanadi. + +Marumakkathayam.--The Malayalam name for the law of inheritance +through the female line. + +Marvari.--A territorial name, meaning a native of Marwar. At times of +census, Marvari has been returned as a caste of Jains, i.e., Marvaris, +who are Jains by religion. The Marvaris are enterprising traders, +who have settled in various parts of Southern India, and are, in the +city of Madras, money-lenders. + +Masadika.--A synonym for Nadava Bant. + +Masila (masi, dirt).--An exogamous sept of Devanga. + +Masthan.--A Muhammadan title, meaning a saint, returned at times +of census. + +Mastiga.--The Mastigas are described by the Rev. J. Cain [33] as +mendicants and bards, who beg from Gollas, Malas, and Madigas. I +am informed that they are also known as Mala Mastigas, as they are +supposed to be illegitimate descendants of the Malas, and usually beg +from them. When engaged in begging, they perform various contortionist +and acrobatic feats. + +Matam (monastery, or religious institution).--An exogamous sept +of Devanga. + +Matanga.--Matanga or Matangi is a synonym of Madiga. The Madigas +sometimes call themselves Matangi Makkalu, or children of Matangi, +who is their favourite goddess. Matangi is further the name of certain +dedicated prostitutes, who are respected by the Madiga community. + +Matavan.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a name +for the Pulikkapanikkan sub-division of Nayar. + +Matsya (fish).--A sept of Domb. + +Mattiya.--The Mattiyas are summed up as follows in the Madras +Census Report, 1901. "In Vizagapatam these are hill cultivators +from the Central Provinces, who are stated in one account to be +a sub-division of the Gonds. Some of them wear the sacred thread, +because the privilege was conferred upon their families by former +Rajas of Malkanagiri, where they reside. They are said to eat with +Ronas, drink with Porojas, but smoke only with their own people. The +name is said to denote workers in mud (matti), and in Ganjam they are +apparently earth-workers and labourers. In the Census Report, 1871, +it is noted that the Matiyas are 'altogether superior to the Kois +and to the Parjas (Porojas). They say they sprang from the soil, +and go so far as to point out a hole, out of which their ancestor +came. They talk Uriya, and farm their lands well'" + +For the following note, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The +caste is divided into at least four septs, named Bhag (tiger), Nag +(cobra), Cheli (goat), and Kochchimo (tortoise). A man may claim +his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage. Girls are, as a rule, +married after puberty. When a match is contemplated, the would-be +husband presents a pot of liquor to the girl's parents. If this is +accepted, a further present of liquor, rice, and a pair of cloths, +is made later on. The liquor is distributed among the villagers, +who, by accepting it, indicate their consent to the transfer of the +girl to the man. A procession, with Dombs acting as musicians, is +formed, and the girl is taken to the bridegroom's village. A pandal +(booth) has been erected in front of the bridegroom's house, which +the contracting couple enter on the following morning. Their hands are +joined together by the presiding Desari, they bathe in turmeric water, +and new cloths are given to them. Wearing these, they enter the house, +the bridegroom leading the bride. Their relations then exhort them +to be constant to each other, and behave well towards them. A feast +follows, and the night is spent in dancing and drinking. Next day, the +bride's parents are sent away with a present of a pair of cows or bulls +as jholla tonka. The remarriage of widows is allowed, and a younger +brother usually marries the widow of his elder brother. Divorce is +permitted, and, when a husband separates from his wife, he gives her a +new cloth and a bullock as compensation. A divorced woman may remarry. + +By the Mattiyas, and other Oriya castes, the ghorojavai (house +son-in-law) custom is practiced. According to this custom, the poorer +folk, in search of a wife, work, according to a contract, for their +future father-in-law for a specified time, at the expiration of +which they set up a separate establishment with his daughter. To +begin married life with, presents are made to the couple by the +father-in-law. + +The dead are burnt, and the spot where cremation takes place is marked +by setting up in the ground a bamboo pole, to which one of the dead +man's rags is attached. The domestic pots, which were used during his +last illness, are broken there. Death pollution is observed for eight +days. On the ninth day, the ashes, mixed with water, are cleared up, +and milk is poured over the spot. The ashes are sometimes buried +in a square hole, which is dug to a depth of about three feet, and +filled in. Over it a small hut-like structure is raised. A few of these +sepulchral monuments may be seen on the south side of the Pangam stream +on the Jeypore-Malkangiri road. The personal names of the Mattiyas +are often taken from the day of the week on which they are born. + +Mavilan.--Described, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a small +tribe of shikaris (hunters) and herbalists, who follow makkathayam +(inheritance from father to son), and speak corrupt Tulu. Tulumar +(native of the Tulu country), and Chingattan (lion-hearted people) +were returned as sub-divisions. "The name," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, +[34] "is said to be derived from mavilavu, a medicinal herb. I think, +however, the real derivation must be sought in Tulu or Canarese, +as it seems to be a Canarese caste. These people are found only +in the Chirakkal taluk of Malabar. Their present occupation is +basket-making. Succession is from father to son, but among some it +is also said to be in the female line." + +It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that the Mavilons are +"divided into Tulu Mavilons and Eda Mavilons, and sub-divided into +thirty illams. They are employed as mahouts (drivers of elephants), +and collect honey and other forest produce. Their headmen are called +Chingam (simham, lion), and their huts Mapura." + +Mayalotilu (rascal).--Mayalotilu or Manjulotilu is said by the +Rev. J. Cain to be a name given by the hill Koyis to the Koyis who +live near the Godavari river. + +Mayan.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, as a synonym of +Kammalan. The Kamsali goldsmiths claim descent from Maya. + +Meda, Medara, Medarlu, or Medarakaran.--The Medaras are workers in +bamboo in the Telugu, Canarese, Oriya and Tamil countries, making +sieves, baskets, cradles, mats, fans, boxes, umbrellas, and tatties +(screens). Occasionally they receive orders for waste-paper baskets, +coffins for Native Christian children, or cages for pigeons and +parrots. In former days they made basket-caps for sepoys. They are +said to cut the bamboos in the forest on dark nights, in the belief +that they would be damaged if cut at any other time. They do not, like +the Korachas, make articles from the leaf of the date-palm (Phoenix). + +They believe that they came from Mahendrachala mountain, the mountain +of Indra, and the following legend is current among them. Dakshudu, the +father-in-law of Siva, went to invite his son-in-law to a devotional +sacrifice, which he was about to perform. Siva was in a state of +meditation, and did not visibly return the obeisance which Dakshudu +made by raising his hands to his forehead. Dakshudu became angry, +and told his people not to receive Siva or his wife, or show them any +mark of respect. Parvati, Siva's wife, went with her son Ganapati, +against her husband's order, to the sacrifice, and received no sign +of recognition. Thereat she shed tears, and the earth opened, and +she disappeared. She was again born of Himavant (Himalayas), and +Siva, telling her who she was, remarried her. Siva, in reply to her +enquiries, told her that she could avoid a further separation from +him if she performed a religious vow, and gave cakes to Brahmans in +a chata, or winnowing basket. She accordingly made a basket of gold, +which was not efficacious, because, as Siva explained to her, it was +not plaited, as bamboo baskets are. Taking his serpent, Siva turned +it into a bamboo. He ordered Ganapati, and others, to become men, and +gave them his trisula and ghada to work with on bamboo, from which they +plaited a basket for the completion of Parvati's vow. Ganapati and the +Ganas remained on the Mahendrachala mountain, and married Gandarva +women, who bore children to them. Eventually they were ordered by +Siva to return, and, as they could not take their wives and families +with them, they told them to earn their livelihood by plaiting bamboo +articles. Hence they were called Mahendrulu or Medarlu. According to +another legend, [35] Parvati once wanted to perform the ceremony called +gaurinomu, and, wanting a winnow, was at a loss to know how to secure +one. She asked Siva to produce a man who could make one, and he ordered +his riding-ox Vrishaban to produce such a person by chewing. Vrishaban +complied, and the ancestor of the Medaras, being informed of the wish +of the goddess, took the snake which formed Siva's necklace, and, +going to a hill, planted its head in the ground. A bamboo at once +sprang up on the spot, which, after returning the snake to its owner, +the man used for making a winnow. The snake-like root of the bamboo +is regarded as a proof of the truth of the story. + +As among many other castes, opprobrious names are given to +children. For example, a boy, whose elder brother has died, +may be called Pentayya (dung-heap). As a symbol of his being a +dung-heap child, the infant, as soon as it is born, is placed on +a leaf-platter. Other names are Thavvayya, or boy bought for bran, +and Pakiru, mendicant. In a case where a male child had been ill for +some months, a woman, under the influence of the deity, announced +that he was possessed by the goddess Ankamma. The boy accordingly +had the name of the goddess conferred on him. + +The following are some of the gotras and exogamous septs of the +Medaras:-- + + +(a) Gotras. + + Hanumanta (monkey-god). Bombadai (a fish). + Puli (tiger). Vinayaka (Ganesa). + Thagenilu (drinking water). Kasi (Benares). + Avisa (Sesbania grandiflora). Moduga (Butea frondosa). + Rela (Ficus). Kovila (koel or cuckoo). + Seshai (snake?). + + +(b) Exogamous septs. + + Pilli (cat). Nuvvulu (gingelly). + Parvatham (mountain). Senagapapu (Bengal gram). + Putta (ant-hill). Tsanda (subscription). + Konda (mountain). Nila (blue). + Javadi (civet-cat). Sirigiri (a hill). + Nandikattu (bull's mouth). Kanigiri (a hill). + Kandikattu (dhal soup). Pothu (male). + Kottakunda (new pot). Naginidu (snake). + Pooreti (a bird). Kola (ear of corn). + Kalluri (stone village). + + +A man most frequently marries his maternal uncle's daughter, less +frequently the daughter of his paternal aunt. Marriage with a deceased +wife's sister is regarded with special favour. Marriage with two +living sisters, if one of them is suffering from disease, is common. + +In a note on the Medaras of the Vizagapatam district, Mr. C. Hayavadana +Rao writes that girls are married before or after puberty. A Brahman +officiates at the marriage ceremonies. Widows are allowed to remarry +once, and the sathamanam (marriage badge) is tied by the new husband +on the neck of the bride, who has, as in the Gudala caste, to sit +near a mortar. + +Formerly all the Medaras were Saivites, but many are at the present +day Vaishnavites, and even the Vaishnavites worship Siva. Every family +has some special person or persons whom they worship, for example, +Virullu, or boys who have died unmarried. A silver image is made, +and kept in a basket. It is taken out on festive occasions, as before +a marriage in a family, and offerings of milk and rice gruel are +made to it. Bala Perantalu, or girls who have died before marriage, +and Perantalu, or women who have died before their husbands, are +worshipped with fruits, turmeric, rice, cocoanuts, etc. + +Some of the Saivites bury their dead in a sitting posture, while +others resort to cremation. All the Vaishnavites burn the dead, +and, like the Saivites, throw the ashes into a river. The place of +burning or burial is not as a rule marked by any stone or mound. But, +if the family can afford it, a tulsi fort is built, and the tulsi +(Ocimum sanctum) planted therein. In the Vizagapatam district, death +pollution is said to last for three days, during which the caste +occupation is not carried out. On the third day, a fowl is killed, +and food cooked. It is taken to the spot where the corpse was burnt, +on which a portion is thrown, and the remainder eaten. + +The potency of charms in warding off evil spirits is believed in. For +example, a figure of Hanuman the monkey-god, on a thin plate of gold, +with cabalistic letters inscribed on it, is worn on the neck. And, +on eclipse days, the root of the madar or arka plant (Calotropis +gigantea), enclosed in a gold casket, is worn on the neck of females, +and on the waist or arms of males. Some members of this, as of other +castes, may be seen with cicatrices on the forehead, chest, back, +or neck. These are the scars resulting from branding during infancy +with lighted turmeric or cheroot, to cure infantile convulsions, +resulting, it is believed, from inhaling tobacco smoke in small, +ill-ventilated rooms. + +Various legends are current in connection with tribal heroes. One +Medara Chennayya is said to have fed some thousands of people +with a potful of rice. His grandson, Medara Thodayya, used to do +basket-making, and bathed three times daily. A Brahman, afflicted with +leprosy, lost a calf. In searching for it, he fell into a ditch filled +with water, in which the Medara had bathed, and was cured. One Medara +Kethayya and his wife were very poor, but charitable. In order to test +him, the god Iswara made grains of gold appear in large quantities in +the hollow of a bamboo, which he cut. He avoided the bamboos as being +full of vermin, and useless. At some distance, he found an ant-hill +with a bamboo growing in it, and, knowing that bamboos growing on such +a hill will not be attacked by vermin, cut it. In so doing, he cut +off the head of a Rishi, who was doing penance. Detecting the crime +of which he had been guilty, he cried "Siva, Siva." His wife, who was +miles away, heard him, and, knowing that he must be in some trouble, +went to the spot. He asked her how he was to expiate his sin, and she +replied. "You have taken a life, and must give one in return." He +thereon prepared to commit suicide, but his wife, taking the knife +from him, was about to sacrifice herself when Iswara appeared, restored +the Rishi to life, and took Medara Kethayya and his wife to heaven. + +As among many other castes, the sthambamuhurtham (putting up the post) +ceremony is performed when the building of a new house is commenced, +and the deeparathana (lamp-worship) before it is occupied. In every +settlement there is a Kulapedda, or hereditary caste headman, who +has, among other things, the power of inflicting fines, sentencing to +excommunication, and inflicting punishments for adultery, eating with +members of lower castes, etc. Excommunication is a real punishment, +as the culprit is not allowed to take bamboo, or mess with his former +castemen. In the Kistna and Godavari districts, serious disputes, +which the local panchayat (council) cannot decide, are referred to +the headman at Masulipatam, who at present is a native doctor. There +are no trials by ordeal. The usual form of oath is "Where ten are, +there God is. In his presence I say." + +When a girl reaches puberty, she has to sit in a room on five fresh +palmyra palm leaves, bathes in turmeric water, and may not eat salt. If +there is "leg's presentation" at childbirth, the infant's maternal +uncle should not hear the infant cry until the shanti ceremony has +been performed. A Brahman recites some mantrams, and the reflection +of the infant's face is first seen by the uncle from the surface +of oil in a plate. Widow remarriage is permitted. A widow can be +recognised by her not wearing the tali, gazulu (glass bangles), +and mettu (silver ring on the second toe). + +The lowest castes with which the Medaras will eat are, they say, +Komatis and Velamas. Some say that they will eat with Satanis, + +In the Coorg country, the Medaras are said to subsist by +umbrella-making. They are the drummers at Coorg festivals, and it +is their privilege to receive annually at harvest-time from each +Coorg house of their district as much reaped paddy as they can bind +up with a rope twelve cubits in length. They dress like the Coorgs, +but in poorer style. [36] + +It is recorded by Bishop Whitehead [37] that, "in Mercara taluk, in +Ippanivolavade, and in Kadikeri in Halerinad, the villagers sacrifice +a kona or male buffalo. Tied to a tree in a gloomy grove near the +temple, the beast is killed by a Meda, who cuts off its head with +a large knife, but no Coorgs are present at the time. The blood is +spilled on a stone under a tree, and the flesh eaten by Medas." + +At the Census, 1901, Gauriga was returned as a sub-caste by some +Medaras, The better classes are taking to call themselves Balijas, +and affix the title Chetti to their names. The Godagula workers in +split bamboo sometimes call themselves Odde (Oriya) Medara. [38] + +Meda (raised mound).--An exogamous sept of Padma Sale. + +Medam (fight).--An exogamous sept of Devanga. + +Mehtar.--A few Mehtars are returned, in the Madras Census Report, +1901, as a Central Provinces caste of scavengers. "This name," +Yule and Burnell write, [39] "is usual in Bengal, especially for +the domestic servant of this class. The word is Pers., comp. mihtar +(Lat. major), a great personage, a prince, and has been applied to +the class in question in irony, or rather in consolation. But the +name has so completely adhered in this application, that all sense +of either irony or consolation has perished. Mehtar is a sweeper, +and nought else. His wife is the Matranee. It is not unusual to hear +two Mehtars hailing each other as Maharaj!" + +Meikaval (body-guard of the god).--A name for Pandarams. + +Mekala (goats).--Recorded as an exogamous sept of Boya, Chenchu, +Golla, Kamma, Kapu, Togata, and Yanadi. Nerigi Mekala (a kind of goat) +is a further sept of Yanadi. + +Mekhri.--A sub-division of Navayat Muhammadans. + +Melachcheri.--A class of Muhammadans in the Laccadive islands (see +Mappilla). + +Meladava.--Dancing-girls in South Canara. + +Melakkaran.--Concerning the Melakkarans, Mr. F. R. Hemingway writes +as follows. [40] "The name means musicians, and, as far as Tanjore is +concerned, is applied to two absolutely distinct castes, the Tamil and +Telugu Melakkarans (of whom the latter are barber musicians). These +two will not eat in each other's houses, and their views about dining +with other castes are similar. They say they would mess (in a separate +room) in a Vellalan's house, and would dine with a Kallan, but it is +doubtful whether any but the lower non-Brahman communities would eat +with them. In other respects the two castes are quite different. The +former speak Tamil, and, in most of their customs, resemble generally +the Vellalans and other higher Tamil castes, while the latter speak +Telugu, and follow domestic practices similar to those of the Telugu +Brahmans. Both are musicians. The Telugus practice only the musician's +art or periyamelam (band composed of clarionet or nagasaram, pipe, +drum, and cymbals), having nothing to do with dancing or dancing-girls, +to whom the chinnamelam or nautch music is appropriate. The Tamil caste +provides, or has adopted all the dancing-girls in the district. The +daughters of these women are generally brought up to their mother's +profession, but the daughters of the men of the community rarely +nowadays become dancing-girls, but are ordinarily married to members +of the caste. The Tamil Melakkarans perform both the periyamelam +and the nautch music. The latter consists of vocal music performed +by a chorus of both sexes to the accompaniment of the pipe and +cymbals. The class who perform it are called Nattuvans, and they are +the instructors of the dancing-women. The periyamelam always finds +a place at weddings, but the nautch is a luxury. Nowadays the better +musicians hold themselves aloof from the dancing-women. Both castes +have a high opinion of their own social standing. Indeed the Tamil +section say they are really Kallans, Vellalans, Agamudaiyans, and so +on, and that their profession is merely an accident." The Vairavi, +or temple servant of Nattukottai Chettis, must be a Melakkaran. + +Mellikallu.--Under the name Mellikallu or Mallekalu, seventy-six +individuals are returned, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "hill +cultivators in Pedakota village of Viravalli taluk of the Vizagapatam +Agency, who are reported to constitute a caste by themselves. They +pollute by touch, have their own priests, and eat pork but not beef." + +Melnadu.--Melnadu, or Melnatar, meaning western country, is the name +of a territorial sub-division of Kallan and Shanan. + +Melu Sakkare.--A name, meaning western Sakkare, by which Upparas in +Mysore style themselves. They claim descent from a mythical individual, +named Sagara, who dug the Bay of Bengal. Some Upparas explain that +they work in salt, which is more essential than sugar, and that Mel +Sakkara means superior sugar. + +Meman.--More than three hundred members of this Muhammadan class +of Bombay traders were returned at the Madras Census, 1901. It is +recorded, in the Bombay Gazetteer, that many Cutch, Memans are +prospering as traders in Kurrachee, Bombay, the Malabar coast, +Hyderabad, Madras, Calcutta, and Zanzibar. + +Menasu (pepper or chillies).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba, and gotra +of Kurni. + +Menokki (overseer).--Menokki and Menoki have been returned, in the +Travancore and Cochin Census Reports, as a sub-division of Nayars, +who are employed as accountants in temples. The name is derived from +mel, above, nokki, from nokkunnu to look after. + +Menon.--By Wigram, [41] Menon is defined as "a title originally +conferred by the Zamorin on his agents and writers. It is now used by +all classes of Nayars. In Malabar, the village karnam (accountant) +is called Menon." In the Travancore Census Report, 1901, Menon +is said to be "a contraction of Menavan (a superior person). The +title was conferred upon several families by the Raja of Cochin, +and corresponds to Pillai down south. As soon as a person was made +a Menon, he was presented with an ola (palmyra leaf for writing on) +and an iron style, as symbolical of the office he was expected to +fill, i.e., of an accountant. Even now, in British Malabar, each +amsham or revenue village has a writer or accountant, who is called +Menon." Mr. F. Fawcett writes [42] that "to those of the sub-clan +attached to the Zamorin who were sufficiently capable to earn it, +he gave the titular honour Menon, to be used as an affix to the +name. The title Menon is in general hereditary, but, be it remarked, +many who now use it are not entitled to do so. Properly speaking, +only those whose investiture by the Zamorin or some other recognized +chief is undisputed, and their descendants (in the female line) may +use it. A man known to me was invested with the title Menon in 1895 by +the Karimpuzha chief, who, in the presence of a large assembly, said +thrice 'From this day forward I confer on Krishnan Nayar the title of +Krishna Menon.' Nowadays be it said, the title Menon is used by Nayars +of clans other than the Akattu Charna." Indian undergraduates at the +English Universities, with names such as Krishna Menon, Raman Menon, +Ramunni Menon, are known as Mr. Menon. In the same way, Maratha +students are called by their titular name Mr. Rao. + +Mera.--A sub-division of Holeya. + +Meria.--At the Madras Census, 1901, twenty-five individuals returned +themselves as Meria or Merakaya. They were descendants of persons who +were reserved for human (Meriah) sacrifice, but rescued by Government +officials in the middle of the last century. + +Mesta.--A name taken by some Chaptegaras (carpenters) in South Canara. + +Mestri.--A title of Semmans and other Tamil classes. The Panan tailors +are said to be also called Mestris. Concerning the word mestri, +or maistry, Yule and Burnell write as follows. [43] "This word, a +corruption of the Portuguese Mestre, has spread into the vernaculars +all over India, and is in constant Anglo-Indian use. Properly a +foreman, a master-worker. In W. and S. India maistry, as used in the +household, generally means the cook or the tailor." + +Mettu Kamsali.--A synonym of Ojali blacksmith, Mettu means shoes +or sandals. + +Mhallo.--A name for Konkani barbers. + +Midathala (locust).--An exogamous sept of Boya and Madiga. + +Middala or Meddala (storeyed house).--An exogamous sept of Padma Sale. + +Midichi (locust).--A gotra of Kurni. + +Mila.--The Milas are a fishing caste in Ganjam and Vizagapatam, for the +following note on whom I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The name +Milavandlu, by which they are commonly known, means fishermen. They +also call themselves Odavandlu, because they go out to sea, fishing +from boats (oda). When they become wealthy, they style themselves Oda +Balijas. The caste is divided into numerous exogamous septs, among +which are dhoni (boat), and tota (garden). The custom of menarikam, +according to which a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter, +is in force, and a man may also marry his sister's daughter. Girls are +generally married after puberty. Gold jewellery is presented in lieu +of money as the bride-price (voli). On the occasion of a marriage, +half a dozen males and females go to the house of the bride, where +they are entertained at a feast. She is conducted to the home of +the bridegroom. A plank is placed at the entrance to the house, on +which the bride and bridegroom take their seats. After they have +bathed, new cloths are presented to them, and the old ones given +to the barber. They then sit once more on the plank, and the caste +headman, called the Ejaman, takes up the sathamanam (marriage badge), +which is passed round among those assembled. It is finally tied +by the bridegroom on the bride's neck. The remarriage of widows is +recognised. Each village has an Ejaman, who, in addition to officiating +at weddings, presides over council meetings, collects fines, etc. The +caste goddess is Polamma, to whom animal sacrifices are offered, +and in whose honour an annual festival is held. The expenses thereof +are met by public subscription and private donations. The dead are +burnt, and a Satani officiates at funerals. Death pollution is not +observed. On the twelfth day after death, the pedda rozu (big day) +ceremony is performed. The caste titles are Anna and Ayya. + +Milaku (pepper: Piper nigrum).--A tree or kothu of Kondaiyamkotti +Maravans. + +Milikhan.--A class of Muhammadan pilots and sailors in the Laccadive +Islands (see Mappilla). + +Minalavaru (fish people).--An exogamous sept of Bedar or Boya. Min +(fish) Palli occurs as a name for Pallis who have settled in the +Telugu country, and adopted fishing as their profession. + +Minchu (metal toe-ring).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba. + +Mini (leather rope).--A gotra of Kurni. + +Minpidi (fish-catching).--A sub-division of Panan. + +Mirapakaya (Capsicum frutescens).--An exogamous sept of Boya. + +Mirigani.--A sub-division of Domb. + +Miriyala (pepper).--An exogamous sept of Balija. + +Mir Shikari.--A synonym of Kurivikkaran. + +Misala (whiskers).--An exogamous sept of Boya. + +Mise (moustache).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba. + +Mochi.--See Mucchi. + +Modikaran.--The name sometimes applied to Nokkan mendicants, who dabble +in jugglery. Modi is a trial of magical powers between two persons, +in which the hiding of money is the essential thing. + +Moduga (Butea frondosa).--A gotra of Medara. + +Moger.--The Mogers are the Tulu-speaking fishermen of the South +Canara district, who, for the most part, follow the aliya santana +law of inheritance (in the female line), though some who are settled +in the northern part of the district speak Canarese, and follow the +makkala santana law (inheritance from father to son). + +The Mogers are largely engaged in sea-fishing, and are also employed +in the Government fish-curing yards. On the occasion of an inspection +of one of these yards at Mangalore, my eye caught sight of the saw +of a sawfish (Pristis) hanging on the wall of the office. Enquiry +elicited that it was used as a "threatening instrument" in the +yard. The ticket-holders were Mappillas and Mogers. I was informed +that some of the Mogers used the hated thattu vala or achi vala +(tapping net), in using which the sides of the boats are beaten +with sticks, to drive the fish into the net. Those who object to +this method of fishing maintain that the noise made with the sticks +frightens away the shoals of mackerel and sardines. A few years ago, +the nets were cut to pieces, and thrown into the sea, as a protest +against their employment. A free fight ensued, with the result that +nineteen individuals were sentenced to a fine of fifty rupees, and +three months' imprisonment. In connection with my inspections of +fisheries, the following quaint official report was submitted. "The +Mogers about the town of Udipi are bound to supply the revenue and +magisterial establishment of the town early in the morning every +day a number of fishes strung to a piece of rope. The custom was +originated by a Tahsildar (Native revenue officer) about twenty years +ago, when the Tahsildar wielded the powers of the magistrate and the +revenue officer, and was more than a tyrant, if he so liked--when rich +and poor would tremble at the name of an unscrupulous Tahsildar. The +Tahsildar is divested of his magisterial powers, and to the law-abiding +and punctual is not more harmful than the dormouse. But the custom +continues, and the official, who, of all men, can afford to pay for +what he eats, enjoys the privileges akin to those of the time of Louis +XIV's court, and the poor fisherman has to toil by night to supply +the rich official's table with a delicious dish about gratis." A +curious custom at Cannanore in Malabar may be incidentally referred +to. Writing in 1873, Dr. Francis Day states [44] that "at Cannanore, +the Rajah's cat appears to be exercising a deleterious influence +on one branch at least of the fishing, viz., that for sharks. It +appears that, in olden times, one fish daily was taken from each boat +as a perquisite for the Rajah's cat, or the poocha meen (cat fish) +collection. The cats apparently have not augmented so much as the +fishing boats, so this has been commuted into a money payment of two +pies a day on each successful boat. In addition to this, the Rajah +annually levies a tax of Rs. 2-4-0 on every boat. Half of the sharks' +fins are also claimed by the Rajah's poocha meen contractor." + +Writing concerning the Mogers, Buchanan [45] states that "these +fishermen are called Mogayer, and are a caste of Tulava origin. They +resemble the Mucuas (Mukkuvans) of Malayala, but the one caste will +have no communion with the other. The Mogayer are boatmen, fishermen, +porters, and palanquin-bearers, They pretend to be Sudras of a pure +descent, and assume a superiority over the Halepecas (Halepaiks), +one of the most common castes of cultivators in Tulava; but they +acknowledge themselves greatly inferior to the Bunts." Some Mogers +have abandoned their hereditary profession of fishing, and taken to +agriculture, oil-pressing, and playing on musical instruments. Some +are still employed as palanquin-bearers. The oil-pressers call +themselves Ganigas, the musicians Sappaligas, and the palanquin-bearers +Bovis. These are all occupational names. Some Bestha immigrants from +Mysore have settled in the Pattur taluk, and are also known as Bovis, +The word Bovi is a form of the Telugu Boyi (bearer). + +The Mogers manufacture the caps made from the spathe of the areca palm, +which are worn by Koragas and Holeyas. + +The settlements of the Moger fishing community are called pattana, +e.g., Odorottu pattana, Manampade pattana. For this reason, Pattanadava +is sometimes given as a synonym for the caste name. The Tamil fishermen +of the City of Madras are, in like manner, called Pattanavan, because +they live in pattanams or maritime villages. + +Like other Tulu castes, the Mogers worship bhuthas (devils). The +principal bhutha of the fishing community is Bobbariya, in whose honour +the kola festival is held periodically. Every settlement, or group of +settlements, has a Bobbariya bhuthasthana (devil shrine). The Matti +Brahmans, who, according to local tradition, are Mogers raised to +the rank of Brahmans by one Vathiraja Swami, a Sanyasi, also have +a Bobbariya bhuthasthana in the village of Matti. The Mogers who +have ceased to be fishermen, and dwell in land, worship the bhuthas +Panjurli and Baikadthi. There is a caste priest, called Mangala pujari, +whose head-quarters are at Bannekuduru near Barkur. Every family has to +pay eight annas annually to the priest, to enable him to maintain the +temple dedicated to Ammanoru or Mastiamma at Bannekuduru. According to +some, Mastiamma is Mari, the goddess of small-pox, while others say +that she is the same as Mohini, a female devil, who possesses men, +and kills them. + +For every settlement, there must be at least two Gurikaras (headmen), +and, in some settlements, there are as many as four. All the Gurikaras +wear, as an emblem of their office, a gold bracelet on the left +wrist. Some wear, in addition, a bracelet presented by the members of +the caste for some signal service. The office of headman is hereditary, +and follows the aliya santana law of succession (in the female line). + +The ordinary Tulu barber (Kelasi) does not shave the Mogers, who have +their own caste barber, called Melantavam, who is entitled to receive +a definite share of a catch of fish. The Konkani barbers (Mholla) +do not object to shave Mogers, and, in some places where Mhollas are +not available, the Billava barber is called in. + +Like other Tulu castes, the Mogers have exogamous septs, or balis, +of which the following are examples:-- + + + Ane, elephant. + Bali, a fish. + Deva, god. + Dyava, tortoise. + Honne, Pterocarpus Marsupium. + Shetti, a fish. + Tolana, wolf. + + +The marriage ceremonial of the Mogers conforms to the customary +Tulu type. A betrothal ceremony is gone through, and the sirdochi, +or bride-price, varying from six to eight rupees, paid. The marriage +rites last over two days. On the first day, the bride is seated +on a plank or cot, and five women throw rice over her head, and +retire. The bridegroom and his party come to the home of the bride, +and are accommodated at her house, or elsewhere. On the following +day, the contracting couple are seated together, and the bride's +father, or the Gurikara, pours the dhare water over their united +hands. It is customary to place a cocoanut on a heap of rice, with +some betel leaves and areca nuts at the side thereof. The dhare water +(milk and water) is poured thrice over the cocoanut. Then all those +assembled throw rice over the heads of the bride and bridegroom, +and make presents of money. Divorce can be easily effected, after +information of the intention has been given to the Gurikara. In the +Udipi taluk, a man who wishes to divorce his wife goes to a certain +tree with two or three men, and makes three cuts in the trunk with a +bill-hook. This is called barahakodu, and is apparently observed by +other castes. The Mogers largely adopt girls in preference to boys, +and they need not be of the same sept as the adopter. + +On the seventh day after the birth of a child a Madivali (washerwoman) +ties a waist-thread on it, and gives it a name. This name is usually +dropped after a time, and another name substituted for it. + +The dead are either buried or cremated. If the corpse is burnt, the +ashes are thrown into a tank (pond) or river on the third or fifth +day. The final death ceremonies (bojja or savu) are performed on the +seventh, ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth day, with details similar to +those of the Billavas. Like other Tulu castes, some Mogers perform +a propitiatory ceremony on the fortieth day. + +The ordinary caste title of the Mogers is Marakaleru, and Gurikara +that of members of the families to which the headmen belong. In the +Kundapur taluk, the title Naicker is preferred to Marakaleru. + +The cephalic index of the Mogers is, as shown by the following table, +slightly less than that of the Tulu Bants and Billavas:-- + + + Av. Max. Min. No. of times + index 80 or over. + + 50 Billavas 80.1 91.5 71. 28 + 40 Bants 78. 91.2 70.8 13 + 40 Mogers 77.1 84.9 71.8 9 + + +Mogili (Pandanus fascicularis).--An exogamous sept of Kapu and +Yerukala. + +Mogotho.--A sub-division of Gaudo, the members of which are considered +inferior because they eat fowls. + +Mohiro (peacock).--An exogamous sept or gotra of Bhondari and Gaudo, + +Moksham (heaven).--An exogamous sept of Devanga. + +Moktessor or Mukhtesar.--See Stanika. + +Mola (hare).--An exogamous sept of Gangadikara Holeya and Gangadikara +Vakkaliga. + +Molaya Devan.--A title of Kallan and Nokkan. + +Moliko.--A title of Doluva and Kondra. + +Monathinni.--The name, meaning those who eat the vermin of the earth, +of a sub-division of Valaiyan. + +Mondi.--For the following note I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana +Rao. Mondi, Landa, Kalladi-siddhan (q.v.), and Kalladi-mangam, are +different names for one and the same class of mendicants. The first +two names denote a troublesome fellow, and the last two one who +beats himself with a stone. The Mondis speak Tamil, and correspond +to the Bandas of the Telugu country, banda meaning an obstinate +person or tricksy knave. [The name Banda is sometimes explained as +meaning stone, in reference to these mendicants carrying about a +stone, and threatening to beat out their brains, if alms are not +forthcoming.] They are as a rule tall, robust individuals, who go +about all but naked, with a jingling chain tied to the right wrist, +their hair long and matted, a knife in the hand, and a big stone +on the left shoulder. When engaged in begging, they cut the skin +of the thighs with the knife, lie down and beat their chests with +the stone, vomit, roll in the dust or mud, and throw dirt at those +who will not contribute alms. In a note on the Mondis or Bandas, +[46] Mr. H. A. Stuart writes that these beggars "lay no claim to a +religious character. Though regarded as Sudras, it is difficult to +think them such, as they are black and filthy in their appearance, +and disgusting in their habits. Happily their numbers are few. They +wander about singing, or rather warbling, for they utter no articulate +words, and, if money or grain be not given to them, they have +recourse to compulsion. The implements of their trade are knives and +ordure. With the former they cut themselves until they draw blood, +and the latter they throw into the house or shop of the person who +proves uncharitable. They appear to possess the power of vomiting +at pleasure, and use it to disgust people into a compliance with +their demands. Sometimes they lie in the street, covering the entire +face with dust, keeping, it is said, their eyes open the while, and +breathing through the dust. Eventually they always succeed by some +of these means in extorting what they consider their dues." Boys +are regularly trained to vomit at will. They are made to drink as +much hot water or conji (gruel) as they can, and taught how to bring +it up. At first, they are made to put several fingers in the mouth, +and tickle the base of the tongue, so as to give rise to vomiting. By +constant practice, they learn how to vomit at any time. Just before +they start on a begging round, they drink some fluid, which is brought +up while they are engaged in their professional calling. + +There are several proverbs relating to this class of mendicants, one +of which is to the effect that the rough and rugged ground traversed +by the Kalladi-siddhan is powdered to dust. Another gives the advice +that, whichever way the Kalladi-mangam goes, you should dole out a +measure of grain for him. Otherwise he will defile the road owing +to his disgusting habits. A song, which the Mondi may often be heard +warbling, runs as follows:-- + + + Mother, mother, Oh! grandmother, + Grandmother, who gave birth. + Dole out my measure. + + +Their original ancestor is said to have been a shepherd, who had both +his legs cut off by robbers in a jungle. The king of the country in +compassion directed that every one should pay him and his descendants, +called mondi or lame, a small amount of money or grain. + +The caste is divided into a series of bands, each of which has the +right to collect alms within a particular area. The merchants and ryots +are expected to pay them once a year, the former in money, and the +latter in grain at harvest time. Each band recognises a headman, who, +with the aid of the caste elders, settles marital and other disputes. + +Marriage is usually celebrated after puberty. In the North Arcot +district, it is customary for a man to marry his maternal uncle's +daughter, and in the Madura district a man can claim his paternal +aunt's daughter in marriage. The caste is considered so low in the +social scale that Brahmans will not officiate at marriages. Divorce +is easy, and adultery with a man of higher caste is condoned more +readily than a similar offence within the caste. + +Mondolo.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as an Oriya +title given by Zamindars to the headmen of villages. It is also a +title of various Oriya castes. + +Mora Buvva.--A sub-division of Madigas, who offer food (buvva) to +the god in a winnowing basket (mora) at marriage. + +Morasu.--The following legendary account of the origin of the "Morsu +Vellallu" is given in the Baramahal Records. [47] "In the kingdom +of Conjiveram, there was a village named Paluru, the residence of a +chieftain, who ruled over a small district inhabited by the Morsu +Vellallu. It so happened that one of them had a handsome daughter +with whom the chieftain fell in love, and demanded her in marriage +of her parents. But they would not comply with his demand, urging +as an excuse the difference of caste, on which the inflamed lover +determined on using force to obtain the object of his desires. This +resolution coming to the knowledge of the parents of the girl, they +held a consultation with the rest of the sect, and it was determined +that for the present they should feign a compliance with his order, +until they could meet with a favourable opportunity of quitting the +country. They accordingly signified their consent to the matter, +and fixed upon the nuptial day, and erected a pandal or temporary +building in front of their house for the performance of the wedding +ceremonies. At the proper time, the enamoured and enraptured chief +sent in great state to the bride's house the wedding ornaments and +clothes of considerable value, with grain and every other delicacy +for the entertainment of the guests, The parents, having in concert +with the other people of the sect prepared everything for flight, +they put the ornaments and clothes on the body of a dog, which they +tied to the centre pillar of the pandal, threw all the delicacies on +the ground before him, and, taking their daughter, fled. Their flight +soon came to the ears of the chief, who, being vexed and mortified +at the trick they had played him, set out with his attendants like a +raging lion in quest of his prey. The fugitives at length came to the +banks of the Tungabhadra river, which they found full and impassable, +and their cruel pursuer nigh at hand. In the dreadful dilemma, they +addressed to the God Vishnu the following prayer. 'O! Venkatrama +(a title of Vishnu), if thou wilt graciously deign to enable us to +ford this river, and wilt condescend to assist us in crossing the +water, as thou didst Hanumant in passing over the vast ocean, we +from henceforth will adopt thee and thy ally Hanumant our tutelary +deities.' Vishnu was pleased to grant their prayer, and by his +command the water in an instant divided, and left a dry space, +over which they passed. The moment they reached the opposite bank, +the waters closed and prevented their adversary from pursuing them, +who returned to his own country. The sect settled in the provinces +near the Tungabhadra river, and in course of time spread over the +districts which now form the eastern part of the kingdom of Mysore +then called Morsu, and from thence arose their surname." + +As in Africa, and among the American Indians, Australians, and +Polynesians, so in Southern India artificial deformity of the hand +is produced by chopping off some of the fingers. Writing in 1815, +Buchanan (Hamilton) [48] says that "near Deonella or Deonhully, +a town in Mysore, is a sect or sub-division of the Murressoo Wocal +caste, every woman of which, previous to piercing the ears of her +eldest daughter, preparatory to her being betrothed in marriage, must +undergo the amputation of the first joints of third and fourth fingers +of her right hand. The amputation is performed by the blacksmith of +the village, who, having placed the finger in a block, performs the +operation with a chisel. If the girl to be betrothed is motherless, and +the mother of the boy has not before been subjected to the amputation, +it is incumbent on her to suffer the operation." Of the same ceremony +among the "Morsa-Okkala-Makkalu" of Mysore the Abbé Dubois [49] +says that, if the bride's mother be dead, the bridegroom's mother, +or in default of her the mother of the nearest relative, must submit +to the cruel ordeal. In an editorial foot-note it is stated that +this custom is no longer observed. Instead of the two fingers being +amputated, they are now merely bound together, and thus rendered +unfit for use. In the Census Report, 1891, it is recorded that this +type of deformity is found among the Morasus, chiefly in Cuddapah, +North Arcot, and Salem. "There is a sub-section of them called Veralu +Icche Kapulu, or Kapulu who give the fingers, from a curious custom +which requires that, when a grandchild is born in a family, the wife +of the eldest son of the grandfather must have the last two joints of +the third and fourth fingers of her right hand amputated at a temple of +Bhairava." Further, it is stated in the Manual of the Salem district +(1883) that "the practice now observed in this district is that, when +a grandchild is born in a family, the eldest son of the grandfather, +with his wife, appears at the temple for the ceremony of boring +the child's ear, and there the woman has the last two joints of the +third and fourth fingers chopped off. It does not signify whether +the father of the first grandchild born be the eldest son or not, as +in any case it is the wife of the eldest son who has to undergo the +mutilation. After this, when children are born to other sons, their +wives in succession undergo the operation. When a child is adopted, +the same course is pursued." + +The origin of the custom is narrated by Wilks, [50] and is +briefly this. Mahadeo or Siva, who was in great peril, after hiding +successively in a castor-oil and jawari plantation, concealed himself +in a linga-tonde shrub from a rakshasa who was pursuing him, to whom +a Marasa Vakkaliga cultivator indicated, with the little finger of +his right hand, the hiding-place of Siva, The god was only rescued +from his peril by the interposition of Vishnu in the form of a lovely +maiden meretriciously dressed, whom the lusty rakshasa, forgetting +all about Siva, attempted to ravish, and was consumed to ashes. On +emerging from his hiding-place, Siva decreed that the cultivator +should forfeit the offending finger. The culprit's wife, who had just +arrived at the field with food for her husband, hearing this dreadful +sentence, threw herself at Siva's feet, and represented the certain +ruin of her family if her husband should be disabled for some months +from performing the labours of the farm, and besought the deity to +accept two of her fingers instead of one from her husband. Siva, +pleased with so sincere a proof of conjugal affection, accepted +the exchange, and ordered that her family posterity in all future +generations should sacrifice two fingers at his temple as a memorial +of the transaction, and of their exclusive devotion to the god of the +lingam. For the following account of the performance of the rite, +as carried out by the Morasa Vakkaligaru of Mysore, I am indebted +to an article by Mr. V. N. Narasimmiyengar. [51] "These people are +roughly classed under three heads, viz.: (1) those whose women offer +the sacrifice; (2) those who substitute for the fingers a piece of +gold wire, twisted round fingers in the shape of rings. Instead of +cutting the fingers off, the carpenter removes and appropriates the +rings; (3) those who do not perform the rite. The modus operandi is +as nearly as possible the following. About the time of the new moon +in Chaitra, a propitious day is fixed by the village astrologer, and +the woman who is to offer the sacrifice performs certain ceremonies +or puje in honour of Siva, taking food only once a day. For three +days before the operation, she has to support herself with milk, +sugar, fruits, etc., all substantial food being eschewed. On the day +appointed, a common cart is brought out, painted in alternate strips +with white and red ochre, and adorned with gay flags, flowers, etc., +in imitation of a car. Sheep or pigs are slaughtered before it, their +number being generally governed by the number of children borne by +the sacrificing woman. The cart is then dragged by bullocks, preceded +by music, the woman and her husband following, with new pots filled +with water and small pieces of silver money, borne on their heads, +and accompanied by a retinue of friends and relatives. The village +washerman has to spread clean cloths along the path of the procession, +which stops near the boundary of the village, where a leafy bower is +prepared, with three pieces of stone installed in it, symbolising +the god Siva. Flowers, fruits, cocoanuts, incense, etc., are then +offered, varied occasionally by an additional sheep or pig. A wooden +seat is placed before the image, and the sacrificing woman places +upon it her right hand with the fingers spread out. A man holds her +hand firmly, and the village carpenter, placing his chisel on the +first joints of her ring and little fingers, chops them off with a +single stroke. The pieces lopped off are thrown into an ant-hill, +and the tips of the mutilated fingers, round which rags are bound, +are dipped into a vessel containing boiling gingily (Sesamum indicum) +oil. A good skin eventually forms over the stump, which looks like a +congenital malformation. The fee of the carpenter is one kanthiraya +fanam (four annas eight pies) for each maimed finger, besides presents +in kind. The woman undergoes the barbarous and painful ceremony without +a murmur, and it is an article of the popular belief that, were it +neglected, or if nails grow on the stump, dire ruin and misfortune +will overtake the recusant family. Staid matrons, who have had their +fingers maimed for life in the above manner, exhibit their stumps with +a pride worthy of a better cause. At the termination of the sacrifice, +the woman is presented with cloths, flowers, etc., by her friends +and relations, to whom a feast is given, Her children are placed on +an adorned seat, and, after receiving presents of flowers, fruits, +etc., their ears are pierced in the usual way. It is said that to do +so before would be sacrilege." In a very full account of deformation +of the hand by the Berulu Kodo sub-sect of the Vakaliga or ryat caste +in Mysore, Mr. F. Fawcett says that it was regularly practiced until +the Commissioner of Mysore put a stop to it about twenty years ago. "At +present some take gold or silver pieces, stick them on to the finger's +ends with flour paste, and either cut or pull them off. Others simply +substitute an offering of small pieces of gold or silver for the +amputation. Others, again, tie flowers round the fingers that used to +be cut, and go through a pantomime of cutting by putting the chisel +on the joint and taking it away again. All the rest of the ceremony +is just as it used to be." The introduction of the decorated cart, +which has been referred to, is connected by Mr. Fawcett with a legend +concerning a zemindar, who sought the daughters of seven brothers in +marriage with three youths of his family. As carts were used in the +flight from the zemindar, the ceremony is, to commemorate the event, +called Bandi Devuru, or god of cars. As by throwing ear-rings into a +river the fugitives passed through it, while the zemindar was drowned, +the caste people insist on their women's ears being bored for +ear-rings. And, in honour of the girls who cared more for the honour +of their caste than for the distinction of marriage into a great +family, the amputation of part of two fingers of women of the caste +was instituted. + +"Since the prohibition of cutting off the fingers," Mr. L. Rice writes, +[52] "the women content themselves with putting on a gold or silver +finger-stall or thimble, which is pulled off instead of the finger +itself." + +Morasa Kapulu women never touch the new grain of the year without +worshipping the sun (Surya), and may not eat food prepared from +this grain before this act of worship has been performed. They +wrap themselves in a kambli (blanket) after a purificatory bath, +prostrate themselves on the ground, raise their hands to the forehead +in salutation, and make the usual offering of cocoanuts, etc. They +are said, in times gone by, to have been lax in their morals and to +have prayed to the sun to forgive them. + +Morasu has further been returned as a sub-division of Holeya, Mala and +Odde. The name Morasu Paraiyan probably indicates Holeyas who have +migrated from the Canarese to the Tamil country, and whose women, +like the Kallans, wear a horse-shoe thread round the neck. + +Motati.--A sub-division of Kapu. + +Moyili.--The Moyilis or Moilis of South Canara are said [53] by +Mr. H. A. Stuart to be "admittedly the descendants of the children of +women attached to the temples, and their ranks are even now swelled +in this manner. Their duties are similar to those of the Stanikas" +(q.v.). In the Madras Census report, 1901, Golaka (a bastard) is +clubbed with Moili. In the Mysore Census Report, this term is said +to be applied to children of Brahmans by Malerus (temple servants +in Mysore). + +The following account of the origin of the Moylars was given by +Buchanan at the beginning of the nineteenth century. [54] "In the +temples of Tuluva there prevails a very singular custom, which has +given origin to a caste named Moylar. Any woman of the four pure +castes--Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya or Sudra--who is tired of her +husband, or who (being a widow, and consequently incapable of marriage) +is tired of a life of celibacy, goes to a temple, and eats some of the +rice that is offered to the idol. She is then taken before the officers +of Government, who assemble some people of her caste to inquire into +the cause of her resolution; and, if she be of the Brahman caste, to +give her an option of living in the temple or out of its precincts. If +she chooses the former, she gets a daily allowance of rice, and +annually a piece of cloth. She must sweep the temple, fan the idol +with a Tibet cow's tail and confine her amours to the Brahmans. In +fact she generally becomes a concubine to some officer of revenue who +gives her a trifle in addition to her public allowance, and who will +flog her severely if she grants favours to any other person. The male +children of these women are called Moylar, but are fond of assuming +the title of Stanika, and wear the Brahmanical thread. As many of them +as can procure employment live about the temples, sweep the areas, +sprinkle them with an infusion of cow-dung, carry flambeaus before +the gods, and perform other similar low offices." + +The Moyilis are also called Devadigas, and should not be mixed with +the Malerus (or Maleyavaru). Both do temple service, but the Maleru +females are mostly prostitutes, whereas Moyili women are not. Malerus +are dancing-girls attached to the temples in South Canara, and their +ranks are swelled by Konkani, Shivalli, and other Brahman women of +bad character. + +The Moyilis have adopted the manners and customs of the Bants, and +have the same balis (septs) as the Bants and Billavas. + +Mucchi.--The Mucchis or Mochis are summed up, in the Madras +Census Report, 1901, as being a Marathi caste of painters and +leather-workers. In the Mysore Census Report it is noted that "to the +leather-working caste may be added a small body of Mochis, shoemakers +and saddlers. They are immigrant Mahratas, who, it is said, came +into Mysore with Khasim Khan, the general of Aurangzib. They claim +to be Kshatriyas and Rajputs--pretensions which are not generally +admitted. They are shoemakers and saddlers by trade, and are all +Saivas by faith." "The Mucchi," Mr. A. Chatterton writes [55] "is +not a tanner, and as a leather-worker only engages in the higher +branches of the trade. Some of them make shoes, but draw the line +at sandals. A considerable number are engaged as menial servants in +Government offices. Throughout the country, nearly every office has +its own Mucchi, whose principal duty is to keep in order the supplies +of stationery, and from raw materials manufacture ink, envelopes +and covers, and generally make himself useful. A good many of the +so-called Mucchis, however, do not belong to the caste, as very few +have wandered south of Madras, and they are mostly to be found in +Ganjam and the Ceded Districts." The duties of the office Mucchi have +further been summed up as "to mend pencils, prepare ink from powders, +clean ink-bottles, stitch note-books, paste covers, rule forms, +and affix stamps to covers and aid the despatch of tappals" (postal +correspondence). In the Moochee's Hand-book [56] by the head Mucchi +in the office of the Inspector-General of Ordnance, and contractor +for black ink powder, it is stated that "the Rev. J. P. Rottler, +in his Tamil and English dictionary, defines the word Mucchi as +signifying trunk-maker, stationer, painter. Mucchi's work comprises +the following duties:-- + +To make black, red, and blue writing ink, also ink of other colours +as may seem requisite. + +To mend quills, rule lines, make envelopes, mount or paste maps or +plans on cloth with ribbon edges, pack parcels in wax-cloth, waterproof +or common paper, seal letters and open boxes or trunk parcels. + +To take charge of boxes, issue stationery for current use, and supply +petty articles. + +To file printed forms, etc., and bind books." + +In the Fort St. George Gazette, 1906, applications were invited from +persons who have passed the Matriculation examination of the Madras +University for the post of Mucchi on Rs. 8 per mensem in the office +of a Deputy Superintendent of Police. + +In the District Manuals, the various occupations of the Mucchis are +summed up as book-binding, working in leather, making saddles and +trunks, painting, making toys, and pen-making. At the present day, +Mucchis (designers) are employed by piece-goods merchants in Madras +in devising and painting new patterns for despatch to Europe, where +they are engraved on copper cylinders. When, as at the present day, +the bazars of Southern India are flooded with imported piece-goods +of British manufacture, it is curious to look back and reflect that +the term piece-goods was originally applied in trade to the Indian +cotton fabrics exported to England. + +The term Mucchi is applied to two entirely different sets of people. In +Mysore and parts of the Ceded Districts, it refers to Marathi-speaking +workers in leather. But it is further applied to Telugu-speaking +people, called Raju, Jinigara, or Chitrakara, who are mainly engaged in +painting, making toys, etc., and not in leather-work. (See Rachevar.) + +Mucherikala.--Recorded by Mr. F. S. Mullaly [57] as a synonym of a +thief class in the Telugu country. + +Mudali.--The title Mudali is used chiefly by the offspring of +Deva-dasis (dancing-girls), Kaikolans, and Vellalas. The Vellalas +generally take the title Mudali in the northern, and Pillai in +the southern districts. By some Vellalas, Mudali is considered +discourteous, as it is also the title of weavers. [58] Mudali further +occurs as a title of some Jains, Gadabas, Occhans, Pallis or Vanniyans, +and Panisavans. Some Pattanavans style themselves Varunakula Mudali. + +Mudavandi.--The Mudavandis are said [59] to be "a special begging +class, descended from Vellala Goundans, since they had the immemorial +privilege of taking possession, as of right, of any Vellala child that +was infirm or maimed. The Modivandi made his claim by spitting into the +child's face, and the parents were then obliged, even against their +will, to give it up. Thenceforward it was a Modivandi, and married +among them. The custom has fallen into desuetude for the last forty +or fifty years, as a complaint of abduction would entail serious +consequences. Their special village is Modivandi Satyamangalam near +Erode. The chief Modivandi, in 1887, applied for sanction to employ +peons (orderlies) with belts and badges upon their begging tours, +probably because contributions are less willingly made nowadays to +idle men. They claim to be entitled to sheep and grain from the ryats." + +In a note on the Mudavandis, Mr. F. R. Hemingway writes that it is +stated to be the custom that children born blind or lame in the Konga +Vellala caste are handed over by their parents to become Mudavandis. If +the parents hesitate to comply with the custom, the Mudavandis tie a +red cloth round the head of the child, and the parents can then no +longer withhold their consent. They have to give the boy a bullock +to ride on if he is lame, or a stick if he is blind. + +A Revenue Officer writes (1902) that, at the village of Andipalayam +in the Salem district, there is a class of people called Modavandi, +whose profession is the adoption of the infirm members of the Konga +Vellalas. Andis are professional beggars. They go about among the +Konga Vellalas, and all the blind and maimed children are pounced +upon by them, and carried to their village. While parting with their +children, the parents, always at the request of the children, give a +few, sometimes rising to a hundred, rupees. The infirm never loses +his status. He becomes the adopted child of the Andi, and inherits +half of his property invariably. They are married among the Andis, +and are well looked after. In return for their services, the Andis +receive four annas a head from the Konga Vellala community annually, +and the income from this source alone amounts to Rs. 6,400. A +forty-first part share is given to the temple of Arthanariswara at +Trichengodu. None of the Vellalas can refuse the annual subscription, +on pain of being placed under the ban of social excommunication, and +the Andi will not leave the Vellala's house until the infirm child is +handed over to him. One Tahsildar (revenue officer) asked himself why +the Andi's income should not be liable to income-tax, and the Andis +were collectively assessed. Of course, it was cancelled on appeal. + +Mudi (knot).--An exogamous sept of Mala. + +Mudiya.--The name, derived from mudi, a preparation of fried rice, +of a sub-division of Chuditiya. + +Muduvar.--The Muduvars or Mudugars are a tribe of hill cultivators in +Coimbatore, Madura, Malabar, and Travancore. For the following note +on those who inhabit the Cardamom hills, I am indebted to Mr. Aylmer +Ff. Martin. + +The name of the tribe is usually spelt Muduvar in English, and in +Tamil pronounced Muthuvar, or Muthuvanal. Outsiders sometimes call the +tribe Thagappanmargal (a title sometimes used by low-caste people in +addressing their masters). The Muduvars have a dialect of their own, +closely allied to Tamil, with a few Malayalam words. Their names for +males are mostly those of Hindu gods and heroes, but Kanjan (dry or +stingy), Karupu Kunji (black chick), Kunjita (chicken) and Kar Megam +(black cloud) are distinctive and common. For females, the names of +goddesses and heroines, Karapayi (black), Koopi (sweepings), and Paychi +(she-devil) are common. Boy twins are invariably Lutchuman and Raman, +girl twins Lutchmi and Ramayi. Boy and girl twins are named Lutchman +and Ramayi, or Lutchmi and Raman. + +The Muduvars do not believe themselves to be indigenous to the hills; +the legend, handed down from father to son, is that they originally +lived in Madura. Owing to troubles, or a war in which the Pandyan +Raja of the times was engaged, they fled to the hills. When at +Bodinayakanur, the pregnant women (or, as some say, a pregnant +woman) were left behind, and eventually went with the offspring to +the Nilgiris, while the bulk of the tribe came to the High Range +of North Travancore. There is supposed to be enmity between these +rather vague Nilgiri people and the Muduvars. The Nilgiri people +are said occasionally to visit Bodinayakanur, but, if by chance they +are met by Muduvars, there is no speech between them, though each is +supposed instinctively or intuitively to recognise the presence of +the other. Those that came to the High Range carried their children +up the ghats on their backs, and it was thereupon decided to name +the tribe Muduvar, or back people. According to another tradition, +when they left Madura, they carried with them on their back the +image of the goddess Minakshi, and brought it to Neriyamangalam. It +is stated by Mr. P. E. Conner [60] that the Muduvars "rank high +in point of precedency among the hill tribes. They were originally +Vellalas, tradition representing them as having accompanied some of +the Madura princes to the Travancore hills." The approximate time of +the exodus from Madura cannot even be guessed by any of the tribe, +but it was possibly at the time when the Pandyan Rajas entered the +south, or more probably when the Telugu Naickers took possession of +Bodinayakanur in the fourteenth century. It has also been suggested +that the Muduvars were driven to the hills by the Muhammadan invaders +in the latter part of the eighteenth century. Judging from the two +distinct types of countenance, their language, and their curious +mixture of customs, I hazard the conjecture that, when they arrived +on the hills, they found a small tribe in possession, with whom they +subsequently intermarried, this tribe having affinities with the west +coast, while the new arrivals were connected with the east. + +The tribe is settled on the northern and western portion of the +Cardamom Hills, and the High Range of Travancore, known as the Kanan +Devan hills, and there is, I believe, one village on the Anaimalai +hills. They wander to some extent, less so now than formerly, owing +to the establishment of the planting community in their midst. The +head-quarters at present may be said to be on the western slopes of +the High Range. The present Mel Vaken or headman lives in a village +on the western slope of the High Range at about 2,000 feet elevation, +but villages occur up to 6,000 feet above sea level, the majority of +villages being about 4,000 feet above the sea. The wandering takes +place between the reaping of the final crop on one piece of land, +and the sowing of the next. About November sees the breaking up of +the old village, and February the establishment of the new. On the +plateau of the High Range their dwellings are small rectangular, +rather flat-roofed huts, made of jungle sticks or grass (both walls +and root), and are very neat in appearance. On the western slopes, +although the materials lend themselves to even neater building, their +houses are usually of a rougher type. The materials used are the stems +and leaves of the large-leaved ita (bamboo: Ochlandra travancorica) +owing to the absence of grass-land country. The back of the house has +no wall, the roof sloping on to the hillside behind, and the other +walls are generally made of a rough sort of matting made by plaiting +split ita stems. + +Outsiders are theoretically not received into the caste, but a weaver +caste boy and girl who were starving (in the famine of 1877, as far as +I can make out), and deserted on the hills, were adopted, and, when +they grew up, were allowed the full privileges of the caste. Since +then, a 'Thotiya Naicker' child was similarly adopted, and is now a +full-blown Muduvar with a Muduvar wife. On similar occasions, adoptions +from similar or higher castes might take place, but the adoption of +Pariahs or low-caste people would be quite impossible. In a lecture +delivered some years ago by Mr. O. H. Bensley, it was stated that +the Muduvars permit the entry of members of the Vellala caste into +their community, but insist upon a considerable period of probation +before finally admitting the would-be Muduvar into their ranks. + +If any dispute arises in the community, it is referred to the men of +the village, who form an informal panchayat (council), with the eldest +or most influential man at its head. References are sometimes, but +only seldom, made to the Muppen, a sort of sub-headman of the tribe, +except, perhaps, in the particular village in which he resides. The +office of both Muppen and Mel Vaken is hereditary, and follows +the marumakkatayam custom, i.e., descent to the eldest son of the +eldest sister. The orders of the panchayat, or of the headman, +are not enforceable by any specified means. A sort of sending a +delinquent to Coventry exists, but falls through when the matter has +blown over. Adjudications only occur at the request of the parties +concerned, or in the case of cohabitation between the prohibited +degrees of consanguinity, when, on it becoming known, the guilty +pair are banished to the jungle, but seem nevertheless to be able to +visit the village at will. When disputes between parties are settled +against any one, he may be fined, generally in kind--a calf, a cow, +a bull, or grain. There is no trial by ordeal. Oaths by the accuser, +the accused, and partisans of both, are freely taken. The form of oath +is to call upon God that the person swearing, or his child, may die +within so many days if the oath is untrue, at the same time stepping +over the Rama kodu, which consists of lines drawn on the ground, one +line for each day. It may consist of any number of lines, but three, +five, or seven are usual. Increasing the number of lines indefinitely +would be considered to be trifling with the subject. + +There do not seem to be any good omens, but evil omens are +numerous. The barking of 'jungle sheep' (barking deer) or sambar, +the hill robin crossing the path when shifting the village, are +examples. Oracles, magic, sorcery, witchcraft, and especially the +evil eye, are believed in very firmly, but are not practiced by +Muduvars. I was myself supposed to have exercised the evil eye at +one time. It once became my duty to apportion to Muduvars land for +their next year's cultivation, and I went round with some of them for +this purpose, visiting the jungle they wished to clear. A particular +friend of mine, called Kanjan, asked for a bit of secondary growth +very close to a cinchona estate; it was, in fact, situated between +Lower Nettigudy and Upper Nettigudy, and the main road passed quite +close. I told him that there was no objection, except that it was most +unusual, and that probably the estate coolies would rob the place; +and I warned him very distinctly that, if evil came of his choice, +he was not to put the blame on me. Shortly afterwards I left India, +and was absent about three months, and, when I returned, I found that +small-pox had practically wiped out that village, thirty-seven out of +forty inhabitants having died, including Kanjan. I was, of course, +very sorry; but, as I found a small bit of the land in question +had been felled, and there being no claimants, I planted it up with +cinchona. As the smallpox had visited all the Muduvar villages, and +had spread great havoc among them, I was not surprised at their being +scarce, but I noticed, on the few occasions when I did see them, that +they were always running away. When I got the opportunity, I cornered +a man by practically riding him down, and asked for an explanation. He +then told me that, of course, the tribe had been sorely troubled, +because I told Kanjan in so many words that evil would come. I had +then disappeared (to work my magic, no doubt), and returned just in +time to take that very bit of land for myself. That was nearly five +years ago, and confidence in me is only now being gradually restored. + +The Muduvans have lucky days for starting on a journey-- + + + Monday, start before sunrise. + Tuesday, start in the forenoon. + Wednesday start before 7 A.M. + Thursday, start after eating the morning meal. + Friday, never make a start; it is a bad day. + Saturday and Sunday, start as soon as the sun has risen. + + +When boys reach puberty, the parents give a feast to the village. In +the case of a girl, a feast is likewise given, and she occupies, for +the duration of the menstrual period, a hut set apart for all the women +in the village to occupy during their uncleanness. When it is over, she +washes her clothes, and takes a bath, washing her head. This is just +what every woman of the village always does. There is no mutilation, +and the girl just changes her child's dress for that of a woman. The +married women of the village assist at confinements. Twins bring good +luck. Monsters are said to be sometimes born, bearing the form of +little tigers, cows, monkeys, etc. On these occasions, the mother is +said generally to die, but, when she does not die, she is said to eat +the monster. Monstrosities must anyway be killed. Childless couples +are dieted to make them fruitful, the principal diet for a man being +plenty of black monkey, and for a woman a compound of various herbs +and spices. + +A man may not marry the daughter of his brother or sister; he ought to +marry his uncle's daughter, and he may have two or three wives, who +may or may not be sisters. Among the plateau Muduvars, both polygamy +and polyandry are permitted, the former being common, and the latter +occasional. In the case of the latter, brothers are prohibited from +having a common wife, as also are cousins on the father's side. In +the case of polygamy, the first married is the head wife, and the +others take orders from her, but she has no other privileges. If the +wives are amicably disposed, they live together, but, when inclined +to disagree, they are given separate houses for the sake of peace +and harmony. With quarrelsome women, one wife may be in one village, +and the others in another. A man may be polygamous in one village, +and be one of a polyandrous lot of men a few miles off. On the Cardamom +Hills, and on the western slopes, where the majority of the tribe live, +they are monogamous, and express abhorrence of both the polygamous and +polyandrous condition, though they admit, with an affectation of amused +disgust, that both are practiced by their brethren on the high lands. + +Marriages are arranged by the friends, and more often by the cousins +on the mother's side of the bridegroom, who request the hand of a +girl or woman from her parents. If they agree, the consent of the most +remote relatives has also to be obtained, and, if everyone is amicable, +a day is fixed, and the happy couple leave the village to live a few +days in a cave by themselves. On their return, they announce whether +they would like to go on with it, or not. In the former case, the man +publicly gives ear-rings, a metal (generally brass) bangle, a cloth, +and a comb to the woman, and takes her to his hut. The comb is a poor +affair made of split ita or perhaps of bamboo, but it is the essential +part of the ceremony. If the probationary period in the cave has not +proved quite satisfactory to both parties, the marriage is put off, +and the man and the woman are both at liberty to try again with some +one else. Betrothal does not exist as a ceremony, though families +often agree together to marry their children together, but this is not +binding in any way. The tying of the tali (marriage badge) is said to +have been tried in former days as part of the marriage ceremony, but, +as the bride always died, the practice was discontinued. Remarriage of +widows is permitted, and the widow by right belongs to, or should be +taken over by her deceased husband's maternal aunt's son, and not, +under any circumstances, by any of his brothers. In practice she +marries almost any one but one of the brothers. No man should visit the +house of his younger brother's wife, or even look at that lady. This +prohibition does not extend to the wives of his elder brothers, but +sexual intercourse even here would be incest. The same ceremonies are +gone through at the remarriage of a widow as in an ordinary marriage, +the ear-rings and bangles, which she discarded on the death of the +previous husband, being replaced. Widows do not wear a special dress, +but are known by the absence of jewelry. Elopements occur. When a +man and woman do not obtain the consent of the proper parties, they +run away into the jungle or a cave, visiting the village frequently, +and getting grain, etc., from sympathisers. The anger aroused by +their disgraceful conduct having subsided, they quietly return to the +village, and live as man and wife. [It is noted, in the Travancore +Census Report, 1901, that, after a marriage is settled, the bridegroom +forcibly takes away the maiden from her mother's house when she goes +out for water or firewood, and lives with her separately for a few +days or weeks in some secluded part of the forest. They then return, +unless in the meantime they are searched for, and brought back by +their relations.] In theory, a man may divorce his wife at will, +but it is scarcely etiquette to do so, except for infidelity, or in +the case of incompatibility of temper. If he wants to get rid of her +for less horrible crimes, he can palm her off on a friend. A woman +cannot divorce her husband at all in theory, but she can make his +life so unbearable that he gladly allows her to palm herself off on +somebody else. Wives who have been divorced marry again freely. + +The tribe follow the west coast or marumakkatayam law of inheritance +with a slight difference, the property descending to an elder or +younger sister's son. Property, which seldom consists of more than +a bill-hook, a blanket, and a few cattle, always goes to a nephew, +and is not divided in any way. + +The tribe professes to be Hindu, and the chief gods are Panaliandavar +(a corruption of Palaniandi) and Kadavallu, who are supposed to live +in the Madura temple with Minakshiammal and her husband Sokuru. They +are also said to worship Chantiattu Bhagavati and Neriyamangalam +Sasta. Suryan (the sun) is a beneficent deity. The deities which are +considered maleficent are numerous, and all require propitiation. This +is not very taxing, as a respectful attitude when passing their +reputed haunts seems to suffice. They are alluded to as Karapu (black +ones). One in particular is Nyamaru, who lives on Nyamamallai, the +jungles round which were said to be badly haunted. At present they +are flourishing tea estates, so Nyamaru has retired to the scrub +at the top of the mountain. Certain caves are regarded as shrines, +where spear-heads, a trident or two, and copper coins are placed, +partly to mark them as holy places, and partly as offerings to bring +good luck, good health, or good fortune. They occur in the most remote +spots. The only important festival is Thai Pongal, when all who visit +the village, be they who they may, must be fed. It occurs about the +middle of January, and is a time of feasting and rejoicing. + +The tribe does not employ priests of other castes to perform religious +ceremonies. Muduvars who are half-witted, or it may be eccentric, +are recognised as Swamyars or priests. If one desires to get rid +of a headache or illness, the Swamyar is told that he will get four +annas or so if the complaint is soon removed, but he is not expected +to perform miracles, or to make any active demonstration over the +matter. Swamyars who spend their time in talking to the sun and moon +as their brethren, and in supplications to mysterious and unknown +beings, are the usual sort, and, if they live a celibate life, +they are greatly esteemed. For those who live principally on milk, +in addition to practicing the other virtue, the greatest reverence +is felt. Such an one occurs only once or twice in a century. + +The dead are buried lying down, face upwards, and placed north and +south. The grave has a little thatched roof, about six feet by two, +put over it. A stone, weighing twenty or thirty pounds, is put at the +head, and a similar stone at the feet. These serve to mark the spot +when the roof perishes, or is burnt during the next grass fire. The +depth of the grave is, for a man, judged sufficient if the gravedigger, +standing on the bottom, finds the level of the ground up to his waist, +but, for a woman, it must be up to his armpits. The reason is that +the surviving women do not like to think that they will be very near +the surface, but the men are brave, and know that, if they lie north +and south, nothing can harm them, and no evil approach. The ghosts of +those killed by accident or dying a violent death, haunt the spot till +the memory of the occurrence fades from the minds of the survivors and +of succeeding generations. These ghosts are not propitiated, but the +haunted spots are avoided as much as possible. The Muduvars share with +many other jungle-folk the idea that, if any animal killed by a tiger +or leopard falls so as to lie north and south, it will not be eaten by +the beast of prey. Nor will it be re-visited, so that sitting over a +"kill" which has fallen north and south, in the hopes of getting a +shot at the returning tiger or leopard, is a useless proceeding. + +Totemism does not exist, but, in common with other jungle tribes, +the tiger is often alluded to as jackal. + +Fire is still often made by means of the flint and steel, though +match-boxes are common enough. Some dry cotton (generally in a dirty +condition) is placed along the flint, the edge of which is struck with +the steel. The spark generated ignites the cotton, and is carefully +nursed into flame in dead and dry grass. The Muduvars also know how +to make fire by friction, but nowadays this is very seldom resorted +to. A rotten log of a particular kind of tree has first to be found, +the inside of which is in an extremely dry and powdery condition, +while the outside is still fairly hard. Some of the top of the topmost +side of the recumbent log having been cut away at a suitable place, +and most of the inside removed, a very hard and pointed bit of wood is +rapidly rotated against the inner shell of the log where the powdery +stuff is likely to ignite, and this soon begins to smoke, the fire +being then nursed much in the same way as with the fire generated by +the flint and steel. + +By the men, the languti and leg cloth of the Tamils are worn. A turban +is also worn, and a cumbly or blanket is invariably carried, and put +on when it rains. [It is noted, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, +that males dress themselves like the Maravans of the low country. A +huge turban is almost an invariable portion of the toilette. The chief +of the Mudavars is known as Vakka, without whose consent the head-dress +is not to be worn.] I have seen a Muduvar with an umbrella. Nowadays, +the discarded coats of planters, and even trousers and tattered +riding-breeches are common, and a Muduvar has been seen wearing a +blazer. The men wear ear-rings, supposed to be, and sometimes in +reality, of gold, with bits of glass of different colours in them, +and also silver or brass finger and toe rings, and sometimes a bangle +on each arm or on one leg. The women go in very largely for beads, +strings of them adorning their necks, white and blue being favourite +colours. Rings for the ears, fingers and toes, and sometimes many glass +bangles on the arms, and an anklet on each leg, are the usual things, +the pattern of the metal jewelry being often the same as seen on the +women of the plains. The cloth, after being brought round the waist, +and tucked in there, is carried over the body, and two corners are +knotted on the right shoulder. Unmarried girls wear less jewelry than +the married women, and widows wear no jewelry till they are remarried, +when they can in no way be distinguished from their sisters. Tattooing +is not practiced. Sometimes a stout thread is worn on the arm, with +a metal cylinder containing some charm against illness or the evil +eye, but only the wise men or elders of the caste lay much store on, +or have knowledge of these things. + +The Muduvars believe that they were originally cultivators of the soil, +and their surroundings and tastes have made them become hunters and +trappers, since coming to the hills. At the present day, they cut down +a bit of secondary jungle or cheppukad, and, after burning it off, +sow ragi (millet), or, where the rainfall is sufficient, hill-rice, +which is weeded and tended by the women, the men contenting themselves +by trying to keep out the enemies to their crops. After harvest there +is not much to be done, except building a new village perhaps, making +traps, and shooting. All they catch is game to them, though we should +describe some of the animals as vermin. They catch rats, squirrels, +quail, jungle fowl, porcupines, mouse-deer, and fish. They kill, with +a blowpipe and dart, many small birds. The traps in use are varied, +but there are three principal ones, one of which looks like a big +bow. It is fixed upright in the ground as a spring to close with a +snap a small upright triangle of sharp-edged bamboo, to which it is +connected, and into which any luckless small game may have intruded +its head, induced to do so by finding all other roads closed with +a cunningly made fence. Another is a bent sapling, from which a +loop of twine or fibre hangs on what appears to be the ground, +but is really a little platform on which the jungle fowl treads, +and immediately finds itself caught by both legs, and hanging in +mid-air. The third is very much the same, but of stouter build. The +loop is upright, and set in a hedge constructed for the purpose of +keeping the fretful porcupine in the path, passing along which the +beast unconsciously releases a pin, back flies the sapling, and the +porcupine is hung. If fouled in any way, he generally uses his teeth to +advantage, and escapes. The Muduvars are also adepts at catching 'ibex' +(wild goat), which are driven towards a fence with nooses set in it +at proper points, which cause the beasts to break their necks. Fish +are caught in very beautifully constructed cruives, and also on +the hook, while, on the larger rivers below the plateau, the use of +the night-line is understood. With the gun, sambar, 'ibex,' barking +deer, mungooses, monkeys, squirrels, and martens are killed. Besides +being a good shot, the Muduvar, when using his own powder, takes no +risks. The stalk is continued until game is approached, sometimes +to within a few yards, when a charge of slugs from the antiquated +match-lock has the same effect as the most up-to-date bullet from +the most modern weapon. Mr. Bensley records how, on one occasion, +two English planters went out with two Muduvars after 'bison.' One +of the Muduvars, carrying a rifle, tripped, and the weapon exploded, +killing one of the planters on the spot. The two Muduvars immediately +took to their heels. The other planter covered them with his rifle, +and threatened to shoot them if they did not return, which they at +last did. Mr. Bensley held the magisterial enquiry, and the Muduvars +were amazed at escaping capital punishment. + +In their agricultural operations, the Muduvars are very +happy-go-lucky. They have no scare-crows to avert injury to crops or +frighten away demons, but they employ many devices for keeping off +pigs, sambar, and barking deer from their crops, none of which appear +to be efficacious for long. The implement par excellence of the Muduvar +is the bill-hook, from which he never parts company, and with which +he can do almost anything, from building a house to skinning a rat, +or from hammering sheet-lead into bullets to planting maize. + +The bulk of the tribe live on ragi or hill-rice, and whatever +vegetables they can grow, and whatever meat they trap or shoot. They +esteem the flesh of the black monkey (Semnopithecus johni) above +everything, and lust after it. I have seen a Muduvar much pulled down +by illness seize an expiring monkey, and suck the blood from its +jugular vein. Muduvars will not eat beef, dog, jackals, or snakes, +but will eat several sorts of lizards, and rats, 'ibex,' and all the +deer tribe, fish, fowl, and other birds, except kites and vultures, +are put into the pot. The plateau Muduvars, and those on the eastern +slopes, will not eat pig in any shape or form. Those on the western +slopes are very keen on wild pig, and this fact causes them to be +somewhat looked down upon by the others. I think this pork-eating +habit is due to the absence of sambar or other deer in the heart of +the forests. Muduvars are fond of alcohol in any shape or form. They +take a liquor from a wild palm which grows on the western slopes, and, +after allowing it to become fermented, drink it freely. Some members of +the tribe, living in the vicinity of these palms, are more or less in +a state of intoxication during the whole time it is in season. Their +name for the drink is tippily-kal, and the palm resembles the kittul +(Caryota urens). The western slope Muduvars are acquainted with opium +from the west coast, and some of them are slaves to the habit. The +Muduvars do not admit that any other caste is good enough to eat, +drink, or smoke with them. They say that, once upon a time, they +permitted these privileges to Vellalans, but this fact induced so +many visitors to arrive that they really could not afford it any more, +so they eat, drink, and smoke with no one now, but will give uncooked +food to passing strangers. + +I have never heard any proverb, song, or folk-tale of the Muduvars, +and believe the story of their arrival on the hills to be their +stock tale. They have a story, which is more a statement of belief +than anything else, that, when a certain bamboo below Pallivasal +flowers, a son of the Maharaja of Travancore turns into a tiger or +puli-manisan, and devours people. Men often turn into puli-manisan +owing chiefly to witchcraft on the part of others, and stories of +such happenings are often told. The nearest approach to a proverb I +have heard is Tingakilamei nalla tingalam, which sounds rather tame +and meaningless in English, "On Monday you can eat well"--the play +on the words being quite lost. + +The Muduvars make a miniature tom-tom by stretching monkey skin over +a firm frame of split bamboo or ita, on which the maker thereof will +strum by the hour much to his own enjoyment. + +In former days, the whole tribe were very shy of strangers, and it is +only within the last thirty years that they have become used to having +dealings with outsiders. Old men still tell of the days when robbers +from the Coimbatore side used to come up, burn the Muduvar villages, +and carry off what cattle or fowls they could find. Even now, there +are some of the men in whom this fear of strangers seems to be innate, +and who have never spoken to Europeans. In the women this feeling is +accentuated, for, when suddenly met with, they make themselves scarce +in the most surprising way, and find cover as instinctively as a quail +chick. There are now and again men in the tribe who aspire to read, +but I do not know how far any of them succeed. + +The Muduvars are becoming accustomed to quite wonderful things--the +harnessing of water which generates electricity to work machinery, +the mono-rail tram which now runs through their country, and, most +wonderful of all, the telephone. An old man described how he would +raise envy and wonder in the hearts of his tribe by relating his +experience. "I am the first of my caste to speak and hear over five +miles," said he, with evident delight. + +I have alluded to the two different types of countenance; perhaps +there is a third resulting from a mixture of the other two. The first +is distinctly aquiline-nosed and thin-lipped, and to this type the +men generally belong. The second is flat-nosed, wide-nostrilled, +and thick-lipped, and this fairly represents the women, who compare +most unfavourably with the men in face. I have never seen men of the +second type, but of an intermediate type they are not uncommon. On +the Cardamom Hills there may still exist a tribe of dwarfs, of +which very little is known. The late Mr. J. D. Munro had collected +a little information about them. Mr. A. W. Turner had the luck +to come across one, who was caught eating part of a barking deer +raw. Mr. Turner managed to do a little conversation with the man by +signs, and afterwards he related the incident to Srirangam, a good +old Muduvar shikari (sportsman), who listened thoughtfully, and then +asked "Did you not shoot him?" The question put a new complexion on +to the character of the usually peaceful and timid Muduvar. + +I know the Muduvars to be capable of real affection. Kanjan was very +proud of his little son, and used to make plans for wounding an ibex, +so that his boy might finish it off, and thus become accustomed +to shooting. + +In South Coimbatore, "honey-combs are collected by Irulas, Muduvars, +and Kadirs. The collection is a dangerous occupation. A hill-man, +with a torch in his hand and a number of bamboo tubes suspended +from his shoulders, descends by means of ropes or creepers to the +vicinity of the comb. The sight of the torch drives away the bees, +and he proceeds to fill the bamboos with the comb, and then ascends +to the top of the rock." [61] + +Mugi (dumb).--An exogamous sept of Golla. + +Muka.--A sub-division of Konda Razu. + +Muka Dora.--Muka is recorded, in the Madras Census Reports, 1891 and +1901, as a sub-division and synonym of Konda Dora, and I am informed +that the Muka Doras, in Vizagapatam, hold a high position, and most of +the chiefs among the Konda Doras are Muka Doras. Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao, +to whom I am indebted to the following note, inclines to the opinion +that the Muka Doras form a caste distinct from the Konda Doras. They +are traditionally regarded as one of the primitive hill tribes, but +their customs at the present day exhibit a great deal of low-country +influence. They speak Telugu, their personal names are pure Telugu, +and their titles are Anna and Ayya as well as Dora. They recognize +one Vantari Dora of Padmapuram as their head. + +The Muka Doras are agriculturists and pushing petty traders. They +may be seen travelling about the country with pack bullocks at the +rice harvest season. They irrigate their lands with liquid manure in +a manner similar to the Kunnuvans of the Palni hills in the Madura +country. + +They are divided into two sections, viz., Kora-vamsam, which reveres +the sun, and Naga-vamsam, which reveres the cobra, and have further +various exogamous septs or intiperulu, such as vemu or nim tree +(Melia Azadirachta), chikkudi (Dolickos Lablab), velanga (Feronia +elephantum), kakara (Momordica Charantia). + +Girls are married either before or after puberty. The menarikam system +is in force, according to which a man should marry his maternal +uncle's daughter. On an auspicious day, some of the elders of the +future bridegroom's family take a cock or goat, a new cloth for the +girl's mother, rice and liquor to the girl's house. The presents are +usually accepted, and the pasupu (turmeric) ceremony, practiced by many +Telugu castes, is performed. On an appointed day, the bridegroom's +party repair to the house of the bride, and bring her in procession +to the house of the bridegroom. Early next morning, the contracting +couple enter a pandal (booth), the two central pillars of which are +made of the neredi (Eugenia Jambolana) and relli (Cassia Fistula) +trees. The maternal uncle, who officiates, links their little fingers +together. Their bodies are anointed with castor-oil mixed with turmeric +powder, and they bathe. New cloths are then given to them by their +fathers-in-law. Some rice is poured over the floor of the house, and +the bride and bridegroom measure this three times. The ends of their +cloths are tied together, and a procession is formed, which proceeds +to the bank of a stream, where the bride fetches tooth-cleaning +sticks three times, and gives them to the bridegroom, who repeats the +process. They then sit down together, and clean their teeth. After +a bath in the stream, the ends of their clothes are once more tied +together, and the procession returns to the bridegroom's house. The +bride cooks some of the rice which has already been measured with water +brought from the stream, and the pair partake thereof. A caste feast, +with much drinking, is held on this and the two following days. The +newly-married couple then proceed, in the company of an old man, +to the bride's house, and remain there from three to five days. If +the girl is adult, she then goes to the home of her husband. + +When a girl reaches puberty, she is placed apart in a room, and sits +within a triangular enclosure made by means of three arrows stuck in +the ground, and connected together by three rounds of thread. From +the roof a cradle, containing a stone, is placed. On the last day, a +twig of the neredi tree is plucked, planted on the way to the village +stream, and watered. As she passes the spot, the girl pulls it out of +the ground, and takes it to the stream, into which she throws it. She +then bathes therein. + +The dead are, as a rule, burnt, and death pollution is observed for +three days, during which the caste occupation is not carried out. On +the fourth day, a ceremony, called pasupu muttukovadam, or touching +turmeric, is performed. The relations of the deceased repair to the +spot where the corpse was burnt, collect the ashes, and sprinkle +cow-dung, neredi and tamarind water over the spot. Some food is +cooked, and three handfuls are thrown to the crows. They then perform +a ceremonial ablution. The ceremony corresponds to the chinnarozu, +or little day ceremony, of the low-country castes. The more well-to-do +Muka Doras perform the peddarozu, or big day ceremony, on the twelfth +day, or later on. The relations of the deceased then plant a plantain +on the spot where he was burnt, and throw turmeric, castor-oil, and +money according to their means. The coins are collected, and used +for the purchase of materials for a feast. + +Mukkara (nose or ear ornament).--An exogamous sept of Boya. + +Mukkuvan.--The Mukkuvans are the sea fishermen of the Malabar coast, +who are described as follows by Buchanan. [62] "The Mucua, or in the +plural Mucuar, are a tribe who live near the sea-coast of Malayala, +to the inland parts of which they seldom go, and beyond its limits +any way they rarely venture. Their proper business is that of +fishermen, as palanquin-bearers for persons of low birth, or of no +caste; but they serve also as boatmen. The utmost distance to which +they will venture on a voyage is to Mangalore. In some places they +cultivate the cocoanut. In the southern parts of the province most +of them have become Mussulmans, but continue to follow their usual +occupations. These are held in the utmost contempt by those of the +north, who have given up all communication with the apostates. Those +here do not pretend to be Sudras, and readily acknowledge the +superior dignity of the Tiars. They have hereditary chiefs called +Arayan, who settle disputes, and, with the assistance of a council, +punish by fine or excommunication those who transgress the rules of +the caste. The deity of the caste is the goddess Bhadra-Kali, who is +represented by a log of wood, which is placed in a hut that is called +a temple. Four times a year the Mucuas assemble, sacrifice a cock, +and make offerings of fruit to the log of wood. One of the caste +acts as priest (pujari). They are not admitted to enter within the +precincts of any of the temples of the great gods who are worshipped +by the Brahmans; but they sometimes stand at a distance, and send +their offerings by more pure hands." + +It is recorded by Captain Hamilton [63] that he saw "at many Muchwa +Houses, a square Stake of Wood, with a few Notches cut about it, +and that Stake drove into the Ground, about two Foot of it being +left above, and that is covered with Cadjans or Cocoanut Tree Leaves, +and is a Temple and a God to that Family." + +In the Gazetteer of Malabar (1908), the following account of the +Mukkuvans is given. "A caste, which according to a probably erroneous +tradition came originally from Ceylon, is that of the Mukkuvans, a +caste of fishermen following marumakkatayam (inheritance through the +female line) in the north, and makkattayam (inheritance from father to +son) in the south. Their traditional occupations also include chunam +(lime) making, and manchal-bearing (a manchal is a kind of hammock +slung on a pole, and carried by four men, two at each end). In the +extreme south of the district they are called Arayans, [64] a term +elsewhere used as a title of their headmen. North of Cannanore there +are some fishermen, known as Mugavars or Mugayans, who are presumably +the same as the Mugayars of South Canara. Another account is that the +Mugayans are properly river-fishers, and the Mukkuvans sea-fishers; +but the distinction does not seem to hold good in fact. The Mukkuvans +rank below the Tiyans and the artisan classes; and it is creditable to +the community that some of its members have recently risen to occupy +such offices as that of Sub-magistrate and Sub-registrar. The caste has +supplied many converts to the ranks of Muhammadanism. In North Malabar +the Mukkuvans are divided into four exogamous illams, called Ponillam +(pon, gold), Chembillam (chembu, copper), Karillam, and Kachillam, +and are hence called Nalillakkar, or people of the four illams; while +the South Malabar Mukkuvans and Arayans have only the three latter +illams, and are therefore called Munillakkar, or people of the three +illams. There is also a section of the caste called Kavuthiyans, who +act as barbers to the others, and are sometimes called Panimagans +(work-children). The Nalillakkar are regarded as superior to the +Munillakkar and the Kavuthiyans, and exact various signs of respect +from them. The Kavuthiyans, like other barber castes, have special +functions to perform in connection with the removal of ceremonial +pollution; and it is interesting to note that sea-water is used in the +ritual sprinklings for this purpose. The old caste organisation seems +to have persisted to the present day among the Mukkuvans to an extent +which can be paralleled amongst few other castes. They have assemblies +(rajiams) of elders called Kadavans, or Kadakkodis, presided over +by presidents called Arayans or Karnavans, who settle questions of +caste etiquette, and also constitute a divorce court. The position +of the Arayans, like that of the Kadavans, is hereditary. It is said +to have been conferred by the different Rajas in their respective +territories, with certain insignia, a painted cadjan (palm leaf) +umbrella, a stick, and a red silk sash. The Arayans are also entitled +to the heads of porpoises captured in their jurisdictions, and to +presents of tobacco and pan supari when a girl attains puberty or +is married. Their consent is necessary to all regular marriages. The +Mukkuvans have their oracles or seers called Ayittans or Attans; and, +when an Arayan dies, these select his successor from his Anandravans, +while under the influence of the divine afflatus, and also choose +from among the younger members of the Kadavan families priests called +Manakkans or Banakkans, to perform puja in their temples. + +"Fishing is the hereditary occupation of the Mukkuvans. Their boats, +made of aini (Artocarpus hirsuta) or mango wood, and fitted with a +mat sail, cost from Rs. 200 to Rs. 500, and carry a crew of 5 or +8 men according to size. Their nets are of all shapes and sizes, +ranging from a fine net with a 3/8'' mesh for sardines and such +small fry to a stout valiya sravuvala or shark net with a 6 1/2'' +or 7'' mesh; and for a big Badagara boat a complete equipment is +said to cost Rs. 1,000. The nets are generally made of fibre, cotton +thread being used only for nets with the finest mesh. Salt is not +usually carried in the boats, and the fish decompose so rapidly in +the tropical sun that the usual fishing grounds are comparatively +close to the shore; but boats sometimes venture out ten, fifteen, +or even twenty miles. Shoals of the migratory sardine, which are +pursued by predaceous sharks, kora, and cat-fish, yield the richest +harvest of fishes great and small to the Mukkuvan. Huge quantities of +mackerel or aila are also caught, and seir, white and black pomfret, +prawns, whiting, and soles are common. The arrival of the boats is the +great event of the day in a fishing village. Willing hands help to +drag them up the beach, and an eager crowd gathers round each boat, +discussing the catch and haggling over the price. The pile of fish +soon melts away, and a string of coolies, each with a basket of fish +on his head, starts off at a sling trot into the interior, and soon +distributes the catch over a large area. Relays of runners convey fresh +fish from Badagara and Tellicherry even as far as the Wynaad. All that +is left unsold is taken from the boats to the yards to be cured under +the supervision of the Salt Department with Tuticorin salt supplied +at the rate of 10 annas per maund. The fisherman is sometimes also +the curer, but usually the two are distinct, and the former disposes +of the fish to the latter 'on fixed terms to a fixed customer,' and +'looks to him for support during the slack season, the rainy and stormy +south-west monsoon.' The salt fish is conveyed by coasting steamers +to Ceylon, and by the Madras Railway to Coimbatore, Salem, and other +places. Sardines are the most popular fish, and are known as kudumbam +pulartti, or the family blessing. In a good year, 200 sardines can be +had for a single pie. Sun-dried, they form valuable manure for the +coffee planter and the cocoanut grower, and are exported to Ceylon, +the Straits Settlements, and occasionally to China and Japan; and, +boiled with a little water, they yield quantities of fish oil for +export to Europe and Indian ports. Salted shark is esteemed a delicacy, +particularly for a nursing woman. Sharks' fins find a ready sale, +and are exported to China by way of Bombay. The maws or sounds of +kora and cat-fishes are dried, and shipped to China and Europe for +the preparation of isinglass." [65] It will be interesting to watch +the effect of the recently instituted Fishery Bureau in developing +the fishing industry and system of fish-curing in Southern India. + +Mukkuvans work side by side with Mappillas both at the fishing grounds +and in the curing yards, and the two classes will eat together. It +is said that, in former times, Mappillas were allowed to contract +alliances with Mukkuva women, and that male children born as a result +thereof on Friday were handed over to the Mappilla community. It is +recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1891, that "conversion to +Islam is common among this caste. The converts are called Puislam +or Putiya Islam [66] (new Islam). All Puislams follow the occupation +of fishing. In the northernmost taluks there is a rule that Mukkuva +females during their periods cannot remain in the house, but must +occupy the house of a Mappilla, which shows that the two castes live +on very close terms." The fishermen at Tanur are for the most part +Puislamites, and will not go out fishing on Fridays. + +From a recent note (1908), I gather that the Mukkuvas and Puislams of +Tanur have been prospering of late years and would appear to be going +in for a display of their prosperity by moving about arrayed in showy +shirts, watch-chains, shoes of the kind known as Arabi cherippu, +etc. This sort of ostentation has evidently not been appreciated +by the Moplahs, who, it is said sent round the Mukkuva village, +known as Mukkadi some Cherumas, numbering over sixty, to notify by +beat of kerosene tins that any Mukkuva or Puislam who went into the +Moplah bazaar wearing a shirt or coat or shoes would go in peril of +his life. Some days after this alleged notification, two Mukkuvas +and a Mukkuva woman complained to the Tirur Sub-Magistrate that they +had been waylaid by several Moplahs on the public road in the Tanur +bazaar, and had been severely beaten, the accused also robbing the +woman of some gold ornaments which were on her person. I am informed +that Tanur is the only place where this feeling exists. Puislams and +Mappillas settle down together peacefully enough elsewhere. + +There are two titles in vogue among the Mukkuvans, viz., Arayan +and Marakkan. Of these, the former is the title of the headmen and +members of their families, and the latter a title of ordinary members +of the community. The caste deity is said to be Bhadrakali, and the +Mukkuvans have temples of their own, whereat worship is performed by +Yogi Gurukkals, or, it is said, by the Karanavans of certain families +who have been initiated by a Yogi Gurukkal. + +At Tellicherry there are two headmen, called Arayanmar belonging to +the Kachillam and Ponillam sections. In addition to the headmen, there +are caste servants called Manakkan. It is stated, in the Manual of the +South Canara district, that "there is an hereditary headman of the +caste called the Ayathen, who settles disputes. For trifling faults +the ordinary punishment is to direct the culprit to supply so much +oil for lights to be burnt before the caste demon." The Velichapads, +or oracles who become possessed by the spirit of the deity among the +Mukkuvans, are called Ayathen, which is probably an abbreviation of +Ayuthathan, meaning a sword or weapon-bearer, as the oracle, when +under the influence of the deity, carries a sword or knife. + +As among other Malayalam castes, Mukkuva girls must go through +a ceremony before they attain puberty. This is called pandal +kizhikkal, and corresponds to the tali-kettu kalyanam of the other +castes. The consent of the Arayan is necessary for the performance +of this ceremony. On the night previous thereto, the girl is smeared +with turmeric paste and oil. Early on the following morning, she +is brought to the pandal (booth), which is erected in front of the +house, and supported by four bamboo posts. She is bathed by having +water poured over her by girls of septs other than her own. After the +bath, she stands at the entrance to the house, and a Kavuthiyachi +(barber woman) sprinkles sea-water over her with a tuft of grass +(Cynodon Dactylon). A cloth is thrown over her, and she is led into +the house. The barber woman receives as her fee a cocoanut, some rice, +and condiments. A tali (marriage badge) is tied on the girl's neck by +her prospective husband's sister if a husband has been selected for +her, or by a woman of a sept other than her own. The girl must fast +until the conclusion of the ceremony, and should remain indoors for +seven days afterwards. At the time of ceremony, she receives presents +of money at the rate of two vellis per family. The Arayan receives +two vellis, a bundle of betel leaves, areca nuts, and tobacco. + +Girls are married after puberty according to one of two forms of rite, +called kodi-udukkal (tying the cloth) and vittil-kudal. The former +is resorted to by the more prosperous members of the community, and +lasts over two days. On the first day, the bridegroom goes to the home +of the bride, accompanied by his relations and friends, and sweets, +betel leaves and areca nuts, etc., are given to them. They then +take their departure, and return later in the day, accompanied by +musicians, in procession. At the entrance to the bride's house they +stand while someone calls out the names of the eleven Arayans of the +caste, who, if they are present, come forward without a body-cloth +or coat. Betel leaves and areca nuts are presented to the Arayans or +their representatives, and afterwards to the Rajyakkar, or chief men +of the village. The bridegroom then goes inside, conducted by two men +belonging to the septs of the contracting parties, to the bride's +room. The bridegroom sits down to a meal with nine or eleven young +men in a line, or in the same room. On the second day, the bride is +brought to the pandal. Two persons are selected as representatives +of the bridegroom and bride, and the representative of the former +gives thirty-nine vellis to the representative of the latter. Some +sweetened water is given to the bridegroom's relations. A woman +who has been married according to the kodi-udukkal rite ties a +new cloth round the waist of the bride, after asking her if she is +willing to marry the bridegroom, and obtaining the consent of those +assembled. Sometimes a necklace, composed of twenty-one gold coins, +is also tied on the bride's neck. At night, the bridal couple take +their departure for the home of the bridegroom. In South Canara, +the ceremonial is spread over three days, and varies from the above +in some points of detail. The bridegroom goes in procession to the +bride's house, accompanied by a Sangayi or Munan (best or third man) +belonging to a sept other than that of the bridal couple. The bride +is seated in a room, with a lamp and a tray containing betel leaves, +areca nuts, and flowers. The Sangayi takes a female cloth in which +some money is tied, and throws it on a rope within the room. On the +third day, the bride puts on this cloth, and, seated within the pandal, +receives presents. + +The vittil-kudal marriage rite is completed in a single day. The +bridegroom comes to the home of the bride, and goes into her room, +conducted thither by two men belonging to the septs of the contracting +couple. The newly-married couple may not leave the bride's house +until the seventh day after the marriage ceremony, and the wife is +not obliged to live at her husband's house. + +There is yet another form of alliance called vechchirukkal, which is +an informal union with the consent of the parents and the Arayans. It +is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that "amongst Mukkuvas the +vidaram marriage obtains, but for this no ceremony is performed. The +vidaram wife is not taken to her husbands house, and her family +pay no stridhanam. A vidaram marriage can at any time be completed, +as it were, by the performance of the kalyanam ceremonies. Even if +this be not done, however, a child by a vidaram wife has a claim to +inherit to his father in South Malabar, if the latter recognises him +by paying to the mother directly after her delivery a fee of three +fanams called mukkapanam. A curious custom is that which prescribes +that, if a girl be married after attaining puberty, she must remain +for a period in the status of a vidaram wife, which may subsequently +be raised by the performance of the regular kalyanam." + +Divorce is easily effected by payment of a fine, the money being +divided between the husband or wife as the case may be, the temple, +the Arayans, and charity. + +A pregnant woman has to go through a ceremony called puli or ney-kudi +in the fifth or seventh month. A ripe cocoanut, which has lost its +water, is selected, and heated over a fire. Oil is then expressed +from it, and five or seven women smear the tongue and abdomen of the +pregnant woman with it. A barber woman is present throughout the +ceremony. The husband lets his hair grow until his wife has been +delivered, and is shaved on the third day after the birth of the +child. At the place where he sits for the operation, a cocoanut, +betel leaves and areca nuts are placed. The cocoanut is broken in +pieces by some one belonging to the same sept as the father of the +child. Pollution is got rid of on this day by a barber woman sprinkling +water at the houses of the Mukkuvans. A barber should also sprinkle +water at the temple on the same day. + +The dead are, as a rule, buried. Soon after death has taken place, the +widow of the deceased purchases twenty-eight cubits of white cloth. A +gold ring is put into the hand of the corpse, and given to the widow +or her relations, to be returned to the relations of the dead man. The +corpse is bathed in fresh water, decorated, and placed on a bier. The +widow then approaches, and, with a cloth over her head, cuts her tali +off, and places it by the side of the corpse. Sometimes the tali is +cut off by a barber woman, if the widow has been married according to +the kodi-udukkal rite. In some places, the bier is kept in the custody +of the barber, who brings it whenever it is required. In this case, +the articles requisite for decorating the corpse, e.g., sandal paste +and flowers, are brought by the barber, and given to the son of the +deceased. Some four or five women belonging to the Kadavar families are +engaged for mourning. The corpse is carried to the burial-ground, where +a barber tears a piece of cloth from the winding-sheet, and gives it +to the son. The bearers anoint themselves, bathe in the sea, and, with +wet cloths, go three times round the corpse, and put a bit of gold, +flowers, and rice, in its nose. The relations then pour water over the +corpse, which is lowered into the grave. Once more the bearers, and +the son, bathe in the sea, and go three times round the grave. The +son carries a pot of water, and, at the end of the third round, +throws it down, so that it is broken. On their return home, the son +and bearers are met by a barber woman, who sprinkles them with rice +and water. Death pollution is observed for seven days, during which +the son abstains from salt and tamarind. A barber woman sprinkles +water over those under pollution. On the eighth, or sometimes the +fourteenth day, the final death ceremony is performed. Nine or eleven +boys bathe in the sea, and offer food near it. They then come to the +house of the deceased, and, with lamps on their heads, go round seven +or nine small heaps of raw rice or paddy (unhusked rice), and place +the lamps on the heaps. The eldest son is expected to abstain from +shaving his head for six months or a year. At the end of this time, +he is shaved on an auspicious day. The hair, plantains, and rice, +are placed in a small new pot, which is thrown into the sea. After +a bath, rice is spread on the floor of the house so as to resemble +the figure of a man, over which a green cloth is thrown. At one end +of the figure, a light in a measure is placed. Seven or nine heaps +of rice or paddy are made, on which lights are put, and the son goes +three times round, throwing rice at the north, south, east, and west +corners. This brings the ceremonial to a close. + +Mulaka (Solanum xanthocarpum).--A sept of Balija. The fruit of this +plant is tied to the big toe of Brahman corpses. + +Muli.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a class of +blacksmiths in Ganjam, and stone-cutters in Vizagapatam. It is said +to be a sub-division of Lohara. Muli also occurs as an occupational +sub-division of Savara. + +Muli Kurava.--A name for Kuravas in Travancore. + +Mullangi(radish).--An exogamous sept of Komati. + +Mullu (thorn).--A gotra of Kurni. Mullu also occurs as a sub-division +of Kurumba. + +Multani.--A territorial name, meaning a native of Multan in the +Punjab. They are described, in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, as +immigrant traders, found in the large towns, whose business consists +chiefly of banking and money-lending. + +Mundala,--A sub-division of Holeya. + +Mundapotho.--Mundapotho (mundo, head; potho, bury) is the name of a +class of mendicants who wander about Ganjam, and frequent the streets +of Jagannath (Puri). They try to arouse the sympathy of pilgrims by +burying their head in the sand or dust, and exposing the rest of the +body. They generally speak Telugu. + +Mungaru (woman's skirt).--An exogamous sept of Kapu. + +Muni.--See Ravulo. + +Munillakkar (people of the three illams).--A section of Mukkuvans, +which is divided into three illams. + +Munnuti Gumpu.--Recorded, in the Kurnool Manual, as "a mixed caste, +comprising the illegitimate descendants of Balijas, and the male +children of dancing-girls." It is not a caste name, but an insulting +name for those of mixed origin. + +Munnuttan (men of the three hundred).--Recorded, at times of census, +as a synonym of Velan, and sub-caste of Panan, among the latter of +whom Anjuttan (men of five hundred) also occurs. In the Gazetteer of +Malabar, Munnuttan appears as a class of Mannans, who are closely akin +to the Velans. In Travancore, Munnutilkar is a name for Kumbakonam +Vellalas, who have settled there. + +Muppan.--Muppan has been defined as "an elder, the headman of a class +or business, one who presides over ploughmen and shepherds, etc. The +word literally means an elder: mukkiradu, to grow old, and muppu, +seniority." At recent times of census, Muppan has been returned as +a title by many classes, which include Alavan, Ambalakaran, Kudumi, +Pallan, Paraiyan and Tandan in Travancore, Senaikkudaiyan, Saliyan, +Shanan, Sudarman and Valaiyan. It has further been returned as a +division of Konkana Sudras in Travancore. + +During my wanderings in the Malabar Wynad, I came across a gang +of coolies, working on a planter's estate, who called themselves +Muppans. They were interesting owing to the frequent occurrence among +them of a very simple type of finger-print impression (arches). + +Muppil (chief).--A sub-division of Nayar. + +Murikinadu.--Murikinadu or Murikinati is a territorial name, which +occurs as a division of Telugu Brahmans, and of various Telugu classes, +e.g., Kamsala, Mala, Mangala, Razu, and Tsakala. + +Muriya.--A small class in Ganjam, who are engaged in making a +preparation of fried rice (muri) and in cultivation. + +Muru Balayanoru (three-bangle people).--A sub-division of Kappiliyan. + +Musaliar.--An occupational term, denoting a Muhammadan priest, +returned at times of census in the Tamil country. + +Musari.--A division of Malayalam Kammalans, whose occupation is that +of brass and copper smiths. The equivalent Musarlu occurs among the +Telugu Kamsalas. + +Mushika (rat).--A gotra of Nagaralu. The rat is the vehicle of the +Elephant God, Vignesvara or Ganesa. + +Mushtiga.--An exogamous sept of the Gollas, who may not use the +mushtiga tree (Strychnos Nux-vomica). It also occurs as a synonym +of Jetti. + +Mushti Golla.--A class of mendicants, usually of mixed +extraction. Mushti means alms. + +Mussad.--For the following note on the Mussads or Muttatus of +Travancore, I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. They are known +as Muttatus or Mussatus in Travancore and Cochin, and Potuvals (or +Poduvals) or Akapotuvals in North Malabar. The word Muttatu means +elder, and is generally taken to indicate a community, which is higher +than the Ambalavasi castes, as Ilayatu (or Elayad), or younger, denotes +a sub-caste slightly lower than the Brahmans. In early records, the +word Mupputayor, which has an identical meaning, is met with. Potuval +means a common person, i.e., the representative of a committee, and +a Muttatu's right to this name is from the fact that, in the absence +of the Nambutiri managers of a temple, he becomes their agent, and +is invested with authority to exercise all their functions. The work +of an Akapotuval always lies within the inner wall of the shrine, +while that of the Purapotuval or Potuval proper lies outside. The +castemen themselves prefer the name Sivadvija or Saivite Brahman. A +few families possess special titles, such as Nambi and Nambiyar. Their +women are generally known as Manayammamar, mana meaning the house of +a Brahman. There are no divisions or septs among the Muttatus. + +The origin of the Muttatus, and their place in Malabar society, +are questions on which a good deal of discussion has been of late +expended. In the Jatinirnaya, an old Sanskrit work on the castes of +Kerala attributed to Sankaracharya, it is said that the four kinds +of Ambalavasis, Tantri, Bharatabhattaraka, Agrima, and Slaghyavakku, +are Brahmans degraded in the Krita, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali ages, +respectively, and that those who were so degraded in the Dvapara +Yuga--the Agrimas or Muttatus--and whose occupation is to cleanse the +stone steps of shrines--are found in large numbers in Kerala. According +to Kerala Mahatmya, another Sanskrit work on Malabar history and +customs, these Muttatus are also known as Sivadvijas, or Brahmans +dedicated to the worship of Siva, occupying a lower position in +Malabar society than that of the Brahmans. One of them, disguised +as a Nambutiri, married a Nambutiri's daughter, but his real status +became known before the marriage was consummated, and the pair were +degraded, and allotted a separate place in society. This tradition is +not necessary to account for the present position of the Muttatus in +Kerala, as, all over India, worship of fixed images was viewed with +disfavour even in the days of Manu. Worship in Saivite temples was +not sought by Brahmans, and was even considered as despiritualising +on account of the divine displeasure which may be expected as the +result of misfeasance. It was for a similar reason that the Nambiyans +of even Vaishnavite temples on the east coast became degraded in +society. The Illayatus and Muttatus have been long known in Malabar +as Nyunas or castes slightly lower than the Brahmans, and Avantaras +or castes intermediate between Brahmans and Ambalavasis. As, in +subsequent days, the Brahmans themselves undertook with impunity the +priestly profession in Hindu temples, Saivite as well as Vaishnavite, +the Muttatus had to be content with a more lowly occupation, viz., +that of guarding the temples and images. According to Suchindra +Mahatmyam, eleven Brahmans were ordered by Parasu Rama to partake +of the remnants of the food offered to Siva, and to bear the Saivite +image in procession round the shrine on occasions of festivals; and, +according to the Vaikam Sthalapuranam, three families of Sivadvijas +were brought over by the same sage from eastern districts for service +at that temple. Whatever may be said in regard to the antiquity or +authenticity of many of these Sthalapuranams, corroborative evidence +of the Brahmanical origin of the Muttatus may be amply found in +their manners and customs. A fresh colony of Sivadvijas is believed +to have been invited to settle at Tiruvanchikkulam in Cranganore from +Chidambaram by one of the Perumals of Kerala, in connection with the +establishment of Saivite temples there. They have preserved their +original occupation faithfully enough down to the present day. + +The houses of Muttatus are known as illams and mattams, the former +being the name of all Nambutiri houses. They are generally built beside +some well-known shrine, with which the inmates are professionally +connected. The dress of both men and women resembles that of the +Nambutiri Brahmans, the injunction to cover the whole of the body when +they go out of doors being applicable also to the Manayammamar. Girls +before marriage wear a ring and kuzal on the neck, and, on festive +occasions, a palakka ring. The chuttu in the ears, and pozhutu tali +on the neck are worn only after marriage, the latter being the symbol +which distinguishes married women from widows and maidens. Widows +are prohibited from wearing any ornament except the chuttu. In food +and drink the Muttatus are quite like the Nambutiris. + +The Muttatus are the custodians of the images, which they take +in procession, and wash the stone steps leading to the inner +sanctuary. They live by the naivedya or cooked food offering which +they receive from the temple, and various other emoluments. It may be +noted that one of the causes of their degradation was the partaking +of this food, which Brahmans took care not to do. The Muttatus are +generally well-read in Sanskrit, and study astrology, medicine, and +sorcery. The social government of the Muttatus rests wholly with the +Nambutiris, who enforce the smartavicharam or enquiry into a suspected +case of adultery, as in the case of a Nambutiri woman. When Nambutiri +priests are not available, Muttatus, if learned in the Vedas, may be +employed, but punyaham, or purification after pollution, can only be +done by a Nambutiri. + +Like the Nambutiris, the Muttatus strictly observe the rule that only +the eldest male member in a family can marry. The rest form casual +connections with women of most of the Ambalavasi classes. They are, +like the Brahmans, divided into exogamous septs or gotras. A girl is +married before or after puberty. Polygamy is not uncommon, though the +number of wives is never more than four. Widows do not remarry. In +their marriage ceremonies, the Muttatus resemble the Nambutiris, +with some minor points of difference. They follow two sutras, those +of Asvalayana and Baudhayana, the former being members of the Rig Veda +and the latter of the Yajur Veda. The former omit a number of details, +such as the panchamehani and dasamehani, which are observed by the +latter. According to a territorial distinction, Mussad girls of North +Malabar cannot become the daughters-in-law of South Malabar families, +but girls of South Malabar can become the daughters-in-law of North +Malabar families. + +The Muttatus observe all the religious rites of the Nambutiris. The +rule is that the eldest son should be named after the paternal +grandfather, the second after the maternal grandfather, and the third +after that of the father. The upanayana ceremony is celebrated between +the ages of seven and eleven, and the Gayatri hymn may only be repeated +ten times thrice daily. In the funeral rites, the help of the Maran +called Chitikan (a corruption of Chaitika, meaning one who is connected +with the funeral pyre) is sought. Pollution lasts only ten days. + +The Muttatus stand above all sections of the Ambalavasi group, +and below every recognised section of the Brahman and Kshatriya +communities, with whom they do not hold commensal relations in +any part of Kerala. They are thus on a par with the Illayatus, +but the latter have their own hierarchy, and lead a social life +almost independent of the Brahmans. The Muttatus seek their help +and advice in all important matters. The Muttatus are, however, +privileged to take their food within the nalampalam (temple courts), +and the leaf-plates are afterwards removed by temple servants. The +Ambalavasis do not possess a right of this kind. At Suchindram, the +Nambutiri by whom the chief image is served is not privileged to give +prasada (remains of offerings) to any worshipper, this privilege being +confined to the Muttatus engaged to serve the minor deities of the +shrine. The washing of the stone steps leading to the inner sanctuary, +the mandapa, kitchen, feeding rooms, and bali stones, both inside +and outside the shrine, are done by Muttatus at temples with which +they are connected. All Ambalavasis freely receive food from Muttatus. + +It is further noted, in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that "there +is a pithy saying in Malayalam, according to which the Muthads are +to be regarded as the highest of Ambalavasis, and the Elayads as the +lowest of Brahmans. Considerable difference of opinion exists as to +the exact social status of Muthads. For, while some hold that they +are to be regarded as degraded Brahmans, others maintain that they +are only the highest class of Ambalavasis. In the opinion, however, +of the most learned Vydikan who was consulted on the subject, the +Muthads are to be classed as degraded Brahmans. They are supposed +to have suffered social degradation by their having tattooed their +bodies with figures representing the weapons of the god Siva, and +partaking of the offerings made to that god." + +A correspondent, who has made enquiry into caste questions in Malabar, +writes to me as follows. There are several ways of spelling the name, +e.g., Mussu, Mussad, and Muttatu. Some people tried to discriminate +between these, but I could not work out any distinctions. In practice, +I think, all the classes noted below are called by either name +indifferently, and most commonly Mussad. There are several classes, +viz.:-- + + + +(1) BRAHMAN OR QUASI-BRAHMAN. + +(a) Ashtavaidyanmar, or eight physicians, are eight families +of hereditary physicians. They are called Jatimatrakaras (barely +caste people), and it is supposed that they are Nambudiris slightly +degraded by the necessity they may, as surgeons, be under of shedding +blood. Most of them are called Mussad, but one at least is called +Nambi. + +(b) Urili Parisha Mussad, or assembly in the village Mussad, who are +said to be degraded because they accepted gifts of land from Parasu +Rama, and agreed to take on themselves the sin he had contracted +by slaying the Kshetriyas. This class, as a whole, is called Sapta +or Saptagrastan. + + + +(2) AMBALAVASI. + +(c) Mussad or Muttatu.--They appear to be identical with the +Agapothuvals, or inside Pothuvals, as distinguished from the Pura, +or outside Pothuvals, in North Malabar. They are said to be the +descendants of a Sivadvija man and pure Brahman girl. According +to another account, they lost caste because they ate rice offered +to Siva, which is prohibited by one of the anacharams, or rules of +conduct peculiar to Kerala. They perform various duties in temples, +and escort the idol when it is carried in procession on an arrangement +called tadambu, which is like an inverted shield with a shelf across +it, on which the idol is placed. They wear the punul, or sacred thread. + +(d) Karuga Mussad.--So called from the karuga grass (Cynodon Dactylon), +which is used in ceremonies. Their exact position is disputed. They +wear the sacred thread (cf. Karuga Nambudiris in North Malabar), +who cook rice for the sradh (memorial ceremony) of Sudras, + +(e) Tiruvalayanath or Kovil (temple) Mussad.--They also wear the +sacred thread, but perform puja in Bhadrakali temples, incidents of +which are the shedding of blood and use of liquor. They seem to be +almost identical with the caste called elsewhere Adigal or Pidaran, +but, I think, Adigals are a little higher, and do not touch liquor, +while Pidarans are divided into two classes, the lower of which does +not wear the thread or perform the actual puja, but only attends to +various matters subsidiary thereto. + +In an account of the annual ceremony at the Pishari temple near +Quilandy in Malabar in honour of Bhagavati, Mr. F. Fawcett informs +[67] that the Mussad priests repeat mantrams (prayers) over the goats +for an hour as a preliminary to the sacrifice. Then the chief priest, +with a chopper-like sword, decapitates the goats, and sacrifices +several cocks. The Mussads cook some of the flesh of the goats, and +one or two of the cocks with rice. This rice, when cooked, is taken +to the kavu (grove) to the north of the temple, and there the Mussads +again ply their mantrams. + +Musu Kamma.--The name of a special ear ornament worn by the Musu +Kamma sub-division of Balijas. In the Salem District Manual, Musuku +is recorded as a sub-division of this caste. + +Mutalpattukar.--A synonym of Tandan in Travancore, indicating those +who received an allowance for the assistance they were called on to +render to carpenters. + +Mutracha.--Mutracha appears, in published records, in a variety of +forms, such as Muttaracha, Muttirajulu, Muttarasan, and Mutratcha. The +caste is known by one of these names in the Telugu country, and in +the Tamil country as Muttiriyan or Palaiyakkaran. + +Concerning the Mutrachas, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes as follows. [68] +"This is a Telugu caste most numerous in the Kistna, Nellore, +Cuddapah, and North Arcot districts. The Mutrachas were employed by +the Vijayanagar kings to defend the frontiers of their dominions, +and were honoured with the title of paligars (cf. Palaiyakkaran). The +word Mutracha is derived from the Dravidian roots mudi, old, and racha, +a king; but another derivation is from Mutu Raja, a sovereign of some +part of the Telugu country. They eat flesh, and drink liquor. Their +titles are Dora and Naidu." Mr. Stuart writes further [69] that in +the North Arcot district they are "most numerous in the Chendragiri +taluk, but found all over the district in the person of the village +taliari or watchman, for which reason it is often called the taliari +caste. They proudly call themselves paligars, and in Chendragiri doralu +or lords, because several of the Chittoor palaiyams (villages governed +by paligars) were in possession of members of their caste. They seem +to have entered the country in the time of the Vijayanagar kings, +and to have been appointed as its kavilgars (watchmen). The caste +is usually esteemed by others as a low one. Most of its members +are poor, even when they have left the profession of taliari, and +taken to agriculture. They eat in the houses of most other castes, +and are not trammelled by many restrictions. In Chendragiri they +rarely marry, but form connections with women of their caste, which +are often permanent, though not sanctioned by the marriage ceremony, +and the offspring of such associations are regarded as legitimate." + +In the Nellore Manual, the Mutrachas are summed up as being hunters, +fishermen, bearers, palanquin-bearers, and hereditary watchmen in the +villages. At times of census, Mutracha or Mutarasan has been recorded +as a sub-division of Urali, and a title of Ambalakkaran. Muttiriyan, +which is simply a Tamil form of Mutracha, appears as a title and +sub-division of Ambalakkaran (q.v.). Further, Tolagari is recorded +as a sub-division of Mutracha. The Tolagaris are stated [70] to +be a small cultivating caste, who were formerly hunters, like the +Palayakkarans. Most of the Mutrachas are engaged in agriculture. At +Paniyam, in the Kurnool district, I found some employed in collecting +winged white-ants (Termites), which they sun-dry, and store in large +pots as an article of food. They are said to make use of some special +powder as a means of attracting the insects, in catching which they +are very expert. + +In some places, the relations between the Mutrachas and Gollas, both +of which castes belong to the left-hand section, are strained. On +occasions of marriage among the Madigas, some pan-supari (betel leaves +and areca nuts), is set apart for the Mutrachas, as a mark of respect. + +In consequence of the fact that some Mutrachas have been petty +chieftains, they claim to be Kshatriyas, and to be descended from +Yayathi of the Mahabaratha. According to the legend, Devayana, the +daughter of Sukracharya, the priest of the Daityas (demons and giants), +went to a well with Charmanishta, the daughter of the Daitya king. A +quarrel arose between them, and Charmanishta pushed Devayana into a +dry well, from which she was rescued by king Yayathi. Sukracharya +complained to the Daitya king, who made his daughter become a +servant to Yayathi's wife, Devayana. By her marriage Devayana bore +two sons. Subsequently, Yayathi became enamoured of Charmanishta, by +whom he had an illegitimate son. Hearing of this, Sukracharya cursed +Yayathi that he should be subject to old age and infirmity. This curse +he asked his children to take on themselves, but all refused except +his illegitimate child Puru. He accordingly cursed his legitimate sons, +that they should only rule over barren land overrun by Kiratas. One of +them, Durvasa by name, had seven children, who were specially favoured +by the goddess Ankamma. After a time, however, they were persuaded +to worship Maheswara or Virabhadra instead of Ankamma. This made +the goddess angry, and she caused all flower gardens to disappear, +except her own. Flowers being necessary for the purpose of worship, +the perverts stole them from Ankamma's garden, and were caught in the +act by the goddess. As a punishment for their sin, they had to lose +their lives by killing themselves on a stake. One of the seven sons had +a child named Ravideviraju, which was thrown into a well as soon as it +was born. The Naga Kannikas of the nether regions rescued the infant, +and tended it with care. One day, while Ankamma was traversing the +Naga lokam (country), she heard a child crying, and sent her vehicle, a +jackal (nakka), to bring the child, which, however, would not allow the +animal to take it The goddess accordingly herself carried it off. The +child grew up under her care, and eventually had three sons, named +Karnam Raju, Gangi Raju, and Bhupathi Raju, from whom the Mutrachas +are descended. In return for the goddess protecting and bringing up +the child, she is regarded as the special tutelary deity of the caste. + +There is a saying current among the Mutrachas that the Mutracha +caste is as good as a pearl, but became degraded as its members +began to catch fish. According to a legend, the Mutrachas, being +Kshatriyas, wore the sacred thread. Some of them, on their way home +after a hunting expedition, halted by a pond, and were tempted by the +enormous number of fish therein to fish for them, using their sacred +threads as lines. They were seen by some Brahmans while thus engaged, +and their degradation followed. + +In the Telugu country, two divisions, called Paligiri and Oruganti, +are recognised by the Mutrachas, who further have exogamous septs or +intiperulu, of which the following are examples:-- + + + Avula, cow. + Arigala, a dish carried in processions. + Busi, dirt. + Ella, boundary. + Guvvala, doves. + Indla, house. + Iga, fly. + Koppula, hair-knot. + Katari, dagger. + Marri, Ficus bengalensis. + Nakka, jackal. + Puli, tiger. + Talari, watchman. + Tota, garden. + Uyyala, a swing. + Thumu, iron measure for measuring grain. + + +During the first menstrual seclusion of a girl, she may not have +her meals served on a metal plate, but uses an earthen cup, which is +eventually thrown away. When she reaches puberty, a girl does up her +hair in a knot called koppu. + +In the case of confinement, pollution ends on the tenth day. But, +if a woman loses her infant, especially a first-born, the pollution +period is shortened, and, at every subsequent time of delivery, the +woman bathes on the seventh or ninth day. Every woman who visits her on +the bathing day brings a pot of warm water, and pours it over her head. + +Muttal (substitute).--A sub-division of Maran. + +Muttan.--In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Muttans are summed +up as "a trading caste in Malabar. The better educated members of it +have begun to claim a higher social status than that usually accorded +them. Formerly they claimed to be Nayars, but recently they have +gone further, and, in the census schedules, some of them returned +themselves as Vaisyas, and added the Vaisya title Gupta to their +names. They do not, however, wear the sacred thread, or perform any +Vedic rites, and Nayars consider themselves polluted by their touch." + +It is recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1891, under the conjoint +heading Muttan and Tarakan, that "these two are allied castes, but +the latter would consider it a disgrace to acknowledge any affinity +with the former. Tarakan literally means a broker. Dr. Gundert says +that these were originally warehouse-keepers at Palghat. Muttan is +probably from Muttavan, an elder, Tarakans have returned Muttan as +a sub-division, and vice versâ, and both appear as sub-divisions of +Nayar. We have in our schedules instances of persons who have returned +their caste as Tarakan, but with their names Krishna Muttan (male) +and Lakshmi Chettichiar (female). A Muttan may, in course of time, +become a Tarakan, and then a Nayar. Both these castes follow closely +the customs and manners of Nayars, but there are some differences. I +have not, however, been able to get at the real state of affairs, as +the members of the caste are very reticent on the subject, and simply +assert that they are in all respects the same as Nayars. One difference +is that a Brahmani does not sing at their tali-kettu marriages. Again, +instead of having a Marayan, Attikurissi, or Elayad as their priest, +they employ a man of their own caste, called Choratton. This man +assists at their funeral ceremonies, and purifies them at the end +of pollution, just as the Attikurissi does for Nayars. Kali temples +seem to be specially affected by this caste, and these Chorattons +are also priests in these temples. The Muttan and Tarakan castes are +practically confined to Palghat and Walluvanad taluks." + +In a note on some castes in Malabar which are most likely of +foreign origin, it is stated, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that +"this is certainly true of the Muttans, who are found only in the +Palghat taluk and in the parts of Walavanad bordering on it, a part +of the country where there is a large admixture of Tamils in the +population. They are now advancing a claim to be Vaisyas, and some +of them have adopted the title Gupta which is proper to that caste, +while a few have the title Ezhutacchan. Some Muttans in Palghat are +called Mannadiars, a title also apparently borne by some Taragans. The +Muttans follow makkattayam (inheritance from father to son), and do +not enter into the loose connections known as sambandhams; their women +are called Chettichiars, clearly indicating their eastern origin; +and their period of pollution is ten days, according to which test +they would rank as a high caste. On the other hand, they may eat meat +and drink liquor. Their purificatory ceremonies are performed by a +class known as Chorttavans (literally, sprinklers), who are said to +be identical with Kulangara Nayars, and not by Attikurrissi Nayars +as in the case with Nambudris, Ambalavasis, and Nayars. There is +considerable antagonism between the Palghat and Walavanad sections of +the caste. Another caste of traders, which has now been practically +incorporated in the Nayar body, is the class known as Taragans +(literally, brokers) found in Palghat and Walavanad, some of whom +have considerable wealth and high social position. The Taragans of +Angadippuram and the surrounding neighbourhood claim to be immigrants +from Travancore, and to be descendants of Ettuvittil Pillamar of +Quilon, who are high caste Nayars. They can marry Kiriyattil women, +and their women occasionally have sambandham with Samantan Rajas. The +Palghat Taragans on the other hand can marry only in their caste." + +Muttasari.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a +name by which Kammalans are addressed. + +Muttiriyan.--See Mutracha. + +Mutyala (pearl).--An exogamous sept, and name of a sub-division of +Balijas who deal in pearls. The Ambalakarans say that they were born +of the sweat (muttu, a pearl or bead of perspiration) of Paramasiva. + +Muvvari.--Recorded [71] as "a North Malabar caste of domestic servants +under the Embrantiri Brahmans. Their customs resemble those of the +Nayars, but the Elayads and the Marayans will not serve them." + +Myasa.--Myasa, meaning grass-land or forest, is one of the two main +divisions, Uru (village) and Myasa, of the Bedars and Boyas. Among the +Myasa Bedars, the rite of circumcision is practiced, and is said to +be the survival of a custom which originated when they were included +in the army of Haidar Ali + + + + + + + +N + + +Nadan.--Nadan, meaning ruler of a country or village, or one who +lives in the country, is a title of the Shanans, who, further, call +themselves Nadans in preference to Shanans. + +Nadava.--" This, "Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [72] "is a caste of Canarese +farmers found only in South Canara. The Nadavas have returned four +sub-divisions, one of which is Bant, and two of the other three +are sub-divisions of Bants, the most important being Masadi. In the +case of 33,212 individuals, Nadava has been returned as sub-division +also. I have no information regarding the caste, but they seem to +be closely allied to the Bant caste, of which Nadava is one of the +sub-divisions." The name Nadava or Nadavaru means people of the nadu +or country. It is one of the sub-divisions of the Bants. + +Naga (cobra: Naia tripudians).--Nag, Naga, Nagasa, or Nageswara, +occurs in the name of a sept or gotra of various classes in Ganjam +and Vizagapatam, e.g., Aiyarakulu, Bhondari, Bhumia, Bottada, Domb, +Gadaba, Konda Dora, Medara, Muka Dora, Nagaralu, Omanaito, Poroja, +Rona, and Samantiya. Members of the Nagabonso sept of Odiya claim +to be descendants of Nagamuni, the serpent rishi. Naga is further a +gotra or sept of Kurnis and Toreyas, of whom the latter, at their +weddings, worship at 'ant' (Termites) hills, which are often the +home of cobras. It is also a sub-division of Gazula Kapus and Koppala +Velamas. Nagavadam (cobra's hood) is the name of a sub-division of the +Pallis, who wear an ornament, called nagavadam, shaped like a cobra's +head, in the dilated lobes of the ears. Among the Viramushtis there +is a sept named Naga Mallika (Rhinacanthus communis), the roots of +which shrub are believed to be an antidote to the bite of poisonous +snakes. The flowers of Couroupita guianensis, which has been introduced +as a garden tree in Southern India, are known as naga linga pu, from +the staminal portion of the flower which curves over the ovary being +likened to a cobra's hood, and the ovary to a lingam. + +Nagali (plough).--An exogamous sept of Kapu. + +Nagalika (of the plough).--A name for Lingayats engaged in cultivation. + +Nagaralu.--The Nagaralu are a cultivating caste in Vizagapatam, +concerning whom it is recorded [73] that "Nagaralu means the dwellers +in a nagaram or city, and apparently this caste was originally a +section of the Kapus, which took to town life, and separated itself +off from the parent stock. They say their original occupation was +medicine, and a number of them are still physicians and druggists, +though the greater part are agriculturists." + +For the following note, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana +Rao. Viziaram Raz, the friend of Bussy, conferred mokhasas (grants +of land) on some of the most important members of the caste, whose +descendants are to be found in various places. The caste is divided +into three sections or gotras, viz., Nagesvara (cobra) Kurmesa +(tortoise), and Vignesvara or Mushika (rat). The rat is the vehicle +of the elephant god Ganesa or Vignesvara. It is further divided into +exogamous septs or intiperulu, such as sampathi (riches), chakravarthi +(king or ruler), majji, etc. + +The menarikam system, according to which a man should marry his +maternal uncle's daughter, is in force. Girls are usually married +before puberty, and a Brahman officiates at marriages. The marriage +of widows and divorce are not permitted. + +The dead are burnt, and the chinna (little) and pedda rozu (big day) +death ceremonies, whereat a Brahman officiates, are celebrated. + +Some members of the caste have acquired a great reputation as +medicine-men and druggists. + +The usual caste title is Pathrulu, indicating those who are fit to +receive a gift + +Nagartha.--Nagarata, Nagarattar, or Nagarakulam is returned, in +the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a sub-caste of Chetti. In the +Census Report, 1891, it is recorded that the Nagarattu "hail from +Kanchipuram (Conjeeveram), where, it is said, a thousand families of +this caste formerly lived. Their name (nagaram, a city) refers to their +original home. They wear the sacred thread, and worship both Vishnu and +Siva. They take neither flesh nor alcohol. As they maintain that they +are true Vaisyas, they closely imitate the Brahmanical ceremonies of +marriage and death. This sub-division has a dancing-girl and a servant +attached to it, whose duties are to dance, and to do miscellaneous +work during marriages. The caste servant is called Jatipillai (child +of the caste). + +Concerning the Nagarthas, who are settled in the Mysore Province, +I gather [74] that "the account locally obtained connects them with +the Ganigas, and the two castes are said to have been co-emigrants to +Bangalore where one Mallaraje Ars made headmen of the principal members +of the two castes, and exempted them from the house-tax. Certain +gotras are said to be common to both castes, but they never eat +together or intermarry. Both call themselves Dharmasivachar Vaisyas, +and the feuds between them are said to have often culminated in much +unpleasantness. The Nagarthas are principally found in towns and large +trade centres. Some are worshippers of Vishnu, and others of Siva. Of +the latter, some wear the linga. They are dealers in bullion, cloth, +cotton, drugs and grain. A curious mode of carrying the dead among +the Namadari or Vaishnavite Nagarthas is that the dead body is rolled +up in a blanket, instead of a bier or vimana as among others. These +cremate their dead, whereas the others bury them. Marriage must be +performed before a girl reaches puberty, and widows are not allowed +to remarry. Polygamy is allowed, and divorce can be for adultery +alone. It is recorded by Mr. L. Rice [75] that "cases sometimes occur +of a Sivachar marrying a Namadari woman, and, when this happens, +her tongue is burned with the linga, after which she forsakes her +parents' house and religion. It is stated that the Sivachar Nagarthas +never give their daughters in marriage to the Namadari sect." Among +the gotras returned by the Nagarthas are Kasyapa, Chandramauleswara, +and Cholendra. + +Naga-sreni.--A fanciful name, meaning those who live in the Naga +street, used as a caste name by the Patramela dancing-girl caste. + +Nagavasulu.--The Nagavasulu are described, in the Vizagapatam +Manual, as "cultivators in the Vizagapatam district. Women who have +not entered into matrimony earn money by prostitution, and acting +as dancers at feasts. Some of the caste lead a bad life, and are +excluded from the body of the caste." In the Madras Census Report, +1891, it is stated that "Nagavasamu means a company of dancing-girls, +and the sons of women of this profession frequently call themselves +Nagavasulu. The bulk of the caste in Vizagapatam, however, are said +to be respectable farmers." It is noted, in the Census Report, 1901, +that "most of the Nagavasulu are cultivators, but some of the women, +are prostitutes by profession, and outsiders are consequently admitted +to the caste. Their title is Naidu." + +Nagellu (plough).--An exogamous sept of Boya. + +Nagna (naked).--A name for Sanyasis, who go about naked. + +Naidu.--Naidu or Nayudu is a title, returned at times of census by +many Telugu classes, e.g., Balija, Bestha, Boya, Ekari, Gavara, Golla, +Kalingi, Kapu, Mutracha, and Velama. A Tamilian, when speaking of a +Telugu person bearing this title, would call him Naicker or Naickan +instead of Naidu. + +Naik.--The word Naik (Nayaka, a leader or chief) is used, by the older +writers on Southern India, in several senses, of which the following +examples, given by Yule and Burnell, [76] may be cited:-- + +(a) Native captain or headman. "Il s'appelle Naique, qui signifie +Capitaine." Barretto, Rel du Prov de Malabar. + +(b) A title of honour among Hindus in the Deccan. "The kings of Deccan +also have a custome when they will honour a man or recompence their +service done, and rayse him to dignitie and honour. They give him +the title of Naygue".--Linschoten. + +(c) The general name of the kings of Vijayanagara, and of the Lords +of Madura and other places. "Il y a plusieurs Naiques au Sud de Saint +Thomé, qui sont Souverains: Le Naigue de Madure on est un".--Thevenot. + +Naik, Naickan, Naicker, Nayak or Nayakkan has been returned, at +recent times of census, by the Tamil Pallis, Irulas, and Vedans, +and also by various Telugu and Canarese classes, e.g.:-- + +Telugu--Balija, Boya, Ekari, Golla, Kavarai, Muttiriyan, Odde, +Tottiyan, and Uppiliyan. + +Canarese--Bedar, Cheptegara, Charodi, Kannadiyan, Servegara, Siviyar, +and Toreya. Some Jen Kurumbas (a jungle folk) in the Wynad are also +locally known as Naikers. + +Tulu--The Mogers, in some parts of South Canara, prefer the title +Naiker to the ordinary caste title Marakaleru, and some Bants have +the same title. + +The headman among the Lambadis or Brinjaris is called Naik. Naicker +further occurs as a hereditary title in some Brahman families. I have, +for example, heard of a Desastha Brahman bearing the name Nyna Naicker. + +Naik, Naiko, or Nayako appears as the title of various Oriya classes, +e.g., Alia, Aruva, Bagata, Gaudo, Jatapu, Odia, Pentiya, Rona, and +Teli. It is noted by Mr. S. P. Rice that "the Uriya Korono, or head +of the village, appropriates to himself as his caste distinction the +title Potonaiko signifying the Naik or head of the town." + +The name Nayar or Nair is, it may be noted, akin to Naik and Naidu, +and signifies a leader or soldier. [77] In this connection, Mr. Lewis +Moore writes [78] that "almost every page of Mr. Sewell's interesting +book on Vijayanagar [79] bears testimony to the close connection +between Vijayanagar and the west coast. It is remarkable that Colonel +(afterwards Sir Thomas) Munro, in the memorandum written by him +in 1802 on the poligars (feudal chiefs) of the Ceded Districts, +when dealing with the cases of a number of poligars who were direct +descendants of men who had been chiefs under the kings of Vijayanagar, +calls them throughout his report Naigue or Nair, using the two names +as if they were identical." [80] + +It is noted by Mr. Talboys Wheeler [81] that, in the city of Madras in +former days, "police duties were entrusted to a Hindu official, known +as the Pedda Naik or 'elder chief,' who kept a staff of peons, and +was bound to make good all stolen articles that were not recovered." + +In the South Canara district, the name Naikini (Naik females) is +taken by temple dancing-girls. + +Nainar.--See Nayinar. + +Nakash.--A name, denoting exquisite workmanship, by which Rachevars +or Chitrakaras are known in some places. + +Nakkala.--Nakkala or Nakka, meaning jackal, has been recorded as an +exogamous sept of Boya, Gudala, Golla, and Mutracha. The jackal is +the vehicle of the goddess Ankamma, who is the tutelary deity of the +Mutrachas. The name occurs further as a name for the Kuruvikkarans, +who manufacture spurious jackal horns as charms. + +Nali (bamboo tube).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba. + +Nalillakkar (people of the four illams).--A section of Mukkuvans, +which is divided into four illams. + +Nalke.--The Nalkes or Nalakeyavas are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart +[82] as "a caste of mat, basket, and umbrella makers, who furnish +the devil-dancers, who play such an important part in the worship of +the Tulu people. They have the usual Tulu exogamous sub-divisions or +balis. They are generally held to be Holeyas or Pariahs. In Canarese +they are called Panaras," + +"Every village in Canara," Mr. Stuart writes further, [83] "has its +Bhutasthanam or demon temple, in which the officiating priest or +pujari is usually a man of the Billava caste, and shrines innumerable +are scattered throughout the length and breadth of the land for the +propitiation of the malevolent spirits of deceased celebrities, who, +in their lifetime, had acquired a more than usual local reputation +whether for good or evil, or had met with a sudden or violent death. In +addition to these there are demons of the jungle and demons of the +waste, demons who guard the village boundaries, and demons whose only +apparent vocation is that of playing tricks, such as throwing stones +on houses, and causing mischief generally. The demons who guard the +village boundaries seem to be the only ones who are credited with even +indirectly exercising a useful function. The others merely inspire +terror by causing sickness and misfortune, and have to be propitiated +by offerings, which often involve the shedding of blood, that of a +fowl being most common. There are also family Bhutas, and in every +non-Brahman house a room, or sometimes only a corner, is set apart for +the Bhuta, and called the Bhutakotya. The Bhutasthanam is generally a +small, plain structure, 4 or 5 yards deep by 2 or 3 yards wide, with +a door at one end covered by a portico supported on two pillars. The +roof is of thatch, and the building is without windows. In front +of it there are usually three or four T-shaped pillars. Flowers are +placed, and cocoanuts broken on them at ceremonies. The temples of the +more popular Bhutas are often substantial buildings of considerable +size. Inside the Bhutasthanam there are usually a number of images, +roughly made in brass, in human shape, or resembling animals, such +as pigs, tigers, fowls, etc. These are brought out and worshipped as +symbols of the Bhutas on various ceremonial occasions. [84] A peculiar +small goglet or vase, made of bell-metal, into which from time to time +water is poured, is kept before the Bhutas, and, on special occasions, +kepula (Ixora coccinea) flowers, and lights are placed before them. In +the larger sthanas a sword is always kept near the Bhuta, to be held +by the officiating priest when he stands possessed and trembling +with excitement before the people assembled for worship. [85] A bell +or gong is also found in all Bhutasthanams. In the case of Bhutas +connected with temples, there is a place set apart for them, called +a gudi. The Bhutasthanam of the Baiderlu is called a garudi. + +"The names of the Bhutas are legion. One of the most dreaded is +named Kalkuti. Two others commonly worshipped by the Bants and the +Billavas are Koti Baidya and Chennaya Baidya, who always have Billava +pujaris. These two Bhutas are the departed spirits of two Billava +heroes. The spirit of Kujumba Kanje, a Bant of renown, belongs to +this class of Bhutas. Amongst the most well known of the others, +may be mentioned Kodamanitaya and Mundaltaya, and the jungle demons +Hakkerlu and Brahmerlu. The Holeyas worship a Bhuta of their own, +who is not recognised by any other class of the people. He goes by +the name of Kumberlu, and the place where he is said to reside is +called Kumberlu-kotya. Very often a stone of any shape, or a small +plank is placed on the ground, or fixed in a wall, and the name of a +Bhuta given to it. Other representations of Bhutas are in the shape +of an ox (Mahisandaya), a horse (Jarandaya), a pig (Panjurli), or a +giant (Baiderlu). + +"The Bhuta worship of South Canara is of four kinds, viz., kola, +bandi, nema, and agelu-tambila. Kola, or devil dancing, is offered to +the Bhutas in the sthana of the village in which they are supposed +to reside. The Sudras of the village, and of those adjacent to it, +assemble near the sthana, and witness the kola ceremony in public, +sharing the cost of it by subscriptions raised among all the Sudra +families in the village in which the ceremony is held. Bandi is the +same as kola, with the addition of dragging about a clumsy kind of car, +on which the Pompada priest representing the Bhuta is seated. Nema +is a private ceremony in honour of the Bhutas, held in the house of +anyone who is so inclined. It is performed once in ten, fifteen, +or twenty years by well-to-do Billavas or Bants. The expenses of +the nema amount to about Rs. 600 or Rs. 700, and are borne by the +master of the house in which the nema takes place. During the nema, +the Bhutas, i.e., the things representing them, are brought from the +sthana to the house of the man giving the feast, and remain there +till it is over. Agelu-tambila is a kind of worship offered only to +the Baiderlu, and that annually by the Billavas only. It will be +seen that kola, bandi, and nema are applicable to all the Bhutas, +including the Baiderlu, but that the agelu-tambila is applicable only +to the Baiderlu." + +The following account of Canara devil-dancers and exorcists is given +in Mr. Lavie's Manuscript History of Canara. "It is their duty to +carry a beautiful sword with a handsomely curved handle, and polished +blade of the finest steel. These they shake and flourish about in +all directions, jumping, dancing, and trembling in a most frightful +manner. Their hair is loose and flowing, and, by their inflamed eyes +and general appearance, I should suppose that they are prepared for +the occasion by intoxicating liquids or drugs.... Their power as +exorcists is exercised on any person supposed to be possessed with +the devil. I have passed by a house in which an exorcist has been +exercising his powers. He began with groans, sighs, and mutterings, +and broke forth into low mournings. Afterwards he raised his voice, +and uttered with rapidity and in a peculiar tone of voice certain +mantrams or charms, all the while trembling violently, and moving +his body backwards and forwards." The performance (of devil dances) +always takes place at night, commencing about nine o'clock. At first +the pujari, with the Bhuta sword and bell in his hands, whirls round +and round, imitating the supposed mien and gestures of the demon. But +he does not aspire to full possession; that is reserved for a Pombada +or a Nalke, a man of the lowest class, who comes forward when the +Billava pujari has exhibited himself for about half an hour. He is +naked save for a waist-band, his face is painted with ochre, and he +wears a sort of arch made of cocoanut leaves, and a metal mask. After +pacing up and down slowly for some time, he gradually works himself +up to a pitch of hysterical frenzy, while the tom-toms are beaten +furiously, and the spectators join in raising a long, monotonous +howling cry, with a peculiar vibration. At length he stops, and every +one is addressed according to his rank; if the Pombada offends a rich +Bant by omitting any of his numerous titles, he is made to suffer for +it. Matters regarding which there is any dispute are then submitted for +the decision of the Bhuta, and his award is generally accepted. Either +at this stage or earlier, the demon is fed, rice and food being offered +to the Pombada, while, if the Bhuta is of low degree, flesh and arrack +(liquor) are also presented. These festivals last for several nights, +and Dr. Burnell states that the devil-dancer receives a fee of eight +rupees for his frantic labours." + +Of the three devil-dancing castes found in South Canara (Nalke, +Parava, and Pompada), the Nalkes are apparently the lowest. Even a +Koraga considers a Nalke or a Parava inferior to him. It is said that, +when a Parava meets a Koraga, he is expected to raise his hand to +his forehead. This practice does not, however, seem to be observed +at the present day. The Nalkes, though living amidst castes which +follow the aliyasantana law of inheritance (in the female line), +follow the makkalakattu law of Inheritance from father to son. The +caste has numerous balis (septs), which are evidently borrowed from +the Bants and Billavas. As examples of these, Salannaya, Bangerannaya, +Kundarannaya, and Uppenannayya may be cited. The Nalkes have a headman +called Gurikara, who settles disputes and other matters affecting +the community, and acts as the priest at marriages, death ceremonies, +and other ceremonials. + +Girls are married after puberty, and a woman may marry any number +of times. The marriage ceremony is concluded in a single day. The +contracting couple are seated on planks, and the Gurikara throws +coloured rice over their heads, and ties a turmeric-dyed string with +beads strung on it round their necks. Those assembled then throw rice +over them, their hands are joined by the Gurikara or their fathers, +and the dhare water is poured thereon. + +The dead are either buried or cremated. After burial or cremation, +a mound (dhupe) is, as among other castes in Canara, made over the +spot. Round it, four posts are stuck in the ground, and decorated so +as to resemble a small car (cf. Billava). The final death ceremonies +(uttarakriya) are generally performed on the fifth or seventh day. On +this day, cooked food is offered to the deceased by placing it near +the dhupe, or on the spot where he breathed his last. This is followed +by a feast. If the ceremony is not performed on one of the recognised +days, the permission of some Bants or Billavas must be obtained before +it can be carried out. + +All castes in South Canara have great faith in Bhutas, and, when +any calamity or misfortune overtakes a family, the Bhutas must be +propitiated. The worship of Bhutas is a mixture of ancestor and +devil propitiation. In the Bhuta cult, the most important personage +is Brahmeru, to whom the other Bhutas are subordinate. Owing to the +influence of Brahman Tantris, Brahmeru is regarded as another name for +Brahma, and the various Bhutas are regarded as ganas or attendants on +Siva. Brahmanical influence is clearly to be traced in the various +Bhuta songs, and all Bhutas are in some manner connected with Siva +and Parvati. + +Whenever people want to propitiate the Bhutas, a Nalke or Parava is +engaged. In some places, the Nalke disguises himself as any Bhuta, +but, where Paravas are also to be found, the Nalke may not dress up +as the Baiderkulu, Kodamanitaya, or Rakteswari. The propitiation of +the Bhuta takes the form of a ceremony called Kola, Nema, or Agelu +Tambila. Of these, Kola is a periodical ceremony, in which various +castes take part, and is always performed near a Bhutasthana. Nema +is usually undertaken by a single family, and is performed at the +house. Agelu Tambila is celebrated by Billavas at their homes. The +Kola ceremony is usually performed for the propitiation of Bhutas other +than the Baiderkulu. The Muktesar or chief man, with the assistance of +a Brahman, fixes an auspicious day for its celebration. The jewels, +and votive offerings made to the Bhutas, are kept in the custody of +the Muktesar. On the Kola day, the people go in procession from the +sthana to the Muktesar's house, and return to the sthana with the +jewels and other articles. These are arranged on cots, and a Billava +pujari places seven plantain leaves in a row on a cot, and heaps rice +thereon. On each heap, a cocoanut is placed for the propitiation +of the most important Bhuta. To the minor Bhutas, these things are +offered on three or five leaves placed on cots, or on the floor of the +sthana, according to the importance of the Bhuta. A seven-branched +torch must be kept burning near the cot of the principal Bhuta. The +pujari goes to the courtyard of the sthana, and piles up a conical +mass of cooked rice on a stool. Over this pieces of plantain fruits +are scattered. Round the mass several sheaths of plantain leaves are +arranged, and on them tender cocoanut leaves, cut in various ways, +are stuck. The pujari, who wears a metal belt and other jewelry, does +puja to the Bhutas, and retires. The Nalkes or Paravas then advance +dressed up as Bhutas, and request permission to put on their canopy +(ani) and brass anklet (guggire). They then dance, and sing songs +connected with the Bhutas which are being propitiated. When they are +exhausted and retire, the pujari steps forwards, and addresses the +assembly in the following terms:-- "Oh! great men who are assembled, +with your permission I salute you all. Oh! Brahmans who are assembled, +I salute you. Oh! priest, I salute you." In this manner, he is +expected to run through the names of all important personages who +are present. When he has finished, the devil-dancers do the same, +and the ceremony is at an end. + +Of the Bhutas, the best known are Brahmeru, Kodamanitaya, Kukkintaya, +Jumadi, Sarlu Jumadi, Pancha Jumadi, Rakteswari, Panjurli, +Kuppe Panjurli, Rakta Panjurli, Urundarayya, Hosadevata (or Hosa +Bhuta), Devanajiri, Kalkutta, Ukkatiri, Gulige, Bobbariya, Nicha, +Duggalaya, Mahisandaya, Varte, Chamundi, Baiderukulu, Okkuballala, and +Oditaya. According to some, Jumadi is the small-pox goddess Mari. There +are only two female Bhutas--Ukkatiri and Kallurti. The Bhutas are +supposed to belong to different castes. For example, Okkuballala +and Devanajiri are Jains, Kodamanitaya and Kukkinataya are Bants, +Kalkutta is a smith, Bobbariya is a Mappilla, and Nicha a Koraga. + +In some temples dedicated to Siva, the Tantris offer food, etc., +to the various Bhutas on special occasions, such as Dipavali and +Sankaranthi. At Udipi, the Sanyasis of the various mutts (religious +institutions) seem to believe in some of the Bhutas, as they give money +for the performance of Kola to Panjurli, Sarla Jumadi, and Chamundi. + +At Hiriadkap in South Canara, where the Nalkes performed before me, +the dancers wore spathes of the areca palm, forming spats to prevent +the skin from being injured by the metal bells round their ankles as +they danced. + +The songs sung by the devil dancers are very numerous, and vary in +different localities. Of the stories relating to Bhutas, a very full +account has been given by Mr. A. C. Burnell. [86] + +A collection of stories (padanollu) belonging to the demon-worshippers +of the Tulu country, and recited at their annual festivals, was +published at the Mangalore Basel Mission Press in 1886. + +Nalla (black).--An exogamous sept of Koppala Velama. + +Nallur.--Nallur and Naluvitan are recorded, in the Travancore Census +Report, 1901, as sub-divisions of Nayar. + +Namadari.--A name, indicating one who wears the Vaishnava sectarian +mark (namam). The equivalent Namala occurs as an exogamous sept +of Boya. + +Nambidi.--A class, included among the Ambalavasis. It is recorded, +in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, that "Nampitis are of two +classes, the thread-wearing and the threadless. The former have +their own priests, while the Ilayatus perform the required sacerdotal +functions for the latter. Their ceremonies are very much like those +of the Kshatriyas. Tradition connects them with royalty acquired under +rather unenviable circumstances. They are, therefore, called Tampurans +(lords) by the Sudras, and also Muppinnu (elder) or Karanavappat +(uncle) head of a matriarchal family. They observe twelve days' +pollution, and inherit in the female line. Their women are called +Mantalu. The chief man among the Nampitis is the Karanavappat of +Kakkat in British Malabar." In the Cochin Census Report, 1901, it +is noted that of the Nampidis "the Aiynikoor Nampidis, or the five +families of Nampidis, are historically and socially the most important; +the eldest male member possesses the honorific title of Karanavarpad, +enjoying special privileges at the hands of the rulers of Cochin, as +the members of the family once held responsible posts in the militia +of the State. According to tradition, they were Nambudris. One of +the Perumals or Viceroys of Kerala having proved troublesome, the +Brahmans resolved upon his removal. In the struggle that followed, +the Perumal was killed by the Brahmans. When those who had slain him +returned to the place where the Brahmans had met in solemn conclave, +they were gladly welcomed, and asked to sit in their midst; but, +feeling that they had committed a heinous crime and thus disqualified +themselves from sitting along with the Brahmans, they volunteered to +sit apart on the threshold of the council room by saying nam padimel +(we on the threshold), which fact is supposed to account for the +origin of their name Nampadi. They and their companions have since +been regarded as having almost lost their social status as Brahmans, +and they are now classed along with the intermediate castes, having +but a few privileges other than those enjoyed by the group. They +wear the sacred thread, and have Gayatri. Nambudri Brahmans officiate +as priests at marriage ceremonies, sradhas, and purification at the +end of birth or death pollution, which lasts only for ten days. They +follow the marumakkatayam law of inheritance (in the female line). The +tali (marriage badge) is tied by their own caste men. Nambudris, +or their own caste men, unite themselves in sambandham with Nampidi +females. Nampidis are allowed to consort with Nayar women. At public +feasts they are not privileged to sit and eat with Nambudris. Their +women are called Manolpads." + +Nambiyassan.--A division of the Ambalavasis. It is noted, in the +Travancore Census Report, 1901, that "the Nampiassans, otherwise +called Nampiyars or Nampis, have at present no temple service of +any kind. They keep gymnasia or schools of training suited to the +Indian system of warfare. They were the gurus (preceptors) of the +fighting Nayars. They seem, however, at one time to have followed the +profession of garland-making in temples. It is still the occupation of +many Nampiassans in Cochin and British Malabar." In the Cochin Census +Report, 1901, it is stated that Nambiyar is rather a misleading title, +as it is applied to more than one class of people. Some Nayars are +known by that title. In some places, Muthads and Elayads are also +called Nambiyars. Chakkiyar Nambiyars beat a drum of a peculiar shape +at intervals during the discourses or acting of the Chakkiyars, while +their females, called Nangiyars, keep time. The Nangiyars also assume +the figure of mythical characters, and perform a sort of pantomime +on the Chakkiyar's stage. (See Unni.) + +Nambiyatiri (a person worthy of worship).--A synonym of Elayad. + +Nambutiri Brahman. [87]--The name Nambutiri has been variously +derived. The least objectionable origin seems to be nambu (sacred or +trustworthy) and tiri (a light). The latter occurs as an honorific +suffix among Malabar Brahmans, and other castes above the Nayars. The +Nambutiris form the socio-spiritual aristocracy of Malabar, and, as +the traditional landlords of Parasu Rama's land, they are everywhere +held in great reverence. + +A Nambutiri, when questioned about the past, refers to the +Keralolpatti. The Nambutiris and their organization according to +gramams owe their origin in legend, so far as Malabar is concerned, to +Parasu Rama. Parasu Rama (Rama of the axe), an incarnation of Vishnu, +had, according to the puranic story, slain his mother in a fit of +wrath, and was advised by the sages to expiate his sin by extirpating +the Kshatriyas twenty-one times. He did so, and handed over the land +to the sages. But this annoyed the Brahmans exceedingly, for they got +no share in the arrangement; so they banished Parasu Rama from the +land. By the performance of austerities he gained from the gods the +boon to reclaim some land from Varuna, the sea god. Malabar was then +non-existent. He was allowed to throw his axe from Cape Comorin, and +possess all the land within the distance of his throw. So he threw his +axe as far as Gokarnam in the South Canara district, and immediately +there was land between these two places, within the direct line and +the western ghats, now consisting of Travancore and Cochin, Malabar, +and part of South Canara. To this land he gave the name Karma Bhumi, +or the country in which salvation or the reverse depends altogether on +man's individual actions, and blessed it that there be plenty of rain +and no famine in it. But he was alone. To relieve his loneliness, he +brought some Brahmans from the banks of the Krishna river, but they +did not remain long, for they were frightened by the snakes. Then +he brought some Brahmans from the north, and, lest they too should +flee, gave them peculiar customs, and located them in sixty-four +gramams. He told them also to follow the marumakkattayam law of +succession (in the female line), but only a few, the Nambutiris of +Payyanur, obeyed him. The Brahmans ruled the land with severity, +so that the people (who had somehow come into existence) resolved +to have a king under whom they could live in peace. And, as it was +impossible to choose one among themselves, they chose Keya Perumal, +who was the first king of Malabar, and Malabar was called Keralam +after him. The truths underlying this legend are that the littoral +strip between the western ghats and the sea is certainly of recent +formation geologically. It is not very long, geologically, since it +was under the sea, and it is certain that the Nambutiris came from +the north. The capital of the Chera kingdom was very probably on the +west coast not far from Cranganore in the Travancore State, the site +of it being now called Tiruvanjikkulam. There is still a Siva temple +there, and about a quarter of a mile to the south-west of it are the +foundations of the old palace. The rainfall of Malabar is very high, +ranging from 300 inches in the hills to about 120 inches on the coast. + +"It is said that Parasu Rama ruled that all Nambudri women should carry +with them an umbrella whenever they go out, to prevent their being +seen by those of the male sex, that a Nayar woman called a Vrishali +should invariably precede them, that they should be covered with a +cloth from neck to foot, and that they should not wear jewels. These +women are therefore always attended by a Nayar woman in their outdoor +movements, and they go sheltering their faces from public gaze with +a cadjan (palm leaf) umbrella." [88] + +The Keralolpatti relates the story of the exclusion of the Panniyur +Brahmans from the Vedas. There were in the beginning two religious +factions among the Nambutiris, the Vaishnavas or worshippers of Vishnu +in his incarnation as a boar, and the Saivas; the former residing in +Panniyur (boar village), and the latter in Chovur (Siva's village). The +Saivas gained the upper hand, and, completely dominating the others, +excluded them altogether from the Vedas. So now the Nambutiris of +Panniyur are said to be prohibited from studying the Vedas. It is said, +however, that this prohibition is not observed, and that, as a matter +of fact, the Panniyur Nambutiris perform all the Vedic ceremonies. + +"Tradition," Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar writes, "as recorded in the +Keralamahatmiya, traces the Nambutiris to Ahikshetra, whence Parasu +Rama invited Brahmans to settle in his newly reclaimed territory. In +view to preventing the invited settlers from relinquishing it, he is +said to have introduced, on the advice of the sage Narada, certain +deep and distinctive changes in their personal, domestic, and communal +institutions. The banks of the Nerbudda, the Krishna, and the Kaveri +are believed to have given Brahmans to Malabar. I have come across +Nambutiris who have referred to traditions in their families regarding +villages on the east coast whence their ancestors originally came, +and the sub-divisions of the Smarta caste, Vadama, Brihatcharanam, +Ashtasahasram, Sanketi, etc., to which they belonged. Even to this +day, an east coast Brahman of the Vadadesattu Vadama caste has to +pour water into the hands of a Nambutiri Sanyasi as part of the +latter's breakfast ritual. Broach in Kathiwar, one of the greatest +emporiums of trade in the middle ages, is also mentioned as one of +the ancient recruiting districts of the Nambutiri Brahmans. Broach was +the ancient Bhrigucachchha, where Parasu Rama made his avabhritasnana +(final bathing) after his great triumph over the Kshatriyas, and where +to this day a set of people called Bhargava Brahmans live. Their +comparatively low social status is ascribed to the original sin of +their Brahman progenitor or founder having taken to the profession +of arms. The date of the first settlement of the Nambutiris is not +known. Orthodox tradition would place it in the Tretayuga, or the +second great Hindu cycle. The reference to the gramams of Chovvur +and Panniyur contained in the Manigramam Syrian Christian grant of +the eighth century, and its absence in the Jewish, have suggested to +antiquarians some time between the seventh and eighth centuries as +the probable period. The writings of Ptolemy and the Periplus furnish +evidence of Brahman settlements on the Malabar coast as early as the +first century, and it is probable that immigrant Brahman families +began to pour in with the ascendancy of the Western Chalukya kings +in the fourth and fifth centuries, and became gradually welded with +the pre-existing Nambutiris. All these Nambutiris were grouped under +two great sections:--(a) the Vaishnavites or Panniyur Gramakkar, who +came with the patronage of the Vaishnavites of the Chalukya dynasty +with the boar as their royal emblem; (b) the Saivites or Chovvur +Gramakkar, who readily accepted the Saivite teachings from the Chera, +Chola, and Pandya kings who followed the Chalukyans. They included in +all sixty-four gramams, which, in many cases, were only families. Of +these, not more than ten belong to modern Travancore. These gramams +constituted a regular autocracy, with four talis or administrative +bodies having their head-quarters at Cranganore. It appears that a +Raja or Perumal, as he was called, from the adjoining Chera kingdom, +including the present districts of Salem and Coimbatore, was, as +an improved arrangement, invited to rule for a duodecennial period, +and was afterwards confirmed, whether by the lapse of time or by a +formal act of the Brahman owners it is not known. The Chera Viceroys, +by virtue of their isolation from their own fatherland, had then to +arrange for marital alliances being made, as best they could, with +the highest indigenous caste, the Nambutiris, the males consorting +with Sudra women. The matriarchal form of inheritance was thus a +necessary consequence. Certain tracts of Kerala, however, continued +under direct Brahman sovereignty, of which the Ettappalli chief is +almost the only surviving representative." + +Writing in the eighteenth century, Hamilton observes [89] that "the +Nambouries are the first in both capacities of Church and State, and +some of them are Popes, being Sovereign Princes in both." Unlike the +Brahmans of the remainder of the Madras Presidency, who so largely +absorb all appointments worth having under Government, who engage in +trade, in, one may say, every profitable profession and business, +the Nambutiris hold almost entirely aloof from what the poet Gray +calls "the busy world's ignoble strife," and, more than any class of +Brahmans, retain their sacerdotal position, which is of course the +highest. They are for the most part landholders. A very large portion +of Malabar is owned by Nambutiris, especially in Walluvanad, most of +which taluk is the property of Nambutiris. They are the aristocracy +of the land, marked most impressively by two characteristics, +exclusiveness and simplicity. Now and then a Nambutiri journeys to +Benares, but, as a rule, he stays at home. Their simplicity is really +proverbial, [90] and they have not been influenced by contact with +the English. This contact, which has influenced every other caste or +race, has left the Nambutiri just where he was before the English knew +India. He is perhaps, as his measurements seem to prove, the truest +Aryan in Southern India, and not only physically, but in his customs, +habits, and ceremonies, which are so welded into him that forsake them +he cannot if he would. It is noted, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that +"as a class, the Nambudiris may be described as less affected than +any other caste, except the very lowest, by western influences of +whatever nature. One Nambudiri is known to have accepted a clerical +post in Government service; a good many are Adhigaris (village +headmen), and one member of the caste possesses a Tile-works and is +partner in a Cotton-mill. The bicycle now claims several votaries +among the caste, and photography at least one other. But these are +exceptions, and exceptions which, unimportant as they may seem to +any one unacquainted with the remarkable conservatism of the caste, +would certainly have caused considerable surprise to the author of +the first Malabar Manual." + +Concerning the occupations of the Nambutiris, Mr. Subramani Aiyar +writes that "service in temples, unless very remunerative, does not +attract them. Teaching as a means of living is rank heterodoxy. And, +if anywhere Manu's dictum to the Brahman 'Never serve' is strictly +observed, it is in Malabar. Judging from the records left by +travellers, the Nambutiris used to be selected by kings as messengers +during times of war. Writing concerning them, Barbosa states that +"these are the messengers who go on the road from one kingdom to +another with letters and money and merchandise, because they pass in +safety without any one molesting them, even though the king may be +at war. These Brahmans are well read ... and possess many books, and +are learned and masters of many arts; and so the kings honour them +as such." As the pre-historic heirs to the entire land of Kerala, +the Nambutiris live on agriculture. But inefficiency in adaptation +to changing environments operates as a severe handicap in the race +for progressive affluence, for which the initial equipment was +exceptionally favourable. The difficulties incidental to an effete +landlordism have contributed to making the Nambutiris a litigious +population, and the ruinous scale of expenditure necessary for the +disposal of a girl, be it of the most plebeian kind, has brought their +general prosperity to a very low level. The feeling of responsible +co-operation on the part of the unmarried males of a Nambutiri +household in the interests of the family is fast decreasing; old +maids are increasing; and the lot of the average Nambutiri man, and +more especially woman, is very hard indeed. As matters now stand, +the traditional hospitality of the Hindu kings of Malabar, which, +fortunately for them, has not yet relaxed, is the only sustenance and +support of the ordinary Nambutiri. The characteristic features of the +Nambutiri are his faith in God and resignation to his will, hospitality +to strangers, scrupulous veracity, punctiliousness as regards the +ordinances prescribed, and extreme gentility in manners. The sustaining +power of his belief in divine providence is so great, that calamities +of whatsoever kind do not exasperate him unduly. The story is told +with great admiration of a Nambutiri who, with his large ancestral +house on fire, his only son just tumbled into a deep disused well, +while his wife was expiring undelivered, quietly called out to his +servant for his betel-box. Evening baths, and daily prayers at sunrise, +noon and sunset, are strictly observed. A tradition, illustrative +of the miracles which spiritual power can work, is often told of +the islet in the Vempanat lake known as Patiramanal (midnight sand) +having been conjured into existence by the Tarananallur Nambutiripad, +when, during a journey to Trivandrum, it was past evening, and the +prayers to Sandhya had to be made after the usual ablutions. To the +lower animals, the attitude of the Nambutiri is one of child-like +innocence. In his relation to man, his guilelessness is a remarkable +feature. Harshness of language is unknown to the Nambutiris, and +it is commonly said that the severest expression of his resentment +at an insult offered is generally that he (the Nambutiri) expects +the adversary to take back the insult a hundred times over. Of +course, the modern Nambutiri is not the unadulterated specimen of +goodness, purity, and piety that he once was. But, on the whole, the +Nambutiris form an interesting community, whose existence is indeed +a treasure untold to all lovers of antiquity. Their present economic +condition is, however, far from re-assuring. They are no doubt the +traditional owners of Kerala, and hold in their hands the janmom or +proprietary interest in a large portion of Malabar. But their woeful +want of accommodativeness to the altered conditions of present day +life threatens to be their ruin. Their simplicity and absence of +business-like habits have made them a prey to intrigue, fraudulence, +and grievous neglect, and an unencumbered and well ordered estate is +a rarity among Malabar Brahmans, at least in Travancore." + +The orthodox view of the Nambutiri is thus stated in an official +document of Travancore. "His person is holy; his directions are +commands; his movements are a procession; his meal is nectar; he +is the holiest of human beings; he is the representative of god on +earth." It may be noted that the priest at the temple of Badrinath in +Gurhwal, which is said to have been established by Sankaracharya, and +at the temple at Tiruvettiyur, eight miles north of Madras, must be +a Nambutiri. The birth-place of Sankara has been located in a small +village named Kaladi in Travancore. It is stated by Mr. Subramani +Aiyar that "at some part of his eventful life, Sankara is believed +to have returned to his native village, to do the last offices to his +mother. Every assistance was withdrawn, and he became so helpless that +he had to throw aside the orthodox ceremonials of cremation, which he +could not get his relations to help him in, made a sacrificial pit +in his garden, and there consigned his mother's mortal remains. The +compound (garden) can still be seen on the banks of the Periyar river +on the Travancore side, with a masonry wall enclosing the crematorium, +and embowered by a thick grove of trees." + +Every Nambutiri is, theoretically, a life-long student of the +Vedas. Some admit that religious study or exercise occupies a bare +half hour in the day; others devote to these a couple of hours or +more. It is certain that every Nambutiri is under close study between +the ages of seven and fifteen, or for about eight years of his life, +and nothing whatsoever is allowed to interfere with this. Should +circumstances compel interruption of Vedic study, the whole course is, +I believe, re-commenced and gone through da capo. A few years ago, +a Nambutiri boy was wanted, to be informally examined in the matter +of a dacoity in his father's illam; but he had to be left alone, as, +among other unpleasant consequences of being treated as a witness, +he would have had to begin again his whole course of Vedic study. The +Nambutiris are probably more familiar with Sanskrit than any other +Brahmans, even though their scholarship may not be of a high order, +and certainly none other is to the same extent governed by the letter +of the law handed down in Sanskrit. + +As already said, the Nambutiris are for the most part landholders, +or of that class. They are also temple priests. The rich have their +own temples, on which they spend much money. All over Malabar there +are to be seen Pattar Brahmans, wandering here and there, fed free +at the illams of rich Nambutiris, or at the various kovilakams and +temples. And they are always to be found at important ceremonial +functions, marriage or the like, which they attend uninvited, and +receive a small money present (dakshina). But the Nambutiri never +goes anywhere, unless invited. From what I have seen, the presents +to Brahmans on these occasions are usually given on the following +scale:--eight annas to each Nambutiri, six annas to each Embrantiri, +four annas to each Pattar Brahman. The Nambutiri is sometimes a +money-lender. + +Of the two divisions, Nambutiri and Nambutiripad, the latter are +supposed to be stricter, and to rank higher than the former. Pad, +meaning power or authority, is often used to all Nambutiris when +addressing them. Thus, some who are called Nambutiripads may +really be Nambutiris. It may not be strictly correct to divide the +Nambutiris thus, for neither so-called division is separated from +the other by interdiction of marriage. The class distinctions are +more properly denoted the Adhyan and Asyan, of which the former is +the higher. An Adhyan is never a priest; he is a being above even +such functions as are sacerdotal in the temple. But there are also +divisions according to the number of yagams or sacrifices performed +by individuals, thus:--Somatiri or Somayaji, Akkitiri or Agnihotri, +and Adittiri. A man may reach the first stage of these three, and +become an Addittiripad by going through a certain ceremony. At this, +three Nambutiri Vaidikars, or men well versed in the Vedas, must +officiate. A square pit is made. Fire raised by friction between +two pieces of pipal (Ficus religiosa) wood with a little cotton is +placed in it. This fire is called aupasana. The ceremony cannot +be performed until after marriage. It is only those belonging to +certain gotras who may perform yagams, and, by so doing, acquire the +three personal distinctions already named. Again, there are other +divisions according to professions. Thus it is noted, in the Cochin +Census Report, 1901, that "the Adhyans are to study the Vedas and +Sastras; they are prohibited from taking parannam (literally meals +belonging to another), from taking part in the funeral ceremonies of +others, and from receiving presents. Those who perform the sacrifice +of adhana are known as Aditiris, those who perform some yaga are +called Somayagis or Chomatiris, while those who perform agni are +called Agnihotris or Akkitiris. Only married men are qualified to +perform the sacrifices. The Nayar is an indispensable factor in +the performance of these sacrifices. The Bhattatiris are to study +and teach the Sastras; the Orthikans are to teach the Vedas, and to +officiate as family priests. The Vadhyans are to teach the Vedas, and +to supervise the moral conduct of their pupils. The Vydikans are the +highest authority to decide what does or does not constitute violation +of caste rules, and to prescribe expiatory ceremonies. The Smarthas +are to study the Smritis and other Sastras relating to customs, +with the special object of qualifying themselves to preside over +caste panchayats, or courts, and to investigate, under the orders +of the sovereign, cases of conjugal infidelity arising among the +Nambutiris. The rulers of Cochin and Travancore issue the writs +convening the committee in the case of offences committed within +their territory. The Zamorin of Calicut, and other Chiefs or Rajas, +also continue to exercise the privilege of issuing such orders in +regard to cases occurring in Malabar. The Tantris officiate as high +priests in temples. They also practice exorcism. There are Adhyans +among this class also. Having received weapons from Parasu Rama and +practiced the art of war, the Sastrangakars are treated as somewhat +degraded Brahmans. They are prohibited from studying the Vedas, but +are entitled to muthalmura, that is, reading the Vedas, or hearing +them recited once. Having had to devote their time and energy to +the practice of the art of war, they could not possibly spend their +time in the study of the Vedas. The Vaidyans or physicians, known +as Mussads, are to study the medical science, and to practice the +same. As the profession of a doctor necessitates the performance of +surgical operations entailing the shedding of blood, the Mussads are +also considered as slightly degraded. They too are entitled only +to muthalmura. Of these, there are eight families, known as Ashta +Vaidyans. The Gramanis are alleged to have suffered degradation by +reason of their having, at the command of Parasu Rama, undertaken the +onerous duties of protecting the Brahman villages, and having had, +as Rakshapurushas or protectors, to discharge the functions assigned +to Kshatriyas. Ooril Parisha Mussads are supposed to have undergone +degradation on account of their having accepted from Parasu Rama the +accumulated sin of having killed the warrior Kshatriyas thrice seven +times, along with immense gifts in the shape of landed estates. They +are not allowed to read the Vedas even once." + +"There are," Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes, "five sub-divisions among +the Nambutiris, which may be referred to:-- + +(1) Tampurakkal.--This is a corruption of the Sanskrit name Samrat, +and has probable reference to temporal as much as to secular +sovereignty. Of the two Tampurakkal families in South Malabar, +Kalpancheri and Azhvancheri, the latter alone now remains. As spiritual +Samrats (sovereigns) they are entitled to (1) bhadrasanam, or the +highest position in an assembly, (2) brahmavarchasa, or authority in +Vedic lore, and consequent sanctity, (3) brahmasamragyam, or lordship +over Brahmans, (4) sarvamanyam, or universal acknowledgment of +reverence. Once in six years, the Azhvancheri Tampurakkal is invited +by the Maharaja of Travancore, who accords him the highest honours, +and pays him the homage of a sashtanganamaskaram, or prostration +obeisance. Even now, the Samrats form a saintly class in all +Malabar. Though considered higher than all other sub-divisions of +Nambutiris, they form, with the Adhyas, an endogamous community. + +(2) Adhyas.--They form eight families, called Ashtadhyas, and are +said by tradition to be descended from the eight sons of a great +Brahman sage, who lived on the banks of the river Krishna. The fund of +accumulated spirituality inherited from remote ancestors is considered +to be so large that sacrifices (yagas), as well as vanaprastha and +sanyasa (the two last stages of the Brahman's life), are reckoned as +being supererogatory for even the last in descent. They are, however, +very strict in the observance of religious ordinances, and constantly +engage themselves in the reverent study of Hindu scriptures. The +Tantris are Adhyas with temple administration as their specialised +function. They are the constituted gurus of the temple priests, +and are the final authorities in all matters of temple ritual. + +(3) Visishta.--These are of two classes, Agnihotris and +Bhattatiris. The former are the ritualists, and are of three +kinds:--(1) Akkittiris, who have performed the agnichayanayaga, (2) +Adittiris, who have done the ceremony of agniadhana, (3) Chomatiris, +who have performed the soma sacrifice. The Bhattatiris are the +philosophers, and are, in a spirit of judicious economy, which is the +characteristic feature of all early caste proscriptions, actually +prohibited from trenching on the province of the Agnihotris. They +study tarkka (logic), vedanta (religious philosophy or theology), +vyakarana (grammar), mimamsa (ritualism), bhatta, from which they +receive their name, and prabhakara, which are the six sciences of the +early Nambutiris. They were the great religious teachers of Malabar, +and always had a large number of disciples about them. Under this +head come the Vadyars or heads of Vedic schools, of which there are +two, one at Trichur in Cochin, and the other at Tirunavai in British +Malabar; the six Vaidikas or expounders of the caste canons, and the +Smartas, who preside at the smartavicharams or socio-moral tribunals +of Brahmanical Malabar. + +(4) Samanyas.--They form the Nambutiri proletariat, from whom the +study of the Vedas is all that is expected. They take up the study of +mantravada (mystic enchantment), puja (temple ritual), and reciting +the sacred accounts of the Avatara and astrology. + +(5) Jatimatras.--The eight leading physician families of Malabar, +or Ashta Vaidyas, are, by an inexcusable misuse of language, called +Gatimatras or nominal Nambutiris. The class of Nambutiris called +Yatrakalikkar (a corruption of Sastrakalikkar) also comes under +this head. They are believed to be the Brahmans, who accepted the +profession of arms from their great founder. Those that actually +received the territory from the hands of Parasu Rama, called Gramani +Nambutiris or Gramani Adhyas, are also Gatimatras. They were the +virtual sovereigns of their respective lands. The physicians, the +soldiers, and the landed kings, having other duties to perform, +were not able to devote all their time to Vedic recitations. The +mutalmura or first study was, of course, gone through. In course of +time, this fact was unfortunately taken by the religious conscience +of the people to lower the Brahmans who were deputed under the scheme +of Parasu Rama for special functions in the service of the nation in +the scale of Nambutiri society, and to mean a formal prohibition as +of men unworthy to be engaged in Vedic study. + +Papagrastas are Nambutiris, who are supposed to have questioned the +divine nature of Parasu Rama, The Urilparisha Mussus, who too are +Brahmans who received gifts of land from Parasu Rama, the Nambitis, +the Panniyur Gramakkar, and the Payyanur Gramakkar or the Ammuvans +(uncles), so called from their matriarchal system of inheritance, +form other sections of Nambutiris." + +It is recorded, in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that "certain +special privileges in regard to the performance of religious rites and +other matters of a purely social nature serve as the best basis for +a sub-division of the Nambutiris in the order of social precedence +as recognised amongst themselves. For this purpose, the privileges +may be grouped under two main classes, as given in the following +mnemonic formula:-- + + +A + +1. Edu (the leaf of a cadjan grandha or book): the right of studying + and teaching the Vedas and Sastras. +2. Piccha (mendicancy symbolic of family priests): the right of + officiating as family priests. +3. Othu (Vedas): the right of studying the Vedas. +4. Adukala (kitchen): the right of cooking for all classes of + Brahmans. +5. Katavu (bathing place or ghat): the right of bathing in the + same bathing place with other Brahmans, or the right of + touching after bathing, without thereby disqualifying the + person touched for performing religious services. + + +B + +1. Adu (sheep): the right of performing holy sacrifices. +2. Bhiksha (receiving alms): the right of becoming a Sanyasi. +3. Santhi (officiating as temple priests): the right of performing + priestly functions in temples. +4. Arangu (stage): the right of taking part in the performance of + Sastrangam Nambudris. +5. Panthi (row of eaters): the right of messing in the same row with + other Brahmans. + + +Those who enjoy the privilege of No. 1 in A are entitled to all +the privileges in A and B; those enjoying No. 2 in A have all the +privileges from No. 2 downwards in A and B; those having No. 3 in A +have similarly all the privileges from No. 3 downwards in A and B, and +so on. Those entitled to No.1 in B have all the privileges except No. 1 +in A; similarly those entitled to No. 2 in B have all the privileges +from No. 2 downwards in B, but only from No. 3 downwards in A, and +so on." + +Among the people of good caste in Malabar, to speak of one as a hairy +man is to speak of him reproachfully. Yet, putting aside Muhammadans, +the highest of all, the Nambutiris are certainly the most hairy. In +the young Nambutiri, the hair on the head is plentiful, glossy, +and wavy. The hair is allowed to grow over an oval patch from the +vertex or a little behind it to a little back from the forehead. This +is the regular Malabar fashion. The hair thus grown is done into a +knot hanging over the forehead or at one side according to fancy, +never hanging behind. The rest of the head, and also the face is +shaved. The whole body, excepting this knot and the back, is shaved +periodically. Karkkadakam, Kanni, Kumbham and Dhanu are months in which +shaving should be avoided as far as possible. An auspicious day is +always selected by the Nambutiri for being shaved. Gingelly oil (enna) +is commonly used for the hair. When a Nambutiri's wife is pregnant, +he refrains from the barber, letting his hair grow as it will. And, +as he may have as many as four wives, and he does not shave when +any of them is in an interesting condition, he sometimes has a long +beard. A marked difference observed between the Nambutiri and those +allied to him, and the lower races, is this. The former have whiskers +in the shape of a full growth of hair on the cheeks, while in the +latter this is scanty or entirely absent. Also, while the Nambutiris +have very commonly a hairy chest, the others have little or no hair +on the chest. So, too, in the case of hair on the arms and legs. One +Nambutiri examined had hair all over the body, except over the ribs. + +In connection with a hypothesis that the Todas of the Nilgiris +are an offshoot of one of the races now existing in Malabar, +Dr. W. H. R. Rivers writes as follows. [91] "Of all the castes or +tribes of Malabar, the Nambutiris perhaps show the greatest number +of resemblances to the customs of the Todas, and it is therefore +interesting to note that Mr. Fawcett describes these people as the +hairiest of all the races of Malabar, and especially notes that one +individual he examined was like a Toda." + +It is noted by Mr. Subramani Aiyar that "the Nambutiris are passionate +growers of finger-nails, which are sometimes more than a foot long, +and serve several useful purposes. As in everything else, the Nambutiri +is orthodox even in the matter of dress. Locally-manufactured cloths +are alone purchased, and Indian publicists who deplore the crushing +of indigenous industries by the importation of foreign goods may +congratulate the Kerala Brahmans on their protectionist habits. Silk +and coloured cloths are not worn by either sex. The style of dress is +peculiar. That of the males is known as tattutukkuka. Unlike the Nayar +dress, which the Nambutiris wear during other than religious hours, +the cloth worn has a portion passing between the thighs and tucked in +at the front and behind, with the front portion arranged in a number +of characteristic reduplications. The Nambutiri wears wooden shoes, +but never shoes made of leather. Nambutiri women have two styles +of dress, viz., okkum koluttum vachchutukkuka for the Adhyans, and +ngoringutukkuka for ordinary Nambutiris. Undyed cloths constitute +the daily wearing apparel of Nambutiri women. It is interesting to +notice that all Brahman women, during a yagnam (sacrifice), when, +as at other ceremonials, all recent introductions are given up in +favour of the old, wear undyed cloths. Beyond plain finger-rings and +a golden amulet (elassu) attached to the waist-string, the Nambutiri +wears no ornaments. His ears are bored, but no ear-rings are worn +unless he is an Agnihotri, when ear-pendants of an elongated pattern +(kundalam) are used. The ornaments of the Nambutiri women have +several peculiarities. Gold bracelets are, as it were, proscribed +even for the most wealthy. Hollow bangles of brass or bell-metal for +ordinary Nambutiris, and of solid silver for the Adhyas, are the ones +in use. The chuttu is their ear ornament. A peculiar necklace called +cheru-tali is also worn, and beneath this Adhya women wear three +garlands of manis or gold pieces, along with other jewels called +kasumala, puttali, and kazhuttila. The Nambutiris do not bore their +noses or wear nose-rings, and, in this respect, present a striking +contrast to the Nayar women. No restriction, except the removal of the +tali, is placed on the use of ornaments by Nambutiri women. Tattooing +is taboo to Nambutiri women. They put on three horizontal lines of +sandal paste after bathing. These marks have, in the case of Adhya +women, a crescentic shape (ampilikkuri). Kunkuma, or red powder, is +never applied by Nambutiri women to the forehead. Turmeric powder +as a cosmetic wash for the face is also not in vogue. Mr. Fawcett +states that, on festive occasions, turmeric is used by the +Brahmans of Malabar. But this is not borne out by the usage in +Travancore. Eye-salves are applied, and may be seen extending as dark +lines up to the ears on either side." + +The ornaments and marks worn by individual Nambutiri males are thus +recorded by Mr. Fawcett:-- + +(1) Left hand: gold ring with large green stone on first finger; +four plain gold rings on third finger; a ring, in which an anavarahan +coin is set, on little finger. This is a very lucky ring. Spurious +imitations are often set in rings, but it is the genuine coin which +brings good luck. Right hand: two plain gold rings, and a pavitram +on the third finger. The pavitram is of about the thickness of an +ordinary English wedding ring, shaped like a figure of eight, with a +dotted pattern at each side, and the rest plain. It is made of gold, +but, as every Nambutiri must wear a pavitram while performing or +undergoing certain ceremonies, those who do not possess one of gold +wear one made of darbha grass. They do not say so, but I think the +ring of darbha grass is orthodox. + +(2) Golden amulet-case fastened to a string round the waist, and +containing a figure (yantram) written or marked on a silver plate. He +had worn it three years, having put it on because he used to feel +hot during the cool season, and attributed the circumstance to the +influence of an evil spirit. + +(3) Youth, aged 12. Wears a yak skin sash, an inch wide, over the +left shoulder, fastened at the ends by a thong of the same skin. He +put it on when he was seven, and will wear it till he is fifteen, +when he will have completed his course of Vedic study. A ring, +hanging to a string in front of his throat, called modiram, was put +on in the sixth month when he was named, and will be worn until he is +fifteen. The ears are pierced. He wears two amulets at the back, one +of gold, the other of silver. In each are some chakrams (Travancore +silver coins), and a gold leaf, on which a charm is inscribed. One +of the charms was prepared by a Mappilla, the other by a Nambutiri. + +(4) Black spot edged with yellow in the centre of the forehead. Three +horizontal white stripes on the forehead. A dab on each arm, and a +stripe across the chest. + +(5) Black spot near glabella, and two yellow horizontal stripes near +it. The same on the chest, with the spot between the lines. + +(6) Red spot and white stripe on the forehead. A red dab over the +sternum, and on each arm in front of the deltoid. + +(7) An oval, cream-coloured spot with red centre, an inch in greatest +length, over the glabella. + +The stripes on the forehead and chest are generally made with sandal +paste. Rudraksha (nuts of Eloeocarpus Ganitrus) necklaces, mounted +in gold, are sometimes worn. + +The thread worn by men over the left shoulder is made of a triple +string of country-grown cotton, and, unlike other Brahmans of Southern +India, no change is made after marriage. It may be changed on any +auspicious day. Brahmans of Southern India outside Malabar change +their thread once a year. + +Concerning the habitations of the Nambutiris, Mr. Subramani Aiyar +writes as follows. "A Nambutiri's house stands within a compound +(grounds) of its own. Each house has its own name, by which the +members are known, and is called by the generic title of illam, the +term used by Brahmans, or mana, which is the reverential expression +of Sudras and others. Sometimes the two words are found combined, +e.g., Itamana illam. In the compound surrounding the house, trees +such as the tamarind, mango, and jak, grow in shady luxuriance. The +area of the compound is very extensive; in fact, no house in Malabar +is surrounded by a more picturesque or more spacious garden than that +of the Nambutiri. Plantains of all varieties are cultivated, and yams +of various kinds and peas in their respective seasons. A tank (pond) +is an inseparable accompaniment, and, in most Nambutiri houses, there +are three or four of them, the largest being used for bathing, and the +others for general and kitchen purposes. Whenever there is a temple +of any importance near at hand, the Nambutiri may prefer to bathe in +the tank attached to it, but his favourite ghat is always the tank +near his home, and owned by him. Wells are never used for bathing, +and a hot-water bath is avoided as far as possible, as plunging +in a natural reservoir would alone confer the requisite ablutional +purity. Towards the north-west corner of the house is located the +sarpakkavu or snake abode, one of the indispensables of a Malabar +house. The kavu is either an artificial jungle grown on purpose in +the compound, or a relic of the unreclaimed primeval jungle, which +every part of Malabar once was. Right in the centre of the kavu is +the carved granite image of the cobra, and several flesh-and-blood +representatives of the figure haunt the house, as if in recognition +of the memorial raised. In the centre of the compound is situated +the illam or mana, which is in most cases a costly habitat. All the +houses used until recently to be thatched as a protection against +the scorching heat of the tropical sun, which a tiled house would +only aggravate. In form the house is essentially a square building, +consisting of several courtyards in the centre, with rooms on all +sides. On the east or west of the courtyard, a room having the space +of two ordinary rooms serves as a drawing room and the dormitory of +the unmarried members of the house. The rest of the house is zenana +to the stranger. Right on the opposite side of the visitor's room, +beyond the central courtyard, is the arappura, of massive wood-work, +where the valuables are preserved. On either side of this are two +rooms, one of which serves as a storehouse, and the other as a +bed-room. The kitchen adjoins the visitor's room, and is tolerably +spacious. In the front, which is generally the east of the house, +is a spacious yard, square and flat, and leading to it is a flight of +steps, generally made of granite. These steps lead to a gate-house, +where the servants of the house keep watch at night. The whole house +is built of wood, and substantially constructed. Though the houses +look antiquated, they have a classical appearance all their own. To +the north-east is the gosala, where large numbers of oxen and cows +are housed. The furniture of a Nambutiri is extremely scanty. There +are several cots, some made of coir (cocoanut fibre), and others of +wooden planks. The kurmasana is the Nambutiri's devotional seat, +and consists of a jak (Artocarpus integrifolia) plank carved in +the form of a tortoise. Other seats, of a round or oblong shape, +are also used, and no Brahman addresses himself to his meal without +being seated on one of them. Every Brahman visitor is offered one, +and is even pressed to sit on it. When the writer went to a Brahman +house at Kalati, the native village of Sankaracharya, and wished the +hosts not to trouble themselves about a seat for him, he was told +that the contact of a Brahman's nates with the floor was harmful +to the house. Hanging cots, attached to the ceiling by chains of +iron, are common things in a Nambutiri's house, especially in the +bed-rooms. Skins of spotted deer, used to sit on during prayers, +also form part of the Nambutiri's furniture." + +The Nambutiris follow the makkatayam law of inheritance from father +to son; not, however, precisely as do the other people who do so. Nor +is their system of inheritance the same as that of Brahmans to the +eastward (i.e., of Southern India generally), with whom the family +property may be divided up amongst the male members at the instance of +any one of them. The Nambutiri household is described by Mr. Subramani +Aiyar as representing a condition intermediate between the impartible +matriarchal form of the Nayars and the divided patriarchal form of the +other coast. Among the Nambutiris, the eldest male member of the family +is the Karanavan or manager of it, and has complete control over all +the property. The younger members of the family are entitled to nothing +but maintenance. The head of the family may be a female, provided there +is none of the other sex. The eldest son alone marries. The accepted +practice, as well as the recognised principle among the Nambutiris, +seems to be in consonance with the directions expounded by Manu, viz.-- + +Immediately on the birth of his first-born, a man is the father of a +son, and is free from the debt to the manes. That son is, therefore, +worthy to receive the whole estate. + +That son alone, on whom he throws his debt, is begotten for (the +fulfilment of) the law. All the rest they consider the offspring +of desire. + +As a father supports his sons, so let the eldest support his younger +brothers, and so let them, in accordance with the law, behave towards +their eldest brother as sons behave towards their father. + +Should a Nambutiri eldest son die, the next marries, and so on. Women +join the family of their husband, and to this too her children +belong. Self-acquired property, that is property acquired by any junior +member of the family through his own efforts outside the taravad, +[92] lapses to the taravad at his death, unless he has disposed of +it in his lifetime. This is the custom, which our law has not yet +infringed. The taravad is the unit, and, as the senior male succeeds +to the management, it may happen that a man's sons do not succeed +directly as his heirs. The arrangement is an excellent one for the +material prosperity of the family, for there is no dispersion. Every +circumstance tends towards aggrandizement, and the family is restricted +to no more than a requisite number by one member only marrying, and +producing children. Impartibility is the fundamental principle. It +is seldom that a Nambutiri family comes to an end; and such a thing +as a Nambutiri's estate escheating to Government has been said on +eminent authority never to have been known. It happens sometimes +that there is no male member to produce progeny, and in such a case +the sarvasvadanam marriage is performed, by which a man of another +family is brought into the family and married to a daughter of it, +who, after the manner of the "appointed daughter" of old Hindu law, +hands on the property through her children. The man so brought in is +henceforth a member of the family which he has joined, and as such he +performs the sraddha or ceremonies to the dead. An exception to the +general rule of inheritance is that seventeen families of Payannur +in North Malabar follow the marumakkattayam system of inheritance, +through the female line. The other Nambutiris look askance at these, +and neither marry nor dine with them. It is supposed that they are +not pure bred, having Kshatriya blood in their veins. + +Adoption among the Nambutiris is stated by Mr. Subramani Aiyar to be +of three kinds, called Pattu kaiyyal dattu, Chanchamata dattu, and +Kutivazhichcha dattu. "The first is the orthodox form. Pattukai means +ten hands, and indicates that five persons take part in the ceremony, +the two natural parents, the two adopted parents, and the son to be +adopted. The gotra and sutra of the natural family have to be the +same as those of the adoptive family. The son adopted may have had +his upanayanam already performed by his natural parents. An adoption +of this kind cannot be made without the permission of all the male +members of the family, of the Sapindas or Samanodakas who are distinct +blood relations, though some degrees removed. In the second form, the +adoption relieves the adopted son of all ceremonial duties towards +the natural parents. Involving, as it does, a position contrary to +the established ordinances of Sankaracharya, this kind of adoption is +not in favour. The third form is still less orthodox. The adoption is +made by a surviving widow, and mainly serves to keep up the lineage." + +Liquor and flesh are strictly forbidden to the Nambutiris. Their staple +food is rice and curry. Upperi is a curry of chopped vegetables fried +in ghi (clarified butter), cocoanut or gingelly oil, seasoned with +gingelly (Sesamum indicum), salt, and jaggery (crude sugar). Aviyal +is another, composed of jak fruit mixed with some vegetables. Sweets +are sometimes eaten. Candied cakes of wheat or rice, and rice boiled +in milk with sugar and spices, are delicacies. Papadams (wafer-like +cakes) are eaten at almost every meal. The Nambutiri must bathe, +and pray to the deity before partaking of any meal. An offering of +rice is then made to the household fire, some rice is thrown to the +crows, and he sits down to eat. The food is served on a plantain +leaf or a bell-metal plate. It should be served by the wife; but, +if a man has other Nambutiris dining with him, it is served by men +or children. The sexes feed separately. Before a man rises from his +meal, his wife must touch the leaf or plate on which the food has +been served. The reason may lie in this. The remains of the food are +called echchil, and cannot be eaten by any one. Just before finishing +his meal and rising, the Nambutiri touches the plate or leaf with his +left hand, and at the same time his wife touches it with her right +hand. The food is then no longer echchil, and she may eat it. The +Nambutiri householder is said to be allowed by the Sastras, which +rule his life in every detail, to eat but one meal of rice a day--at +midday. He should not, strictly speaking, eat rice in the evening, but +he may do so without sinning heinously, and usually does. Fruit only +should be eaten in the evening. Women and children eat two or three +times in a day. A widow, however, is supposed to lead the life of a +Sanyasi, and eats only once a day. A Nambutiri may eat food prepared +by an east country Brahman (Pattar), or by an Embrantiri. In fact, +in the large illams, where many people are fed every day, the cooks +are generally Pattars in South Malabar. The Nambutiri woman is more +scrupulous, and will not touch food prepared by any one of a caste +inferior to her own, as the Pattar is considered to be. Tea and +coffee are objected to. The Sastras do not permit their use. At the +same time, they do not prohibit them, and some Nambutiris drink both, +but not openly. Persons observing vows are not allowed an oil bath, +to eat off bell-metal plates, or to eat certain articles of food. The +gourd called churakhai, palmyra fruit, and palmyra jaggery are taboo +to the Nambutiri at all times. Water-melons are eaten regularly during +the month Karkkataka, to promote health and prolong life. + +In connection with the Nambutiri's dietary, Mr. Subramani Aiyar states +that "their food is extremely simple. As Camöens writes: [93] + + + To crown their meal no meanest life expires. + Pulse, fruit, and herb alone their food requires. + + +"Ghi is not in a great requisition. Gingelly oil never enters the +kitchen. Milk is not taken except as porridge, which goes by the name +of prathaman (first). A bolus-like preparation of boiled rice-flour +with cocoanut scrapings, called kozhakkatta, is in great favour, +and is known as Parasu Rama's palaharam, or the light refreshment +originally prescribed by Parasu Rama. Conji, or rice gruel, served up +with the usual accessories, is the Nambutiri's favourite luncheon. Cold +drinks are rarely taken. The drinking water is boiled, and flavoured +with coriander, cummin seeds, etc., to form a pleasant beverage." + +The horse is a sacred animal, and cannot be kept. The cow, buffalo, +dog, and cat are the animals ordinarily kept in domestication; and +it is said that a parrot is sometimes taught to repeat Sanskrit slokas. + +There are families, in which the business of the magician and +sorcerer is hereditary, chiefly in South Malabar and among the Chela +[94] Nambutiris, as those are termed who, in the turbulent period of +Tippu's invasion, were made Muhammadans by force. True, these returned +almost at once to their own religion, but a stigma attaches to them, +and they are not looked on as true Nambutiris. + +It is extremely difficult to obtain reliable information regarding +magic or anything allied to it among any people, and most difficult +of all among the Nambutiris. They possess magic books, but they will +neither produce nor expound them. Hara Mekhala is the name of one +of these, which is most used. It is said that the sorcerer aims at +the following:-- + + + (1) Destruction (marana). + (2) Subjection of the will of another (vasikarana). + (3) Exorcism (uchchatana). + (4) Stupefaction (stambhana). + (5) Separation of friends (vidveshana). + (6) Enticement as for love (mohana). + + +Of these, the first may be carried out in the following manner. A +figure representing the enemy to be destroyed is drawn on a small +sheet of metal (gold by preference), and to it some mystic diagrams +are added. It is then addressed with a statement that bodily injury +or the death of the person shall take place at a certain time. This +little sheet is wrapped up in another metal sheet or leaf (of gold if +possible), and buried in some place which the person to be injured or +destroyed is in the habit of passing. Should he pass over the place, it +is supposed that the charm will take effect at the time named. Instead +of the sheet of metal, a live frog or lizard is sometimes buried +within a cocoanut shell, after nails have been stuck into its eyes +and stomach. The deaths of the animal and the person are supposed to +take place simultaneously. For carrying out vasikarana, vidveshana, +and mohana, betel leaves, such as are ordinarily used for chewing, or +vegetables are somehow or other given to the victim, who unknowingly +takes them into his mouth. Exorcism may be treated as follows. If +a young woman is suffering from hysteria, and is supposed to be +possessed by an evil spirit, or by the discontented spirit of some +deceased ancestor, nervousness is excited by beating drums, blowing +conch-shells, and otherwise making a horrible noise close to her. When +the supreme moment is believed to have arrived, water is sprinkled +over the wretched woman, who is required to throw rice repeatedly on +certain diagrams on the ground, woven into which is a representation +of the goddess Durga, the ruler of evil spirits. An effigy of the evil +spirit is then buried in a copper vessel. By means of certain mantrams, +Hanuman or Kali is propitiated, and, with their aid, in some occult +manner, the position of buried treasure may be found. It is said +that the bones of a woman who has died immediately after childbirth, +and the fur of a black cat, are useful to the magician. + +There are said to be two Nambutiris of good family, well known in +South Malabar, who are expert mantravadis or dealers in magic, and +who have complete control over Kuttichchattan, an evil mischievous +spirit, whose name is a household word in Malabar. He it is who sets +fire to houses, damages cattle, and teases interminably. Concerning +Kuttichchattan, Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes as follows. "The most +mischievous imp of Malabar demonology is an annoying, quip-loving +little spirit, as black as night, and about the size and nature of +a well-nourished twelve-year old boy. Some people say that they have +seen him, vis-à-vis, having a forelock. The nature and extent of its +capacity for evil almost beggar description. There are Nambutiris, +to whom these are so many missiles, which they throw at anybody they +choose. They are, like Ariel, little active things, and most willing +slaves of the master under whom they happen to be placed. Their +victim suffers from unbearable agony. His clothes take fire, his +food turns into ordure, his beverages become urine, stones fall in +showers on all sides of him, but curiously not on him, and his bed +becomes a literal bed of thorns. He feels like a lost man. In this +way, with grim delight, the spirit continues to torment his victim +by day as well as by night. But, with all this annoying mischief, +Kuttichchattan, or Boy Satan, does no serious harm. He oppresses and +harasses, but never injures. A celebrated Brahman of Changanacheri +is said to own more than a hundred of these Chattans. Household +articles and jewelry of value can be left on the premises of the homes +guarded by Chattan, and no thief dares to lay his hands on them. The +invisible sentry keeps diligent watch over his master's property, +and has unchecked powers of movement in any medium. As remuneration +for all these services, the Chattan demands nothing but food, but +that on a large scale. If starved, the Chattans would not hesitate to +remind the master of their power; but, if ordinarily cared for, they +would be his most willing drudges. By nature Chattan is more than a +malevolent spirit. As a safeguard against the infinite power secured +for the master by the Kuttichchattan, it is laid down that malign +acts committed through his instrumentality recoil on the prompter, +who either dies childless, or after frightful physical and mental +agony. Another method of oppressing humanity, believed to be in the +power of sorcerers, is to make men and women possessed by spirits; +women being more subject to their evil influence than men. Delayed +puberty, sterility, and still-births are not uncommon ills of a woman +possessed by a devil. Sometimes the spirits sought to be exorcised +refuse to leave the body of the victim, unless the sorcerer promises +them a habitation in the compound of his own house, and arranges +for daily offerings being given. This is agreed to as a matter of +unavoidable necessity, and money and lands are conferred upon the +Nambutiri mantravadi, to enable him to fulfil his promise." + +A Nambutiri is not permitted to swear, or take oath in any way. He may, +however, declare so and so, holding the while his sacred thread between +the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, by way of invoking the +Gayatri in token of his sincerity. And he may call on the earth mother +to bear witness to his words, for she may, should he speak falsely, +relieve herself of him. The name of the Supreme Being is not used in +oath. Nambutiris have been known to take oath before a shrine, in order +to settle a point in a Civil Court, but it is not orthodox to do so. + +Something has been said already concerning vows. Those who desire +offspring perform the vow called payasahavanam. Sacrifice is made +through fire (homam) to the Supreme Being. Homam is also vowed to +be done on a child's birthday, to ensure its longevity. Here we may +observe a contrast between the Nambutiri and a man of one of the +inferior castes. For, while the vow of the Nambutiri has assumed to +some extent the nature of propitiatory prayer, of which those low down +really know nothing, the other gives nothing until he has had the full +satisfaction of his vow. Mrityunjayam, or that which conquers death, +is another kind of homam in performance of a vow. A further one is +concerned with cleansing from any specific sin. Liberal presents +are made to Brahmans, when the vow is completed. In the vow called +rudrabhisheka the god Siva is bathed in consecrated water. It is +performed by way of averting misfortune. Monday is the day for it, +as it is supposed that on that day Siva amuses himself with Parvati +by dancing on Kailasa. + +The custom observed by Nambutiris of letting the hair grow on the +head, face, and body, untouched by the razor, when a wife is enceinte +has been noticed already. A Nambutiri who has no male issue also +lets his hair grow in the same way for a year after the death of his +wife. Should there, however, be male issue, on the eldest son devolves +the duty of performing the ceremonies connected with the funeral of his +mother (or father), and it is he who remains unshaven for a year. In +such a case, the husband of a woman remains unshaven for twelve days +(and this seems to be usual), or until after the ceremony on the +forty-first day after death. The period during which the hair is +allowed to grow, whether for a death, a pregnant wife, or by reason +of a vow, is called diksha. During diksha, as well as during the +Brahmachari period, certain articles of food, such as the drumstick +vegetable, milk, chillies, gram, dhal, papadams, etc., are prohibited. + +"Bathing," Mr.Subramani Aiyar writes, "is one of the most important +religious duties of all Hindus, and of Brahmans in particular. A +Nambutiri only wants an excuse for bathing. Every Nambutiri bathes +twice a day at least, and sometimes oftener. It is prohibited to do +so before sunrise, after which a bath ceases to be a religious rite +on the other coast. The use of a waist-cloth, the languti excepted, +during a bath in private or in public, is also prohibited. This +injunction runs counter to that of the Sutrakaras, who say 'Na +vivasanah snayat,' i.e., bathe not without clothing. The fastidious +sense of bath purity occasionally takes the form of a regular mania, +and receives the not inapt description of galappisachu or possession +by a water-devil. Never, except under extreme physical incapacity, +does a Nambutiri fail to bathe at least once a day." Before concluding +the bath, the cloth worn when it was begun, and for which another +has been substituted, is wrung out in the water. From this practice, +a patch of indurated skin between the thumb and first finger of the +right hand, where the cloth is held while wringing it, is commonly to +be seen. Almost every Nambutiri examined in North Malabar was marked +in this way. + +The Nambutiris observe sixty-four anacharams, or irregular customs, +which are said to have been promulgated by the great reformer +Sankaracharya. These are as follows:-- + + + (1) You must not clean your teeth with sticks. + (2) You must not bathe with cloths worn on your person. + (3) You must not rub your body with the cloths worn on your + person. + (4) You must not bathe before sunrise. + (5) You must not cook your food before you bathe. + (6) Avoid the water kept aside during the night. + (7) You must not have one particular object in view while you + bathe. + (8) The remainder of the water taken for one purpose must not be + used for another ceremony. + (9) You must bathe if you touch another, i.e., a Sudra. + (10) You must bathe if you happen to be near another, i.e., + a Chandala. + (11) You must bathe if you touch polluted wells or tanks. + (12) You must not tread over a place that has been cleaned with + a broom, unless it is sprinkled with water. + (13) A particular mode of marking the forehead with ashes + (otherwise described as putting three horizontal lines on the + forehead with pure burnt cow-dung). + (14) You must repeat charms yourself. (You must not allow someone + else to do it.) + (15) You must avoid cold rice, etc. (food cooked on the previous + day). + (16) You must avoid leavings of meals by children. + (17) You must not eat anything that has been offered to Siva. + (18) You must not serve out food with your hands. + (19) You must not use the ghi of buffalo cows for burnt offerings. + (20) You must not use buffalo milk or ghi for funeral offerings. + (21) A particular mode of taking food (not to put too much in + the mouth, because none must be taken back). + (22) You must not chew betel while you are polluted. + (23) You must observe the conclusion of the Brahmachari period + (the samavarttanam ceremony). This should be done before + consorting with Nayar women. + (24) You must give presents to your guru or preceptor. (The + Brahmachari must do so.) + (25) You must not read the Vedas on the road. + (26) You must not sell women (receive money for girls given + in marriage). + (27) You must not fast in order to obtain fulfilment of your + desires. + (28) Bathing is all that a woman should observe if she touches + another in her menses. (A woman touching another who is in + this state should, it is said, purify herself by bathing. + A man should change his thread, and undergo sacred ablution. + Women, during their periods, are not required to keep aloof, + as is the custom among non-Malabar Brahmans.) + (29) Brahmans should not spin cotton. + (30) Brahmans should not wash cloths for themselves. + (31) Kshatriyas should avoid worshipping the lingam. + (32) Brahmans should not accept funeral gifts from Sudras. + (33) Perform the anniversary ceremony of your father (father's + father, mother's father and both grandmothers). + (34) Anniversary ceremonies should be performed on the day of the + new moon (for the gratification of the spirits of the + deceased). + (35) The death ceremony should be performed at the end of the year, + counting from the day of death. + (36) The ceremony to be performed till the end of the year after + death (Diksha is apparently referred to). + (37) Sraddhas should be performed with regard to the stars + (according to the astronomical, not the lunar year). + (38) The death ceremony should not be performed until after the + pollution caused by childbirth has been removed. + (39) A particular mode of performing sraddha by an adopted son + (who should do the ceremony for his adopted parents as well + as for his natural parents. Among non-Malabar Brahmans, an + adopted son has nothing to do with the ceremonies for his + natural father, from whose family he has become entirely + disconnected). + (40) The corpse of a man should be burnt in his own compound. + (41) Sanyasis should not look at (see) women. + (42) Sanyasis should renounce all worldly pleasures. + (43) Sraddha should not be performed for deceased Sanyasis. + (44) Brahman women must not look at any other persons besides + their own husbands. + (45) Brahman women must not go out, unless accompanied by women + servants. + (46) They should wear only white clothing. + (47) Noses should not be pierced. + (48) Brahmans should be put out of their caste if they drink + any liquor. + (49) Brahmans should forfeit their caste, if they have intercourse + with other Brahman women besides their wives. + (50) The consecration of evil spirits should be avoided. (Otherwise + said to be that worship of ancestors should not be done in + temples.) + (51) Sudras and others are not to touch an idol. + (52) Anything offered to one god should not be offered to another. + (53) Marriage etc., should not be done without a burnt offering + (homam). + (54) Brahmans should not give blessings to each other. + (55) They should not bow down to one another. (Among non-Malabar + Brahmans, juniors receive benediction from seniors. The + Nambutiris do not allow this.) + (56) Cows should not be killed in sacrifice. + (57) Do not cause distraction, some by observing the religious + rites of Siva, and others those of Vishnu. + (58) Brahmans should wear only one sacred thread. + (59) The eldest son only is entitled to marriage. + (60) The ceremony in honour of a deceased ancestor should be + performed with boiled rice. + (61) Kshatriyas, and those of other castes, should perform funeral + ceremonies to their uncles. + (62) The right of inheritance among Kshatriyas, etc., goes + towards nephews. + (63) Sati should be avoided. (This also includes directions to + widows not to shave the head, as is the custom among + non-Malabar Brahmans.) + + +In connection with the foregoing, Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes that +the manners and customs of the Nambutiris differ from those of the +other communities in several marked particulars. They go by the +specific name of Keralacharas, which, to the casual observer, are +so many anacharas or mal-observances, but to the sympathetic student +are not more perhaps than unique acharas. A verse runs to the effect +that they are anacharas, because they are not acharas (observances) +elsewhere. (Anyatracharanabhavat anacharaitismritah.) Of these +sixty-four acharas, about sixty will be found to be peculiar to +Malabar. These may be grouped into the following six main classes:-- + + + (1) Personal hygiene.--Bathing. + (2) Eating.--The rules about food, either regarding the cooking + or eating of it are very religiously observed. Absolute fasting + is unknown in Malabar. + (3) Worship of the Gods and manes.--The anniversary of a person's + death is regulated not by the age of the moon at the time, but + by the star, unlike on the other coast. Again, a birth pollution + has priority over other observances, even death ceremonies. A + son who has to perform the funeral ceremonies of his father + is rendered unfit for that solemn function by an intervening + birth pollution. An adopted son is not, as in other parts + of India, relieved of the sraddha obligations to his natural + parents. Sectarian controversies in regard to Siva and Vishnu are + strictly tabooed. The establishment of Hinduism on a non-sectarian + basis was the sacred mission of Sankaracharya's life. A single + triple string (sacred thread) is worn irrespective of civil + condition. This is contrary to the usage of the other coast, where + married Brahmans wear two or three triplets. Sprinkling water is an + essential purificatory act after the use of the broom. An isolated + rule requires dead bodies to be burnt in private compounds, and + not in consecrated communal sites, as among the east coast people. + (4) Conduct in society.--Chastity is jealously guarded by the + imposition of severe ostracism on adulterers. Formal salutation, + and even namaskaras and anugrahas, or prostration before and + blessing by seniors, are prescribed. This is a striking point of + difference between Malabar and the rest of India, and is probably + based on the esoteric teaching of universal oneness. + (5) Asramas or stages of life.--It is distinctly prescribed that + a Brahman should formally conclude the Brahmachari asrama, and + that presents or dakshina to the gurus should be the crowning + act. The asura or bride-sale form of marriage is prohibited--a + prohibition which, in the case of the Nambutiris, is absolutely + unnecessary as matters now stand. An injunction in the reverse + direction against the ruinous tyranny of a bride-penalty would + be an anxiously sought relief to the strugglings of many an + indigent bride's father. The special law of Malabar, under which + the eldest son is alone entitled to be married, has already been + referred to. The anchorite stage comes in for regulation by the + Manu of Kerala. The eyes of a Sanyasin should never rest on a + woman even for a second. This rule, which, if it errs at all, + only does so on the side of safety, is not observed elsewhere, + as the stage of a Sanyasin is expected to be entered only after + the complete subjugation of the passions. No aradhana (worship) + sraddhas are performed for them, as is done in other parts. The + soul of the Sanyasin is freed from the bondage of Karma and the + chance of recurring birth, and has only to be remembered and + worshipped, unlike the ordinary Jivan or still enslaved soul, + whose salvation interests have to be furthered by propitiatory + Karmas on the part of its earthly beneficiaries. + (6) Regulation of women's conduct.--Women are not to gaze + on any face but that of their wedded lord, and never go out + unattended. They are to wear only white clothes, and are never + to pierce their noses for the wearing of jewelry. Death on + the husband's funeral pyre is not to be the sacred duty of + the Nambutiri widow, who is advised to seek in the life of a + self-sacrificing Sanyasi a sure means of salvation. + + +In affairs of the world, time is reckoned by the ordinary Malabar +kollam or solar year, the era beginning from the date of the departure +of the last Perumal, a sovereign of the western coast, to Arabia +in 825. The months of the kollam year are Mesha (Metam), Vrishabha +(Itavam), Mithuna, Karkkataka, Sihma (Chingga), Kanya (Kanni), Tula, +Vrischika, Dhanu, Makara, Kumbha, Mina. In affairs of religion, time +is reckoned by the salivahana saka, or lunar year, the months of +which are Chaitra, Vaisakha, Jeshta, Ashadha, Sravana, Bhadrapata, +Asvavuja, Margasirsha, Paushya, Magha, Phalguna. Every three years +or thereabouts, there is added another month, called Adhika. + +Some of the festivals kept by the Nambutiris are as follows: -- + + + (1) Sivaratri.--Worship of Siva on the last day of Magha. Fast + and vigil at night, and puja. + (2) Upakarma.--The regular day for putting on a new sacred + thread, after having cleansed away the sins of the year through + the prayaschittam, in which ceremony the five sacred products of + the cow (milk, curds, ghi, urine, and dung) are partaken of. It + is done on the 15th of Sravana. + (3) Nagara panchimi.--The serpent god is worshipped, and bathed + in milk. On the 5th of Sravana. This festival is common in + Southern India. + (4) Gokulashtami.--Fast and vigil at night, to celebrate the birth + of Krishna. Puja at night, on the eighth day of the latter half + of Sravana. + (5) Navaratri.--The first nine days of Asvayuja are devoted to + this festival in honour of Durga. + (6) Dipavali.--Observed more particularly in North Malabar on + the anniversary of the day on which Krishna slew the rakshasa + Naraka. Everyone takes an oil bath. On the last day of Asvayuja. + (7) Ashtkalam.--The pitris (ancestors) of the family are + propitiated by offerings of pinda (balls of rice) and tarpana + (libations of water). On the new moon day of Dhanu. + (8) Vinayaka Chaturthi.--The elephant-headed god of learning is + worshipped. At the end of the ceremony, the idol is dropped into + a well. On the 4th of Bhadrapada. + (9) Puram.--The god of love, represented by a clay image, is + propitiated by unmarried girls with offerings of flowers seven + days successively. The image is finally given, together with some + money, to a Brahman, who drops it into a well. The flowers which + have been used to decorate the image are placed by the girls at + the foot of a jak tree. Contrary to the custom of other Brahmans, + Nambutiri girls are under no disgrace, should they attain puberty + while unmarried. In the month of Mina. + (10) Onam.--The great festival of Malabar, kept by everyone, high + and low, with rejoicing. It is the time of general good-will, of + games peculiar to the festival, and of distribution of new yellow + cloths to relations and dependants. It is supposed to commemorate + the descent of Maha Bali, or Mabali, to see his people happy. + (11) Tiruvadira.--Fast and vigil in honour of Siva, observed by + women only. In the month of Dhanu. + (12) Vishu.--The solar new year's day. A very important festival in + Malabar. It is the occasion for gifts, chiefly to superiors. The + first thing seen by a Nambutiri on this day should be something + auspicious. His fate during the year depends on whether the first + object seen is auspicious, or the reverse. + + +The following festivals are referred to by Mr. Subramani Aiyar:-- + + + (1) Trikkatta or Jyeshta star.--In the month of Chingam. Food is + cooked, and eaten before sunrise by all the married male members, + as well as by every female member of a family. Though not of the + previous day, the food goes by the name of Trikkatta pazhayatu, + or the old food of the Trikkatta day. The import of this festival, + when the specific ordinance of Sankara against food cooked before + sunrise is contravened, is not known. + (2) Makam or Magha star.--In the month of Kanni. On this day, the + cows of the house are decorated with sandal paste and flowers, + and given various kinds of sweetmeats. The ladies of the house + take ten or twelve grains of paddy (rice), anoint them with oil, + and, after bathing in turmeric-water, consecrate the grains by the + recitation of certain hymns, and deposit them in the ara or safe + room of the house. If there are in the house any female members + born under the Makam star, the duty of performing the ceremony + devolves on them in particular. This is really a harvest festival, + and has the securing of food-grains in abundance (dhanyasamriddhi) + for its temporal object. + (3) All the days in the month of Thulam.--In this month, young + unmarried girls bathe every day before 4 A.M., and worship + Ganapathi (Vignesvara), the elephant god. + (4) Gauri puja.--In the month of Vrischigam. This is done on + any selected Monday in the month. The ceremony is known as + ammiyum vilakkaum toduka, or touching the grinding-stone and + lamp. The married women of the house clean the grinder and the + grinding-stone, and place a bronze mirror by its side. They then + proceed to worship Gauri, whose relation to Siva represents to + the Hindu the ideal sweetness of wedded life. + (5) Tiruvatira or Ardra star.--In the month of Dhanu. This is a + day of universal festivity and rejoicing. For seven days previous + to it, all the members of the house bathe in the early morning, + and worship Siva. This bathing is generally called tutichchukuli + or shivering bath, as the mornings are usually cold and intensely + dewy. On the day previous to Tiruvatira, ettangnati, or eight + articles of food purchased in the bazar, are partaken of. Such a + repast is never indulged in on any other day. The Tiruvatira day is + spent in the adoration of Siva, and the votaries take only a single + meal (orikkal). Night vigils are kept both by the wife and husband + seated before a lighted fire, which represents the sakshi (witness) + of Karmas and contracts. (Hence the common term agnisakshi.) They + then chew a bundle of betel leaves, not less than a hundred in + number. This is called kettuvettila tinnuka. As the chewing of + betel is taboo except in the married state, this function is + believed to attest and seal their irrefragable mutual fidelity. + (6) The new moon day in the month of Karkatakam.--On the evening + of this day, various kinds of sweetmeats are cooked, and, before + the family partakes of them, a portion of each is placed in the + upper storey as an offering to rats, by which their divine master, + Ganapathi, is believed to be propitiated. + + +The Nambutiri's business, which he has in hand, will be concluded +to his satisfaction, should he on starting hear or see vocal or +instrumental music, a harlot, a dancing-girl, a virgin, a litter, +an elephant, a horse, a bull or cow tethered, curds, raw rice of a +reddish colour, sugar-cane, a water-pot, flowers, fruits, honey, or two +Brahmans. Bad omens, which, if seen by a householder the first thing +in the morning, mean trouble of some kind for the rest of the day, +are a crow seen on the left hand, a kite on the right, a snake, a cat, +a jackal, a hare, an empty vessel, a smoky fire, a bundle of sticks, +a widow, a man with one eye, or a man with a big nose. A Nambutiri, +seeing any of these things, when setting out on a journey, will turn +back. Should he, however, at once see a lizard on the eastern wall of +a house, he may proceed. To sneeze once is a good omen for the day; to +sneeze twice is a bad one. An evil spirit may enter the mouth while one +is yawning, so, to avert such a catastrophe, the fingers are snapped, +and kept snapping until the yawn is over, or the hand is held in front +of the mouth. But this idea, and the custom of snapping the fingers, +are by no means peculiar to the Nambutiris. + +The Nambutiris look on a voyage across the sea with horror, and no +Nambutiri has ever yet visited England. + +A Nayar should not come nearer than six paces to a Nambutiri, a man of +the barber caste nearer than twelve paces, a Tiyan than thirty-six, +a Malayan than sixty-four, and a Pulaiyan than ninety-six. Malabar +is, indeed, the most conservative part of Southern India. The man +of high caste shouts occasionally as he goes along, so that the low +caste man may go off the road, and allow him to pass unpolluted. And +those of the lowest castes shout as they go, to give notice of their +pollution-bearing presence, and, learning the command of the man of +high caste, move away from the road. It is common to see people of +the inferior castes travelling parallel to the road, but not daring +to go along it. They do not want to. It is not because they are +forced off the road. Custom clings to them as to the Nayar or to the +Nambutiri. But even this is undergoing modification. + +In connection with marriage, three chief rules are observed. The +contracting parties must not be of the same gotra; they must not be +related to each other through father or mother; and the bridegroom +must be the eldest son of the family. It is said that there are seven +original gotras, called after the sages Kamsha, Kasyapa, Bharadvaja, +Vatsya, Kaundinya, Atri, and Tatri; and that other gotras have +grown out of these. Relationship is said by some to cease after +the fourth generation, but this is disputed. The bride's dowry is +always heavy. The wife joins her husband's gotra, forsaking her own +altogether. Women may remain unmarried without prejudice. Needless to +say, this has the reverse of favour with Brahmans outside Malabar. But +the Nambutiri girl or woman, who has not been married, is not allowed +to disappear altogether from the world without at least the semblance +of marriage, for, at her death, some part of the marriage ceremony is +performed on her person. The tali is tied. In like manner, a dead Toda +girl is not allowed to go to her last rest unmarried. Infant marriage, +which is the rule with other Brahmans, is said to be unknown among +the Nambutiris. Mr. Justice K. Narayana Marar, however, writes [95] +that he is "not prepared to assert that infant marriage is unknown +among Nambudris, and that marriages are always celebrated before +puberty. There are instances, though rare, of infant marriages among +them." When a girl is ten years old, or a little more, her father +thinks of finding a husband for her. Property alone is the real thing +to be considered. Every detail bearing on advantage to the family +through the alliance is carefully thought out. Among the Malayalis +generally, the young man with University degrees has command of the +marriage market, but to the Nambutiri these are of no account. When the +girl's father has fixed on a likely young man, he gets his horoscope, +and confers with a Vadhyar concerning the suitability or agreement +of the young man's horoscope with that of his daughter. Should the +decision of the Vadhyar be favourable, the young man's father is +invited to the house on an auspicious day, and the two fathers, +together with some friends, talk the matter over. In the presence +of all, the Vadhyar announces the agreement of the horoscopes of +the pair whose marriage is in prospect. The dowry of the bride is +then fixed. Probably many days have been occupied already, before the +fathers can agree as to the settlement of the dowry. When this has been +done, the Vadhyar consults the heavenly bodies, and appoints the day on +which the marriage ceremonies should be begun. There is then a feast +for all present. A Nambutiri would be in very bad circumstances if he +did not give at least a thousand rupees with his daughter. He should +give much more, and does, if he possibly can. The ceremonies connected +with marriage are supposed to occupy a year, but they are practically +completed within ten days. They open with a party leaving the bride's +illam, to invite the bridegroom and his party to the wedding. At the +house of the bridegroom, the Vadhyar is given about eight fanams [96] +(money) by both parties. The return to the bride's illam is a sort +of noisy procession composed of the bridegroom with his friends, +Nayar women under big cadjan (palm leaf) umbrellas, a number of +Nayars, some of whom indulge in sword play with swords and shields, +and Nambutiris versed in the Sastras. The bridegroom, who is the chief +figure in the crowd, has a string (the usual kankanam) tied round his +right wrist to protect him from evil spirits, and carries a bamboo with +sixteen joints symbolic of the married state, a mirror for good luck, +an arrow to guard the bride against evil spirits, four cloths, and a +tali. At the gate of the bride's illam, the procession is met by some +Nayar women dressed as Nambutiri women, who, being unable to come out +and welcome the bridegroom, do so by proxy. These women wave a light +in front of his face, and offer ashtamangalyam--a plate on which are +plantain, betel leaves, a cocoanut, and other articles. On this day, +the aupasana agni, or sacred fire, is prepared in the courtyard of the +bride's illam. A square pit is made, and fire is made with a piece of +wood of the jak tree and of the pipal. This fire is rendered sacred +by some mystic rites. It is kept burning throughout the marriage, +and is preserved until the death of the future husband and wife in +one of two ways:-- + + + (1) keeping a lamp lighted at the fire burning perpetually; + (2) heating in the fire a piece of wood (plasa or palasa) or dharba + grass. The wood or grass is put away, and, when the aupasana agni + is to be revived, is lighted in a fire of jak and pipal wood, + while certain mantrams (consecrated formulæ) are repeated. + + +The body of the bridegroom (and, I think, of the bride should she die +first) should be burnt in the aupasana agni prepared on the first +day of the wedding. The aupasana agni is, as it were, a witness +to the marriage. In the courtyard, the nandimukham ceremony is +performed for propitiation of the minor deities and the pitris +(spirits of deceased ancestors). A pot containing sacred or +consecrated water, a piece of sandalwood, a piece of gold, flowers, +raw rice, and some fruits are the apparent object of adoration. It +is called kalas--the kalasam of the Tamil and Telugu countries--and +is a common symbol of the deity. According to Monier Williams, [97] +it should be worshipped thus. "In the mouth of the water-vessel +abideth Vishnu, in its neck is Rudra, in its lower part is Brahma, +while the whole company of the mothers are congregated in its +middle part. O! Ganges, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, +Sindhu and Kaveri, be present in this water." A part of the +aforesaid ceremony (nandimukham) is called the punyahavachana, +for which the bridegroom repeats certain hymns after the Vadhyar, +and is sprinkled with water from the kalas. While all this is being +done in the courtyard, the very same ceremony is performed within +the house in the presence of the bride, whose father does inside +the house what the bridegroom is doing outside. At the conclusion +of the ceremony, the tali is tied on the bride's neck. Then two +of the cloths brought by the bridegroom are sent inside, and are +touched by the bride. After she has touched them, they are again +brought out, and the bridegroom puts them on. He touches the other +two cloths, which are taken inside, and worn by the bride. A feast +(ayanium) is the next item. The bride and bridegroom eat their +share of it in separate rooms. Then comes the marriage proper. The +bride's father washes the bridegroom's feet, while a Nayar woman +waves a light (ayiram tiri or thousand lights) before his face, +and conducts him to the hall prepared for the wedding. In this +is a mantapam, or sort of raised seat, having four pillars and a +covering roof. The pillars of the mantapam, and the ceiling of +the hall, are covered with red cloth (red being an auspicious +colour), and there are festoons of mango leaves. To one side +of the mantapam is a screen, behind which stand the Nambutiri +women of the household, looking at the scene in the hall through +holes. The bride and bridegroom are led to the mantapam, the former +following the latter screened from the general gaze by a big cadjan +umbrella. She hands him a garland, and, in doing so, she should not +touch his hand. He puts on the garland. Vedic hymns are chanted, +and the pair are brought face to face for the first time. This +is called mukhadarsanam, or seeing the face. The bridegroom leads +the bride three times round the fire and water jar, moving round +to the right, repeating a mantram, which is rendered as follows +by Monier Williams. [98] "I am male, thou art female. Come, +let us marry, let us possess offspring. United in affection, +illustrious, well disposed towards each other, let us live for a +hundred years." Each time the bridegroom leads the bride round, he +causes her to mount a mill-stone, saying "Ascend thou this stone, +and be thou firm as this rock. [99]" Then, at a moment supposed +to be auspicious, water is poured on the hands of the bridegroom, +signifying that the girl and her dowry have been handed over to +him. The Nambutiri women behind the screen, and the Nayar women +in the hall, utter a shrill cry "like that of the Vaikura." The +fire here mentioned is probably taken from the original aupasana +agni. Holding the bride by the hand, the bridegroom leads her +seven steps--one for force, two for strength, three for wealth, +four for well-being, five for offspring, six for the seasons, and +seven as a friend. He tells her to be devoted to him, and to bear +him many sons, who may live to a good old age. This ceremony is +called the saptapadi (seven steps). A homam is then performed. It +is said that the fire used on this occasion must be preserved +until the death of the bridegroom, and used at the cremation of +his body. A feast is the next thing. When it is over, the bride's +father takes her on his lap, asks his son-in-law to treat her well, +and formally hands her over to him. The bridegroom promises to do +so, and takes his wife by the hand. Then there is a procession +to the bridegroom's illam, the bride being carried in a litter, +and the bridegroom walking and carrying the sacrificial fire. So +ends the first day. It seems that the newly-married couple live +apart for the next three days, during which the bride is initiated +into household duties. The only daily ceremony is the homam, which +is done by the pair after bathing, and before taking food. On +the fourth day there is a ceremony, in which the bride plants +a jasmine cutting, by way of symbolising help to her husband in +the performance of his religious duties. At night the couple are +conducted to the bridal chamber by the Vadhyar. The bed is merely a +grass mat, or a common country blanket, covered with a white sheet, +and having a little ridge of rice and paddy, signifying plenty, +round the edge. The Vadhyar withdraws, and the bridegroom shuts +the door. [100] The Vadhyar outside cites appropriate passages from +the sacred writings, which are repeated by the bridegroom. On the +fifth day, the bride and bridegroom anoint each other with oil, +and the latter combs the hair of the former. Then, before bathing, +they catch some little fish called manatt kani (eyes looking up) +which are found in pools, with a cloth used as a net. While this is +being done, a Brahmachari asks the bridegroom "Did you see a cow and +a son?" Pointing to the fishes caught in the cloth, the bridegroom +replies "Yes, they are here." This is said to be suggestive of progeny, +fishes being emblematic of fertility. Homam is then done. At night, +the bridegroom adorns the bride with flowers, and makes her look into +a mirror, while he recites mantrams suitable to the occasion. From +the sixth to the ninth day there is practically nothing in the way +of ceremonial. And, as that proper to the tenth day is invariably +done on the sixth day, the ceremony may be said to conclude on the +night of the sixth day. A few Brahmans are fed to please the pitris, +and the couple go to a jak tree, under which some rice, curds, and +ghi are placed on kusa grass, and an offering is made of flowers and +sandalwood or powder. The kankanam, bamboo staff, arrow, and mirror +are given to the Vadhyar, and the wedding is over. + +Sir W. W. Hunter [101] speaks of the Nambutiris as "a despised class," +they having had fishermen ancestors. The little ceremony of catching +fish, which is a very important item in the marriage rites, may look +like preservation in meaningless ceremonial of something real in the +past, but it only shows that, in an endeavour to interpret ceremonial, +we must be far from hasty. Among the Shivalli Brahmans of South Canara, +the marriage mat is taken to a tank in procession. The bride and +bridegroom make a pretence of catching fish, and, with linked fingers, +touch their foreheads. It is recorded, in the Manual of South Canara, +that "all Tulu chronicles agree in ascribing the creation of Malabar +and Canara, or Kerala, Tuluva, and Haiga, to Parasu Rama, who reclaimed +from the sea as much land as he could cover by hurling his battle-axe +from the top of the western ghauts. According to Tulu traditions, +after a quarrel with Brahmans who used to come to him periodically +from Ahi-Kshetra, Parasu Rama procured new Brahmans for the reclaimed +tract by taking the nets of some fishermen, and making a number of +Brahmanical threads with which he invested the fishermen, and thus +turned them into Brahmans, and retired to the mountains to meditate, +after informing them that, if they were in distress, and called on +him, he would come to their aid. After the lapse of some time, during +which they suffered no distress, they were curious to know if Parasu +Rama would remember them, and called upon him in order to find out. He +promptly appeared, but punished their thus mocking him by cursing them, +and causing them to revert to their old status of Sudras." + +A more detailed account of the marriage ceremonial is given in +the Gazetteer of Malabar, which may well be quoted. "The first +preliminaries in arranging a Nambudiri marriage are the inevitable +comparison of horoscopes, and the settlement of the dowry. When +these have been satisfactorily concluded, an auspicious day for the +wedding is selected in consultation with the astrologer. On that day, +the bridegroom, before he starts from his illam, partakes with his +relatives and friends of a sumptuous repast called the ayani un. A +similar feast is held simultaneously at the bride's house. On leaving +the illam, as he crosses the threshold, and indeed on all occasions +of importance, the bridegroom must be careful to put his right foot +first. He also mutters mantrams of an auspicious nature, called mangala +sutrangal. As he passes out of the gate, he is met by a bevy of Nayar +ladies, carrying the eight lucky articles (ashtamangalyam). These +are a grandha, a washed cloth, a cheppu or rouge-box, some rice, +a val kannadi or metal hand-mirror, some kunkumam (crimson powder), +chanthu (ointment of sandal, camphor, musk and saffron), and mashi +(bdellium or any eye salve). On his journey to the bride's illam, +he is preceded by a noisy procession of Nayars, armed with swords and +lacquered shields, who constitute his agambadi or body-guard, and by +Nambudri friends and relatives, one of whom carries a lighted lamp. At +the gate of the bride's illam he is met by a band of Nayar women, +dressed like antarjanams, and carrying the ashtamangalyam and lighted +lamps. The bridegroom enters the inner court-yard (nadumittam), and +takes his seat in the usual eastward position. The bride's father comes +and sits opposite him, and, clasping his right hand, formally invites +him to bathe and wed his daughter, an invitation which he formally +accepts. After his bath, he returns clad in fresh clothes, and wearing +a ring of dharba or kusa grass (Cynodon Dactylon), and takes his seat +in the room adjoining the porch (pumukham), called purattalam. He +then makes an offering of a few fanams (money) to his family deities, +performs Ganapathi puja (worship of the elephant god), and presents +four or five Nambudris with a few fanams each, and with betel leaf +and areca nut. This is called asramapischetha prayaschittam, and is +in expiation of any sins into which he may have been betrayed during +his bachelor days. Similar gifts are also made first to two Nambudris +of any gotra considered as representing the deities called Visvadvas, +and then to two others of different gotras representing the deceased +ancestors or Pitris. The last gift is called Nandimukham. Meanwhile, +within the house the bride is conducted to the vadakkini room, +veiled in an old cloth, and carrying a piece of bell-metal shaped +like a hand-mirror (val kannadi). Her father, after washing his feet +and putting on a darbha ring, comes and performs Ganapathi puja, +and repeats more or less the same ritual that has been performed +without. The bride is then sprinkled with holy water by her father +and four other Nambudiris. The tali or marriage symbol is brought +in a brass vessel containing holy water, and laid near the idol to +which the daily domestic worship is paid; and, after further offerings +to Ganapathi, the bridegroom is summoned to enter the illam. Before +doing so he purifies himself, taking off the darbha ring, making the +'caste marks' with holy ashes (bhasmam), washing his feet, replacing +the ring, and being sprinkled with holy water by four Nambudiris--a +form of ritual which recurs constantly in all ceremonies. He enters +the nadumittam, preceded by a Nambudiri carrying a lighted lamp, and +takes his seat on a wooden stool (pidam) in the middle of the court +where the bride's father makes obeisance to him, and is given four +double lengths of cloth (kaccha), which the bridegroom has brought +with him. They are taken to the bride, who puts on two of them, and +returns two for the bridegroom to wear. The bridegroom then goes to the +kizhakkini, where he prepares what may be called the "altar." He smears +part of the floor in front of him with cow-dung and then, with a piece +of jack-wood (Artocarpus integrifolia), called sakalam, draws a line +at the western side of the place so prepared, and at right angles to +this line five more, one at each end, but not actually touching it, +and three between these. He then places the pieces of jack-wood on +the altar, and ignites it with fire brought from the hearth of the +bride's illam. He feeds the flame with chips of plasu or chamatha +(Butea frondosa). This fire is the aupasana agni, regarded as the +witness to the marriage rite. It must be kept alight--not actually, +but by a pious fiction [102]--till the parties to the marriage die, +and their funeral pyre must be kindled from it. Three pieces of plasu +called paridhi, and eighteen pieces called udhmam, tied together by +a string of darbha, are placed on the northern side of the altar on +two pieces of jack-wood; and there are also brought and placed round +the altar four blades of darbha grass, a small bell-metal vessel, +an earthenware pot full of water, a pair of grind-stones (ammi and +ammikuzha), a small winnowing fan containing parched paddy (malar), +and a copper vessel of ghee (clarified butter) with a sacrificial ladle +made of plasu. Meanwhile, the bride's father ties the tali round her +neck in the vadakkini, and her mother gives her a garland of tulasi +(Ocimum sanctum). She is conducted to the kizhakkini, preceded by a +Nambutiri carrying a lamp called ayyira tiri (thousand wicks), and is +made to stand facing the bridegroom on the north or north-east of the +altar. This is called mukha-dharsanam (face-beholding). She gives the +garland to the bridegroom. Now comes the central rite of this elaborate +ceremonial, the udaga-purva-kannyaka-dhanam, or gift of a maiden with +water. The bride and her father stand facing west, and the bridegroom +facing them. All three stretch out their right hands, so that the +bride's hand is between those of her father and the bridegroom, +which are above and below hers respectively. A Nambutiri Othikan or +ritual expert pours water thrice into the father's hand. The latter +each time pours it into his daughter's hand, and then, grasping her +hand, pours it into the bridegroom's hand. The dowry is then given +to the bride, who hands it over to the bridegroom. She then passes +between him and the fire, and sits on an amana palaga [103] on the +east of the altar, while the bridegroom sits on another palaga on her +left, and burns the udhmams (except one piece of plasu and the darbha +string used to tie the bundle), and makes an oblation of ghee called +agharam. The next rite is called Panigrahanam. The bridegroom rises +from his seat, turns to the right, and stands facing the bride, who +remains seated, holding the mirror in her left hand. She stretches +out her right hand palm upwards, with the fingers closed and bent +upwards. He grasps it, and sits down again. A brother of the bride +now comes and takes the mirror from the bride, puts it on a palaga, +and professes to show her her own reflection in its surface. Then +the bridegroom pours a little ghee into her joined hands, to which +the bride's brother adds two handfuls of paddy from the winnowing +basket, and the bridegroom then brushes the paddy from her hands +into the fire. This is called the Lajahomam. At its conclusion, +bride and bridegroom perform a pradakshinam round the fire, passing +outside the water-pot but not the grindstone and fan. Next comes +the important piece of ceremonial called Asmarohanam, symbolising +immutability. The bride and bridegroom stand west of the grindstones, +and the bridegroom, taking her feet one by one, places them on the +stones, and then grasps feet and stones with both hands. Lajahomam, +pradakshinam, and asmarohanam are each repeated thrice. Then comes the +rite called Saptapadi or seven paces. The bridegroom leads his bride +seven steps towards the north-east, touching her right foot with his +right hand as he does so. They then pass between the grindstones and +the fire, and seat themselves on the west of the earthen pot facing +east, the bride behind the bridegroom; and the latter performs a +somewhat acrobatic feat which it must be difficult to invest with any +dignity. He bends backwards, supporting himself by placing the palms +of his hands on the ground behind him, until he can touch with the top +of his head that of the bride, who bends forward to facilitate the +process. After this, the bridegroom sprinkles himself and the bride +with water from the earthen pot. They then return to their seats +west of the altar, and face north, ostensibly looking at the pole +star (Druvan), the star Arundati, and the Seven Rishis (Ursa Major), +which the bridegroom is supposed to point out to the bride, while he +teaches her a short mantram invoking the blessing of long life on +her husband. The bridegroom then makes two oblations, pouring ghee +on the sacred fire, the first called Sishtakralhomam and the second +Darmmihomam. He then places on the fire the paridhis, the remaining +udhmams and dharba grass, and the rest of the ghee. A start is then +made for the bridegroom's illam, the bridegroom carrying the chamatha +branch used in making the aupasana agni in the bride's house. On +arrival, an altar is prepared in much the same manner as before, +the chamatha branch is ignited, and darbha and ghee are offered. The +bride and bridegroom next spend a few moments closeted in the same +room, she lying on a skin spread over a new cloth on the floor, +and he sitting on an amana palaga. In the evening, aupasana homam, +or offerings of chamatha in the sacred fire, and Vaisyadeva homam, +or offerings of boiled rice, are made. These, which are known as a +second homam, may be postponed till next afternoon, if there is no +time for them on the actual wedding day. They have to be performed +daily for ten months. The first three days on which these homams are +performed (viz., the wedding day and the two following it, or the +three days after the wedding as the case may be) are regarded as days +of mourning (diksha), and clothes are not changed. On the fourth day, +the newly married couple have an oil-bath, and the diksha is considered +to be at an end. After the usual homams and worship of Ganapathi, +the bride is led to the bridal chamber at an auspicious moment. Her +husband joins her, carrying two garlands of jasmine, one of which +he puts on the lamp placed in the south-east corner of the room, and +one round his wife's neck. He then smears the upper part of her body +with the ointment known as chanthu, and she herself smears the lower +part. Tum vir penem suum fæminæ ad partes pudendas admovit, vestibus +scilicet haud remotis. They then bathe and change their clothes, and +sit near each other, the wife screened behind an umbrella. Her husband +gives her water, and after some further rites they eat from the same +plantain leaf. Actual cohabitation commences from that night. The pair +are conducted to the bridal chamber by the Vadhiyar. The nuptial couch +is but a grass mat or a common country blanket covered with a white +sheet, with a little ridge of rice and paddy signifying plenty around +the edges. The final ceremony is the homam called stalipagam. It is +performed on the day after the first full moon day after the second +homam. If the moon is at the full 3/4 nazhiga before sunset or earlier, +the ceremony may be performed on the full moon day itself." + +It will have been seen already that the Nambutiris are not strict +monogamists. Some stated that a man may have four wives, and that the +same ceremony as that described must be performed for wedding all four +wives. Moreover, there is no restriction to the number of Nayar women, +with whom a man may be associated. + +Hamilton, writing concerning Malabar at the end of the seventeenth +and beginning of the eighteenth century, says that "when the Zamorin +marries, he must not cohabit with his bride till the Nambutiri or +chief priest has enjoyed her, and, if he pleases, may have three +nights of her company, because the first fruit of her nuptials must +be an holy oblation to the god he worships: and some of the nobles +are so complaisant as to allow the clergy the same tribute; but the +common people cannot have that compliment paid to them, but are forced +to supply the priest's place themselves." + +Of ceremonies after marriage, and those performed during pregnancy +and subsequent to the birth of a child, the following may be noted:-- + + + (1) Garbhadhanam, performed soon after marriage. There is a + homam, and the husband puts the juice of some panic grass into + his wife's nostrils. + (2) Garbharakshana secures the unborn child from dangers. It is + not considered important, and is not always done. + (3) Pumsavana, performed in the third month of pregnancy for the + purpose of securing male offspring. The desire of the Hindu for + male rather than female children need not be dilated on. Putra + (a son) is the one who saves from hell (put). It is by every + religious text made clear that it is the duty of every man to + produce a son. The Nambutiri may have practically any number of + wives in succession, until he begets a son by one of them, and he + may adopt a son through the sarvasvadanam form of marriage. On + the day devoted to the pumsavana ceremony, the wife fasts until + she is fed by her husband with one grain of corn, symbolising + the generative organs of the male. + (4) Simantonnayana is the next ceremony performed for the benefit + of the unborn child. It is done between the sixth and eighth + months of pregnancy, and consists in a burnt sacrifice to the + deity, and the husband parting the hair of his wife's head with + a porcupine quill, or with three blades of the sacred kusa grass, + repeating the while Vedic verses. + (5) Jatakarma is the name of the birth ceremony, and is performed + by the father of the child. Honey and ghi are introduced into the + mouth of the infant with a golden spoon or rod, to symbolise good + fortune. Then the ears and shoulders are touched with the spoon + or rod, while Vedic texts are recited. + (6) Medhajananam, rarely done, is for inducing intelligence. + (7) Ayusha, for prolonging life, is the next in order. The father + gives the child a secret name, having an even number of syllables + for a male and an uneven number for a female, which is never + revealed to any one except the mother. + (8) Namakarana is the ceremony, at which the child is named, and + is said to be done on the tenth day after birth. The naming of a + child is an important religious act, which is supposed to carry + consequences throughout life. The parents, assisted by a Vadhyan, + make a burnt sacrifice to the deity. + (9) Annaprasana is the ceremony at which food other than that from + nature's fount is first given. It is done in the sixth month after + birth. The father carries the child to a group of friends and + relations. The Vadhyan or purohit is present and repeats Vedic + texts, while the father places a little rice and butter in the + child's mouth. + (10) Chaula is the ceremony when the hair is cut for the first + time in the Nambutiri fashion. + (11) Karna vedha is the occasion on which the ears are bored. + + +On the Vidyadasami day, the tenth of Asvayuja, when a male child is +five years old, the father goes through the form of initiating him +into the mysteries of the alphabet. + +The following details of some of the above ceremonies are given in the +Gazetteer of Malabar. "The chief ceremonies connected with pregnancy +are Pumsavanam or rite to secure male offspring, at which the husband +puts a grain of barley and two beans, to represent the male organ, +into his wife's hand, and pours some curds over them, which the wife +then swallows, and also pours some juice of karuga grass into her +right nostril; and Simantham, a ceremony usually performed in the +fourth month of pregnancy, at which the husband parts the wife's hair +four times from back to front with a sprig of atti (Ficus glomerata), +a porcupine quill which must have three white marks on it, and three +blades of darba grass, all tied together, after which mantrams are +sung to the accompaniment of vinas. The first ceremony to be performed +on the birth of a child is jathakarmam. A little gold dust is mingled +with ghee and honey, and the father takes up some of the mixture with +a piece of gold, and smears the child's lips with it, once with a +mantram and once in silence. He next washes the gold, and touches the +child's ears, shoulders and head with it, and finally makes a gift +of the bit of gold and performs nandimukham. The ceremony of naming +the child, or namakarmam, takes place on the twelfth day. The father +ties a string round the child's waist, and marks its body with the +sacred ash (bhasmam). Then, after the usual 'gifts' he pronounces +thrice in the child's right ear the words 'Devadatta Sarmmasi,' +or if the child be a girl, 'Nili dasi.' He then calls out the name +thrice. Then, taking the child from its mother, he again calls out +the name thrice, and finally gives the child back to its mother, who +in turn calls out the name thrice. Gifts and nandimukham complete +the ceremony. In the fourth month, the child is ceremonially taken +out of doors (nishkramana or vittil purapattu) by the father, who +carries it to a cocoanut, round which he makes three pradakshinams." + +The death ceremonies of the Nambutiris are commenced shortly before +death actually takes place. When death is believed to be unmistakably +near, some verses from the Taittirya Upanishad are spoken in the dying +man's ears. These are called karna mantras, or ear hymns. A bed of +kusa grass, called darbhasana, is prepared in the verandah or some +convenient place outside the foundations of the house, and the dying +man is placed on it. When life is extinct, the body is washed, dressed +in a new white cloth, and placed on a bier made of bamboos covered +with a new white cloth. The bier is then carried on the shoulders of +four of the nearest relatives to the place of cremation within the +compound of the illam, and laid on a pile of firewood, which must +include some sandalwood. This should be done by brothers or sons if +there are such; if not, by more distant relatives or friends. The +pyre need not of necessity be prepared by Nambutiris. Properly +speaking, according to the sacred texts, which govern almost every +act of the Nambutiri's life, relatives and friends, male and female, +should accompany the bier to the place of cremation, but, as a rule, +women do not join the little procession. The bier is laid on the +pyre, and the corpse is uncovered. Rice is scattered over the face +by the blood-relations present, and small pieces of gold are thrust +into the nine openings of the body, while mantras are recited by the +Vadhyayar or priest. The gold is said to be used on this occasion as +part of the offering in the yagam--the last sacrifice, as the burning +of the body is called--and not in any way to assist the deceased in +his journey to "the undiscovered country." Soon after the bier is +laid on the funeral pyre, a homam is made. Fire taken from it is +placed on the chest of the deceased, and then the pyre is lighted +in three places. The performer of the crematory rites carries an +earthen pot round the pyre. The officiating priest punctures the pot +with a knife, and receives the water in another pot. He throws this +water on the pyre, and the pot is then smashed and flung away. This +part of the ceremony is said to symbolise that the deceased has had +his ablution in the water of the Ganges, and the fire god, Agni, +represented by the homam, was witness to the same. The fire god is +supposed to witness every ceremony enjoined by the Vedas. After the +body is burnt, those who attended go away and bathe. The disembodied +soul is supposed to enter a body called Sukshma Sarira, and eventually +goes to heaven or hell as it deserves. But, before it can reach its +destination, certain ceremonies must be performed. These consist +chiefly of oblations on each of the ten days following death, for the +purpose of causing the preta (spirit) to grow out of the Dhananjaya +Vayu, which causes deformities and changes in the deceased after +death. Each day's ceremony completes a limb or part of the preta, +and the body is complete in ten days. On the third day after death, +the ashes of the deceased are collected in an urn, and buried at the +place of cremation or close to it. This is called ekoddishta. On the +eleventh day, all the members of the family go through a purificatory +ceremony, which consists in swallowing the panchagavya, and changing +the sacred thread. They then perform a sraddha, offering balls of +rice, etc., to the deceased and three of his ancestors, and give a +dinner and presents of money and cloths to Brahmans. Twelve sraddhas +must be performed, one in each month following, when water and balls +of rice (pindas) are offered to the spirit. The twelfth sraddha is +the sapindi karana, which elevates the spirit of the deceased to +the rank of an ancestor. Following this, there is only the annual +sraddha, or anniversary of death, calculated according to the lunar +or astronomical year, when not less than three Brahmans are fed, +and receive presents of money and cloths. + +Concerning the death ceremonies, Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes as +follows. "After death, the blood relations of the deceased bathe, and, +with wet clothes on, place two pieces of the stem of the plantain +tree, one at the head and the other at the feet of the corpse. The +hair of the head and face is shaved a little, and the body is bathed +with water in which turmeric and mailanchi, a red vegetable substance, +are dissolved. The Vaishnavite gopi mark is drawn vertically, as also +are sandal paste marks on various parts of the body, and flowers +and garlands are thrown over it. The corpse is then covered with +an unbleached cloth, which is kept in position by a rope of kusa +grass. It is carried to the pyre by Nambutiris who are not within +the pollution circle of the deceased, the eldest son supporting the +head and the younger ones the legs. A cremation pit is dug in the +south-east portion of the compound, and a mango tree, which has been +felled, is used as fuel. In all these ceremonies, the eldest son is +the karta or chief mourner and responsible ritualist, with whom the +younger ones have to keep up physical contact while the several rites +are being gone through. When the body is almost reduced to ashes, the +principal performer of the ceremonies and his brothers bathe, and, +taking some earth from the adjoining stream or tank, make with it a +representation of the deceased. Throughout the funeral ceremonies, +the Maran is an indispensable factor. The handing of the kusa grass +and gingelly (Sesamum) seeds for the oblation must be done by a member +of that caste. Sanchayanam, or the collection and disposal of the +burnt bones of the deceased, takes place on the fourth day. On the +eleventh day the pollution ceases, and the daily sraddha begins. A +term of diksha or special observance is kept up for three fortnights, +but generally for a whole year. On the twelfth day is the sapinda +karana sraddha, or ceremony of what may be called joining the fathers, +after which the dead person passes from the stage of preta to join +the manes or spirits. There are then the monthly ceremonies (masikas) +and ashta sraddhas (eight sraddhas). The abdika or first anniversary, +known in Malabar by the name of masam, is a very important ceremony, +and one on which unstinted expenditure is the rule." + +A further account of the death ceremonies is given in the Gazetteer +of Malabar. "When death is believed to be near, the dying man is +taken to the west of the hearth of the sacred fire (aupasana agni), +and laid with his head to the south on a bed of sand and darbha grass, +while the ottu mantram is whispered in his ear. When life is extinct, +the body is washed and covered with a plantain leaf. The mourners dress +themselves in tattu fashion, and tear up a new cloth breadthwise into +pieces called sesham, which they each wear round their waist. The +body is then dressed in an undercloth; the forehead is smeared with +the pounded root of the creeper mettoni, and tulasi flowers are put +on the head; the kudumi (hair knot) is untied, and the punul (sacred +thread) arranged to hang round the neck in front. The body is tied +on to a bamboo ladder and covered with a new cloth, and then carried +by four of the nearest relatives to the place of cremation within the +compound of the illam. A trench is dug on the north-east of the pyre, +and some water put into it, which is sprinkled on the pyre with twigs +of chamatha and darbha. The body is then laid on the pyre with the +head to the south, and the fire is kindled. The ladder is thrown away, +and a homam performed of ghee and darbha grass made to represent the +deceased, while mantrams are recited. Then comes the ceremony called +kumbhapradakshinam. The mourners go round the pyre three times, +the eldest son leading the way, carrying an earthen pot of water on +his left shoulder. The water should run through the bottom of the +pot, one hole being made for the first round, two for the second, +and three for the third, and other mourners should sprinkle it on +the pyre. At the end of the third round the pot is thrown on to the +pyre, and all the mourners come away, the eldest son leaving last, +and being careful not to look back. After bathing and shaving, +the sons and other persons entitled to celebrate the obsequies, +each perform an oblation of water (udagakriya) to a piece of karuga +grass stuck up to represent the spirit of the dead, concluding the +ceremony by touching iron, granite, a firebrand, cow-dung, paddy and +gold three times, throwing away the sesham, and receiving a clean cloth +(mattu). They then return to the nadumittam, when they make offerings +(bali or veli) of rice balls (pindams) to a piece of karuga grass. Both +these ceremonies have to be repeated twice daily for ten days. On +the fourth day after death, provided it is not a Tuesday or Friday, +the ceremony of collecting the bones (sanchyanam) is performed. The +eldest son goes to the pyre with a pala (pot made of the spathe of an +areca palm) of milk, which he sprinkles on the pyre with a brush of +chamatha tied with karuga grass. Three palas are placed on the west +of the pyre parallel to the places where the feet, waist and head +of the corpse rested, and bones are removed from the feet, waist and +head with tongs of chamatha, and placed in the respective palas. The +bones are then washed in milk, and all put into an earthen pot (kudam) +with some karuga grass on the top. The pot is covered with a cloth, +taken to a cocoanut tree and buried in a pit, the cloth being removed +and the top filled with mud. A plantain is planted in the trench that +was dug near the pyre. On the eleventh day, all the members of the +family purify themselves, and perform oblations of water and balls +of rice. This constitutes the first sraddha, which must be repeated +on each anniversary of the eleventh day." + +"The funeral rites of women are similar; but, if the woman is pregnant +at the time of death, the body has first to be purified seven times +with pounded kusa grass, cow-dung, cow's urine, ashes and gold, and +to receive mattu. The belly is cut open four inches below the navel, +and, if the child is found alive, it is taken out and brought up; +if dead, it is put back in the womb with a piece of gold and some +ghee. Children not more than ten days old are buried with little +ceremony, but all others are burnt." [104] + +When a Nambutiri is believed to have been guilty of an offence against +the caste, or when there is a caste dispute in any gramam, the proper +course is to represent the matter to the king (in Malabar the Zamorin), +who refers it to the Smarta having jurisdiction over that particular +gramam, ordering him to try the offender after holding a proper +enquiry. Minor offences are punishable by infliction of penance, +fasting, or doing special puja to the gods. Graver offences are dealt +with by excommunication from the caste. Against the decision of the +Smarta there is no appeal. Adultery between a Nambutiri woman and a man +of inferior caste is perhaps the most serious of all caste offences. + +The enquiry into cases of adultery is described as follows by +Mr. Subramani Aiyar. "It is conducted by the Smarta, and hence +arises the name (smartavicharam) by which it is known. Whenever a +Nambutiri woman's chastity is suspected, she is at once handed over +to society for enquiry, no considerations of personal affection or +public policy intervening. The mother or brother may be the first and +only spectator of a shady act, but feels no less bound to invite, and +generally pay very heavily for a public enquiry by society according +to its recognised rules. The suspect is at once transferred to an +isolation shed in the same compound, variously called by the name of +anchampura or fifth room (outside the nalukettu or quadrangle), or the +pachcholappura, a new shed with green thatch roofing put up for the +occasion. She may be seen here by her husband, his father and uncles, +her father, father's father, father's maternal grandfather, and their +sons, but by none else. Once a prohibited member sees her, the brand of +infamy indubitably settles on her, and the smartavicharam is considered +foreclosed. For beginning a smartavicharam, the sanction of the ruling +Raja has to be obtained. The matter is carried to his ears, after a +preliminary enquiry, called dasivicharam, has been gone through. For +this, the woman's male relations, in conjunction with the Brahmans of +the neighbourhood, interrogate the Dasi or Nayar maid-servant attached +to the suspected woman. Along with the application for royal sanction +in Travancore, a fee of sixty-four fanams or nine rupees has to be sent +in, and is credited to the treasury of Sri Padmanabha Swami, as whose +deputy the Maharaja is supposed to rule the country. The Maharaja +then appoints a Smarta (judge), two Mimamsakas, an Akakkoyimma, +and a Purakkoyimma. The office of Smarta is hereditary. If a family +becomes extinct, the Yoga or village union nominates another in its +place. The Mimamsakas are Nambutiris learned in the law, and their +office is seldom hereditary. They are appointed to help the Smarta +in his enquiries. The Akakkoyimma, or person whose business is to +preserve order, holds his appointment by heredity. The Purakkoyimma is +the proxy of the sovereign himself. In ancient days, and even so late +as the time of the great Martanda Varma, the ruling sovereign himself +was present during the trial, and preserved order. Now a deputy is sent +by the Maharaja. He is generally the magistrate of the taluk, who, if +he finds it inconvenient to attend the meeting, delegates the function +to the chief village officer. The Smarta, when he receives the royal +commission (neet) for holding the enquiry, receives from the woman's +relations a small tribute of money (dakshina). The Mimamsakas, it may +be observed, are selected by the Smarta. In Travancore alone is the +Smarta's authority supreme, for no Vaidika lives in this territory, +and none are generally invited. In other parts of Malabar, where +Vaidikas live permanently, one of the six recognised Vaidikas has to +accompany the Smarta to the place of the vicharana (enquiry), and the +Smarta merely conducts the enquiry as the proxy of, and authorised +and guided by the Vaidikas. Generally the council assembles at some +neighbouring village temple. The suspected woman is placed within the +anchampura, and her maid-servant stands at the door. All questions +are addressed to her, as the gosha of the suspect has to be honoured +in its entirety until the pronouncement of the final verdict. The +procedure begins, not by the framing and reading out of a charge-sheet, +but by arranging for the suspicion being brought to notice by the +accused person herself. For this purpose, the Smarta makes a feint +of entering the isolation shed, as if in ignorance of everything that +has transpired. The maid-servant stops him, and informs him that her +mistress is within. The Smarta, on hearing this, affects astonishment, +and asks her the reason why her mistress should not be in the main +building (antahpuram). With this question, the enquiry may be said to +have actually begun. The next morning by eleven o'clock, the Smarta +and his co-adjutors again go and stand beside the isolation hut, and, +calling for the maid-servant, commence the regular enquiry. After about +five o'clock in the afternoon, the Smarta, in the presence of the +Akakkoyimma, relates the whole day's proceedings to the Mimamsakas, +and takes their opinion as to the questions for the next day. The +enquiry often lasts for months, and sometimes even for years. It is +the most expensive undertaking possible, as the whole judicatory staff +has to be maintained by the family, unless the sadhanam or subject +gives a circumstantial confession of her guilt. It is not enough +to plead guilty; she must point out all the persons who have been +partakers in her guilt. Thus every day the Smarta asks "Are there any +more?" After the completion of the enquiry, the council re-assembles at +the village temple. The guardian of the suspect presents himself before +the assembled Brahmans, and makes the customary obeisance. The Smarta +then recounts the details of the enquiry, and ultimately pronounces his +verdict. If the woman is declared innocent, she is re-accepted amidst +universal rejoicings, and the head of the family feels amply repaid +for the expenditure he has incurred in the reputation for chastity +secured for a member of his family under such a severe ordeal. If +things do not end so well, all the Brahmans come out of the temple and +re-assemble, when a Brahman, who is usually not a Nambutiri, as the +Nambutiris do not desire to condemn one of their own caste, stands +up, and in a stentorian voice repeats the substance of the charge, +and the judgment as given by the Smarta. The guardian of the woman +then goes away, after she has been handed over by the Smarta to the +custody of the Purakkoyimma. The guardian bathes, and performs all the +funeral ceremonies for his ward, who from this moment is considered +dead for all social and family purposes. The persons meanwhile, whose +names have been given out by the woman as having been implicated in the +offence, have to vindicate their character on pain of excommunication. + +In connection with a case of adultery, which was tried recently in +Malabar, it is noted that the Purakkoyimma kept order in the court +with sword in hand. Iswara puja (worship of Iswara) was performed +in the local temple on all the days of the trial, and the suspected +woman was given panchagavya (five products of the cow) so that she +might tell the truth. + +I am informed that, in the course of an enquiry into a charge of +adultery, "it sometimes happens that the woman names innocent men as +her seducers. Two courses are then open to them, in order that they +may exculpate themselves, viz., ordeal by boiling oil, and ordeal +by weighing. The former of these ordeals is undergone, under the +sanction of the Raja, by the accused person dipping his bare hand in +ghi, which has been boiling from sunrise to midday, and taking out +of it a bell-metal image. The hand is immediately bandaged, and if, +on examination of it on the third day, it be found unharmed, the man +is declared innocent. In the other ordeal, the man is made to sit for +a certain time in one of a pair of scales, and is declared innocent +or guilty, according as the scale ascends or descends. But these +practices do not now prevail." In former days, the ordeal of boiling +ghi was undergone at the temple of Suchindram in Travancore. This +temple derives its name from Indra, who, according to the legend, +had illicit intercourse with Ahalya, the wife of Gautama Rishi, +and had to undergo a similar ordeal at this place. + +In connection with a case which came before the High Court of Madras, +it is recorded [105] that "an enquiry was held into the conduct of +a woman suspected. She confessed that the plaintiff had had illicit +intercourse with her, and thereupon they were both declared out-casts, +the plaintiff not having been charged, nor having had an opportunity +to cross-examine the woman, or enter on his defence, and otherwise to +vindicate his character. Held by the High Court that the declaration +that the plaintiff was an outcast was illegal, and, it having been +found that the defendants had not acted bonâ fide in making that +declaration, the plaintiff was entitled to recover damages." + +In order to mitigate to some extent the suffering caused by turning +adrift a woman proved guilty of adultery, who has hitherto lived in +seclusion, provision has been made by the Raja of Cherakkal. A Tiyan +named Talliparamba possesses a large extent of land granted by a former +Raja of Cherakkal, on condition of his taking under his protection all +excommunicated females, if they choose to go with him. He has special +rank and privileges, and has the title of Mannanar. Whenever an inquiry +takes place, Mannanar receives information of it, and his messengers +are ready to take the woman away. It was the custom in former days +for Mannanar's agents to lead the woman to near his house, and leave +her at a certain place from which two roads lead to the house--one to +the eastern gate, and the other to the northern. If the woman happened +to enter the house by the eastern gate, she became Mannanar's wife, +and, if she went in by the northern gate, she was considered to be +his sister by adoption. This rule, however, is not strictly adhered +to at the present day. + +The Nambutiris are stated by Mr. Subramani Aiyar to "belong to +different sutras, gotras, or septs, and follow different Vedas. The +most important of the sutras are Asvalayana, Baudhayana, Apastamba, and +Kaushitaka. The best-known gotras are Kasyapa, Bhargava, Bharadvaga, +Vasishta, and Kausika. There are a few Samavedins belonging to +the Kitangnur and Panchal gramams, but most of them are Rigvedic, +and some belong to the Yajurveda. The Rigvedic Brahmans belong to +two separate yogas or unions, namely, Trichur Yoga and Tirunavai +Yoga. It appears that three of the most renowned of the disciples of +Sankaracharya were Nambutiri Brahmans, who received their initiation +into the sanyasasrama at the great sage's hands. They established +three maths or monasteries, known as the tekkematham (southern), +natuvile matham (middle), and vatakke matham (northern). Succession +having fallen in default in regard to the last, the property that +stood in its name lapsed to the Raja of Cochin. Out of the funds +of this matham, a Vedic pathasala (boarding school) was established +at Trichur. A certain number of villagers became in time recognised +as being entitled to instruction at this institution, and formed a +yoga. Trichur then became the centre of Brahmanical learning. Later +on, when the relations of the Zamorin of Calicut with the Raja of +Cochin became strained, he organised another yoga at Tirunavai for +the Nambutiris who lived within his territory. Here there are two +yogas for Rigvedic Brahmans. In these schools, religious instruction +has been imparted with sustained attention for several centuries. The +heads of these schools are recruited from the houses of Changngavot +and Erkara, respectively. To these two yogas two Vadhyars and six +Vaidikas are attached. There are also six Smartas or judges attached +to these bodies. The Vadhyars are purely religious instructors, +and have no judicial duties in respect of society. The Vaidikas and +Smartas are very learned in the Smritis, and it is with them that +the whole caste government of the Nambutiris absolutely rests." + +The names of the Nambutiris measured by Mr. Fawcett were as follows:-- + + + Nilakantan. Bhavasarman. + Paramesvaran. Nandi. + Raman. Kuberan. + Harijayandan. Madhavan. + Chandrasekharan. Anantan. + Vasudevan. Nambiatan. + Greni. Shannan. + Damodaran. Krishnan. + Sivadasan. Sankaran. + Mahesvaran. + + +In connection with the names of Nambutiris, Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes +as follows. "A list of names not current or unusual now among other +Brahman communities in Southern India may be interesting. These are-- + + + Vishnu. Kadamban. + Gayantan. Chitran. + Devadattan. Gadavedan. + Kiratan. Bhavadasan. + Prabhakaran. Srikumaran. + Dattareyan + + +"The conspicuous absence of the names of the third son of Siva (Sasta), +such as Hariharaputra and Budhanatha, may be noted. Nor are the names +of Ganapathi much in favour with them. Sridevi and Savitri are the +two most common names, by which Nambutiri females are known. There +are also certain other names of a Prakrita or non-classic character, +used to denote males and females, which sometimes border on the +humorous. Among these are-- + + + Males. Females. + + Nampiyattan. Nangngaya. + Ittiyattan. Nangngeli. + Uzhutran. Pappi. + Tuppan. Ittichchiri. + Nampotta. Unnima. + Chiruta. + + +"Some names in this list are identifiable with the names of divinities +and puranic personages. For example, Uzhutran is a corruption of +Rudran. In the same manner, Tuppan is the Prakrit for Subramanya, and +Chiruta for Sita. Unnima is another name for Uma or Parvati. Nambutiris +grudge to grant the title of Nambutiri to each other. For instance, +the Tamarasseri Nambutiri calls the Mullappalli Nambutiri merely +Mullapalli (house name). But, if the person addressed is an Adhya +of one of the eight houses, or at least a Tantri Adhya, the title +Nambutiri is added to his name. Again, if there are in a house two +Nambutiris, one of them being the father and the other the son, the +father whenever he writes, subscribes himself as the Achchan Nambutiri +or father Nambutiri, while the son subscribes himself as the Makan or +son Nambutiri. In Malabar there were two poets called Venmani Achchan +Nambutiri and Venmani Makan Nambutiri, venmani signifying the name +of the illam. It is only in documents and other serious papers that +the proper name or sarman of the Nambutiri would be found mentioned." + +When addressing each other, Nambutiris use the names of their +respective illams or manas. When a Nambutiri is talking with a +Nayar, or indeed with one of any other caste, the manner in which +the conversation must be carried on, strictly according to custom, +is such that the Nambutiri's superiority is apparent at every +turn. Thus, a Nayar, addressing a Nambutiri, must speak of himself +as foot-servant. If he mentions his rice, he must not call it rice, +but his gritty rice. Rupees must be called his copper coins, not +his rupees. He must call his house his dung-pit. He must speak of +the Nambutiri's rice as his raw rice, his coppers as rupees, and his +house as his illam or mana. The Nayar must not call his cloth a cloth, +but an old cloth or a spider's web. But the Nambutiri's cloth is to +be called his daily white cloth, or his superior cloth. The Nayar, +speaking of his bathing, says that he drenches himself with water, +whereas the Nambutiri sports in the water when he bathes. Should he +speak of eating or drinking, the Nayar must say of himself that he +takes food, or treats himself to the water in which rice has been +washed. But, should he speak of the Nambutiri eating, he must say +that he tastes ambrosia. The Nayar calls his sleeping lying flat, +and the Nambutiri's closing his eyes, or resting like a Raja. The +Nayar must speak of his own death as the falling of a forest, +but of the Nambutiri's as entering fire. The Nambutiri is not +shaved by the barber; his hairs are cut. He is not angry, but merely +dissatisfied. He does not clean his teeth as the Nayar; he cleans his +superior pearls. Nor does he laugh; he displays his superior pearls. + +Concerning the recreations and pastimes of the Nambutiris, +Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes as follows. "During the intervals of Vedic +or Puranic recitations, the Nambutiri engages himself in chaturangam +or chess. When the players are equally matched, a game may last five, +six, or even seven days. Another amusement, which the Nambutiris +take a great interest in, is the Yatrakali, which is said to be a +corruption of Sastrakali, a performance relating to weapons. This is +a unique institution, kept up by a section of the Nambutiris, who are +believed to represent the Brahmanical army of Parasu Rama. When, at a +ceremony in the Travancore royal household, a Yatrakali is performed, +the parties have to be received at the entrance of the Maharaja's +palace in state, sword in hand. The dress and songs are peculiar. In +its import, the performance seems to combine the propitiation of Siva +and Parvati in the manner indicated in a tradition at Trikkariyur with +exorcism and skill in swordsmanship. It is generally believed that, in +ancient days, the Brahmans themselves ruled Kerala. When they found it +necessary to have a separate king, one Attakat Nambutiri was deputed, +with a few other Brahmans, to go and obtain a ruler from the adjoining +Chera territory. The only pass in those days, connecting Malabar +and Coimbatore, was that which is now known as Nerumangalam. When +the Nambutiris were returning through this pass with the ruler whom +they had secured from the Chera King, a strange light was observed +on the adjacent hills. Two young Brahmans of Chengngamanat village, +on proceeding towards the hill to investigate the source thereof, +found to their amazement that it was none other than Sri Bhagavati, +the consort of Siva, who enjoined them to go, viâ Trikkariyur, +to Kodungngnallur, the capital of the Perumals. Seeing that the +sight of Bhagavati foretold prosperity, the king called the range of +hills Nerumangalam or true bliss, and made an endowment of all the +surrounding land to the Brahman village of Chengngamanat, the members +of which had the good fortune to see the goddess face to face. When +they entered the temple of Trikkariyur, a voice was heard to exclaim +"Chera Perumal," which meant that into that town, where Parasu Rama +was believed to be dwelling, no Perumal (king) should ever enter--a +traditional injunction still respected by the Malabar Kshatriyas. At +this place, the sixth Perumal who, according to a tradition, had a +pronounced predilection for the Bouddha religion (Islamism or Buddhism, +we cannot say), called a meeting of the Brahmans, and told them that +a religious discussion should be held between them and the Bouddhas, +in view to deciding their relative superiority. The presiding deity +of the local Saiva shrine was then propitiated by the Brahmans, to +enable them to come out victorious from the trial. A Gangama saint +appeared before them, and taught them a hymn called nalupadam (four +feet or parts of a sloka) which the Nambutiris say is extracted from +the Samaveda. The saint further advised them to take out a lamp from +within the temple, which according to tradition had existed from the +time of Sri Rama, to a room built on the western ghat of the temple +tank, and pray to Siva in terms of the hymn. While this was continued +for forty-one days, six Brahmans, with Mayura Bhatta at their head, +arrived from the east coast to the succour of the Nambutiris. With +the help of these Brahmans, the Nambutiris kept up a protracted +discussion with the Bouddhas. Wishing to bring it to a close, the +Perumal thought of applying a practical test. He enclosed a snake +within a pot, and asked the disputants to declare its contents. The +Bouddhas came out first with the correct answer, while the Brahmans +followed by saying that it was a lotus flower. The Perumal was, of +course, pleased with the Bouddhas; but, when the pot was opened, it was +found to contain a lotus flower instead of a snake. The Bouddhas felt +themselves defeated, and ever afterwards the nalupadam hymn has been +sung by the Nambutiris with a view to securing a variety of objects, +every one of which they expect to obtain by this means. It is also +said that, when the Brahmans were propitiating Siva at Trikkariyur, +diverse spirits and angels were found amusing Parvati with their +quips and cranks. A voice from heaven was then heard to say that such +frolics should thereafter form part of the worship of Siva. + +"Engaged in these socio-religious performances are eighteen sanghas +or associations. The chief office-bearers are the Vakyavritti who +is the chief person, and must be an Ottu Nambutiri or a Nambutiri +with full Vedic knowledge; the Parishakkaran who holds charge of +the Yatrakali paraphernalia; and the guru or instructor. The chief +household divinities of these soldier Nambutiris are Bhadrakali, Sasta, +and Subrahmanya. On the evening of the Yatrakali day, these Brahmans +assemble round the lamp, and recite the nalupadam and a few hymns +in praise of their household divinities, and especially of Siva, +the saviour who manifested himself at Trikkariyur. On the night +of the performance they are entertained at supper, when they sing +certain songs called Karisloka. They then move in slow procession to +the kalam or hall, singing specially songs in the vallappattu metre, +with the sacred thread hanging vertically round the neck (apiviti), +and not diagonally as is the orthodox fashion. In the hall have +been placed a burning lamp in the centre, a para (Malabar measure) +filled with paddy, a number of bunches of cocoanuts, plantain fruits, +and various kinds of flowers. The Brahmans sit in a circle round the +lamp, and, after preliminary invocations to Ganapathi, sing songs in +praise of Siva. After this various kinds of dumb-show are performed, +and this is the time for exhibiting skill in swordsmanship. The +exorcising, by the waving of a lighted torch before the face of the +host, of any evil spirits that may have attached themselves is then +gone through. The performance ends with a prayer to Bhagavati, that +she will shower every prosperity. Following close upon this, a variety +entertainment is sometimes given by the Yatrakali Nambutiris. This +old institution is still in great favour in British Malabar, and, +as it has a religious aspect intertwined with it, it is not likely to +be swept away by the unsparing broom of the so-called parishkarakalam +or reforming age of modern India. + +"The Kathakali, or national drama of Malabar, is held in great esteem +and favour by the Nambutiris. Most of them are conversant with the +songs and shows relating to it, and severely criticise the slightest +fault or failure. The Kathakali is more than three centuries old in +Malabar, and is said to have been first brought into existence by a +member of the ancient ruling house of Kottarakkara. As the earliest +theme represented was the Ramayana, the Kathakali is also known +as Ramanattam. A single play lasts for eight and even ten hours in +the night. Kshatriyas, Asuras, Rakshasas, Kiratas (hunting tribes), +monkeys, birds, etc., each has an appropriate make-up. The play is in +dumb-show, and no character is permitted to speak on the stage. The +songs are sung by the Bhagavatar or songster, and the actors literally +act, and do nothing more. The Nambutiris love this antiquated form +of theatrical performance, and patronise it to a remarkable extent. + +"There are a number of other recreations of an entirely non-religious +character. The chief of these are called respectively seven dogs and +the leopard, fifteen dogs and the leopard, and twenty-eight dogs and +the leopard. Success in these games consists in so arranging the dogs +as to form a thick phalanx, two abreast, round the leopard. Stones +of two sizes are employed to represent the dogs and leopards, and +the field is drawn on the ground. + +"The ezahmattukali, or seventh amusement, is said to have been so +called from the fact of its being introduced by the seventh Nambutiri +gramam of Kerala. It is a miniature form of Yatrakali, but without its +quasi-religious character, and is intended to serve merely as a social +pastime. The players need not all be Brahmans; nor is fasting or any +religious discipline part of the preliminary programme. Sitting round +the lamp as at the Yatrakali, and reciting songs in praise of Siva, +the players proceed to the characteristic portion of the recreation, +which is a kind of competition in quick-wittedness and memory held +between two yogas or parties. One among them calls himself the +Kallur Nayar and is the presiding judge. There is interrogation +and answering by two persons, and a third proclaims the mistakes +in the answers. There are two others, who serve as bailiffs to +execute the judge's orders. Humorous scenes are then introduced, +such as Ittikkantappan Nayar, Prakkal, Mutti or old woman, Pattar or +Paradesa Brahman, and other characters, who appear on the stage and +amuse the assembly." + +The Nambutiris are Vedic Brahmans: their scriptures are the Vedas. It +is safe to say that the Nambutiris are Shaivas, but not to the +exclusion of Vishnu. The ordinary South Indian Vaishnava Brahman has +nothing to do with the Shaiva temple over the way, and takes no part +or interest in the Shaiva festivals. Siva is to the Nambutiri the +supreme deity, but he has temples also to Vishnu, Krishna, Narasimha, +Sri Raghava, Ganapathi, Subrahmanya, Bhagavati, etc. There are said +to be temples to Sastavu and Sankarnarayanan--amalgamated forms of +Siva and Vishnu. The lingam is the ordinary object of worship. + +Like all Brahmans, the Nambutiris believe that the eight directions +or points of the compass, north, north-east, east, south-east, south, +south-west, west, north-west, are presided over by eight deities, or +Ashtadikpalakas, riding on various animals. Indra reigns in heaven and +Yama in hell, and Surya is the sun god. All these and their wives are +worshipped. Parvati shares adoration with Siva, Lakshmi with Vishnu, +and so on. The Nambutiris believe in the existence of evil spirits +which influence man, but they do not worship them. + +It is said that the Nambutiri has of late been influenced by Vedantism, +that wonderful religious idea of the existence of one spirit or +atman, the only reality, outside which the world and all besides is +mere illusion, and whose doctrine is wrapped up in the three words +"Ekam eva advitiyam". (There is but one being without a second). + +The Nambutiris call themselves Arya Brahmanar. Their legendary +transmigration to Malabar from Northern India is doubtless true. Theirs +is by far the purest form of the Vedic Brahmanism to be met with in +Southern India. A complete account of the religion of the Nambutiris +cannot be given in these pages. The Nambutiri's life is a round +of sacrifices, the last of which is the burning of his body on the +funeral pyre. When the Nambutiri has no male issue, he performs the +putra kameshti or karmavipakaprayaschittam yagams or sacrifices to +obtain it. Should he be unwell, he performs the mrittyunjaya santi +yagam, so that he may be restored to good health. He performs the +aja yagam, or goat sacrifice, in order to obtain salvation. Though +animal food is strictly forbidden, and the rule is strictly followed, +the flesh of the goat, which remains after the offering has been made +in this sacrifice, is eaten by the Nambutiris present as part of the +solemn ceremonial. This is the only occasion on which animal food is +eaten. Namaskaram, or prostration, is much done during prayers. By some +it is done some hundreds of times daily, by others not so often. It +amounts to physical exercise, and is calculated to strengthen the +arms and the back. + +Reference has already been made to certain ceremonies connected with +pregnancy, and the early life of a child. There are three further +important ceremonies, called Upanayana, Samavartana and Upakarma, +concerning which Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes as follows. "Upanayana +may be called the Brahmanising ceremony. An oft-repeated Sanskrit +verse runs to the effect that a Brahman is a Brahman by virtue of +his karmas or actions in this life, or the lives preceding it. The +meaning of the term Upanayana is a ceremony which leads one to god, +i.e., to a realisation of the eternal self through the aid of a guru +(preceptor). This ceremony takes place in the seventh, eighth, or ninth +year of a boy's life. As ordinarily understood, it is a ceremony for +males only, as they alone have to observe the four asramas. But, in +ancient days, it seems to have been performed also by females. Marriage +was not compulsory, and a girl might take to asceticism at once. Sita +is said to have worn a yagnopavitam (sacred thread). A Brahman is not +born, but made by the karmas. In other words, a Brahman boy is, at the +time of his birth, only a Sudra, and it is by the performance of the +necessary karmas--not merely the ceremonial rites, but the disciplinary +and preparatory process in view to spiritual development--that he +becomes a Dviga or twice-born. The word Upanayana is composed of +upa, meaning near, and nayana, leading. What the youth is led to is, +according to some, Brahmaggnana or the realisation of the eternal and +universal self, and according to others only the teacher or guru. A +Nambutiri Upanayana begins with the presentation of a dakshina +(consolidated fee) to the Ezhuttachchan, or the Nayar or Ambalavasi +teacher, who has been instructing the youth in the vernacular. The boy +stands on the western side of the sacrificial fire, facing the east, +and the father stands beside him, facing the same way. The second cloth +(uttariya) is thrown over the boy's head, and his right hand being +held up, the sacred thread, to which a strap made from the skin of +a Krishnamriga (antelope) is attached, is thrown over his shoulders +and under his right arm, while he stands reverently with closed +eyes. The thread and skin are wrapped up in the cloth, and are not +to be seen by the boy. He is then taken to an open place, where the +priest introduces the new Brahmachari to the sun, and invokes him to +cover his pupil with his rays. The boy next goes to the sacrificial +altar, and himself offers certain sacrifices to the fire. Saluting +his preceptor and obtaining his blessing, he requests that he may be +initiated into the Savitrimantram. After a few preliminary ceremonies, +the guru utters in the right ear of his disciple the sacred syllable +Om, and repeats the Gayatri mantram nine times. He then instructs +him in certain maxims of conduct, which he is to cherish and revere +throughout the Brahmacharya stage. Addressing the boy, the guru says, +'You have become entitled to the study of the Vedas; perform all +the duties which pertain to the asrama you are about to enter. Never +sleep during the day. Study the Vedas by resigning yourself to the +care of your spiritual instructor.' These exhortations, though made +in Sanskrit, are explained in Malayalam, in order that the boy +may understand them--a feature unknown to Brahmans on the other +coast. With his words of advice, the preceptor gives the youth a +danda or stick made of pipal (Ficus religiosa) wood, as if to keep +him in perpetual memory of what would follow if any of the directions +be disregarded. The boy then makes his obeisance to his parents and +all his relations, and is given a brass vessel called bhikshapatra +(alms pot), in which he collects, by house-to-house visits, food +for his daily sustenance during the Brahmacharya stage. He proceeds +to the kitchen of his own house with the vessel in one hand and the +stick in the other. Making his obeisance in due form to his mother, +who stands facing the east, he says 'Bhiksham bhavati dadatu' (May you +be pleased to give me alms). The mother places five or seven handfuls +of rice in the vessel. After receiving similar contributions from the +assembled elders, the boy takes the vessel to his father, who is the +first guru, saying 'Bhaikshmamidam' (This is my alms collection). The +father blesses it, and says 'May it be good.' After the Gayatrijapa, +the ceremony of Samidadhana is performed. This is the Brahmachari's +daily worship of the sacred fire, corresponding to the aupasana of the +Grihastha, and has to be performed twice daily. After another homam at +night, the cloth covering the sacred thread and skin is removed, and +the consecration of the food is done for the first time. In addition +to the skin strap, the Brahmachari wears a mekhala or twisted string +of kusa grass. It is doubtless of the youthful Nambutiri that Barbosa +wrote as follows at the beginning of the sixteenth century. 'And +when these are seven years old, they put round their necks a strap +two fingers in width of an animal which they call cresnamergan, +and they command him not to eat betel for seven years, and all this +time he wears that strap round the neck, passing under the arm; +and, when he reaches fourteen years of age, they make him a Brahman, +removing from him the leather strap round his neck, and putting on +another three-thread, which he wears all his life as a mark of being a +Brahman. The rules which were observed with such strictness centuries +ago are still observed, and every Nambutiri boy goes through his period +of Brahmacharya, which lasts at least for full five years. During +the whole of this period, no sandal paste, no scents, and no flowers +are to be used by him. He is not to take his meals at other houses +on festive occasions. He must not sleep during the day. Nor may he +wear a loin-cloth in the ordinary fashion. Shoes and umbrella are +also prohibited. The completion of the Brahmachari asrama, or stage +of pupilage, is called Samavartana. After a few religious ceremonies +in the morning, the Brahmachari shaves for the first time since +the Upanayana ceremonies, casts off the skin strap and mekhala, and +bathes. He puts on sandal paste marks, bedecks himself with jasmine +flowers, and puts on shoes. He then holds an umbrella, and wears a +pearl necklace. After this, he puts on a head-dress, and a few other +ceremonials conclude the Samavartana. For three days subsequent +to this, the budding Grihastha is considered ceremonially impure, +and the pollution is perhaps based on the death of the old asrama, +and birth of the new. In the Upakarma ceremony, hymns are sung by +the preceptor, and the pupil has merely to listen to them." + +In conclusion, something may be said concerning the general beliefs +of the Nambutiris. All objects, animate or inanimate, organic or +inorganic, are believed to be permeated by the divine spirit. Animals, +trees, plants, and flowers are animate, and therefore venerated. The +sun, moon, and stars are revered on account of some inherent quality +in each, such as utility or strength, or owing to their connection +with some deity. A god can assume any form at any time, such as that +of a man, bird, beast, or tree. The various forms in which a god has +appeared are ever sacred. Some animals have been used as vehicles by +the gods, and are therefore revered. Cows, horses, and snakes are +worshipped. The cow is the most sacred of all animals. The Puranas +tell of Kamadhenu, the cow of plenty, one of the fourteen useful +things which turned up out of the ocean of milk when it was churned, +and which is supposed to have yielded the gods all they desired. So +Kamadhenu is one who gives anything which is desired. Every hair of +the cow is sacred, its urine is the most holy water, and its dung +the most purificatory substance. The horse is the favourite animal of +Kubera, the treasure-god. The Uchchaisravas the high-eared prototype +of all horses, also came out of the churned ocean. Horse sacrifice, +or Asvamedha, is the greatest of all sacrifices. Performance of a +hundred of them would give the sacrificer power to displace Indra, +in order to make room for him. Snakes are the fruitful progeny of +the sage Kasyapa and Kadru. The Maha Sesha, their prince, is the +couch and canopy of Vishnu, and supports the world on his thousand +heads. But attention to snakes is probably more in the light of the +harm which they may do, and propitiatory in character. + +Among plants, the tulasi or sacred basil (Ocimum sanctum) is the most +sacred of all. It is supposed to be pervaded by the essence of both +Vishnu and Lakshmi: according to some legends, it is a metamorphosis +of Sita and Rukmini. The daily prayer offered to the tulasi is thus +rendered by Monier Williams. "I adore that tulasi in whose roots +are all the sacred places of pilgrimage, in whose centre are all the +deities, and in whose upper branches are all the Vedas." The udumbara +(Ficus glomerata) is also sacred. Under this tree Dattatreya, the +incarnation of the Trinity, performed his ascetic austerities. The +Nambutiri says that, according to the sastras, there must be one of +these trees in his compound, and, if it is not there, he imagines it +is. The bilva (Ægle Marmelos) is specially sacred to Siva all over +Southern India. To the Nambutiri it is very sacred. Its leaves are +supposed to represent the three attributes of Siva--Satva, Raja, and +Tama--and also his three eyes and his trisulam (trident). They are used +by the Nambutiri in propitiatory ceremonies to that god. An offering +of a single leaf of this tree is believed to annihilate the sins done +three births or existence. Kusa grass (Eragrostis cynosuroides) is very +sacred, and used in many ceremonies. At the churning of the ocean, +the snakes are said to have been greedy enough to lick the nectar +off the kusa grass, and got their tongues split in consequence. The +asvaththa (Ficus religiosa) is also very sacred to the Nambutiris. It +is supposed to be pervaded by the spirit of Brahma the Creator. + +From the sun (Surya, the sun-god) emanate light and heat, and +to its powers all vegetation is due, so the Nambutiri worships it +daily. He also offers puja to the sun and moon as belonging to the nine +navagrahas (planets). The planets are the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, +Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu. They influence the destinies +of men, and therefore come in for some worship. The three last are +sinister in their effects, and must be propitiated. + +Namdev.--A synonym of Rangari. + +Nanchi Kuruva.--A name for Kuruvas, who inhabit Nanchinad in +Travancore. + +Nanchinad Vellala.--The Nanchinad Vellalas, to the number of 18,000, +are found scattered all over Travancore, though their chief centre is +Nanchinad, composed of the taluks of Tovala and Agastisvaram. Their +manners and customs at the present day are so different to those +of the Tamil Vellalas that they may be regarded as a separate caste +indigenous to Travancore and Cochin. Like other Sudras of Travancore, +they add the title Pillai to their name, which is often preceded by +the title Kannaku. + +From a copper-plate grant in the possession of the Syrian Christians, +dated A.D. 824, we learn that one family of carpenters, and four +families of Vellalas, were entrusted with the growing of plants on +the sea-coast, the latter being the Karalars or trustees. From this +it appears that the Vellalas must have settled on the west coast in +the ninth century at the latest. The Nanchinad Vellalas were not +originally different from their Pandyan analogues, but settled in +the taluks above mentioned, over which the Pandyans held sway during +several periods in mediæval times. On one occasion, when there was a +dispute about the territorial jurisdiction of Nanchinad between the +Maharaja of Travancore and the Pandyan ruler, the leading Vellalas of +these taluks went over in a body to the Travancore camp, and swore +allegiance to the Travancore throne. They gradually renounced even +the law of inheritance, which their brethren of the Tamil country +followed, and adopted many novel customs, which they found prevalent +in Kerala. From Nanchinad the caste spread in all directions, and, as +most of them were respectable men with good education and mathematical +training, their services were utilised for account-keeping in the civil +and military departments of the State. They must, of course, be clearly +distinguished from the Tamil makkathayam Vellalas of Kuttamperur in +Tiruvella, who have also become naturalised in Travancore, + +For the following note, I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. + +Like the Tamil Vellalas, the Nanchinad Vellalas are divided into two +classes, Saiva and Asaiva, of which the former abstain from flesh and +fish, while the latter have no such scruple. Asaivas will take food +in the houses of Saivas, but the Saivas cook their own food when +they go to an Asaiva house. Again, though the Saivas marry girls +from Asaiva families, they are taught the Saiva hymn by the Gurukal +immediately afterwards, and prohibited from dining with their former +relatives. This custom is, however, only known to prevail in the +south. While the Vellalas in the south reside in streets, their +brethren in the north live, like Nayars, in isolated houses. In +their dress and ornaments, too, the Nanchinad Vellalas living in +North Travancore differ from those of the south, inasmuch as they +adopt the practice of the Nayars, while the latter are conservative, +and true to their old traditions. + +The Nanchinad Vellalas are well known, throughout Travancore, for +their thrift, industry, and mathematical acumen. Several families +have dropped the designation of Vellala, and adopted Nanchinad Nayar +as their caste-name. + +Their language is largely mixed up with Malayalam words and +phrases. Madan Isakki (Yakshi) and Inan are their recognised +tutelary deities, and were till recently worshipped in every +household. Villati-chanpattu is a common propitiatory song, sung by +members of the goldsmith and oilmonger castes, in connection with +the ceremonies of the Nanchinad Vellalas. It deals with the origin +of these minor deities, and relates the circumstances in which their +images were set up in various shrines. Amman-kodai, or offering to the +mother, is the most important religious festival. They also observe +the Tye-pongal, Depavali, Trikkartikai, Onam and Vishu festivals. The +anniversary of ancestors is celebrated, and the Pattukkai ceremony of +the Tamil Vellalas, in propitiation of deceased female ancestors, is +performed every year. Stories of Chitragupta, the accountant-general of +Yama, the Indian Pluto, are recited on the new-moon day in the month, +of Chittiray (April-May) with great devotion. + +The Nanchinad Vellalas are chiefly an agricultural class, having +their own village organisation, with office-bearers such as +kariyasthan or secretary, mutalpiti or treasurer, and the pilla or +accountant. Contributions towards village funds are made on certain +ceremonial occasions. Their high priest belongs to the Umayorubhagam +mutt of Kumbakonam, and the North Travancore Vellalas recognise the +Panantitta Gurukal as their spiritual adviser. East coast Brahmans +often officiate as their priests, and perform the sacrificial and +other rites at weddings. + +The usual rule is for girls to marry after puberty, but early marriage +is not rare. The maternal uncle's or paternal aunt's daughter is +regarded as the legitimate bride. The presents to the bridegroom +include a mundu and neriyatu, the ordinary Malabar dress, and very +often an iron writing-style and knife. This is said to be symbolical of +the fact that the Vellalas formed the accountant caste of Travancore, +and that several families of them were invited from Madura and +Tinnevelly to settle down in Nanchinad for this purpose. A procession +of the bridal couple in a palanquin through the streets is a necessary +item of the marriage festivities. The Nanchinad Vellalas contract +temporary alliances with Nayar women from the Padamangalam section +downwards. Divorce is permitted, provided a formal release-deed, +or vidu-muri, is executed by the husband. After this, the woman may +enter into sambandham (connection) with a Nanchinad or Pandi Vellala. + +The laws of inheritance are a curious blend of the makkathayam +and marumakkathayam systems. Sons are entitled to a portion of the +property, not exceeding a fourth, of the self-acquired property of +the father, and also a fourth of what would have descended to him in a +makkathayam family. This is called ukantutama, because it is property +given out of love as opposed to right. It is a further rule that, in +case of divorce, the wife and children should be given this ukantutama, +lest they should be left in utter destitution, only a tenth part of +the ancestral property being allotted for this purpose, if her husband +leaves no separate estate. If more than a fourth of the estate is to +be given in this manner, the permission of the heirs in the female +line has generally to be obtained. If a man dies without issue, and +leaves his wife too old or unwilling to enter into a fresh matrimonial +alliance, she is entitled to maintenance out of his estate. A divorced +woman, if without issue, is similarly entitled to maintenance during +the life of her former husband. The property to which she may thus +lay claim is known as nankutama, meaning the property of the nanka +or woman. The nankutama cannot be claimed by the widow, if, at the +time of her husband's death, she does not live with, and make herself +useful to him. When a widow enters into a sambandham alliance, the +second husband has to execute a deed called etuppu, agreeing to pay +her, either at the time of his death or divorce, a specified sum of +money. The ukantutama from the family of her first husband does not +go to the issue of a woman who is in possession of an etuppu deed. + +The namakarana, or name-giving ceremony, is performed in early +life. Many of the names are unknown among Nayars, e.g., Siva, Vishnu, +Kuttalalingam, Subramanya, Ponnampalam among males, and Sivakami, +Kantimati among females. The tonsure is performed before a boy is three +years old. The right of performing the funeral ceremonies is vested +in the son, or, failing one, the nephew. Pollution lasts for sixteen +days. The karta (chief mourner) has to get himself completely shaved, +and wears the sacred thread throughout the period of pollution, or +at least on the sixteenth day. On that day oblations of cooked food, +water and gingelly (Sesamum) seeds are offered to the departed. If +a daughter's son dies, her mother, and not the father, observes +pollution. + +Nanchinad Vellala has been assumed by males of the Deva-dasi caste +in Travancore. + +Nandikattu (bull's mouth).--An exogamous sept of Medara. + +Nandimandalam.--A sub-division of Razu. + +Nanga (naked).--A sub-division of Poroja. + +Nangudi Vellala.--The so-called Nangudi Vellalas, or Savalai Pillais, +are found inhabiting several villages in the Tinnevelly district, +and differ from other Vellalas in several important points. They say +that they are Kottai (fort) Vellalas, who have given up the custom of +living within a fort. Nangudi women are not allowed to enter the fort +at Srivaiguntam, wherein the Kottai Vellalas live. Within the last few +years, marriages are said to have taken place between members of the +two communities. The Nangudis have exogamous septs or kilais, named +for the most part after persons or deities, which, like the septs of +the Maravans, run in the female line. The hereditary caste headman is +called Pattaththu Pillai. In olden times, members who disobeyed him +were made to run through the streets with a rotten tender cocoanut +tied to the kudumi (hair knot), while a man ran behind, applying a +tamarind switch to the back. + +The consent of a girl's maternal uncle and his wife is necessary, +before she can marry. The aunt's consent is signified by touching the +tali (marriage badge) on the wedding day. The uncle keeps a light, +called ayira panthi, burning until the time for tying the tali, A +quarter measure of rice is tied up in a cloth, and the knot converted +into a wick, which is fed with ghi (clarified butter). + +The news of a death in the community is conveyed by the barber. Before +the removal of the corpse, all close relations, and at least one pair +of Nangudis from every village, must come to the house. Absence on +this occasion is considered as a very grave insult. On the second +day after death, an Amarantus, called arakkirai, must be cooked. + +A special feature in connection with inheritance is that a man should +give his daughters some property, and every daughter must be given a +house. The husbands have to live in their wives' houses. The property +which a woman receives from her father becomes eventually the property +of her daughters, and her sons have no claim to it. Sons inherit the +property of the father in the usual manner. + +Like the Kondaikatti Vellalas, the Nangudis claim that they had the +right of placing the crown on the head of the Pandyan kings. In the +village of Korkai, there is a tank (pond) called Kannimar Jonai, +because celestial maidens used to bathe there. When one Agni Maha +Rishi was doing penance, three of the celestial maidens are said to +have come to bathe. The Rishi fell in love with them, and eventually +three sons were born. These children were brought up by the Vellalas +of Korkai at the request of the Rishi, who represented that they were +likely to become kings. According to the legend, they became Chera, +Chola, and Pandya kings. + +Nannuru (four hundred).--An exogamous sept of Madiga. + +Nantunikkuruppu.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, +as a synonym of Vatti, a sub-division of Nayar. + +Nanukonda.--A sub-division of Lingayat Kapus, named after the village +of Nanukonda in the Kurnool district. + +Naravidyavaru.--These are Vipravinodis, who are Jangams by caste. They +style themselves Naravidyavaru when they perform acrobatic and other +feats before ordinary people, and Vipravinodi when they perform +before Brahmans. The name Naravidyavaru is said to be a contraction +of Narulu-mechche-vidya-cheyu-varu, i.e., those who receive the +approbation of men. One of their most favourite feats is throwing +three or four wooden or stone balls up into the air, and rolling them +quickly in succession over various parts of the body--arms, chest, etc. + +Nariangal (nari, jackal).--An exogamous sept of Vallamban. + +Narikela (cocoanut).--An exogamous sept of Balija. + +Narollu (fibre).--An exogamous sept of Pedakanti Kapu. + +Narpathu Katchi (forty-house section).--A sub-division of Valluvan. + +Nasrani Mappilla.--A name, in Malabar, applied to Christians. + +Nasuvan.--Nasivan or Nasuvan, said to mean unholy, one who should not +be touched, or one sprung from the nose, is the name for Ambattans +(Tamil barbers). The equivalents Nasiyan and Navidan occur as a name +for Telugu barbers, and Malayali barbers who shave Nayars and higher +castes. Navidan is further recorded as the occupational name of a +sub-division of Tamil Paraiyans, and Vettuvans. + +Natamukki.-- Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a +sub-division of Nayar. + +Naththalu (snails).--An exogamous sept of Mala. + +Natramiludaiyan.--A name, meaning the repository of chaste Tamil, +returned by some Nattamans at times of census. + +Nattan.--At the Census, 1901, nearly 12,000 individuals returned +themselves as Nattan, which is stated by the Census Superintendent to +be "a vague term meaning people of the country, reported by some to be +a main caste, and by others to be a sub-caste of Vellala. Nearly all +of those who returned the name came from Salem and were cultivators, +but some of them entered themselves as possessing the title of Servai, +which usually denotes an Agamudaiyan" (see Servai, Servaikaran). Nattan +also occurs as a title of the Tamil Sembadavan and Pattanavan fishing +castes, and of the Vallambans. Portions of the Tamil country are +divided into areas known as nadus, in each of which certain castes, +known as Nattan or Nattar, are the predominant element. For example, +the Vallambans and Kallans are called the Nattars of the Palaya Nadu +in the Sivaganga zamindari of the Madura district. In dealing with +the tribal affairs of the various castes inhabiting a particular nadu, +the lead is taken by the Nattars. + +Nattati (the name of a village).--A sub-division of Shanan. + +Nattu (sons of the soil).--Recorded as a sub-division of Kallan, +and of the Malayans of Cochin. + +Nattukattada Nayanmar.--A class of mendicants attached to the Kaikolans +(q.v.). + +Nattukottai Chetti.--"Of all the Chettis," Mr. Francis writes, [106] +"perhaps the most distinctive and interesting are the Nattukottai +Chettis, who are wealthy money-lenders with head-quarters in the +Tiruppattur and Devakottai divisions of the Sivaganga and Ramnad +zamindaris in the Madura district. They are the most go-a-head of +all the trading castes in the south, travelling freely to Burma, +the Straits Settlements and Ceylon (also Saigon, Mauritius, and +South Africa), and having in some cases correspondents in London and +on the Continent. As long as their father is alive, the members of a +Nattukottai Chetti family usually all live together. The caste is noted +in the Madura district for the huge houses, to which this custom has +given rise. Married sons have a certain number of rooms set aside for +them, and are granted a carefully calculated yearly budget allotment +of rice and other necessaries. On the father's death, contrary to +all ordinary Hindu usage, the eldest son retains the house, and the +youngest his mother's jewels and bed, while the rest of the property +is equally divided among all the sons. When a male child is born, +a certain sum is usually set aside, and in due time the accumulated +interest upon it is spent on the boy's education. As soon as he has +picked up business ways sufficiently, he begins life as the agent of +some other members of the caste, being perhaps entrusted with a lakh of +rupees, often on no better security than an unstamped acknowledgment +scratched on a palmyra leaf, and sent off to Burma or Singapore to +trade with it, and invest it. A percentage on the profits of this +undertaking, and savings from his own salary, form a nucleus which he +in turn invests on his own account. His wife will often help pay the +house-keeping bills by making baskets and spinning thread, for the +women are as thrifty as the men. As a caste they are open-handed and +devout. In many houses, one pie in every rupee of profit is regularly +set aside for charitable and religious expenditure, and a whip round +for a caste-fellow in difficulties is readily responded to. By religion +they are fervent Saivites, and many of the men proclaim the fact by +wearing a rudraksham (Eleocarpus Ganitrus) fruit, usually set in gold, +round their necks. Of late years they have spent very large sums upon +several of the famous Saivite shrines in the Madras Presidency, notably +those at Chidambaram, [107] Madura, and Tiruvannamalai. Unfortunately, +however, much of the work has been executed in the most lamentable +modern taste, and it is saddening to contrast the pitiful outcome of +their heavy outlay with the results which might have been attained +under judicious guidance. The decoration in the new Kaliyana Mahal +in the Madura temple is mainly inferior varnished wood-carving, +looking-glasses, and coloured glass balls. The same style has been +followed at Tiruvannamalai, although lying scattered about in the +outer courts of the temple are enough of the old pierced granite +pillars to make perhaps the finest mantapam in South India. Owing to +their wealth and their money-lending, the Nattukottai Chettis have +been called the Jews of South India, but their kindliness and charity +deserve more recognition than this description accords." + +I am informed that the property of a woman (jewels, vessels, +investments, etc.), on her decease, goes to her daughters. As among +other Hindu castes, the eldest son may retain the personal effects +of his father, and, with the consent of his brothers, may retain +his house. But the value thereof is deducted from his share in the +property. + +It is stated in the Madura Manual that the "Nattukottai Settis in +particular are notorious for their greed, and most amusing stories +are told about them. However wealthy they may be, they usually live +in the most penurious manner, and they will never by any chance show +mercy to a debtor, so long as he shall have a penny left, or the +chance of earning one. However, to make amends for their rapacity, +they are in the habit of spending large sums now and then in works of +charity. And, whatever faults there may be, they are most excellent +men of business. Indeed, until quite lately, the good faith and +honesty of a Nattukottai Setti were proverbial, and are even now +conspicuous. The Nattukottai Settis claim to be a good caste, and +asserted that they emigrated to this district thousands of years ago +from a town called Kaveripattanam, in consequence of an intolerable +persecution. But the other Settis will not admit the truth of their +story, and affect to despise them greatly, alleging even that they are +the bastard descendants of a Muhammadan man and a Kalla woman. The word +Nattukottai is said to be a corruption of Nattarasangkottai, the name +of a small village near Sivaganga. But this derivation appears to be +doubtful." The name is usually said to be derived from Nattukottai, +or country fort. + +It has been said that "the Nattukottai Chettis, in organisation, +co-operation, and business methods, are as remarkable as the +European merchants. Very few of them have yet received any English +education. They regard education as at present given in public +schools as worse than useless for professional men, as it makes +men theoretical, and scarcely helps in practice. The simple but +strict training which they give their boys, the long and tedious +apprenticeship which even the sons of the richest among them have to +undergo, make them very efficient in their profession, and methodical +in whatever they undertake to do." + +Concerning the Nattukottai Chettis, Mr. P. R. Sundara Aiyar writes as +follows. [108] "The first and chiefest aim of a Nattukottai Chetti +is to make as much money as possible. He does not regard usury as +a sin. As a little boy of ten or twelve, he begins to apply himself +to business, learns accounts, and attends the shop of his father. As +soon as he marries, his father gives him a separate home, or rather +compels him to live separately, though often in the same house as his +parents. This makes him self-reliant, and produces in him a desire +to save as much money as possible. He is given a certain allowance +out of the paternal estate, but, if he spends more, he is debited +with the excess amount. Every one consequently tries to increase his +stock of individual savings. Even the women earn money in a variety +of ways. Every rupee saved is laid out at as high a rate of interest +as possible. It is commonly stated that a rupee, laid out at the birth +of a child at compound interest at 12 per cent., will amount to a lakh +of rupees by the time he attains the age of a hundred. The habits of +a Nattukottai Chetti are very simple, and his living is very cheap, +even when he is rich. So strict are the Chettis in pecuniary matters +that, if a relation visits them, he gets only his first meal free, +and if he stays longer, is quietly debited with the cost of his stay." + +The Nattukottai Chettis [109] are said to employ Kammalans, Valaiyans, +Kallans, and Vallambans as their cooks. They are permitted to enter +the interior of Hindu temples, and approach near to the innermost +doorway of the central shrine. This privilege is doubtless accorded +to them owing to the large sums of money which they spend on temples, +and in endowing charitable institutions. It is noted, in the Gazetteer +of the Madura district, that "of the profits of their commercial +transactions, a fixed percentage (called magamai) is usually set aside +for charity. Some of the money so collected is spent on keeping up +Sanskrit schools, but most of it has been laid out in the repair and +restoration of the temples of the south, especial attention being +paid to those shrines (padal petta sthalangal, as they are called), +which were hymned by the four great poet-saints, Manikya Vachakar, +Appar, Tirugnana Sambandhar, and Sundaramurti." "The Chettis," +Mr. Sundara Aiyar writes, "are believed to be the most charitable +class in Southern India, and undoubtedly they spend the largest +amount of money on charity. They set apart a fraction of their +profits for charity. They levy rates among themselves for local +charities, wherever they go. The income obtained from the rates is +generally spent on temples. In new places like Ceylon, Burma, and +Singapore, they build new temples, generally dedicated to Subramanya +Swami. In India itself, they establish festivals in existing temples, +and undertake the repair of temples. Immense sums have been spent by +them recently in the renovation and restoration of ancient temples. We +should not be surprised to be told that the amount spent within the +last thirty years alone amounts to a crore of rupees. Being Saivites, +they do not generally care for Vaishnava temples. And, even among Saiva +temples, only such as have special sanctity, and have been sung about +by the Saiva Nainars or Bhaktas, are patronised by them. They have +devoted large sums to the establishment of comfortable choultries +(rest-houses), feeding houses, Vedic and recently also Sastraic +pathasalas (schools). They have established schools for the education +of the Kurukal or the priestly class. And, in fact, every charity of +the orthodox Hindu type finds generous support among them." + +It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that the +gopurams of the Madura temple "have been repaired of late years at +great cost by the Nattukottai Chettis. The northern tower used to +consist only of the brick and stone-work storeys, and was known in +consequence as the mottai (literally bald) gopuram. Recently, however, +a courageous Chetti, who cared nothing for the superstition that it +is most unlucky to complete a building left unfinished, placed the +usual plaster top upon it." + +In recent years, the temple at Chidambaram has been renovated by the +Nattukottai Chettis, who "have formed for this and similar restorations +a fund which is made up of a fee of four annas per cent. levied from +their clients on all sums borrowed by the latter. The capital of +this is invested, and the interest thereon devoted exclusively to +such undertakings." [110] + +In 1906, the purificatory ceremony, or kumbabishekam, of the Sri +Pasupathiswara Swami temple at Karur was performed with great +pomp. The old temple had been thoroughly overhauled and repaired +by the Nattukottai Chettis. The ceremony cost about fifty thousand +rupees. Many thousands were fed, and presents of money made to a large +number of Vaidiki Brahmans. In the same year, at a public meeting held +in Madras to concert measures for establishing a pinjrapole (hospital +for animals), one of the resolutions was that early steps should +be taken to collect public subscriptions from the Hindu community +generally, and in particular from the Nattukottai Chettis, Gujaratis, +and other mercantile classes. + +Still more recently, the kumbabishekam festival was celebrated at +Tiruvanaikkaval, the seat of a celebrated temple near Trichinopoly, +which was repaired by the Nattukottai Chettis at a cost of many lakhs +of rupees. + +By a traditional custom, the Nattukottai Chettis live largely by +money-lending. They never serve under any one outside their own +community. They either trade on their own account, or are employed as +agents or assistants. The pay of an assistant is always calculated for +a period of three years, and a portion thereof is paid in advance after +a month's service. This the assistant invests to the best advantage. At +the end of a year, a portion of the balance of the pay is handed over +to him, leaving a small sum to be paid at the end of the contract +period. His expenses for board and lodging are met by his employer, +and he may receive a small share of the profits of the business. A man, +on receiving an agency, starts on an auspicious day, and proceeds to +a temple of Ganesa, and to a matam (religious institution) containing +figures of Ganesa and Natesa. After prostrating himself before the +gods, he proceeds on his way. If he encounters an object of evil omen, +he will not continue, and, if he has to journey to a distant spot, he +will throw up his appointment. The accounts of the Nattukottai Chettis +are audited triennially, an annual audit being inconvenient, as their +business is carried on at various remote spots. The foreign business +is said [111] to "be transacted by agents belonging to the caste, who +receive a salary proportioned to the distance of the place, and also, +usually, a percentage on the profits. They generally serve for three +years, and then return, and give an account of their stewardship." The +commencement of a fresh period of three years is made on an auspicious +day called puthukanakkunal (fresh account day), which is observed +as a holiday. No business is transacted, and customers are invited, +and receive presents of fruits, sweets, etc. + +In connection with Nattukottai agencies, Mr. Hayavadana Rao writes as +follows. [112] "People of moderate means usually elect to go to distant +places as agents of the different firms that have their head offices +either at Madura or in the Zamindaris of Ramnad and Sivaganga. The +pay of a local agent varies directly with the distance of the place +to which he is posted. If he is kept at Madura, he gets Rs. 100 per +mensem; if sent to Burma, he gets three times as much; and, if to +Natal, about twice the latter sum. If an agent proves himself to be +an industrious and energetic man, he is usually given a percentage on +the profits. The tenure of office is for three years, six months before +the expiry of which the next agent is sent over to work conjointly with +the existing one, and study the local conditions. On relief, the agent +returns directly to his head office, and delivers over his papers, +and then goes to his own village. With this, his connection with his +firm practically ceases. He enjoys his well-earned rest of three years, +at the end of which he seeks re-employment either under his old firm, +or under any other. The former he is bound to, if he has taken a +percentage on the profits during his previous tenure of office. If +the old firm rejects him when he so offers himself, then he is at +liberty to enter service under others." It is said to be very rare for +Nattukottai women to accompany their husbands to distant places. "In +fact, the husbands have to visit their native places at long intervals, +and make a felicitous sojourn in the company of their wives." + +The houses of the Nattukottai Chettis are spacious and substantial +buildings all based on the same general plan. The front entrance +opens into an oblong courtyard with a verandah all round, and rows +of rooms at the two sides. At the farther end of the courtyard is an +entrance leading into a backyard or set of apartments. Modern houses +have imposing exteriors, and an upper storey. Married sons live in +separate quarters, and every couple receive from their fathers a fixed +yearly allowance, which may amount to twenty rupees and fifteen kalams +of paddy. The sons may, if they choose, spend more, but the excess is +debited to their account, and, at the time of partition of the estate, +deducted, with interest, from their share. + +It is noted by Mr. Hayavadana Rao that "the remarkable custom prevails +amongst them that obliges all married members to cook separately +and eat their meals, though they live in the same house. Even the +widowed mother is no exception to this rule. Unmarried members live +with their parents until they are married. Allotments of rice and +other necessaries are annually made to the several semi-independent +members of the household. This custom has given rise to the commodious +houses in which members of this caste usually reside." + +As concerning the origin of the Nattukottai Chettis, the following +story is told. In ancient days, the Vaisyas of the lunar race +were living in the town of Santhyapuri in the Naganadu of the +Jambudvipa(India). They paid daily visits to the shrine of Vinayaka god +made of emerald, and were traders in precious stones. They were much +respected, and led the life of orthodox Saivites, wore rudraksha beads, +and smeared themselves with sacred ashes. They were, however, much +oppressed by a certain ruler, and emigrated in a body to Conjeeveram +in the Tondamandalam country in the year 204 of the Kaliyuga. The +king of Conjeeveram gave them permission to settle in his territory, +and made grants to them of land, temples and matams. They stayed there +for a very long time, but, being troubled by heavy taxes and fines, +left this part of the country about 2312 Kaliyuga, and settled in the +Chola country. The Chola king, being much impressed with them, bestowed +on them the privilege of placing the crown on the head of a new ruler +at his coronation. At this time, the town of Kaveripumpattanam is said +to have been in a very flourishing state, and the north street was +occupied by Vaisyas from other countries. Being unwilling to disturb +them, the king made the new settlers occupy the east, west, and south +streets. As a mark of respect, they were allowed to use flags with the +figure of a lion on them, and use golden vessels (kalasam) in their +houses. They all, at the instigation of the king, became disciples +of one Isanya Sivachariar of Patanjalikshetra (Chidambaram). About +3775 Kaliyuga, Puvandi Chola Raja imprisoned several of the Vaisya +women, whereon all the eight thousand Vaisya families destroyed +themselves, leaving their male children to be taken care of by a +religious teacher named Atmanadhachariar. In all 1,502 children +were thus brought up, viz., 600 of six ways from the west street, +502 of seven ways from the east street, and 400 of four ways from +the south street. Later on, Puvandi Chola fell ill, and, knowing his +recovery to be impossible, sent for the Vaisya boys, and asked them +to look after the coronation of his son Rajabhushana Chola. But they +said that, as they were bachelors, they could not comply with his +request. The king accordingly made them marry Vellala girls. Those +of the west street took as wives girls of the Karkaththar section, +those of the east street girls of the Sozhia section, and those of the +south street girls of the Kaniyala section. The three groups became +disciples of three different matams, viz., Tiruvarur, Kumbakonam, +and Vanchium. In the year 3790, a dispute arose in connection with +the right of priority in receiving sacred ashes between the Vaisya and +true Vellala women, and the former were made to become the disciples +of a new guru (religious preceptor). About 3808, a Pandya king, named +Sundara Pandya, is said to have asked the Chola king to induce some of +the Vaisyas to settle down in the Pandya territory. They accordingly +once more emigrated in a body, and reached the village of Onkarakudi +on a Friday (the constellation Astham being in the ascendant on that +day). They were allowed to settle in the tract of country north of the +river Vaigai, east of the Piranmalai, and south of Vellar. Those from +the east street settled at Ilayaththukudi, those from the west street +at Ariyur, and those from the south street at Sundarapattanam. Thus +the Chettis became divided into three endogamous sections, of which +the Ilayaththukudi and Sundarapattanam are found at the present day +in the Madura district. The members of the Ariyur section migrated +to the west coast on the destruction of their village. The members +of the Ilayaththukudi section became the Nattukottais. They, not +being satisfied with only one place of worship, requested the king +to give them more temples. Accordingly, temples were provided for +different groups at Maththur, Vairavanpatti, Iraniyur, Pillayarpatti, +Nemam, Iluppaikudi, Suraikudi, and Velangkudi. At the present day, +the Nattukottai Chettis are divided into the following divisions +(kovils or temples) and exogamous sub-divisions:-- + + + 1. Ilayaththukudi kovil-- + Okkurudaiyar. + Pattanasamiar. + Perumaruthurudaiyar. + Kazhanivasakkudaiyar. + Kinkinikkudaiyar. + Perasendurudaiyar. + Siruseththurudaiyar. + 2. Maththur kovil-- + Uraiyur. + Arumbakur. + Manalur. + Mannur. + Kannur. + Karuppur. + Kulaththur. + 3. Vairavan kovil-- + Sirukulaththur. + Kazhanivasal. + Marudendrapuram. + 4. Iraniyur kovil. + 5. Pillayarpatti kovil. + 6. Nemam kovil. + 7. Iluppaikudi kovil. + 8. Suraikudi kovil. + 9. Velangkudi kovil. + + +When Nattukottai Chettis adopt children, they must belong to the +same temple division. An adopted son is called Manjanir Puthiran, or +turmeric-water son, because, at the ceremony of adoption, the lad has +to drink turmeric-water. [113] In villages where their main temples +are situated, the temple manager is obliged to give food to stranger +Chettis, and charge for it if they belong to another temple division. + +According to a variant of the story relating to the origin of the +Nattukottai Chettis, "they were formerly merchants at the court of the +Chola kings who ruled at Kaveripattanam, at one time a flourishing +sea-port at the mouth of the Cauveri, from which they emigrated +in a body on being persecuted by one of them, and first settled at +Nattarasankottai, about three miles north-east of Sivaganga." + +By other castes, the Nattukottai Chettis are said to be the descendants +of the offspring of unions between a Shanan and a Muhammadan and Uppu +Korava women. Some of the peculiarities of the caste are pointed out +in support of the story. Thus, Nattukottai men shave their heads +like Muhammadans, and both men and women have the lobes of their +ears dilated like the older Shanans. Their girls wear necklaces +of shell beads like Korava women, and the women delight in making +baskets for recreation, as the Korava women do for sale. The caste is +sometimes spoken of as Uppu (salt) Maruhira Chetti. The arguments and +illustrations are naturally much resented by the Nattukottai Chettis, +who explain the obnoxious name by the story that they were formerly +very poor, and made a living by selling salt. + +The Nattukottai Chettis have recourse to panchayats (councils) +in matters affecting the community. They have, Mr. Sundara Aiyar +writes, "been at any rate till recently remarkable for settling their +differences out of court. The influence of the elders in preventing +litigation is very strong. They conciliate the disputants as far as +possible and, after reducing the difference between them to a minimum, +they often get their signatures to an award, in which a blank is left +to decide the still existing point of difference, the disputants +agreeing, after putting in their signatures, to the mediators' +filling in the blank, and deciding the dispute as they choose. We +are afraid that this spirit of give-and-take is now unfortunately +diminishing, and the arbitrament of the courts is more often resorted +to than before." There are, among the Nattukottai Chettis, two forms +of panchayat, called madaththuvasal mariyal (matam panchayat) and +kovilvasal mariyal (temple panchayat), of which, at the present day, +only the latter is in vogue. For every temple there is a manager, an +assistant, and a servant called Vairavi, who must be a Melakkaran. The +aggrieved party lodges his complaint with the manager, who sends word +to the leading men of the temple division concerned. The complainant +and defendant are summoned to attend a council meeting, and the +evidence is recorded by the temple manager. If the accused falls to put +in an appearance, the Vairavi is sent to his house, to take therefrom +adavu (security) in the shape of some article belonging to him. In a +recent case, a wealthy Nattukottai Chetti promised his brother's widow +that she should be allowed to adopt a boy. But, as the promise was not +fulfilled, she complained to the temple; and, as her brother-in-law did +not attend the council meeting, the Vairavi went to his house, and, +in his absence, abstracted the adavu. This was regarded as a great +insult, and there was some talk of the case going into court. Matters +such as the arrangement of marriage contracts, monetary disputes, +family discussions, and the like, are referred to the temple council +for settlement. Final decisions are never recorded in writing, but +delivered by word of mouth. Those who fail to abide by the decision +of the council do not receive a garland from the temple for their +marriage, and without this garland a marriage cannot take place. + +It is noted by Mr. Hayavadana Rao that each of the kovils or temples +"is managed by Karyakarans, who are nominated to the place by the +local elders. These Karyakarans act as Panchayatdars, and decide all +civil cases referred to them. If a case is first referred to them, +it may, if necessary, be carried over again to the established courts +of the country. But, if once a case is first taken to the courts, they +would not entertain it before themselves. They enforce their decrees +(1) by refusing to give the garland of flowers at the marriage time, +(2) by exercising the power of excommunication." + +Every Nattukottai Chetti youth has to perform a ceremony called Suppidi +before marriage. On the Karthika day, when the constellation Krithikai +is in the ascendant, he is taken on horseback to a Pillayar (Ganesa) +temple, where he worships, and whirls a bag of burning charcoal tied +to a long string round his head. In front of the temple he burns +a booth (chokkapane), which has been set up, and with the ashes +his forehead is marked. On his return home, and at the entrance of +Nattukottai houses which he passes, rice lamps are waved before him +(alathi). In like manner, every girl has to go through a ceremony, +called thiruvadhirai, before marriage. On the day of the Arudradarsanam +festival, she is bathed and decorated. A necklace of gold beads is +placed on her neck instead of the necklace of glass beads (pasimani), +which she has hitherto worn. She proceeds, with a silver cup, to the +houses where other girls are performing the ceremony, and bawls out:-- + +I have come dancing; give me avarakkai (Dolichos Lablab beans). + +I have come singing; give me padavarangkai (Cyamopsis beans). + +I have come speaking; give me sorakkai (Lagenaria fruit). + +Various kinds of vegetables are placed on the silver vessel, cooked, +and distributed. Cakes, called dosai, are made in the house, and, +during their preparation, holes are made in them by married women with +an iron style. These cakes are also distributed, and it is taken as +an insult if any individual does not receive one. + +Every Nattukottai Chetti is said to have the inviolable right to claim +the hand of his paternal aunt's daughter. This being so, ill-assorted +marriages are quite common, the putative father being often but a +child. [114] The marriage ceremonies commence with the giving of +gold for the bride's neck. On an auspicious day, the bridegroom's +party give a gold coin to a goldsmith, who beats it into a thin +sheet, and goes home after receiving betel, etc. On the first day +of the marriage rites, a feast is given to the bridegroom's family, +and female ancestors are worshipped. On the following day, the +presentation of the dowry (sireduththal) takes place. The presents, +which are often of considerable value, are laid out for inspection, and +an inventory of them is made. Perishable articles, such as rice, ghi +(clarified butter), dhal (Cajanus indicus), and fruits are sold. The +bride's presents are taken to the house of the bridegroom, those who +carry them being rewarded with betel, a silk fan, scent bottle, silk +handkerchief, bottle of chocolate, a tin of biscuits, and a brass +vessel. On the third day, garlands are received from the temples +to which the bride and bridegroom belong. The bride's party go to +the house of the bridegroom, taking on a tray a silk handkerchief +and cloth, and in a silver vessel fifty rupees, betel, etc. These +are presented to the bridegroom. This ceremony is called mappillai +ariyappothal, or going to examine the son-in-law. The next item on +the programme is nalkuriththal, or fixing the day. The bridegroom's +party proceed to the house of the bride, taking with them two cocoanuts +wrapped up in a blanket, betel, turmeric, etc., as a present. The bride +is bathed and decorated, and purangkaliththal is proceeded with. She +stands by the side of her grandmother, and a Brahman purohit, taking +up a few leafy margosa (Melia Azadirachta) twigs, touches the girl's +shoulders, head, and knees with them, and throws them away. Her glass +bead necklace is then removed. At the uppu-eduththal (salt carrying) +ceremony, the bridegroom's party carry a basket containing salt, +a bundle containing nine kinds of grains, and a palmyra scroll for +writing the marriage contract on, to the bride's house. The sacred fire +is lighted, and homam performed by the Brahman purohit. An old man, +who has had a number of children, and belongs to a temple other than +that of a bride, and the bridegroom's sister, then tie the tali string +round her neck. This string bears a large tali, about seven inches long +and four inches broad, and seventeen to twenty-three gold ornaments, +often of considerable value. Some of them have very sharp points, so +that accidents sometimes arise from the points sticking in the eyes +of babies carried by women. For every day wear, the massive ornaments +are replaced by a smaller set. Immediately after the tali has been +tied, the marriage contract (isagudi manam) is written. Two copies +are made, for the bride and bridegroom respectively. As an example +of a marriage contract, the following may be cited: "This is written +for the marriage celebrated on ... between Subramanyan, the son of +Okkurudaiyan Arunachelam Chetti Ramanadhan Chetti and Valliammai, +the daughter of Arumbakurudaiyan K. Narayana Chetti, both formerly of +Ilayaththukudi, at the village of.... The value of jewels given to +the girl is ... of gold; his dowry amounts to ...; money for female +servant ...; sirattuchukram money ...; free gift of jewels.... This +esaikudimanam was written by me at.... Signed Ramanadhan Chetti." The +bridegroom goes on horseback to a Pillayar temple where he worships, +and then proceeds in procession through various streets to the +bride's house, accompanied by his sister carrying milk in a vessel, +and a cooly bearing a bundle of seed rice. At every Chetti house +the procession halts, and coloured rice lights are waved before +the bridegroom. At the entrance to the bride's house, he is met +by the bride, whose sister-in-law pushes the couple against each +other. Hence the ceremony is called mappillaikuidiththukattal, +or showing the bride to the bridegroom by pushing her. The couple +are then conducted to a dais within the house, and wristlets made of +cotton cloth are tied on by the purohit. They exchange cocoanuts and +garlands, and, amid the blowing of the conch shell (musical instrument) +by women, the bride's mother touches the couple with turmeric, ashes, +sandal, etc. On the fourth day, money called veththilai surul rupai +(betel-roll money) is given to the newly-married couple by Chettis +and the maternal uncles. A silver vessel, containing betel and two +rupees, is given to the bridegroom by his father-in-law. The bridegroom +usually carries on his shoulders a long purse of silk or red cloth, +called valluvaippai, into which he puts the betel and other things +which are given to him. On the last day of the marriage ceremonies, +toe-rings and wristlets are removed, and the bridal pair eat together. + +In connection with pregnancy, two ceremonies are performed, called +respectively marunthidal (medicine giving) and thirthamkudiththal +(drinking holy water). The former is celebrated at about the fifth +month. On an auspicious day, the sister-in-law of the pregnant woman, +amid the blowing of the conch-shell by females, extracts the juice from +the leaves of five plants, and gives to the woman to drink. During +the seventh month the woman is given consecrated water (thirtham) +from the temple. All first-born children, both male and female, +have to go through a ceremony called pudhumai (newness). When they +are two years old, on an auspicious day, fixed by a Brahman purohit, +the maternal uncle of the child ties on its neck strings of coral +and glass beads, to which ornaments of pearls and precious stones are +added in the case of the wealthy. The child is further decorated with +other ornaments, and placed in an oval wooden tray, which is held +by the mother and her sister-in-law. They go round three times with +the tray, and the child's aunt, taking it up, carries it round to be +blessed by those who have assembled. Presents of money are given to +the child by relations and friends, and the maternal uncles have to +give a larger sum than the others. On the second or third day the +coral and bead ornaments are removed, and, on the fourth day, the +child, if a male, is shaved, and must thenceforth have the head clean +shaved throughout life. "The story goes that, when the Chola king of +Kaveripattanam persecuted them, the members of this caste resolved +not to shave their heads until they quitted his territories. When they +reached their new settlement they shaved their heads completely as a +memorial of their stern resolution." [115] When a death occurs among +the Nattukottai Chettis, news thereof is conveyed by the Thandakaran, +or caste messenger. Those who come to condole with the bereaved family +are received with outstretched hands (kainittikolludhal). The head of +the corpse is shaved, and it is washed and decorated. In front of the +house a pandal (booth), supported by four Thespesia populnea posts, and +roofed with twigs of Eugenia Jambolana, is erected. Beneath this the +corpse is laid, and all present go round it thrice. While the corpse +is being got ready for conveyance to the burning ground, the daughters +and sisters of the deceased husk paddy (unhusked rice). On the way +to the burning ground, the son carries the fire. If the deceased +is a young boy or girl, the pandal is removed after the funeral; +otherwise it is removed, on a Tuesday, Thursday, or Sunday, within +four days. The Nattukottais restrict the name pandal to the funeral +booth, the marriage booth being called kavanam or kottagai. Even an +ordinary shed set up in front of a house is not called a pandal, +as the name is associated with funerals. On the day following the +funeral, the bigger fragments of bones are collected by a barber, and +given to the son, who places them in an earthen pot. A Pandaram offers +fruit, food, etc., to the deceased. Eight days afterwards, a feast, +at which meat is partaken of for the first time since the death, is +given to the relations of the dead person, and their pollution is at +an end. They may not, however, enter a temple for thirty days. On the +sixteenth day after death, the final death ceremonies (karmandhiram) +are performed, and liberal presents of money, religious books, such +as the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Periya Puranam, wooden spoons for +domestic use, etc., are given to Brahmans. + +There are three matams, whereat the Nattukottai Chettis are initiated +into their religion, at Patharakkudi (or Padanakkudi) and Kila +for males, and Tulavur for females. They are Saivites, but also, +more especially the women, worship such minor deities as Aiyanar, +Muneswara, and Karuppan. They are also said to worship two village +goddesses, called Sellattamman and Kannudayamman, at Nattarasankottai. + +Nattukottai men have the lobes of the ears artificially dilated, but +seldom wear ornaments therein. They frequently have a gold chain round +the loins, and wear finger rings set with diamonds. The wives even +of wealthy men wear a cheap body cloth, and do menial house work, +such as cleaning the kitchen utensils. They plait baskets, and, +in some houses, wheels for spinning cotton may be seen. + +Like other trading classes in Southern India, the Nattukottai +Chettis have a trade language of their own, which varies according +to locality. In the city of Madras they have three tables, for annas, +rupees, and tens of rupees respectively. Each of these is formed out +of the syllables of certain words. Thus, the anna table is composed +of the syllables of Tiripurasundari, the goddess at Madura, which is +a great centre for Nattukottai Chettis. The syllables (in the inverse +order), and their money equivalent are as follows:-- + + + Ri 1/2 anna. + Da 3/4 anna. + Un 1 anna. + Su 2 annas. + Ra 3 annas. + Pu 4 annas. + Ri 8 annas. + Ti 12 annas. + + +The rupee table is composed of the word Vedagirisvararthunai, +meaning with the help of Vedagirisvarar, the god at Tirukalikundram +near Madras:-- + + + Ve 1 rupee. + Da 2 rupees. + Gi 3 rupees. + Ri 4 rupees. + I 5 rupees. + Is 6 rupees. + Va 7 rupees. + Ra 8 rupees. + A 9 rupees. + Thu 10 rupees. + Nai 11 rupees. + + +The tens-of-rupees table is made up from the word Tirukalikundram:-- + + + Ti 10 rupees. + Ru 20 rupees. + Ik 30 rupees. + Ka 40 rupees. + Li 50 rupees. + Ik 60 rupees. + Ku 70 rupees. + In 80 rupees. + Ra 90 rupees. + Im 100 rupees. + + +An anna is sometimes called vanakkam; a rupee is known as velle +(white). + +Nattupattan.--A section of Ambalavasis. (See Unni.) + +Nattusamban.--Samban (a name of Siva) is a title of some Tamil +Paraiyans. Nattusamban denotes a village Paraiyan. + +Nattuvan.--Defined in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "an +occupational term, meaning a dancing-master, which is applied to males +of the dancing-girl castes, who teach dancing." At nautch parties, +when the Deva-dasis dance, the Nattuvans play the accompaniment on +the drum, bag-pipe, flute, clarionet, cymbals, etc. At the initiation +of a Kaikolan girl as a Deva-dasi, her dancing-master seats himself +behind her, and, grasping her legs, moves them up and down in time +with the music. Some Occhans in the Tamily country, who teach dancing +to Deva-dasis, are also called Nattuvan. + +Natuvili (middle).--A sub-division of Paraiyans in Travancore. + +Navakoti (nine crores).--An exogamous sept of Desur Reddi. A crore +is one hundred lakhs, i.e., 10,000,000. + +Navalipitta (peacock).--A sept of Jatapu. + +Navayat.--The Navayats or Navayets are summed up, in the Madras Census +Report, 1901, as "a Musalman tribe, which appears to have originally +settled at Bhatkal in North Canara, and is known on the west coast +as Bhatkali. The derivation of the name is much disputed. There are +five sub-divisions of the tribe, namely, Kureshi, Mehkeri, Chida, +Gheas, and Mohagir. It takes a high place among Musalmans, and does +not intermarry with other tribes." + +Of the Nevayets, the following account, based on the Saadut Nama, +and conversations with members of the community, is given by Colonel +Wilks. [116] "Nevayet is generally supposed to be a corruption of +the Hindustanee and Mahratta terms for new-comer. About the end of +the first century of the Hejira, or the early part of the eighth +century of the Christian era, Hejaj Bin Yusuf, Governor of Irak, on +the part of the Khalif Abd-al-Melik-bin-Merwan, a monster abhorred +for his cruelties even among Musalmans, drove some respectable and +opulent persons of the house of Hâshem to the desperate resolution +of abandoning for ever their native country. Aided by the good +offices of the inhabitants of Kufa, a town of celebrity in those +days, situated near to the tomb of Ali, west of the Euphrates, they +departed with their families, dependents, and effects, and embarked +on ships prepared for their reception in the Persian Gulf. Some of +these landed on that part of the western coast of India called the +Concan; the others to the eastward of Cape Comorin; the descendants +of the former are the Nevayets; of the latter the Lubbe. The Lubbe +pretend to one common origin with the Nevayets, and attribute their +black complexion to intermarriage with the natives; but the Nevayets +affirm that the Lubbe are the descendants of their domestic slaves; +and there is certainly, in the physiognomy of this very numerous class, +and in their stature and form, a strong resemblance to the natives +of Abyssinia. The Nevayets of the western coast preserved the purity +of their original blood by systematically avoiding intermarriage with +the Indians, and even with the highest Muhammadan families, for many +centuries after the establishment of the Musalman dynasties of the +Deckan. Even at this time there are some Nevayets whose complexions +approach the European freshness. Their adherence to each other as +members of the same family preserved their respectability; and they +were famed at the Muhammadan courts of the Deckan for uniting the +rare qualities of the soldier, the scholar, and the gentleman." + +Navutiyan.--A synonym of Velakkattalavan. + +Nayadi.--In the Malabar Manual, the Nayadis are briefly summed up +as follows. "Of the Nayadis, or lowest caste among the Hindus--the +dog-eaters--nothing definite is known. They are most persistent in +their clamour for charity, and will follow at a respectful distance, +for miles together, any person walking, driving, or boating. If +anything is given to them, it must be laid down, and, after the person +offering it has proceeded a sufficient distance, the recipient comes +timidly forward, and removes it." + +The subjects, whom I examined and measured at Shoranur, though living +only about three miles off, had, by reason of the pollution which +they traditionally carry with them, to avoid walking over the long +bridge which spans the river, and follow a circuitous route of many +miles. Eventually they had to climb, or be ignominiously hoisted over +the wall of the bungalow. Ignorant of the orthodox manner of using a +chair, the first victim of the craniometer, who had to sit while his +head was under examination, assumed the undignified position with which +Eton boys who have been swished are familiar. Measurements concluded, +men, women, and children sat down on the grass to an ample feast. And, +before they departed homeward, copious blessings were invoked on me, +to a chorus composed of the repetition of a single shrill note, not +unlike that of the first note of a jackal cry. To quote the newspaper +account of my doings, which refers to the 'monograms' issued by me on +matters ethnological: "In the evening the kind gentleman gave them a +sumptuous treat of canji and curry, and gave them also copper coins, +toddy, and arrack. The poor people left the place immensely pleased, +and were safely escorted to the British side of the river from the +Cochin territory." + +When travelling on the public roads in Malabar or Cochin, one may +observe a few ragged and dirty cloths spread near the road, with one +or two copper coins on them; and, at the same time, hear a chorus +of monotonous stentorian voices at a distance of a hundred yards or +more, emanating from a few miserable specimens of humanity, standing +ghost-like with dishevelled hair, and a long strip of leaves tied +round the waist, or clad in a dirty loin-cloth. The coins represent +the alms given by the charitably disposed traveller, and the persons +are Nayadis. I am told that, near Kollatur, there is a stone called +the Nayadi parai, which is believed to be a man who was turned into +stone for not giving alms to a Nayadi. + +The name Nayadi is equivalent to Nayattukar, i.e., hunter. The Nayadis +are, in fact, professional hunters, and are excellent shots. The +Nayars and other higher classes, used formerly to take them with +them on hunting and shooting expeditions. But, since the Arms Act +came into force, the Nayadis find this occupation gone. They are +also good archers, and used to kill deer, pigs, hares, etc., and +eat them. These animals are now difficult to get, as the forests are +reserved by Government, and private forests are denuded of their trees +for use as fuel, and for house-building by a growing population, +and for consumption on the railway. The suggestion has been made +that the name Nayadi is derived from the fact of their eating otters, +which live in hill streams, and are called nir-nai (water-dog). + +The approach of a Nayadi within a distance of three hundred feet +is said to contaminate a Brahman, who has to bathe and put on a new +sacred thread, to cleanse himself of the pollution. The Nayadis, in +fact, hold the lowest position in the social scale, and consequently +labour under the greatest disadvantage. + +The Nayadis live mostly in isolated huts on the tops of hills, +and generally select a shola, or glade, where there is a pond or +stream. Some families live on the land of their landlords, whose +crops they watch by night, to guard them against the attacks of wild +beasts. Sometimes they are engaged in ploughing, sowing, weeding, +transplanting, and reaping, the rice crop, or in plantain (banana) +gardens. I take exception to the comparison by a recent author of the +British Empire to the banana (Musa) throwing out aërial roots. The +banyan (Ficus bengalensis) must have been meant. + +The male members of the community are called Nayadis, and the +females Nayadichis. The boys are called Molayans, and the young girls +Manichis. Succession is in the male line (makkathayam). + +A thatched shed with palm-leaf walls, a few earthen pots, and a +chopper, constitute the Nayadi's property. He occasionally collects +honey and bees-wax, and also the gum (matti pasai) from the mattipal +tree (Ailanthus malabarica), which, when burnt, is used as temple +incense and for fumigating the bed-chamber. He receives toddy in +exchange for the honey and wax, and copper coins for the gum, with +which he purchases luxuries in the shape of salt, chillies, dried fish, +tobacco, and liquor. He makes rough ropes from the malanar plant, and +the bark of the kayyul tree (Bauhinia). The bark is soaked in water, +sun-dried, and the fibre manufactured into rope. He also makes slings +of fibre, wherewith he knocks over birds, and mats from a species +of Cyperus. + +According to custom, the Nayadi has to offer four ropes, each eight +yards long, to every Nambutiri illam, and two ropes to every Nayar +house near his settlement, on the occasion of the Vishu and Onam +festivals. In return he receives a fixed measure of paddy (rice). The +ropes are used for tethering cattle, and for drawing water from +the well. By a wise dispensation of the ancient local chieftains, +to each Nayadi is assigned a desom (portion of a parish), within +which he enjoys certain privileges. And no Nayadi has any business +to poach on his preserves. The privileges are these. On birthdays, +anniversaries, and festive occasions, the Nayadi receives his share +of curry and rice, tied up in an old cloth. When a person is sick, a +black country-made kambli (blanket), with gingelly (Sesamum), mustard, +turmeric, and cocoanut tied up in the four corners, is passed three +times over the patient and presented to a Nayadi, together with a +palm umbrella, a stick, and a cucumber. This is called kala-dhanam, +or offering to Yama, the god of death, whose attack has to be warded +off by propitiatory offerings. The Nayadi accepts the gifts, and +prays for the long life and prosperity of the giver. Placing them +before his own family god, he prays that the life of the sick person +may be spared, and that the disease may not be transferred to him. + +Like the Cherumans, the Nayadis drink, but they cannot afford to buy +as much toddy as the former, for the Cheruman works regularly for a +daily wage. Monkeys, which are very troublesome in gardens, are shot +down by the higher classes, and given to the Nayadis to eat. Their +dietary includes rats, mungooses, pigs, deer, paraquets, the koel +(cuckoo), doves, quails, fowls, paddy-birds, hares, tortoises, Varanus +(lizard), crocodiles, and fish. They abstain from eating the flesh of +dogs, cats, snakes, land-crabs, shell-fish, and beef. Among vegetables, +the tubers of yams (Dioscorea) and Colocasia are included. They produce +fire by friction with two sticks of Litsoea sebifera, in the shorter +of which a cavity is scooped out. They do not, like the Todas, put +powdered charcoal in the cavity, but ignite the cloth rag by means +of the red-hot wood dust produced by the friction. + +When a woman is pregnant, she craves for the flesh of a monkey or +jungle squirrel during the sixth month. During the seventh month, +a ceremony is performed, to relieve her of the influence of devils, +who may be troubling her. It is called ozhinnukalayuka. Abortion is +attributed to the malign influence of evil spirits. To ward off this, +they tie round the neck a magic thread, and invoke the aid of their +hill gods and the spirits of their ancestors. They erect a special +hut for delivery, to which the woman retires. When she is in labour, +her husband shampooes his own abdomen, while praying to the gods for +her safe delivery--a custom which seems to suggest the couvade. As +soon as his wife is delivered, he offers thanks to the gods "for +having got the baby out." The woman observes pollution for ten days, +during which her husband avoids seeing her. Any deformity in the child +is attributed to the evil influence of the gods. On the twenty-eighth +day after birth, the ceremony of naming the child takes place. The +name given to the first-born son is that of the paternal grandfather, +and to the first-born daughter that of the maternal grandmother. In the +fifth year, the ear-boring ceremony takes place, and the operation is +performed by the child's uncle. A piece of brass wire takes the place +of ear-rings. Girls wear a plug of wood in the lobes. The Nayadichis +do not, like the Cheruman women, wear bracelets, but have many rows +of beads round their necks, and hanging over their bosoms. + +When a girl reaches puberty, a Nayadichi leads her to a tank (pond), +in which she bathes, after a pandi, composed of several pieces of +plantain leaf tied together, has been carried three or four times +round her. She must not touch any utensils, and must abstain from +touching her head with the hand, and, if the skin itches, the body +must be scratched with a small stick. + +Concerning a very interesting form of marriage, Mr. T. K. Gopal +Panikkar writes as follows. [117] "A large hut is constructed of +'holly' and other leaves, inside which the girl is ensconced. Then +all the young men and women of the village gather round the hut, +and form a ring about it. The girl's father, or the nearest male +relative, sits a short distance from the crowd, with a tom-tom in his +hands. Then commences the music, and a chant is sung by the father, +which has been freely translated as follows:-- + + + Take the stick, my sweetest daughter, + Now seize the stick, my dearest love, + Should you not capture the husband you wish for, + Remember, 'tis fate decides whom you shall have. + + +"All the young men, who are eligible for marriage, arm themselves +with a stick each, and begin to dance round the hut, inside which +the bride is seated. This goes on for close on an hour, when each of +them thrusts his stick inside the hut through the leafy covering. The +girl has then to take hold of one of these sticks from the inside, +and the owner of the stick which she seizes becomes the husband of +the concealed bride. This ceremony is followed up by feasting, after +which the marriage is consummated." + +A photograph by Mr. F. Fawcett shows a young man with a ring hanging +round his neck, as a sign that he was still unattached. But he was +soon about to part with it, for a present of a rupee enabled him to +find a girl, and fix up a marriage, within two days. + +Adultery is regarded with abhorrence, and there is a belief that +those who are guilty of it are liable to be attacked by wild beasts +or demons. On the occasion of the marriage of a divorced woman's son +or daughter, the mother attends the festivities, if she receives a +cordial invitation from her children. But she does not look her former +husband straight in the face, and returns to her home the same evening. + +When a man lies at the point of death, it is usual to distribute +rice kanji to the people, who, after taking their fill, become +possessed with the power of predicting the fate in store for the sick +man. According as the taste of the kanji turns to that of a corpse, +or remains unaltered, the death or recovery of the patient is foretold +in their deep and loud voices. [118] The Nayadis either burn or bury +their dead. Several layers of stones are placed within the grave, and +its site is marked by three big stones, one in the middle, and one at +each end. The burnt ashes of the bones are collected, and preserved +in a pot, which is kept close to the hut of the deceased. Pollution +is observed for ten days, during which the enangan (relations by +marriage) cook for the mourners. On the tenth day, the sons of the +deceased go, together with their relations, to the nearest stream, +and bury the bones on the bank. The sons bathe, and perform beli, +so that the soul of the departed may enter heaven, and ghosts may not +trouble them. After the bath, a sand-heap, representing the deceased, +is constructed, and on it are placed a piece of plantain leaf, some +unboiled rice, and karuka grass (Cynodon Dactylon). Over these water +is poured twelve times, and the sons reverently prostrate themselves +before the heap. They then return home, and cow-dung, mixed with water, +is sprinkled over them by their relations, and poured over the floor +of the hut. In this manner they are purified. Some time during the +seventh month after death, according to another account, the grave, +in which the corpse has been buried, is dug up, and the bones are +carefully collected, and spread out on a layer of sticks arranged +on four stones placed at the corners of a pit. The bones are then +covered with more sticks, and the pile is lighted. The partially burnt +bones are subsequently collected by the eldest son of the deceased, +and carried to the hut in a new pot, which is tied to a branch of a +neighbouring tree. This rite concluded, he bathes, and, on his return, +the adiyanthiram (death ceremony) day is fixed. On this day, the eldest +son removes the pot, and buries it by the side of a stream, near which +a heap of sand is piled up. On this all the agnates pour water three +times, prostrate themselves before it, and disperse. The ceremony is +brought to a close with a square meal. Some time ago an old Nayadi, +who had the reputation of being a good shot, died. His son obtained +a handful of gunpowder from a gun-license holder, and set fire to it +near the grave, with a view to satisfying the soul of the deceased. + +The chief gods of the Nayadis are Mallan, Malavazhi, and Parakutti, +to whom offerings of toddy, rice, and the flesh of monkeys are +made. Parakutti it is who aids them in their hunting expeditions, +bringing the game to them, and protecting them from wild beasts. If +they do not succeed in bagging the expected game, they abuse him. + +The Nayadis are also ancestor worshippers, and keep representations +of the departed, to which offerings of rice and toddy are made during +the Onam, Vishu, and other festivals. Beneath a mango tree in a paramba +(garden) were forty-four stones set up in a circle round the tree. One +of the stones was a beli-kal (beli stone), such as is placed round +the inner shrines of temples. The remainder resembled survey stones, +but were smaller in size. The stones represented forty-four Nayadis, +who had left the world. On the ceremonial occasions referred to above, +a sheep or fowl is killed, and the blood allowed to fall on them, puja +(worship) is performed, and solemn prayers are offered that the souls +of the departed may protect them against wild beasts and snakes. A +Nayadi asserted that, if he came across a tiger, he would invoke the +aid of his ancestors, and the animal would be rendered harmless. + +Whenever the Nayadis labour under any calamity or disease, they +consult the Parayan astrologer. And, when a woman is possessed by +devils, the Parayan is summoned. He is furnished with a thread and +some toddy. Muttering certain prayers to Parakutti and other deities, +he ties the thread round the woman's neck, drinks the toddy, and the +devil leaves her. When a person is believed to be under the influence +of a devil or the evil eye, salt, chillies, tamarind, oil, mustard, +cocoanut, and a few pice (copper coins) in a vessel are waved thrice +round the head of the affected individual, and given to a Nayadi, +whose curse is asked for. There is this peculiarity about a Nayadi's +curse, that it always has the opposite effect. So, when he is asked +to curse one who has given him alms, he does so by invoking misery +and evil upon him. By the Nayadi money is called chembu kasu (copper +coin), food elamattam (exchange of leaves), and having no food nakkan +illa (nothing to lick on). As a protection against snake-bite, the +Nayadis wear a brass toe-ring. And, when engaged in catching rats +in their holes, they wear round the wrist a snake-shaped metal ring, +to render them safe against snakes which may be concealed in the hole. + +The Nayadis who live within the jurisdiction of the Kavalapara Nayar +near Shoranur wear the kudumi (front lock of hair), as there are no +Mappillas (Muhammadans) to molest them. The Kavalapara Nayar was +at one time an important chief, and directed all Nambutiri jenmis +(landlords) who held land within his jurisdiction to bind themselves +not to let the land to Mappillas. Nayadis of other parts are not +allowed by the Mappillas to wear the kudumi, and, if they do so, +they are taken for Parayans and professional sorcerers, and beaten. + +Some Nayadis have become converts to Christianity, others to +Muhammadanism, and maintain themselves by begging for alms from +Muhammadans. They are called Thoppyitta (cap-wearing) Nayadis. + +The priest of the Nayadis is called Muppan. His appointment is +hereditary, and he enquires into all matters affecting the community, +and can excommunicate a guilty person. [119] + +Average height, 155 cm.; nasal index, 86. + +Nayar.--"The Nayars," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [120] "are a Dravidian +caste, or rather a community, for we find several distinct elements +with totally different occupations among the people who call themselves +by this title. The original Nayars were undoubtedly a military body, +holding lands and serving as a militia, but the present Nayar caste +includes persons who, by hereditary occupation, are traders, artisans, +oilmongers, palanquin-bearers, and even barbers and washermen. The +fact seems to be that successive waves of immigration brought from the +Canarese and Tamil countries different castes and different tribes; and +these, settling down in the country, adopted the customs and manners, +and assumed the caste names of the more respectable of the community +that surrounded them. This process of assimilation is going on even +yet. Chettis of Coimbatore, for example, who settled in Palghat and +Valluvanad within living memory, have developed by this time into +Nayars. In the census schedules we find instances in which the males +of a house affix the term Nayar to their names, while the names of the +females end in Chettichi. Gollas entering the country from the north +have similarly, in course of time, assumed Nayar customs and manners, +and are now styled Nayars. Again the rajahs and chieftains of the +country sometimes raised individuals or classes who had rendered them +meritorious service to the rank of Nayars. These men were thereafter +styled Nayars, but formed a separate sub-division with little or no +communion with the rest of the Nayar class, until at least, after +the lapse of generations, when their origin was forgotten. Nayar may +thus at present be considered to be a term almost as wide and general +as Sudra." + +According to the Brahman tradition, the Nayar caste is the result of +union between the Nambudris with Deva, Gandharva and Rakshasa women +introduced by Parasurama; and this tradition embodies the undoubted +fact that the caste by its practice of hypergamy has had a very +large infusion of Aryan blood. In origin the Nayars were probably a +race of Dravidian immigrants, who were amongst the first invaders of +Malabar, and as conquerors assumed the position of the governing and +land-owning class. The large admixture of Aryan blood combined with +the physical peculiarities of the country would go far to explain +the very marked difference between the Nayar of the present day and +what may be considered the corresponding Dravidian races in the rest +of the Presidency. [121] + +In connection with the former position of the Nayars as protectors +of the State, it is noted by Mr. Logan [122] that "in Johnston's +'Relations of the most famous Kingdom in the world' (1611), there +occurs the following quaintly written account of this protector +guild. 'It is strange to see how ready the Souldiour of this country +is at his Weapons: they are all gentile men, and tearmed Naires. At +seven Years of Age they are put to School to learn the Use of their +Weapons, where, to make them nimble and active, their Sinnewes and +Joints are stretched by skilful Fellows, and annointed with the Oyle +Sesamus [gingelly: Sesamum indicum]: By this annointing they become +so light and nimble that they will winde and turn their Bodies as +if they had no Bones, casting them forward, backward, high and low, +even to the Astonishment of the Beholders. Their continual Delight +is in their Weapon, perswading themselves that no Nation goeth beyond +them in Skill and Dexterity.' And Jonathan Duncan, who visited Malabar +more than once as one of the Commissioners from Bengal in 1792-93, +and afterwards as Governor of Bombay, after quoting the following +lines from Mickle's Camoens, Book VII-- + + + 'Poliar the labouring lower clans are named: + By the proud Nayrs the noble rank is claimed; + The toils of culture and of art they scorn: + The shining faulchion brandish'd in the right-- + Their left arm wields the target in the fight'-- + + +went on to observe: 'These lines, and especially the two last, contain +a good description of a Nayr, who walks along, holding up his naked +sword with the same kind of unconcern as travellers in other countries +carry in their hands a cane or walking staff. I have observed others +of them have it fastened to their back, the hilt being stuck in their +waist band, and the blade rising up and glittering between their +shoulders' (Asiatic Researches, V. 10, 18). M. Mahé de la Bourdonnais, +who had some experience of their fighting qualities in the field, +thus described them: 'Les Nairs sont de grands hommes basanés, légers, +et vigoureux: Ils n'ont pas d'autre profession que celle des armes, +et seraient de fort bons soldats, s'ils étiaent disciplinés: mais ils +combattent sans ordre, ils prennent la fuite dès qu'on les serre de +près avec quelque supèrioritê; pourtant, s'ils se voient pressés avec +vigueur et qu'ils se croient en danger, ils reviennent à la charge, +et ne se rendent jamais' (M. Esquer, Essai sur les Castes dans l'Inde, +page 181). Finally, the only British General of any note--Sir Hector +Munro--who had ever to face the Nayars in the field, thus wrote of +their modes of fighting:-- + +'One may as well look for a needle in a Bottle of Hay as any of them in +the daytime, they being lurking behind sand banks and bushes, except +when we are marching towards the Fort, and then they appear like bees +out in the month of June.' 'Besides which,' he continued, 'they point +their guns well, and fire them well also.' (Tellicherry Factory Diary, +March, 1761). They were, in short, brave light troops, excellent in +skirmishing, but their organization into small bodies with discordant +interests unfitted them to repel any serious invasion by an enemy +even moderately well organised. Among other strange Malayali customs, +Sheikh Zin-ud-din [123] noticed the fact that, if a chieftain was +slain, his followers attacked and obstinately persevered in ravaging +the slayer's country, and killing his people till their vengeance was +satisfied. This custom is doubtless that which was described so long +ago as in the ninth century A.D. by two Muhammadans, whose work was +translated by Renaudot (Lond., 1733). 'There are kings who, upon their +accession, observe the following ceremony. A quantity of cooked rice +was spread before the king, and some three or four hundred persons +came of their own accord, and received each a small quantity of rice +from the king's own hands after he himself had eaten some. By eating of +this rice they all engage themselves to burn themselves on the day the +king dies or is slain, and they punctually fulfil their promise.' Men, +who devoted themselves to certain death on great occasions, were termed +Amoucos by the Portuguese; and Barbosa, one of the Portuguese writers, +alluded to the practice as prevalent among the Nayars. Purchas has also +the following:--'The king of Cochin hath a great number of Gentlemen, +which he calleth Amocchi, and some are called Nairi: these two sorts of +men esteem not their lives anything, so that it may be for the honour +of the king.' The proper Malayalam term for such men was Chaver, +literally those who took up, or devoted themselves to death. It was +a custom of the Nayars, which was readily adopted by the Mappillas, +who also at times--as at the great Mahamakkam, twelfth year feast, +at Tirunavayi [124]--devoted themselves to death in the company of +Nayars for the honour of the Valluvanad Raja. And probably the frantic +fanatical rush of the Mappillas on British bayonets, which is not even +yet a thing of the past, is the latest development of this ancient +custom of the Nayars. The martial spirit of the Nayars in these piping +times of peace has quite died out for want of exercise. The Nayar +is more and more becoming a family man. Comparatively few of them +now-a-days even engage in hunting." According to an inscription of the +King Kulottunga I (A.D. 1083-84), he conquered Kudamalai-Nadu, i.e., +the western hill country (Malabar), whose warriors, the ancestors of +the Nayars of the present day, perished to the last man in defending +their independence. [125] + +The following description of the Nayars at the beginning of the +sixteenth century is given by Duarte Barbosa. [126] "The Nairs are +the gentry, and have no other duty than to carry on war, and they +continually carry their arms with them, which are swords, bows, arrows, +bucklers, and lances. They all live with the kings, and some of them +with other lords, relations of the kings, and lords of the country, +and with the salaried governors, and with one another. They are very +smart men, and much taken up with their nobility.... These Nairs, +besides being all of noble descent, have to be armed as knights by +the hand of a king or lord with whom they live, and until they have +been so equipped they cannot bear arms nor call themselves Nairs.... In +general, when they are seven years of age, they are immediately sent to +school to learn all manner of feats of agility and gymnastics for the +use of their weapons. First they learn to dance and then to tumble, +and for that purpose they render supple all their limbs from their +childhood, so that they can bend them in any direction.... These +Nairs live outside the towns separate from other people on their +estates which are fenced in. When they go anywhere, they shout to the +peasants, that they may get out of the way where they have to pass; +and the peasants do so, and, if they did not do it, the Nairs might +kill them without penalty. And, if a peasant were by misfortune to +touch a Nair lady, her relations would immediately kill her, and +likewise the man that touched her and all his relations. This, they +say, is done to avoid all opportunity of mixing the blood with that of +the peasants.... These are very clean and well-dressed women, and they +hold it in great honour to know how to please men. They have a belief +amongst them that the woman who dies a virgin does not go to paradise." + +Writing in the eighteenth century, Hamilton states [127] that "it was +an ancient custom for the Samorin (Zamorin) to reign but twelve years, +and no longer. If he died before his term was expired, it saved him +a troublesome ceremony of cutting his own throat on a public scaffold +erected for that purpose. He first made a feast for all his nobility +and gentry, who were very numerous. After the feast he saluted his +guests, went on the scaffold, and very neatly cut his own throat +in the view of the assembly. His body was, a little while after, +burned with great pomp and ceremony, and the grandees elected a new +Samorin. Whether that custom was a religious or a civil ceremony +I know not, but it is now laid aside, and a new custom is followed +by the modern Samorin, that a jubilee is proclaimed throughout his +dominion at the end of twelve years, and a tent is pitched for him in +a spacious plain, and a great feast is celebrated for ten or twelve +days with mirth and jollity, guns firing night and day, so at the +end of the feast any four of the guests that have a mind to gain a +crown by a desperate action in fighting their way through thirty or +forty thousand of his guards, and kill the Samorin in his tent, he +that kills him succeeds him in his empire. In Anno 1695 one of these +jubilees happened, and the tent pitched near Ponnany, a sea-port of +his about fifteen leagues to the southward of Calicut. There were but +three men that would venture on that desperate action, who fell on, +with sword and target, among the guards, and, after they had killed +and wounded many, were themselves killed. One of the desperadoes +had a nephew of fifteen or sixteen years of age that kept close by +his uncle in the attack on the guards, and, when he saw him fall, +the youth got through the guards into the tent, and made a stroke +at his Majesty's head, and had certainly dispatched him if a large +brass lamp which was burning over his head had not marred the blow, +but, before he could make another, he was killed by the guards, +and I believe the same Samorin reigns yet." + +It is noted by Sonnerat [128] that the Nayars "are the warriors; they +have also the privilege of enjoying all the women of their caste. Their +arms, which they constantly carry, distinguish them from the other +tribes. They are besides known by their insolent haughtiness. When they +perceive pariahs, they call out to them, even at a great distance, +to get out of their way, and, if any one of these unfortunate people +approaches too near a Nair, and through inadvertence touches him, +the Nair has a right to murder him, which is looked upon as a very +innocent action, and for which no complaint is ever made. It is true +that the pariahs have one day in the year when all the Nairs they +can touch become their slaves, but the Nairs take such precautions to +keep out of the way at the time, that an accident of that kind seldom +happens." It is further recorded by Buchanan [129] that "the whole of +these Nairs formed the militia of Malayala, directed by the Namburis +and governed by the Rajahs. Their chief delight is in arms, but they +are more inclined to use them for assassination or surprise, than in +the open field. Their submission to their superiors was great, but they +exacted deference from those under them with a cruelty and arrogance, +rarely practised but among Hindus in their state of independence. A +Nair was expected to instantly cut down a Tiar or Mucuai, who presumed +to defile him by touching his person; and a similar fate awaited a +slave, who did not turn out of the road as a Nair passed." + +Nayar is commonly said to be derived from the Sanskrit Nayaka, a +leader, and to be cognate with Naik, and Nayudu or Naidu. In this +connection, Mr. L. Moore writes [130] that "if a reference is made +to the Anglo-Indian Glossary (Hobson-Jobson) by Yule and Burnell, it +will be found that the term Naik or Nayakan, and the word Nayar are +derived from the same Sanskrit original, and there is a considerable +amount of evidence to show that the Nayars of Malabar are closely +connected by origin with the Nayakans of Vijayanagar. [131] Xavier, +writing in 1542 to 1544, makes frequent references to men whom he +calls Badages, who are said to have been collectors of royal taxes, +and to have grievously oppressed Xavier's converts among the fishermen +of Travancore. [132] Dr. Caldwell, alluding to Xavier's letters, says +[133] that these Badages were no doubt Vadages or men from the North, +and is of opinion that a Jesuit writer of the time who called them +Nayars was mistaken, and that they were really Nayakans from Madura. I +believe, however, that the Jesuit rightly called them Nayars, for I +find that Father Organtino, writing in 1568, speaks of these Badages +as people from Narasinga (a kingdom north of Madura, lying close to +Bishnaghur). [134] Bishnaghur is, of course, Vijayanagar, and the +kingdom of Narasinga was the name frequently given by the Portuguese +to Vijayanagar. Almost every page of Mr. Sewell's interesting book on +Vijayanagar bears testimony to the close connection between Vijayanagar +and the West Coast. Dr. A. C. Burnell tells us that the kings who ruled +Vijayanagar during the latter half of the fourteenth century belonged +to a low non-Aryan caste, namely, that of Canarese cow-herds. [135] +They were therefore closely akin to the Nayars, one of the leading +Rajas among whom at the present time, although officially described +as a Samanta, is in reality of the Eradi, i.e., cow-herd caste. [136] +It is remarkable that Colonel (afterwards Sir Thomas) Munro, in the +memorandum written by him in 1802 [137] on the Poligars of the Ceded +Districts, when dealing with the cases of a number of Poligars who +were direct descendants of men who had been chiefs under the kings +of Vijayanagar, calls them throughout his report Naique or Nair, +using the two names as if they were identical. Further investigation +as to the connection of the Nayars of Malabar with the kingdom of +Vijayanagar would, I believe, lead to interesting results." In the +Journal of the Hon. John Lindsay (1783) it is recorded [138] that "we +received information that our arms were still successful on the Malabar +coast, and that our army was now advancing into the inland country; +whilst the Nayars and Polygars that occupy the jungles and mountains +near Seringapatam, thinking this a favourable opportunity to regain +their former independence, destroyed the open country, and committed +as many acts of barbarity as Hyder's army had done in the Carnatic." + +"Some," Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar writes in a note on the Nayars of +Travancore, "believe that Nayar is derived from Naga (serpents), +as the Aryans so termed the earlier settlers of Malabar on account +of the special adoration which they paid to snakes. The Travancore +Nayars are popularly known as Malayala Sudras--a term which contrasts +them sharply with the Pandi or foreign Sudras, of whom a large +number immigrated into Travancore in later times. Another name by +which Nayars are sometimes known is Malayali, but other castes, +which have long inhabited the Malayalam country, can lay claim to +this designation with equal propriety. The most general title of +the Nayars is Pillai (child), which was once added to the names +of the Brahman dwellers in the south. It must, in all probability, +have been after the Brahmans changed their title to Aiyar (father), +by which name the non-Brahman people invariably referred to them, +that Sudras began to be termed Pillai. We find that the Vellalas +of the Tamil country and the Nayars of Travancore called themselves +Pillai from very early times. The formal ceremony of paying down a +sum of money, and obtaining a distinction direct from the Sovereign +was known as tirumukham pitikkuka, or catching the face of the king, +and enabled the recipients to add, besides the honorary suffix Pillai, +the distinctive prefix Kanakku, or accountant, to their name. So +important were the privileges conferred by it that even Sanku Annavi, +a Brahman Dalava, obtained it at the hand of the reigning Maharaja, +and his posterity at Vempannur have enjoyed the distinction until the +present day. The titles Pillai and Kanakku are never used together. The +name of an individual would be, for example, either Krishna Pillai +or Kanakku Raman Krishnan, Raman being the name of the Karanavan or +the maternal uncle. A higher title, Chempakaraman, corresponds to the +knighthood of mediæval times, and was first instituted by Maharaja +Marthanda Varma in memory, it is said, of his great Prime Minister +Rama Aiyyan Dalawa. The individual, whom it was the king's pleasure to +honour, was taken in procession on the back of an elephant through the +four main streets of the fort, and received by the Prime Minister, +seated by his side, and presented with pansupari (betel). Rare as +this investiture is in modern times, there are many ancient houses, +to which this title of distinction is attached in perpetuity. The +title Kanakku is often enjoyed with it, the maternal uncle's name +being dropped, e.g., Kanakku Chempakaraman Krishnan. Tambi (younger +brother) is another title prevalent in Travancore. It is a distinctive +suffix to the names of Nayar sons of Travancore Sovereigns. But, in +ancient times, this title was conferred on others also, in recognition +of merit. Tambis alone proceed in palanquins, and appear before the +Maharaja without a head-dress. The consorts of Maharajas are selected +from these families. If a lady from outside is to be accepted as +consort, she is generally adopted into one of these families. The +title Karta, or doer, appears also to have been used as a titular +name by some of the rulers of Madura. [At the Madras census, 1901, +Kartakkal was returned by Balijas claiming to be descendants of the +Nayak kings of Madura and Tanjore.] The Tekkumkur and Vadakkumkur +Rajas in Malabar are said to have first conferred the title Karta on +certain influential Nayar families. In social matters the authority +of the Karta was supreme, and it was only on important points that +higher authorities were called on to intercede. All the Kartas belong +to the Illam sub-division of the Nayar caste. The title Kuruppu, though +assumed by other castes than Nayars, really denotes an ancient section +of the Nayars, charged with various functions. Some were, for instance, +instructors in the use of arms, while others were superintendents of +maid-servants in the royal household. Writing concerning the Zamorin of +Calicut about 1500 A.D., Barbosa states that "the king has a thousand +waiting women, to whom he gives regular pay, and they are always at +the court to sweep the palaces and houses of the king, and he does +this for the State, because fifty would be enough to sweep." When +a Maharaja of Travancore enters into a matrimonial alliance, it is +a Kuruppu who has to call out the full title of the royal consort, +Panappillai Amma, after the presentation of silk and cloth has been +performed. The title Panikkar is derived from pani, work. It was the +Panikkars who kept kalaris, or gymnastic and military schools, but in +modern times many Panikkars have taken to the teaching of letters. Some +are entirely devoted to temple service, and are consequently regarded +as belonging to a division of Marans, rather than of Nayars. The +title Kaimal is derived from kai, hand, signifying power. In former +times, some Kaimals were recognised chieftains, e.g., the Kaimal +of Vaikkattillam in North Travancore. Others were in charge of the +royal treasury, which, according to custom, could not be seen even +by the kings except in their presence. "Neither could they," Barbosa +writes, "take anything out of the treasury without a great necessity, +and by the counsel of this person and certain others." The titles +Unnithan and Valiyathan were owned by certain families in Central +Travancore, which were wealthy and powerful. They were to some extent +self-constituted justices of the peace, and settled all ordinary +disputes arising in the kara where they dwelt. The title Menavan, +or Menon, means a superior person, and is derived from mel, above, +and avan he. The recipient of the title held it for his lifetime, or +it was bestowed in perpetuity on his family, according to the amount +of money paid down as atiyara. As soon as an individual was made a +Menon, he was presented with an ola (palmyra leaf for writing on) +and an iron style as symbols of the office of accountant, which he was +expected to fill. In British Malabar even now every amsam or revenue +village has an accountant or writer called Menon. The title Menokki, +meaning one who looks over or superintends, is found only in British +Malabar, as it was exclusively a creation of the Zamorin. [They are, +I gather, accountants in temples.] + +"There are numerous sub-divisions comprised under the general head +Nayar, of which the most important, mentioned in vernacular books, +are Kiriyam, Illam, Svarupam, Itacheri or Idacheri, Pallichan, +Ashtikkurichchi, Vattakatan, Otatu, Pulikkal, Vyapari, Vilakkitalavan, +and Veluthetan. Of these Ashtikkurichchi and Pulikkal are divisions +of Maran, Vyapari is a division of Chettis, and Vilakkitalavan and +Veluthetan are barbers and washermen respectively. + +"The chief divisions of Nayars, as now recognised, are as follows:-- + +1. Kiriyam, a name said to be a corruption of the Sanskrit griha, +meaning house. This represents the highest class, the members of which +were, in former times, not obliged to serve Brahmans and Kshatriyas. + +2. Illakkar.--The word illam indicates a Nambutiri Brahman's house, +and tradition has it that every illam family once served an illam. But, +in mediæval times, any Nayar could get himself recognised as belonging +to the Illam division, provided that a certain sum of money, called +adiyara, was paid to the Government. The Illakkar are prohibited +from the use of fish, flesh, and liquor, but the prohibition is not +at the present day universally respected. In some parts of Malabar, +they have moulded many of their habits in the truly Brahmanical style. + +3. Svarupakkar.--Adherents of the Kshatriya families of Travancore. The +members of the highest group, Parur Svarupam, have their purificatory +rites performed by Marans. It is stated that they were once the +Illakkar servants of one Karuttetathu Nambutiri, who was the feudal +lord of Parur, and afterwards became attached to the royal household +which succeeded to that estate, thus becoming Parur Svarupakkar. + +4. Padamangalam and Tamil Padam were not originally Nayars, +but immigrants from the Tamil country. They are confined to a few +localities in Travancore, and until recently there was a distinctive +difference in regard to dress and ornaments between the Tamil Padam +and the ordinary Nayars. The occupation of the Padamangalakkar is +temple service, such as sweeping, carrying lamps during processions, +etc. The Tamil Padakkar are believed to have taken to various kinds +of occupation, and, for this reason, to have become merged with +other sections. + +5. Vathi or Vatti.--This name is not found in the Jatinirnaya, +probably because it had not been differentiated from Maran. The +word is a corruption of vazhti, meaning praying for happiness, and +refers to their traditional occupation. They use a peculiar drum, +called nantuni. Some call themselves Daivampatis, or wards of God, +and follow the makkathayam system of inheritance (in the male line). + +6. Itacheri or Idacheri, also called Pantaris in South Travancore. They +are herdsmen, and vendors of milk, butter and curds. The name suggests +a relation of some kind to the Idaiyan caste of the Tamil country. + +7. Karuvelam, known also by other names, such as Kappiyara and +Tiruvattar. Their occupation is service in the palace of the Maharaja, +and they are the custodians of his treasury and valuables. Fifty-two +families are believed to have been originally brought from Kolathanad, +when a member thereof was adopted into the Travancore royal family. + +8. Arikuravan.--A name, meaning those who reduced the quantity of rice +out of the paddy given to them to husk at the temple of Kazhayakkuttam +near Trivandrum, by which they were accosted by the local chieftain. + +9. Pallichchan.--Bearers of palanquins for Brahmans and Malabar +chieftains. They are also employed as their attendants, to carry +their sword and shield before them. + +10. Vandikkaran.--A name, meaning cartmen, for those who supply fuel +to temples, and cleanse the vessels belonging thereto. + +11. Kuttina.--The only heiress of a Svarupam tarwad is said to +have been a maid-servant in the Vadakketam Brahman's house, and her +daughter's tali-kettu ceremony to have been celebrated in her master's +newly-built cowshed. The bride was called kuttilachchi, or bride +in a cowshed, and her descendants were named Kuttina Nayars. They +intermarry among themselves, and, having no priests of their own, +obtain purified water from Brahmans to remove the effects of pollution. + +12. Matavar.--Also known as Puliyattu, Veliyattu, and Kallur +Nayars. They are believed to have been good archers in former times. + +13. Otatu, also called Kusa. Their occupation is to tile or thatch +temples and Brahman houses. + +14. Mantalayi.--A tract of land in the Kalkulam taluk, called +Mantalachchi Konam, was granted to them by the State. They are paid +mourners, and attend at the Trivandrum palace when a death occurs in +the royal family. + +15. Manigramam.--Believed to represent Hindu recoveries from early +conversion to Christianity. Manigramam was a portion of Cranganore, +where early Christian immigrants settled. + +16. Vattaykkatan, better known in Travancore as Chakala Nayars, form +in many respects the lowest sub-division. They are obliged to stand +outside the sacrificial stones (balikallu) of a sanctuary, and are not +allowed to take the title Pillai. Pulva is a title of distinction among +them. One section of them is engaged in the hereditary occupation of +oil-pressing, and occupies a lower position in the social scale than +the other." + +The following list of "clans" among the Nayars of Malabar whom he +examined anthropometrically is given by Mr. F. Fawcett [139]:-- + + + Kiriyattil. Vangiloth. + Sudra. Kitavu. + Kurup. Pallichan. + Nambiyar. Muppathinayiran. + Urali. Viyapari or Ravari. + Nallioden. Attikurissi. + Viyyur. Manavalan. + Akattu Charna. Adungadi. + Purattu Charna. Adiodi. + Vattakkad. Amayengolam. + + +"The Kurup, Nambiyar Viyyur, Manavalan, Vengolan, Nellioden, +Adungadi, Kitavu, Adiodi, Amayengolam, all superior clans, +belong, properly speaking, to North Malabar. The Kiriyattil, +or Kiriyam, is the highest of all the clans in South Malabar, +and is supposed to comprise, or correspond with the group of +clans first named from North Malabar. The Akattu Charna clan is +divided into two sub-clans, one of which looks to the Zamorin +as their lord, and the other owns lordship to minor lordlings, +as the Tirumulpad of Nilambur. The former are superior, and a +woman of the latter may mate with a man of the former, but not +vice versâ. In the old days, every Nayar chief had his Charnavar, +or adherents. The Purattu Charna are the outside adherents, +or fighters and so on, and the Akattu Charna are the inside +adherents--clerks and domestics. The clan from which the former +were drawn is superior to the latter. The Uralis are said to have +been masons; the Pallichans manchil bearers. [140] The Sudra +clan supplies female servants in the houses of Nambudiris. The +Vattakkad (or Chakkingal: chakku, oil press) clan, whose proper +métier is producing gingelly or cocoanut oil with the oil-mill, +is the lowest of all, excepting, I think, the Pallichan. Indeed, +in North Malabar, I have frequently been told by Nayars of the +superior clans that they do not admit the Vattakkad to be Nayars, +and say that they have adopted the honorary affix Nayars to +their names quite recently. There is some obscurity as regards +the sub-divisions of the Vattakkad clan. To the north of Calicut, +in Kurumbranad, they are divided into the Undiatuna, or those who +pull (to work the oil-machine by hand), and the Murivechchu-atune, +or those who tie or fasten bullocks, to work the oil-machine. Yet +further north, at Tellicherry and thereabouts, there are no +known sub-divisions, while in Ernad, to the eastward, the clan +is divided into the Veluttatu (white) and Karuttatu (black). The +white have nothing to do with the expression and preparation of +oil, which is the hereditary occupation of the black. The white +may eat with Nayars of any clan; the black can eat with no others +outside their own clan. The black sub-clan is strictly endogamous; +the other, the superior sub-clan, is not. Their women may marry +men of any other clan, the Pallichchan excepted. Union by marriage, +or whatever the function may be named, is permissible between most +of the other clans, the rule by which a woman may never unite +herself with her inferior being always observed. She may unite +herself with a man of her own clan, or with a man of any superior +clan, or with a Nambutiri, an Embrantiri, or any other Brahman, +or with one of the small sects coming between the Brahmans and +the Nayars. But she cannot under any circumstances unite herself +with a man of a clan, which is inferior to hers. Nor can she eat +with those of a clan inferior to her; a man may, and does without +restriction. Her children by an equal in race and not only in mere +social standing, but never those by one who is racially inferior, +belong to her taravad. [141] The children of the inferior mothers +are never brought into the taravad of the superior fathers, +i.e., they are never brought into it to belong to it, but they +may live there. And, where they do so, they cannot enter the +taravad kitchen, or touch the women while they are eating. Nor +are they allowed to touch their father's corpse. They may live +in the taravad under these and other disabilities, but are never +of it. The custom, which permits a man to cohabit with a woman +lower in the social scale than himself, and prohibits a woman from +exercising the same liberty, is called the rule of anulomam and +pratilomam. Dr. Gundert derives anulomam from anu, with lomam +(romam), hair, or going with the hair or grain. So pratilomam +means going against the hair or grain. According to this usage, +a Nayar woman, consorting with a man of a higher caste, follows +the hair, purifies the blood, and raises the progeny in social +estimation. By cohabitation with a man of a lower division (clan) +or caste, she is guilty of pratilomam, and, if the difference of +caste were admittedly great, she would be turned out of her family, +to prevent the whole family being boycotted. A corollary of this +custom is that a Nambutiri Brahman father cannot touch his own +children by his Nayar consort without bathing afterwards to remove +pollution. The children in the marumakkatayam family belong, +of course, to their mother's family, clan, and caste. They are +Nayars, not Nambutiris. The Nayars of North Malabar are held to +be superior all along the line, clan for clan, to those of South +Malabar, which is divided from the north by the river Korapuzha, +seven miles north of Calicut, so that a woman of North Malabar +would not unite herself to a man of her own clan name of South +Malabar. A Nayar woman of North Malabar cannot pass northward +beyond the frontier; she cannot pass the hills to the eastward; and +she cannot cross the Korapuzha to the south. It is tabu. The women +of South Malabar are similarly confined by custom, breach of which +involves forfeiture of caste. To this rule there is an exception, +and of late years the world has come in touch with the Malayali, +who nowadays goes to the University, studies medicine and law in +the Presidency town (Madras), or even in far off England. Women +of the relatively inferior Akattu Charna clan are not under quite +the same restrictions as regards residence as are those of most +of the other clans; so, in these days of free communications, when +Malayalis travel, and frequently reside far from their own country, +they often prefer to select wives from this Akattu Charna clan. But +the old order changeth everywhere, and nowadays Malayalis who are in +the Government service, and obliged to reside far away from Malabar, +and a few who have taken up their abode in the Presidency town, +have wrenched themselves free of the bonds of custom, and taken with +them their wives who are of clans other than the Akattu Charna. The +interdiction to travel, and the possible exception to it in the case of +Akattu Charna women, has been explained to me in this way. The Nayar +woman observes pollution for three days during menstruation. While +in her period, she may not eat or drink with any other member of the +taravad, and on the fourth day she must be purified. Purification is +known as mattu (change), and it is effected by the washerwoman, who, +in some parts of South Malabar, is of the Mannan or Vannan caste, +whose métier is to wash for the Nayars and Nambutiris, but who is, +as a rule, the washerwoman of the Tiyan caste, giving her, after +her bath, one of her own cloths to wear (mattu, change of raiment) +instead of the soiled cloth, which she takes away to wash. Pollution, +which may come through a death in the family, through child-birth, +or menstruation, must be removed by mattu. Until it is done, the woman +is out of caste. It must be done in the right way at the right moment, +under pain of the most unpleasant social consequences. How that the +influential rural local magnate wreaks vengeance on a taravad by +preventing the right person giving mattu to the women is well known +in Malabar. He could not, with all the sections of the Penal Code at +his disposal, inflict greater injury. Now the Nayar woman is said to +feel compelled to remain in Malabar, or within her own part of it, +in order to be within reach of mattu. My informant tells me that, +the Vannan caste being peculiar to Malabar, the Nayar women cannot go +where these are not to be found, and that mattu must be done by one +of that caste. But I know, from my own observation in the most truly +conservative localities, in Kurumbranad for example, where the Nayar +has a relative superiority, that the washerman is as a rule a Tiyan; +and I cannot but think that the interdiction has other roots than +those involved in mattu. It does not account for the superstition +against crossing water, which has its counterparts elsewhere in the +world. The origin of the interdiction to cross the river southwards +has been explained to me as emanating from a command of the Kolatirri +Rajah in days gone by, when, the Arabs having come to the country about +Calicut, there was a chance of the women being seized and taken as +wives. The explanation is somewhat fanciful. The prohibition to cross +the river to the northwards is supposed to have originated in much +the same way. As bearing on this point, I may mention that the Nayar +women living to the east of Calicut cannot cross the river backwater, +and come into the town." It may be noted in this connection that the +Paikara river on the Nilgiri hills is sacred to the Todas, and, for +fear of mishap from arousing the wrath of the river-god, a pregnant +Toda woman will not venture to cross it. No Toda will use the river +water for any purpose, and they do not touch it, unless they have to +ford it. They then walk through it, and, on reaching the opposite bank, +bow their heads. Even when they walk over the Paikara bridge, they +take their hands out of the putkuli (body-cloth) as a mark of respect. + +The complexity of the sub-divisions among the Nayars in North Malabar +is made manifest by the following account thereof in the Gazetteer of +Malabar. "There are exogamous sub-divisions (perhaps corresponding to +original tarwads) called kulams, and these are grouped to form the +sub-castes which are usually endogamous. It is quite impossible to +attempt a complete account of the scheme, but to give some idea of +its nature one example may be taken, and dealt with in some detail; +and for this purpose the portion of Kurumbranad known as Payyanad +will serve. This is the country between the Kottapuzha and Porapuzha +rivers, and is said to have been given by a Raja of Kurumbranad to +a certain Ambadi Kovilagam Tamburatti (the stanam or title of the +senior lady of the Zamorin Raja's family). In this tract or nad there +were originally six stanis or chieftains, who ruled, under the Raja, +with the assistance, or subject to the constitutional control, of four +assemblies of Nayars called Kuttams. Each kuttam had its hereditary +president. In this tract there are seven groups of kulams. The highest +includes twelve kulams, Vengalat, Pattillat, Viyyur, Nelliot, Atunkudi, +Amayangalat, Nelloli, Nilancheri, Rendillat, Pulliyani, Orakatteri, +and Venmeri. Of these, the Pattillat and Rendillat (members of the +ten and members of the two illams or houses) affix the title Adiyodi +to their names, the last three affix the title Nambiyar, and the rest +affix Nayar. Of the six stanis already mentioned, three, with the title +of Adiyodi, belong to the Vengalat kulam, while two of the presidents +of kuttams belonged to the Pattillat kulam. The younger members of +the stani houses are called kidavu. It is the duty of women of Viyyur +and Nelliot kulams to join in the bridal procession of members of the +Vengalat kulam, the former carrying lamps, and the latter salvers +containing flowers, while the Rendillat Adiyodis furnish cooks to +the same class. Pattillat Adiyodis and Orakatteri Nambiyars observe +twelve days' pollution, while all the other kulams observe fifteen. The +second group consists of six kulams, Eravattur, Ara-Eravattur (or half +Eravattur), and Attikodan Nayars, Tonderi Kidavus, Punnan Nambiyars, +and Menokkis. All these observe fifteen days' pollution. The third +group consists of three kulams, Taccholi to which the remaining +three stanis belong, Kotholi, and Kuruvattancheri. All affix Nayar to +their names, and observe fifteen days' pollution. The fourth group +consists of three kulams, Peruvanian Nambiyars, Chelladan Nayars, +and Vennapalan Nayars. All three observe fifteen days' pollution. The +name Peruvanian means great or principal oil-man; and it is the duty of +this caste to present the Kurumbranad Raja with oil on the occasion of +his formal installation. The fifth group consists of the three kulams, +Mannangazhi, Paramchela, and Pallikara Nayars, all observing fifteen +days' pollution. A member of the first-named class has to place an +amanapalaga (the traditional seat of Nambudiris and other high castes) +for the Kurumbranad Raja to sit on at the time of his installation, +while a member of the second has to present him with a cloth on +the same occasion. The sixth group consists of four kiriyams named +Patam, Tulu, Manan, and Ottu respectively, and has the collective +name of Ravari. The seventh group consists of six kulams, Kandon, +Kannankodan, Kotta, Karumba, Kundakollavan, and Panakadan Nayars. All +observe fifteen days' pollution, and the women of these six kulams +have certain duties to perform in connection with the purification +of women of the Vengalat, Pattillat, and Orakatteri kulams. Besides +these seven groups, there are a few other classes without internal +sub-divisions. One such class is known as Pappini Nayar. A woman of +this class takes the part of the Brahmini woman (Nambissan) at the +tali-kettu kalyanam of girls belonging to the kulams included in the +third group. Another class called Palattavan takes the place of the +Attikurissi Nayar at the funeral ceremonies of the same three kulams." + +In illustration of the custom of polyandry among the Nayars of +Malabar in by-gone days, the following extracts may be quoted. "On +the continent of India," it is recorded in Ellis' edition of the +Kural, "polyandry is still said to be practiced in Orissa, and among +particular tribes in other parts. In Malayalam, as is well known, the +vision of Plato in his ideal republic is more completely realised, the +women among the Nayars not being restricted to family or number, but, +after she has been consecrated by the usual rites before the nuptial +fire, in which ceremony any indifferent person may officiate as the +representative of her husband, being in her intercourse with the other +sex only restrained by her inclinations; provided that the male with +whom she associates be of an equal or superior tribe. But it must be +stated, for the glory of the female character, that, notwithstanding +the latitude thus given to the Nayattis, and that they are thus left +to the guidance of their own free will and the play of their own +fancy (which in other countries has not always been found the most +efficient check on the conduct of either sex), it rarely happens that +they cohabit with more than one person at the same time. Whenever the +existing connexion is broken, whether from incompatibility of temper, +disgust, caprice, or any of the thousand vexations by which from the +frailty of nature domestic happiness is liable to be disturbed, the +woman seeks another lover, the man another mistress. But it mostly +happens that the bond of paternity is here, as elsewhere, too strong +to be shaken off, and that the uninfluenced and uninterested union +of love, when formed in youth, continues even in the decline of age." + +In a note on the Nayars in the sixteenth century, Cæsar Fredericke +writes as follows. [142] "These Nairi having their wives common +amongst themselves, and when any of them goe into the house of any +of these women, he leaveth his sworde and target at the door, and the +time that he is there, there dare not be any so hardie as to come into +that house. The king's children shall not inherite the kingdom after +their father, because they hold this opinion, that perchance they +were not begotten of the king their father, but of some other man, +therefore they accept for their king one of the sonnes of the king's +sisters, or of some other woman of the blood roiall, for that they +be sure that they are of the blood roiall." + +In his "New Account of the East Indies, (1727)" Hamilton wrote: +"The husbands," of whom, he said, there might be twelve, but no more +at one time, "agree very well, for they cohabit with her in their +turns, according to their priority of marriage, ten days more or +less according as they can fix a term among themselves, and he that +cohabits with her maintains her in all things necessary for his time, +so that she is plentifully provided for by a constant circulation. When +the man that cohabits with her goes into her house he leaves his arms +at the door, and none dare remove them or enter the house on pain of +death. When she proves with child, she nominates its father, who takes +care of his education after she has suckled it, and brought it to walk +or speak, but the children are never heirs to their father's estate, +but the father's sister's children are." + +Writing in the latter half of the eighteenth century, Grose says [143] +that "it is among the Nairs that principally prevails the strange +custom of one wife being common to a number; in which point the +great power of custom is seen from its rarely or never producing any +jealousies or quarrels among the co-tenants of the same woman. Their +number is not so much limited by any specific law as by a kind of +tacit convention, it scarcely ever happening that it exceeds six or +seven. The woman, however, is under no obligation to admit above a +single attachment, though not less respected for using her privilege +to its utmost extent. If one of the husbands happens to come to the +house when she is employed with another, he knows that circumstance by +certain signals left at the door that his turn is not come, and departs +very resignedly." Writing about the same time, Sonnerat [144] says +that "these Brahmans do not marry, but have the privilege of enjoying +all the Nairesses. This privilege the Portuguese who were esteemed +as a great caste, obtained and preserved, till their drunkenness and +debauchery betrayed them into a commerce with all sorts of women. The +following right is established by the customs of the country. A +woman without shame may abandon herself to all men who are not of an +inferior caste to her own, because the children (notwithstanding what +Mr. de Voltaire says) do not belong to the father, but to the mother's +brother; they become his legitimate heirs at their birth, even of +the crown if he is king." In his 'Voyages and Travels', Kerr writes +as follows. [145] "By the laws of their country these Nayres cannot +marry, so that no one has any certain or acknowledged son or father; +all their children being born of mistresses, with each of whom three +or four Nayres cohabit by agreement among themselves. Each one of +this cofraternity dwells a day in his turn with the joint mistress, +counting from noon of one day to the same time of the next, after +which he departs, and another comes for the like time. Thus they +spend their time without the care or trouble of wives and children, +yet maintain their mistresses well according to their rank. Any +one may forsake his mistress at his pleasure; and, in like manner, +the mistress may refuse admittance to any one of her lovers when she +pleases. These mistresses are all gentlewomen of the Nayre caste, and +the Nayres, besides being prohibited from marrying, must not attach +themselves to any woman of a different rank. Considering that there are +always several men attached to one woman, the Nayres never look upon +any of the children born of their mistresses as belonging to them, +however strong a resemblance may subsist, and all inheritances among +the Nayres go to their brothers, or the sons of their sisters, born +of the same mothers, all relationship being counted only by female +consanguinity and descent. This strange law prohibiting marriage +was established that they might have neither wives nor children on +whom to fix their love and attachment; and that, being free from all +family cares, they might more willingly devote themselves entirely +to warlike service." The term son of ten fathers is used as a term +of abuse among Nayars to this day. [146] Tipu Sultan is said to have +issued the following proclamation to the Nayars, on the occasion of +his visit to Calicut in 1788. "And, since it is a practice with you +for one woman to associate with ten men, and you leave your mothers +and sisters unconstrained in their obscene practices, and are thence +all born in adultery, and are more shameless in your connections than +the beasts of the field; I hereby require you to forsake these sinful +practices, and live like the rest of mankind." [147] + +As to the present existence or non-existence of polyandry I must +call recent writers into the witness-box. The Rev. S. Mateer, +Mr. Fawcett writes, [148] "informed me ten years ago--he was speaking +of polyandry among the Nayars of Travancore--that he had 'known an +instance of six brothers keeping two women, four husbands to one, +and two to the other. In a case where two brothers cohabited with +one woman, and one was converted to Christianity, the other brother +was indignant at the Christian's refusal to live any longer in this +condition.' I have not known an admitted instance of polyandry amongst +the Nayars of Malabar at the present day, but there is no doubt that, +if it does not exist now (and I think it does here and there), it +certainly did not long ago." Mr. Gopal Panikkar says [149] that "to +enforce this social edict upon the Nairs, the Brahmans made use of +the powerful weapon of their aristocratic ascendancy in the country, +and the Nairs readily submitted to the Brahman supremacy. Thus it +came about that the custom of concubinage, so freely indulged in +by the Brahmans with Nair women, obtained such firm hold upon the +country that it has only been strengthened by the lapse of time. At +the present day there are families, especially in the interior +of the district, who look upon it as an honour to be thus united +with Brahmans. But a reaction has begun to take place against this +feeling, and Brahman alliances are invariably looked down upon in +respectable Nair tarwads. This reactionary feeling took shape in the +Malabar Marriage Act." Mr. Justice K. Narayana Marar says: "There is +nothing strange or to be ashamed of in the fact that the Nayars were +originally of a stock that practiced polyandry, nor if the practice +continued till recently. Hamilton and Buchanan say that, among the +Nayars of Malabar, a woman has several husbands, but these are not +brothers. These travellers came to Malabar in the eighteenth and the +beginning of the nineteenth century. There is no reason whatever to +suppose that they were not just recording what they saw. For I am +not quite sure whether, even now, the practice is not lurking in some +remote nooks and corners of the country." Lastly, Mr. Wigram writes as +follows. [150] "Polyandry may now be said to be dead, and, although the +issue of a Nayar marriage are still children of their mother rather +than of their father, marriage may be defined as a contract based +on mutual consent, and dissoluble at will. It has been well said +(by Mr. Logan) that nowhere is the marriage tie, albeit informal, +more rigidly observed or respected than it is in Malabar: nowhere is +it more jealously guarded, or its neglect more savagely avenged." + +In connection with the tali-kattu kalyanam, or tali-tying marriage, +Mr. Fawcett writes that "the details of this ceremony vary in different +parts of Malabar, but the ceremony in some form is essential, and must +be performed for every Nayar girl before she attains puberty." For +an account of this ceremony, I must resort to the evidence of +Mr. K. R. Krishna Menon before the Malabar Marriage Commission. [151] + +"The tali-kattu kalyanam is somewhat analogous to what a deva-dasi +(dancing-girl) of other countries (districts) undergoes before she +begins her profession. Among royal families, and those of certain +Edaprabhus, a Kshatriya, and among the Charna sect a Nedungadi is +invited to the girl's house at an auspicious hour appointed for the +purpose, and, in the presence of friends and castemen, ties a tali +(marriage badge) round her neck, and goes away after receiving a +certain fee for his trouble. Among the other sects, the horoscope of +the girl is examined along with those of her enangan (a recognised +member of one's own class) families, and the boy whose horoscope is +found to agree with hers is marked out as a fit person to tie the tali, +and a day is fixed for the tali-tying ceremony by the astrologer, and +information given to the Karanavan [152] (senior male in a tarwad) +of the boy's family. The feast is called ayaniunu, and the boy is +thenceforth called Manavalan or Pillai (bridegroom). From the house in +which the Manavalan is entertained a procession is formed, preceded +by men with swords, and shields shouting a kind of war-cry. In the +meantime a procession starts from the girl's house, with similar men +and cries, and headed by a member of her tarwad, to meet the other +procession, and, after meeting the Manavalan, he escorts him to +the girl's house. After entering the booth erected for the purpose, +he is conducted to a seat of honour, and his feet are washed by the +brother of the girl, who receives a pair of cloths. The Manavalan is +then taken to the centre of the booth, where bamboo mats, carpets and +white cloths are spread, and seated there. The brother of the girl +then carries her from inside the house, and, after going round the +booth three times, places her at the left side of the Manavalan. The +father of the girl then presents new cloths tied in a kambli (blanket) +to the pair, and with this new cloth (called manthravadi) they change +their dress. The wife of the Karanavan of the girl's tarwad, if she +be of the same caste, then decorates the girl by putting on anklets, +etc. The purohit (officiating priest) called Elayath (a low class +of Brahmans) then gives the tali to the Manavalan, and the family +astrologer shouts muhurtham (auspicious hour), and the Manavalan, +putting his sword on the lap, ties the tali round the neck of the +girl, who is then required to hold an arrow and a looking-glass in +her hand. In rich families a Brahmani sings certain songs intended to +bless the couple. In ordinary families who cannot procure her presence, +a Nayar, versed in songs, performs the office. The boy and girl are +then carried by enangans to a decorated apartment in the inner part of +the house, where they are required to remain under a sort of pollution +for three days. On the fourth day they bathe in some neighbouring +tank (pond) or river, holding each other's hands. After changing +their clothes they come home, preceded by a procession. Tom-toms +(native drums) and elephants usually form part of the procession, +and turmeric water is sprinkled. When they come home, all doors +of the house are shut, and the Manavalan is required to force them +open. He then enters the house, and takes his seat in the northern +wing thereof. The aunt and female friends of the girl then approach, +and give sweetmeats to the couple. The girl then serves food to +the boy, and, after taking their meal together from the same leaf, +they proceed to the booth, where a cloth is severed into two parts, +and each part given to the Manavalan and girl separately in the +presence of enangans and friends. The severing of the cloth is +supposed to constitute a divorce." "The tearing of the cloth," +Mr. Fawcett writes, "is confined to South Malabar. These are the +essentials of the ceremony, an adjunct to which is that, in spite of +the divorce, the girl observes death pollution when her Manavalan +dies. The same Manavalan may tie the tali on any number of girls, +during the same ceremony or at any other time, and he may be old +or young. He is often an elderly holy Brahman, who receives a small +present for his services. The girl may remove the tali, if she likes, +after the fourth day. In some parts of Malabar there is no doubt that +the man who performs the rôle of Manavalan is considered to have some +right to the girl, but in such case it has been already considered +that he is a proper man to enter into sambandham with her." + +Of the tali-kattu kalyanam in Malabar, the following detailed +account, mainly furnished by an Urali Nayar of Calicut, is given +in the Gazetteer of Malabar. "An auspicious time has to be selected +for the purpose, and the preliminary consultation of the astrologer +is in itself the occasion of a family gathering. The Manavalan +or quasi-bridegroom is chosen at the same time. For the actual +kalyanam, two pandals (booths), a small one inside a large one, +are erected in front of the padinhatta macchu or central room of the +western wing. They are decorated with cloth, garlands, lamps and palm +leaves, and the pillars should be of areca palm cut by an Asari on +Sunday, Monday, or Wednesday. The first day's ceremonies open with +a morning visit to the temple, where the officiating Brahman pours +water sanctified by mantrams (religious formulæ), and the addition +of leaves of mango, peepul and darbha, over the girl's head. This +rite is called kalasam maduga. The girl then goes home, and is taken +to the macchu, where a hanging lamp with five wicks is lighted. This +should be kept alight during all the days of the kalyanam. The girl +sits on a piece of pala (Alstonia scholaris) wood, which is called a +mana. She is elaborately adorned, and some castes consider a coral +necklace an essential. In her right hand she holds a vaalkannadi +(brass hand mirror), and in her left a charakkal (a highly ornate +arrow). In front of the girl are placed, in addition to the five-wicked +lamp and nirachaveppu, a metal dish or talam of parched rice, and the +eight lucky things known as ashtamangalyam. A woman, termed Brahmini +or Pushpini, usually of the Nambissan caste, sits facing her on a +three-legged stool (pidam), and renders appropriate and lengthy songs, +at the close of which she scatters rice over her. About midday there +is a feast, and in the evening songs in the macchu are repeated. Next +morning, the ceremonial in the macchu is repeated for the third time, +after which the paraphernalia are removed to the nearest tank or to +the east of the household well, where the Pushpini sings once more, +goes through the form of making the girl's toilet, and ties a cocoanut +frond round each of her wrists (kappola). The girl has then to rise and +jump over a kindi (vessel) of water with an unhusked cocoanut placed +on the top, overturning it the third time. The party then proceed +to the pandal, two men holding a scarlet cloth over the girl as a +canopy, and a Chaliyan (weaver) brings two cloths (kodi vastiram), +which the girl puts on. In the evening, the previous day's ceremonial +is repeated in the macchu. The third day is the most important, and it +is then that the central act of the ceremony is performed. For this +the girl sits in the inner pandal richly adorned. In some cases she +is carried from the house to the pandal by her karnavan or brother, +who makes a number of pradakshinams round the pandal (usually 3 or 7) +before he places her in her seat. Before the girl are the various +objects already specified, and the hymeneal ditties of the Pushpini +open the proceedings. At the auspicious moment the Manavalan arrives in +rich attire. He is often preceded by a sort of body guard with sword +and shield who utter a curious kind of cry, and is met at the gate of +the girl's house by a bevy of matrons with lamps and salvers decorated +with flowers and lights, called talams. A man of the girl's family +washes his feet, and he takes his seat in the pandal on the girl's +right. Sometimes the girl's father at this stage presents new cloths +(mantravadi or mantrokodi) to the pair, who at once don them. The +girl's father takes the tali, a small round plate of gold about the +size of a two-anna bit, with a hole at the top, from the goldsmith who +is in waiting, pays him for it,' and gives it to the Manavalan. The +karnavan or father of the girl asks the astrologer thrice if the +moment has arrived, and, as he signifies his assent the third time, +the Manavalan ties the tali round the girl's neck amidst the shouts of +those present. The Manavalan carries the girl indoors to the macchu, +and feasting brings the day to a close. Tom-toming and other music +are of course incessant accompaniments throughout as on other festal +occasions, and the women in attendance keep up a curious kind of +whistling, called kurava, beating their lips with their fingers. On +the fourth day, girl and Manavalan go in procession to the temple +richly dressed. The boy, carrying some sort of sword and shield, +heads the party. If the family be one of position, he and the girl +must be mounted on an elephant. Offerings are made, to the deity, +and presents to the Brahmans. They return home, and, as they enter +the house, the Manavalan who brings up the rear is pelted by the boys +of the party with plantains, which he wards off with his shield. In +other cases, he is expected to make a pretence of forcing the door +open. These two usages are no doubt to be classed with those marriage +ceremonies which take the form of a contest between the bridegroom and +the bride's relatives, and which are symbolic survivals of marriage +by capture. The Manavalan and the girl next partake of food together +in the inner pandal--a proceeding which obviously corresponds to +the ceremonious first meal of a newly-married couple. The assembled +guests are lavishly entertained. The chief Kovilagans and big Nayar +houses will feed 1,000 Brahmans as well as their own relations, and +spend anything up to ten or fifteen thousand rupees on the ceremony." + +Concerning the tali-kettu ceremony in Travancore Mr. N. Subramani +Aiyar writes as follows. "After the age of eleven, a Nayar girl +becomes too old for this ceremony, though, in some rare instances, +it is celebrated after a girl attains her age. As among other castes, +ages represented by an odd number, e.g., seven, nine, and eleven, +have a peculiar auspiciousness attached to them. Any number of girls, +even up to a dozen, may go through the ceremony at one time, and +they may include infants under one year--an arrangement prompted by +considerations of economy, and rendered possible by the fact that +no civil or religious right or liability is contracted as between +the parties. The duty of getting the girls of the tarwad 'married' +devolves on the karanavan, or in his default on the eldest brother, +the father's obligation being discharged by informing him that the +time for the ceremony has arrived. The masters of the ceremonies at a +Nayar tali-kettu in Travancore are called Machchampikkar, i.e., men +in the village, whose social status is equal to that of the tarwad +in which the ceremony is to be celebrated. At a preliminary meeting +of the Machchampikkar, the number of girls for whom the ceremony is +to be performed, the bridegrooms, and other details are settled. The +horoscopes are examined by the village astrologer, and those youths in +the tarwads who have passed the age of eighteen, and whose horoscopes +agree with those of the girls, are declared to be eligible. The ola +(palm-leaf) on which the Kaniyan (astrologer) writes his decision is +called the muhurta charutu, and the individual who receives it from him +is obliged to see that the ceremony is performed on an auspicious day +in the near future. The next important item is the fixing of a wooden +post in the south-west corner or kannimula of the courtyard. At the +construction of the pandal (booth) the Pidakakkar or villagers render +substantial aid. The mandapa is decorated with ears of corn, and hence +called katirmandapa. It is also called mullapandal. On the night of +the previous day the kalati or Brahman's song is sung. A sumptuous +banquet, called ayaniunnu, is given at the girl's house to the party +of the young man. The ceremony commences with the bridegroom washing +his feet, and taking his seat within the pandal. The girl meanwhile +bathes, worships the household deity, and is dressed in new cloths +and adorned with costly ornaments. A Brahman woman ties a thread +round the girl's left wrist, and sings a song called Subhadraveli, +which deals with the marriage by capture of Subhadra by Arjuna. Then, +on the invitation of the girl's mother, who throws a garland round +his neck, the bridegroom goes in procession, riding on an elephant, +or on foot. The girl's brother is waiting to receive him at the +pandal. A leading villager is presented with some money, as if to +recompense him for the permission granted by him to commence the +ceremony. The girl sits within the mandapa, facing the east, with her +eyes closed. The bridegroom, on his arrival, sits on her right. He +then receives the minnu (ornament) from the Ilayatu priest, and ties +it round the girl's neck. A song is sung called ammachampattu, or the +song of the maternal uncle. If there are several brides, they sit in +a row, each holding in her hand an arrow and a looking-glass, and the +ornaments are tied on their necks in the order of their ages. Unless +enangans are employed, there is usually only one tali-tier, whatever +may be the number of girls. In cases where, owing to poverty, the +expenses of the ceremony cannot be borne, it is simply performed in +front of a Brahman temple, or in the pandaramatam, or house of the +village chieftain. In many North Travancore taluks the girl removes +her tali as soon as she hears of the tali-tier's death." It is noted +by the Rev. S. Mateer [153] that "a Nair girl of Travancore must get +married with the tali before the age of eleven to avoid reproach +from friends and neighbours. In case of need a sword may even be +made to represent a bridegroom." Sometimes, when a family is poor, +the girl's mother makes an idol of clay, adorns it with flowers, +and invests her daughter with the tali in the presence of the idol. + +In an account of the tali-kettu ceremony, in the Cochin Census Report, +1901, it is stated that "the celebration of the ceremony is costly, +and advantage is therefore taken of a single occasion in the course +of ten or twelve years, at which all girls in a family, irrespective +of their ages, and, when parties agree, all girls belonging to +families that observe death pollution between one another go through +the ceremony. The ceremony opens with the fixing of a post for the +construction of a pandal or shed, which is beautifully decorated +with cloth, pictures and festoons. The male members of the village +are invited, and treated to a feast followed by the distribution +of pan-supari. Every time that a marriage ceremony is celebrated, +a member of the family visits His Highness the Raja with presents, +and solicits his permission for the celebration. Such presents are +often made to the Nambudri Jenmis (landlords), by their tenants, +and by castes attached to illams. It may be noted that certain +privileges, such as sitting on a grass mat, having an elephant +procession, drumming, firing of pop-guns, etc., have often to be +obtained from the Ruler of the State. The marriage itself begins +with the procession to the marriage pandal with the eight auspicious +things (ashtamangalyam) and pattiniruththal (seating for song), at +the latter of which a Brahmini or Pushpini sings certain songs based +upon suitable Puranic texts. The girls and other female members of +the family, dressed in gay attire and decked with costly ornaments, +come out in procession to the pandal, where the Pushpini sings, with +tom-toms and the firing of pop-guns at intervals. After three, five, +or seven rounds of this, a cutting of the jasmine placed in a brass +pot is carried on an elephant by the Elayad or family priest to the +nearest Bhagavati temple, where it is planted on the night previous +to the ceremonial day with tom-toms, fireworks, and joyous shouts +of men and women. A few hours before the auspicious moment for the +ceremony, this cutting is brought back. Before the tali is tied, +the girls are brought out of the room, and, either from the ground +itself or from a raised platform, beautifully decorated with festoons, +etc., are made to worship the sun. The bridegroom, a Tirumulpad or +an enangan, is then brought into the house with sword in hand, with +tom-toms, firing of pop-guns, and shouts of joy. At the gate he is +received by a few female members with ashtamangalyam in their hands, +and seated on a bench or stool in the pandal. A male member of the +family, generally a brother or maternal uncle of the girl, washes +the feet of the bridegroom. The girls are covered with new cloths +of cotton or silk, and brought into the pandal, and seated screened +off from one another. After the distribution of money presents to the +Brahmans and the Elayad, the latter hands over the tali, or thin plate +of gold shaped like the leaf of aswatha (Ficus religiosa), and tacked +on to a string, to the Tirumulpad, who ties it round the neck of the +girl. A single Tirumulpad often ties the tali round the neck of two, +three, or four girls. He is given one to eight rupees per girl for +so doing. Sometimes the tali is tied by the mother of the girl. The +retention of the tali is not at all obligatory, nay it is seldom worn +or taken care of after the ceremony. These circumstances clearly +show the purely ceremonial character of this form of marriage. The +Karamel Asan, or headman of the village, is an important factor on +this occasion. In a conspicuous part of the marriage pandal, he is +provided with a seat on a cot, on which a grass mat, a black blanket, +and white cloth are spread one over the other. Before the tali is tied, +his permission is solicited for the performance of the ceremony. He +is paid 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 puthans (a puthan = 10 pies) per girl, +according to the means of the family. He is also given rice, curry +stuff, and pan-supari. Rose-water is sprinkled at intervals on the +males and females assembled on the occasion. With the distribution of +pan-supari, scented sandal paste and jasmine flowers to the females of +the village and wives of relatives and friends, who are invited for +the occasion, these guests return to their homes. The male members, +one or two from each family in the village, are then treated to a +sumptuous feast. In some places, where the Enangu system prevails, +all members of such families, both male and female, are also provided +with meals. On the third day, the villagers are again entertained +to a luncheon of rice and milk pudding, and on the fourth day the +girls are taken out in procession for worship at the nearest temple +amidst tom-toms and shouting. After this a feast is held, at which +friends, relatives, and villagers are given a rich meal. With the +usual distribution of pan-supari, sandal and flowers, the invited +guests depart. Presents, chiefly in money, are made to the eldest +male member of the family by friends and relatives and villagers, +and with this the ceremony closes. From the time of fixing the first +pole for the pandal to the tying of the tali, the village astrologer +is in attendance on all ceremonial occasions, as he has to pronounce +the auspicious moment for the performance of each item. During the +four days of the marriage, entertainments, such as Kathakali drama +or Ottan Tullal, are very common. When a family can ill-afford to +celebrate the ceremony on any grand scale, the girls are taken to +the nearest temple, or to the illam of a Nambudri, if they happen to +belong to sub-divisions attached to illams, and the tali is tied with +little or no feasting and merriment. In the northern taluks, the very +poor people sometimes tie the tali before the Trikkakkarappan on the +Tiruvonam day." + +An interesting account of the tali-kettu ceremony is given by Duarte +Barbosa, who writes as follows. [154] "After they are ten or twelve +years old or more, their mothers perform a marriage ceremony for +them in this manner. They advise the relations and friends that they +may come to do honour to their daughters, and they beg some of their +relations and friends to marry these daughters, and they do so. It must +be said that they have some gold jewel made, which will contain half +a ducat of gold, a little shorter than the tag of lace, with a hole +in the middle passing through it, and they string it on a thread of +white silk; and the mother of the girl stands with her daughter very +much dressed out, and entertaining her with music and singing, and a +number of people. And this relation or friend of hers comes with much +earnestness, and there performs the ceremony of marriage, as though he +married her, and they throw a gold chain round the necks of both of +them together, and he puts the above mentioned jewel round her neck, +which she always has to wear as a sign that she may now do what she +pleases. And the bridegroom leaves her and goes away without touching +her nor more to say to her on account of being her relation; and, if +he is not so, he may remain with her if he wish it, but he is not bound +to do so if he do not desire it. And from that time forward the mother +goes begging some young men to deflower the girl, for among themselves +they hold it an unclean thing and almost a disgrace to deflower women." + +The tali-kettu ceremony is referred to by Kerr, who, in his translation +of Castaneda, states that "these sisters of the Zamorin, and other +kings of Malabar, have handsome allowances to live upon; and, when +any of them reaches the age of ten, their kindred send for a young +man of the Nayar caste out of the kingdom, and give him presents +to induce him to initiate the young virgin; after which he hangs a +jewel round her neck, which she wears all the rest of her life, as +a token that she is now at liberty to dispose of herself to anyone +she pleases as long as she lives." + +The opinion was expressed by Mr. (now Sir Henry) Winterbotham, one of +the Malabar Marriage Commissioners, that the Brahman tali-tier was +a relic of the time when the Nambutiris were entitled to the first +fruits, and it was considered the high privilege of every Nayar maid +to be introduced by them to womanhood. In this connection, reference +may be made to Hamilton's 'New Account of the East Indies', where +it is stated that "when the Zamorin marries, he must not cohabit +with his bride till the Nambudri, or chief priest, has enjoyed her, +and he, if he pleases, may have three nights of her company, because +the first fruits of her nuptials must be an holy oblation to the +god she worships. And some of the nobles are so complaisant as to +allow the clergy the same tribute, but the common people cannot have +that compliment paid to them, but are forced to supply the priests' +places themselves." + +Of those who gave evidence before the Malabar Commission, some thought +the tali-kettu was a marriage, some not. Others called it a mock +marriage, a formal marriage, a sham marriage, a fictitious marriage, +a marriage sacrament, the preliminary part of marriage, a meaningless +ceremony, an empty form, a ridiculous farce, an incongruous custom, +a waste of money, and a device for becoming involved in debt. "While," +the report states, "a small minority of strict conservatives still +maintain that the tali-kettu is a real marriage intended to confer +on the bridegroom a right to cohabit with the bride, an immense +majority describe it as a fictitious marriage, the origin of which +they are at a loss to explain. And another large section tender the +explanation accepted by our President (Sir T. Muttusami Aiyar) that, +in some way or other, it is an essential caste observance preliminary +to the forming of sexual relations." + +In a recent note, Mr. K. Kannan Nayar writes [155]: + +"Almost every Nayar officer in Government employ, when applying for +leave on account of the kettukallianam of his daughter or niece, +states in his application that he has to attend to the 'marriage' +of the girl. The ceremony is generally mentioned as marriage even in +the letters of invitation sent by Nayar gentlemen in these days.... + +This ceremony is not intended even for the betrothal of the girl to +a particular man, but is one instituted under Brahman influence as an +important kriya (sacrament) antecedent to marriage, and intended, as +the popular saying indicates, for dubbing the girl with the status of +Amma, a woman fit to be married. The saying is Tali-kettiu Amma ayi, +which means a woman has become an Amma when her tali-tying ceremony +is over." + +In summing up the evidence collected by him, Mr. L. Moore states +[156] that it seems to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that "from +the sixteenth century at all events, and up to the early portion of +the nineteenth century, the relations between the sexes in families +governed by marumakkattayam were of as loose a description as it +is possible to imagine. The tali-kettu kalyanam, introduced by the +Brahmans, brought about no improvement, and indeed in all probability +made matters much worse by giving a quasi-religious sanction to a +fictitious marriage, which bears an unpleasant resemblance to the +sham marriage ceremonies performed among certain inferior castes +elsewhere as a cloak for prostitution. As years passed, some time +about the opening of the nineteenth century, the Kerala Mahatmyam +and Keralolpathi were concocted, probably by Nambudris, and false +and pernicious doctrines as to the obligations laid on the Nayars by +divine law to administer to the lust of Nambudris were disseminated +abroad. The better classes among the Nayars revolted against the +degrading custom thus established, and a custom sprang up especially +in North Malabar, of making sambandham a more or less formal contract, +approved and sanctioned by the karnavan (senior male) of the tarwad +to which the lady belonged, and celebrated with elaborate ceremony +under the pudamuri form. That there was nothing analogous to the +pudamuri prevalent in Malabar from A.D. 1550 to 1800 may, I think, +be fairly presumed from the absence of all allusion to it in the works +of the various European writers." According to Act IV, Madras, 1896, +sambandham means an alliance between a man and a woman, by reason of +which they in accordance with the custom of the community to which +they belong, or either of them belongs, cohabit or intend to cohabit +as husband and wife. + +Of sambandham the following account was given by Mr. Chandu Menon to +the Malabar Marriage Commission. "The variations of the sambandham are +the pudamuri, vastradanam, uzhamporukkuka, vitaram kayaruka, etc., +which are local expressions hardly understood beyond the localities +in which they are used, but there would be hardly a Malaiyali who +would not readily understand what is meant by sambandham tudanguga +(to begin sambandham). The meaning of this phrase, which means to +'marry,' is understood throughout Keralam in the same way, and +there can be no ambiguity or mistake about it. It is thus found that +sambandham is the principal word denoting marriage among marumakkatayam +Nayars. [Sambandhakaran is now the common term for husband.] It will +also be found, on a close and careful examination of facts, that the +principal features of this sambandham ceremony all over Keralam are +in the main the same. As there are different local names denoting +marriage, so there may be found local variations in the performance +of the ceremony. But the general features are more or less the +same. For instance, the examination, prior to the betrothal, of the +horoscopes of the bride and bridegroom to ascertain whether their +stars agree astrologically; the appointment of an auspicious day for +the celebration of the ceremony; the usual hour at which the ceremony +takes place; the presentation of danam (gifts) to Brahmans; sumptuous +banquet; the meeting of the bride and bridegroom, are features which +are invariably found in all well-conducted sambandhams in all parts of +Keralam alike. But here I would state that I should not be understood +as saying that each and every one of the formalities above referred +to are gone through at all sambandhams among respectable Nayars; +and I would further state that they ought to be gone through at every +sambandham, if the parties wish to marry according to the custom of +the country. I would now briefly refer to the local variations to +be found in the ceremony of the sambandham, and also the particular +incidents attached to certain forms of sambandham in South Malabar. I +shall describe the pudamuri or vastradanam as celebrated in North +Malabar, and then show how the other forms of sambandham differ from +it. Of all the forms of sambandham, I consider the pudamuri the most +solemn and the most fashionable in North Malabar. The preliminary +ceremony in every pudamuri is the examination of the horoscopes of +the bride and bridegroom by an astrologer. This takes place in the +house of the bride, in the presence of the relations of the bride +and bridegroom. The astrologer, after examination, writes down the +results of his calculations on a piece of palmyra leaf, with his +opinion as to the fitness or otherwise of the match, and hands it +over to the bridegroom's relations. If the horoscopes agree, a day +is then and there fixed for the celebration of the marriage. This +date is also written down on two pieces of cadjan (palm leaf), one +of which is handed over to the bride's Karanavan, and the other to +the bridegroom's relations. The astrologer and the bridegroom's party +are then feasted in the bride's house, and the former also receives +presents in the shape of money or cloth. This preliminary ceremony, +which is invariably performed at all pudamuris in North Malabar, +is called pudamuri kurikkal, but is unknown in South Malabar. Some +three or four days prior to the date fixed for the celebration of the +pudamuri, the bridegroom visits his Karanavans and elders in caste, +to obtain formal leave to marry. The bridegroom on such occasion +presents his elders with betel and nuts, and obtains their formal +sanction to the wedding. On the day appointed, the bridegroom proceeds +after sunset to the house of the bride, accompanied by a number of +his friends. He goes in procession, and is received at the gate of +the house by the bride's party, and conducted with his friends to +seats provided in the tekkini or southern hall of the house. There the +bridegroom distributes presents (danam) or money gifts to the Brahmans +assembled. After this, the whole party is treated to a sumptuous +banquet. It is now time for the astrologer to appear, and announce +the auspicious hour fixed. He does it accordingly, and receives +his dues. The bridegroom is then taken by one of his friends to the +padinhatta or principal room of the house. The bridegroom's party has, +of course, brought with them a quantity of new cloths, and betel leaves +and nuts. The cloths are placed in the western room of the house +(padinhatta), in which all religious and other important household +ceremonies are usually performed. This room will be decorated, and +turned into a bed-room for the occasion. There will be placed in the +room a number of lighted lamps, and ashtamangalyam, which consists of +eight articles symbolical of mangalyam or marriage. These are rice, +paddy (unhusked rice), the tender leaves of cocoanut trees, an arrow, +a looking-glass, a well-washed cloth, burning fire, and a small round +box called cheppu. These will be found placed on the floor of the room +as the bridegroom enters it. The bridegroom with his groomsman enters +the room through the eastern door. The bride, dressed in rich cloths +and bedecked with jewels, enters the room through the western door, +accompanied by her aunt or some other elderly lady of her family. The +bride stands facing east, with the ashtamangalyam and lit-up lamps +in front of her. The groomsman then hands over to the bridegroom a +few pieces of new cloth, and the bridegroom puts them into the hands +of the bride. This being done, the elderly lady who accompanied the +bride sprinkles rice over the lamps and the head and shoulders of +the bride and bridegroom, who immediately leaves the room, as he +has to perform another duty. At the tekkini or southern hall, he +now presents his elders and friends with cakes, and betel leaf and +nuts. Betel and nuts are also given to all the persons assembled at +the place. After the departure of the guests, the bridegroom retires +to the bed-room with the bride. Next morning, the vettilakettu or +salkaram ceremony follows, and the bridegroom's female relations take +the bride to the husband's house, where there is feasting in honour +of the occasion. Uzhamporukkuka or vidaram kayaral is a peculiar form +of marriage in North Malabar. It will be seen from description given +above that the pudamuri is necessarily a costly ceremony, and many +people resort to the less costly ceremony of uzhamporukkuka or vidaram +kayaral. The features of this ceremony are to a certain extent the +same as pudamuri, but it is celebrated on a smaller scale. There is +no cloth-giving ceremony. The feasting is confined to the relations +of the couple. The particular incident of this form of marriage +is that the husband should visit the wife in her house, and is not +permitted to take her to his house, unless and until he celebrates +the regular pudamuri ceremony. This rule is strictly adhered to in +North Malabar, and instances in which the husband and wife joined by +the uzhamporukkuka ceremony, and with grown-up children as the issue +of such marriage, undergo the pudamuri ceremony some fifteen or twenty +years after uzhamporukkuka, in order to enable the husband to take the +wife to his house, are known to me personally. The sambandham of South +Malabar, and the kidakkora kalyanam of Palghat have all or most of the +incidents of pudamuri, except the presenting of cloths. Here money is +substituted for cloths, and the other ceremonies are more or less the +same. There is also salkaram ceremony wanting in South Malabar, as +the wives are not at once taken to the husband's house after marriage." + +In connection with the following note by Mr. C. P. Raman Menon on +sambandham among the Akattu Charna or Akathithaparisha (inside clan), +Mr. Fawcett states that "my informant says in the first place that +the man should not enter into sambandham with a woman until he is +thirty. Now-a-days, when change is running wild, the man is often +much less. In North Malabar, which is much more conservative than +the south, it was, however, my experience that sambandham was rare on +the side of the man before twenty-seven." "The Karanavan," Mr. Raman +Menon writes, "and the women of his household choose the bride, +and communicate their choice to the intending bridegroom through a +third party; they may not, dare not speak personally to him in the +matter. He approves. The bride's people are informally consulted, +and, if they agree, the astrologer is sent for, and examines the +horoscopes of both parties to the intended union. As a matter of +course these are found to agree, and the astrologer fixes a day +for the sambandham ceremony. A few days before this takes place, +two or three women of the bridegroom's house visit the bride, +intimating beforehand that they are coming. There they are well +treated with food and sweetmeats, and, when on the point of leaving, +they inform the senior female that the bridegroom (naming him) wishes +to have sambandham with ... (naming her), and such and such a day is +auspicious for the ceremony. The proposal is accepted with pleasure, +and the party from the bridegroom's house returns home. Preparations +for feasting are made in the house of the bride, as well as in that +of the bridegroom on the appointed day. To the former all relations +are invited for the evening, and to the latter a few friends who are +much of the same age as the bridegroom are invited to partake of food +at 7 or 8 P.M., and accompany him to the bride's house. After eating +they escort him, servants carrying betel leaves (one or two hundred +according to the means of the taravad), areca nuts and tobacco, to +be given to the bride's household, and which are distributed to the +guests. When the bride's house is far away, the bridegroom makes his +procession thither from a neighbouring house. Arrived at the bride's +house, they sit awhile, and are again served with food, after which +they are conducted to a room, where betel and other chewing stuff +is placed on brass or silver plates called thalam. The chewing over, +sweetmeats are served, and then all go to the bridal chamber, where +the women of the house and others are assembled with the bride, who, +overcome with shyness, hides herself behind the others. Here again +the bridegroom and his party go through more chewing, while they chat +with the women. After a while the men withdraw, wishing the couple +all happiness, and then the women, departing one by one, leave the +couple alone, one of them shutting the door from the outside. The +Pattar Brahmans always collect on these occasions, and receive small +presents (dakshina) of two to four annas each, with betel leaves and +areca nuts from the bridegroom, and sometimes from the bride. A few +who are invited receive their dakshina in the bridal chamber, the +others outside. Those of the bridegroom's party who live far away +are given sleeping accommodation at the bride's house [in a Nayar +house the sleeping rooms of the men and women are at different ends +of the house]. About daybreak next morning the bridegroom leaves +the house with his party, leaving under his pillow 8, 16, 32, or +64 rupees, according to his means, which are intended to cover the +expenses of the wife's household in connection with the ceremony. The +sambandham is now complete. The girl remains in her own taravad house, +and her husband visits her there, coming in the evening and leaving +next morning. A few days after the completion of the ceremony, the +senior woman of the bridegroom's house sends some cloths, including +pavu mundu (superior cloths) and thorthu mundu (towels) and some +oil to the bride for her use for six months. Every six months she +does the same, and, at the Onam, Vishu, and Thiruvathira festivals, +she sends besides a little money, areca nuts, betel and tobacco. The +money sent should be 4, 8, 16, 32, or 64 rupees. Higher sums are very +rarely sent. Before long, the women of the husband's house express a +longing for the girl-wife to be brought to their house, for they have +not seen her yet. Again the astrologer is requisitioned, and, on the +day he fixes, two or three of the women go to the house of the girl, +or, as they call her, Ammayi (uncle's wife). They are well treated, +and presently bring away the girl with them. As she is about to enter +the gate-house of her husband's taravad, the stile of which she crosses +right leg first, two or three of the women meet her, bearing a burning +lamp and a brass plate (thalam), and precede her to the nalukattu of +the house. There she is seated on a mat, and a burning lamp, a nazhi +(measure) of rice, and some plantains are placed before her. One of +the younger women takes up a plantain, and puts a piece of it in the +Ammayi's mouth; a little ceremony called madhuram tital, or giving the +sweets for eating. She lives in her husband's house for a few days, +and is then sent back to her own with presents, bracelets, rings or +cloths, which are gifts of the senior woman of the house. After this +she is at liberty to visit her husband's house on any day, auspicious +or inauspicious. In a big taravad, where there are many women, the +Ammayi does not, as a rule, get much sympathy and good-will in the +household, and, if she happens to live temporarily in her husband's +house, as is sometimes, though very rarely the case in South Malabar, +and to be the wife of the Karanavan, it is observed that she gets more +than her share of whatever good things may be going. Hence the proverb, +'Place Ammayi Amma on a stone, and grind her with another stone.' A +sambandham ceremony at Calicut is recorded by Mr. Fawcett, at which +there were cake and wine for the guests, and a ring for the bride. + +In connection with sambandham, Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar writes from +Travancore that "it is known in different localities as gunadosham +(union through good or evil), vastradanam or putavakota (giving of +cloth), and uzhamporukkal (waiting one's turn). It may be performed +without any formal ceremony whatever, and is actually a private +transaction confidentially gone through in some families. The +bridegroom and his friends assemble at the house of the bride on the +appointed night, and, before the assembled guests, the bridegroom +presents the bride with a few unbleached cloths. Custom enjoins that +four pieces of cloth should be presented, and the occasion is availed +of to present cloths to the relatives and servants of the bride +also. The girl asks permission of her mother and maternal uncle, +before she receives the cloths. After supper, and the distribution +of pan-supari, the party disperses. Another day is fixed for the +consummation ceremony. On that day the bridegroom, accompanied by a few +friends, goes to the bride's house with betel leaves and nuts. After +a feast, the friends retire." + +It is noted in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that one name for the +sambandham rite is kitakkora, meaning bed-chamber ceremony. In the same +report, the following account of a puberty ceremony is given. "The +tirandukuli ceremony is practically a public declaration that a girl +has reached the age of maturity. When a girl attains puberty, she +is seated in a separate room, where a lamp is lit, and a brass pot +with a bunch of cocoanut flowers is kept. She has to keep with her a +circular plate of brass called valkannadi, literally a looking-glass +with a handle. The event is proclaimed by korava (shouts of joy by +females). The females of the neighbouring houses, and of the families +of friends and relatives, visit her. New cloths are presented to the +girl by her near relatives. On the third day the villagers, friends and +relatives are treated to a luncheon of rice and milk pudding. Early +in the morning on the fourth day, the Mannans or Velans appear. The +girl is anointed with oil, and tender leaves of the cocoanut palm +are tied round the head and waist. In the company of maidens she is +brought out of the room, and the Velans sing certain songs. Thence +the party move on to the tank, where the girl wears a cloth washed +by a Velan, and takes a bath. After the bath the Velans again sing +songs. In the afternoon, the girl is taken out by the females invited +for the occasion to an ornamental pandal, and the Velans, standing at a +distance, once more sing. With the usual distribution of pan-supari, +sandal and jasmine flowers, the ceremony closes. In the midst of +the song, the female guests of the village, the wives of friends and +relatives, and most of the members of the family itself, present each a +small cloth to the Velans. They are also given a small amount of money, +rice, betel leaf, etc. The guests are then entertained at a feast. In +some places, the girl is taken to a separate house for the bath on the +fourth day, whence she returns to her house in procession, accompanied +by tom-toms and shouting. In the northern taluks, the Velan's song is +in the night, and the performance of the ceremony on the fourth day +is compulsory. In the southern taluks, it is often put off to some +convenient day. Before the completion of this song ceremony, the girl +is prohibited from going out of the house or entering temples." + +It is provided, by the Malabar Marriage Act, 1896, that, "when a +sambandham has been registered in the manner therein laid down, it +shall have the incidence of a legal marriage; that is to say, the wife +and children shall be entitled to maintenance by the husband or father, +respectively, and to succeed to half his self-acquired property, +if he dies intestate; while the parties to such a sambandham cannot +register a second sambandham during its continuance, that is, until +it is terminated by death or by a formal application for divorce in +the Civil Courts. The total number of sambandhams registered under +the Act has, however, been infinitesimal, and the reason for this +is, admittedly, the reluctance of the men to fetter their liberty to +terminate sambandham at will by such restrictions as the necessity +for formal divorce, or to undertake the burdensome responsibility of +a legal obligation to maintain their wife and offspring. If, as the +evidence recorded by the Malabar Marriage Commission tended to show, +'a marriage law in North Malabar, and throughout the greater part of +South Malabar, would merely legalise what is the prevailing custom,' +it is hard to see why there has been such a disinclination to lend +to that custom the dignity of legal sanction." [157] The following +applications to register sambandhams under the Act were received from +1897 to 1904:-- + + + Nayars. Tiyans. Others. Total. + + 1897 28 6 2 36 + 1898 8 2 4 14 + 1899 8 2 4 14 + 1900 8 ... 9 17 + 1901 3 ... 1 4 + 1902 ... ... ... ... + 1903 2 ... ... 2 + --- --- -- -- + Total 57 10 20 87 + + +In a recent account of a Nayar wedding in high life in Travancore, +the host is said to have distributed flowers, attar, etc., to all +his Hindu guests, while the European, Eurasian, and other Christian +guests, partook of cake and wine, and other refreshments, in a +separate tent. The Chief Secretary to Government proposed the toast +of the bride and bridegroom. + +The following note on Nayar pregnancy ceremonies was supplied to +Mr. Fawcett by Mr. U. Balakrishnan Nayar. "A woman has to observe +certain ceremonies during pregnancy. First, during and after the +seventh month, she (at least among the well-to-do classes) bathes, +and worships in the temple every morning, and eats before her morning +meal a small quantity of butter, over which mantrams (consecrated +formulæ) have been said by the temple priest, or by Nambutiris. This +is generally done till delivery. Another, and even more important +ceremony, is the puli-kuti (drinking tamarind juice). This is +an indispensable ceremony, performed by rich and poor alike, on a +particular day in the ninth month. The day and hour are fixed by the +local astrologer. The ceremony begins with the planting of a twig of +the ampasham tree on the morning of the day of the ceremony in the +principal courtyard (natu-muttam) of the taravad. At the appointed hour +or muhurtam, the pregnant woman, after having bathed, and properly +attired, is conducted to a particular portion of the house (vatakini +or northern wing), where she is seated, facing eastward. The ammayi, or +uncle's wife, whose presence on the occasion is necessary, goes to the +courtyard, and, plucking a few leaves of the planted twig, squeezes a +few drops of its juice into a cup. This she hands over to the brother, +if any, of the pregnant woman. It is necessary that the brother should +wear a gold ring on his right ring finger. Holding a country knife +(pissan kathi) in his left hand, which he directs towards the mouth, +he pours the tamarind juice over the knife with his right hand three +times, and it dribbles down the knife into the woman's mouth, and +she drinks it. In the absence of a brother, some other near relation +officiates. After she has swallowed the tamarind juice, the woman is +asked to pick out one of several packets of different grains placed +before her. The grain in the packet she happens to select is supposed +to declare the sex of the child in her womb. The ceremony winds up with +a sumptuous feast to all the relatives and friends of the family." In +connection with pregnancy ceremonies, Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar writes +that "the puli-kuti ceremony is performed at the seventh, or sometimes +the ninth month. The husband has to contribute the rice, cocoanut, +and plantains, and present seven vessels containing sweetmeats. In +the absence of a brother, a Maran pours the juice into the mouth +of the woman." It is noted in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that +"the puli-kudi ceremony consists in administering to the woman with +child a few pills of tamarind and other acid substances. The pills +are placed at the end of a knife-blade, and pushed into the mouth +of the woman by means of a gold ring. The ceremony, which in a way +corresponds to the pumsavana of the Brahmans, is performed either by +a brother or uncle of the woman, and, in the absence of both, by the +husband himself. Unlike Brahmans, the ceremony is performed only at +the time of the first pregnancy." In the eighth month, a ceremony, +called garbha veli uzhiyal, is performed by the Kaniyan (astrologer) +to remove the effects of the evil eye. + +The ceremonies observed in connection with pregnancy are described +as follows in the Gazetteer of Malabar. "The first regular ceremony +performed during pregnancy is known as pulikudi or drinking tamarind, +which corresponds to the Pumsavanam of the Brahmans. But there +are other observances of less importance, which commonly, if not +invariably, precede this, and may be considered as corresponding to the +Garbharakshana (embryo or womb protection) ceremony sometimes performed +by Brahmans, though not one of the obligatory sacraments. Sometimes +the pregnant woman is made to consume daily a little ghee (clarified +butter), which has been consecrated by a Nambudiri with appropriate +mantrams. Sometimes exorcists of the lower castes, such as Panans, +are called in, and perform a ceremony called Balikkala, in which +they draw magic patterns on the ground, into which the girl throws +lighted wicks, and sing rude songs to avert from the unborn babe the +unwelcome attentions of evil spirits, accompanying them on a small +drum called tudi, or with bell-metal cymbals. The ceremony concludes +with the sacrifice of a cock, if the woman is badly affected by the +singing. The pulikudi is variously performed in the fifth, seventh, +or ninth month. An auspicious hour has to be selected by the village +astrologer for this as for most ceremonies. A branch of a tamarind +tree should be plucked by the pregnant woman's brother, who should go +to the tree with a kindi (bell-metal vessel) of water, followed by an +Enangatti [158] carrying a hanging lamp with five wicks (tukkuvilakku), +and, before plucking it, perform three pradakshinams round it. In the +room in which the ceremony is to be performed, usually the vadakkini, +there is arranged a mat, the usual lamp (nilavilakku) with five +wicks, and a para measure of rice (niracchaveppu), also the materials +necessary for the performance of Ganapathi puja (worship of the god +Ganesa), consisting of plantains, brown sugar, leaves of the sacred +basil or tulasi (Ocimum sanctum), sandal paste, and the eight spices +called ashtagantham. The woman's brother performs Ganapathi puja, and +then gives some of the tamarind leaves to the Enangatti, who expresses +their juice, and mixes it with that of four other plants. [159] The +mixture is boiled with a little rice, and the brother takes a little +of it in a jack (Artocarpus integrifolia) leaf folded like a spoon, +and lets it run down the blade of a knife into his sister's mouth. He +does this three times. Then the mixture is administered in the same +manner by some woman of the husband's family, and then by an Ammayi +(wife of one of the members of the girl's tarwad). The branch is +then planted in the nadumittam, and feasting brings the ceremony +to a close. The above description was obtained from an Urali Nayar +of Calicut taluk. In other localities and castes, the details vary +considerably. Sometimes the mixture is simply poured into the woman's +mouth, instead of being dripped off a knife. Some castes use a small +spoon of gold or silver instead of the jack leaves. In South Malabar +there is not as a rule any procession to the tamarind tree. Among +Agathu Charna Nayars of South Malabar, the ceremony takes place in +the nadumittam, whither the tamarind branch is brought by a Tiyan. The +girl carries a valkannadi or bell-metal mirror, a charakkol or arrow, +and a pisankatti (knife). An Enangatti pours some oil on her head, +and lets it trickle down two or three hairs to her navel where it is +caught in a plate. Then the girl and her brother, holding hands, dig a +hole with the charakkol and pisankatti, and plant the tamarind branch +in the nadumittam, and water it. Then the juice is administered. Until +she is confined, the girl waters the tamarind branch, and offers rice, +flowers, and lighted wicks to it three times a day. When labour begins, +she uproots the branch." + +"At delivery," Mr. Balakrishnan Nayar writes, "women of the barber +caste officiate as midwives. In some localities, this is performed by +Velan caste women. Pollution is observed for fifteen days, and every +day the mother wears cloths washed and presented by a woman of the +Vannan [or Tiyan] caste. On the fifteenth day is the purificatory +ceremony. As in the case of death pollution, a man of the Attikurissi +clan sprinkles on the woman a liquid mixture of oil and the five +products of the cow (panchagavya), with gingelly (Sesamum) seeds. Then +the woman takes a plunge-bath, and sits on the ground near the tank +or river. Some woman of the family, with a copper vessel in her hands, +takes water from the tank or river, and pours it on the mother's head +as many as twenty-one times. This done, she again plunges in the water, +from which she emerges thoroughly purified. It may be noted that, +before the mother proceeds to purify herself, the new-born babe has +also to undergo a rite of purification. It is placed on the bare +floor, and its father or uncle sprinkles a few drops of cold water +on it, and takes it in his hands. The superstitious believe that +the temperament of the child is determined by that of the person +who thus sprinkles the water. All the members of the taravad observe +pollution for fifteen days following the delivery, during which they +are prohibited from entering temples and holy places." It is noted by +Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar that the first act done, when a male child is +born, is to beat the earth with a cocoanut leaf, and, if the issue +is a female, to grind some turmeric in a mortar, with the object, +it is said, of removing the child's fear. + +In connection with post-natal ceremonies, Mr. Balakrishnan Nayar +writes further that "the twenty-seventh day after the child's birth, +or the first recurring day of the star under which it was born, +marks the next important event. On this day, the Karanavan of the +family gives to the child a spoonful or two of milk mixed with +sugar and slices of plantain. Then he names the child, and calls +it in the ear by the name three times. This is followed by a feast +to all friends and relatives, the expenses of which are met by the +father of the child. With the Nayar, every event is introduced by +a ceremonial. The first meal of rice (chorun) partaken of by the +child forms no exception to the rule. It must be remembered that +the child is not fed on rice for some time after birth, the practice +being to give it flour of dried plantain boiled with jaggery (crude +sugar). There is a particular variety of plantain, called kunnan, +used for this purpose. Rice is given to the child for the first time +generally during the sixth month. The astrologer fixes the day, and, +at the auspicious hour, the child, bathed and adorned with ornaments +(which it is the duty of the father to provide) is brought, and laid +on a plank. A plantain leaf is spread in front of it, and a lighted +brass lamp placed near. On the leaf are served a small quantity of +cooked rice--generally a portion of the rice offered to some temple +divinity--some tamarind, salt, chillies, and sugar. [In some places +all the curries, etc., prepared for the attendant feast, are also +served.] Then the Karanavan, or the father, ceremoniously approaches, +and sits down facing the child. First he puts in the mouth of the +child a mixture of the tamarind, chillies and salt, then some rice, +and lastly a little sugar. Thenceforward the ordinary food of the child +is rice. It is usual on this occasion for relatives (and especially +the bandhus, such as the ammayi, or 'uncle's wife') to adorn the child +with gold bangles, rings and other ornaments. The rice-giving ceremony +is, in some cases, preferably performed at some famous temple, that +at Guruvayur being a favourite one for this purpose." It is noted +by Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar that the rice-giving ceremony is usually +performed by taking the child to a neighbouring temple, and feeding +it with the meal offered to the deity as nivadiyam. In some places, +the child is named on the chorun day. + +Of ceremonies which take place in infancy and childhood, the following +account is given in the Gazetteer of Malabar. "On the fifth day after +birth, a woman of the Attikurissi or Marayan caste among Nayars, or +of the barber caste in the lower classes, is called in, and purifies +the mother, the other women of the household, and the room in which +the child was born, by lustration with milk and gingelly oil, using +karuga (Cynodon Dactylon) as a sprinkler. Her perquisites are the +usual niracchaveppu (1 edangazhi of paddy and 1 nazhi of uncooked rice) +placed together with a lamp of five wicks in the room to be cleansed, +and a small sum in cash. A similar purification ceremony on the 15th +day concludes the pollution period. In some cases, milk and cow's urine +are sprinkled over the woman, and, after she has bathed, the Marayan, +or Attikurissi waves over her and the child two vessels, one containing +water, stained red with turmeric and lime, and one water blackened with +powdered charcoal. During this and other periods, a characteristic +service called mattu (change) has to be rendered by people of the +Mannan caste to Nayars, and to other castes by their proper washermen, +who may or may not be Mannans. On the day of birth, the Mannatti +brings a clean tuni (cloth) of her own, and a mundu (cloth), which +she places in the yard, in which she finds the accustomed perquisites +of grain set out, and a lamp. An Attikurissi Nayar woman takes the +clean clothes, and the Mannatti removes those previously worn by the +mother. Every subsequent day during the pollution period, the Mannatti +brings a change of raiment, but it is only on the 7th and 15th days +that any ceremonial is observed, and that the Attikurissi woman is +required. On those days, a Mannan man attends with the Mannatti, He +makes three pradakshinams round the clean clothes, the lamp, and the +niracchaveppu, and scatters a little of the grain forming the latter +on the ground near it, with an obeisance, before the Attikurissi +woman takes the clothes indoors. This rite of mattu has far reaching +importance. It affords a weapon, by means of which the local tyrant can +readily coerce his neighbours, whom he can subject to the disabilities +of excommunication by forbidding the washerman to render them this +service; while it contributes in no small degree to the reluctance +of Malayali women to leave Kerala, since it is essential that the +mattu should be furnished by the appropriate caste and no other. + +"On the twenty-eighth day (including the day of birth) comes the +Palu-kudi (milk-drinking) ceremony, at which some women of the father's +family must attend. Amongst castes in which the wife lives with the +husband, the ceremony takes place in the husband's house, to which +the wife and child return for the first time on this day. The usual +lamp, niracchaveppu and kindi of water, are set forth with a plate, +if possible of silver, containing milk, honey, and bits of a sort of +plantain called kunnan, together with three jack leaves folded to serve +as spoons. The mother brings the child newly bathed, and places it in +his Karnavan's lap. The goldsmith is in attendance with a string of +five beads (mani or kuzhal) made of the panchaloham or five metals, +gold, silver, iron, copper and lead, which the father ties round +the baby's waist. The Karnavan, or the mother, then administers a +spoonful of the contents of the plate to the child with each of the +jack leaves in turn. The father's sister, or other female relative, +also administers some, and the Karnavan then whispers the child's +name thrice in its right ear. + +"The name is not publicly announced till the Chorunnu or Annaprasanam +(rice giving), which takes place generally in the sixth month, +and must be performed at an auspicious moment prescribed by an +astrologer. The paraphernalia required are, besides the five-wicked +lamp, some plantain leaves on which are served rice and four kinds of +curry called kalan, olan, avil, and ericchakari, some pappadams (wafers +of flour and other ingredients), plantains and sweetmeats called upperi +(plantains fried in cocoanut oil). The mother brings the child newly +bathed, and wearing a cloth for the first time, and places it in the +Karnavan's lap. The father then ties round the child's neck a gold +ring, known as muhurta mothiram (auspicious moment ring), and the +relatives present give the child other ornaments of gold or silver +according to their means, usually a nul or neck-thread adorned with +one or more pendants, an arannal or girdle, a pair of bangles, and a +pair of anklets. The Karnavan then, after an oblation to Ganapathi, +gives the child some of the curry, and whispers its name in its right +ear three times. He then carries the child to a cocoanut tree near +the house, round which he makes three pradakshinams, pouring water +from a kindi round the foot of the tree as he does so. The procession +then returns to the house, and on the way an old woman of the family +proclaims the baby's name aloud for the first time in the form of +a question, asking it 'Krishnan' (for instance), 'dost thou see the +sky?' In some cases, the father simply calls out the name twice. + +"The Vidyarambham ceremony to celebrate the beginning of the child's +education takes place in the fifth or seventh year. In some places, +the child is first taken to the temple, where some water sanctified +by mantrams is poured over his head by the Shantikaran (officiating +priest). The ceremony at the house is opened by Ganapathi puja +performed by an Ezhuttacchan, or by a Nambudri, or another Nayar. The +Ezhuttacchan writes on the child's tongue with a gold fanam (coin) +the invocation to Ganapathi (Hari Sri Ganapathayi nama), or sometimes +the fifty-one letters of the Malayalam alphabet, and then grasps the +middle finger of the child's right hand, and with it traces the same +letters in parched rice. He also gives the child an ola (strip of +palm leaf) inscribed with them, and receives in return a small fee in +cash. Next the child thrice touches first the Ezhuttacchan's feet, and +then his own forehead with his right hand, in token of that reverent +submission to the teacher, which seems to have been the key-note of +the old Hindu system of education. + +"The Kathukuttu or ear-boring is performed either at the same time as +the Pala-kudi or the Choulam, or at any time in the fifth or seventh +year. The operator, who may be any one possessing the necessary skill, +pierces first the right and then the left ear with two gold or silver +wires brought by the goldsmith, or with karamullu thorns. The wires +or thorns are left in the ears. In the case of girls, the hole is +subsequently gradually distended by the insertion of nine different +kinds of thorns or plugs in succession, the last of which is a bamboo +plug, till it is large enough to admit the characteristic Malayali +ear ornament, the boss-shaped toda." + +Of the death ceremonies among the Nayars of Malabar, the following +detailed account is given by Mr. Fawcett. "When the dying person is +about to embark for that bourne from which no traveller returns, and +the breath is about to leave his body, the members of the household, +and all friends who may be present, one by one, pour a little water, +a few drops from a tiny cup made of a leaf or two of the tulsi (Ocimum +sanctum), into his mouth, holding in the hand a piece of gold or a +gold ring, the idea being that the person should touch gold ere it +enters the mouth of the person who is dying. If the taravad is rich +enough to afford it, a small gold coin (a rasi fanam, if one can be +procured) is placed in the mouth, and the lips are closed. As soon as +death has taken place, the corpse is removed from the cot or bed and +carried to the vatakkini (a room in the northern end of the house), +where it is placed on long plantain leaves spread out on the floor; +while it is in the room, whether by day or night, a lamp is kept +burning, and one member of the taravad holds the head in his lap, +and another the feet in the same way; and here the neighbours come +to take a farewell look at the dead. As the Malayalis believe that +disposal of a corpse by cremation or burial as soon as possible after +death is conducive to the happiness of the spirit of the departed, +no time is lost in setting about the funeral. The bodies of senior +members of the taravad, male or female, are burned, those of children +under two are buried; so too are the bodies of all persons who have +died of cholera or small-pox. When preparations for the funeral have +been made, the corpse is removed to the natumuttam or central yard of +house, if there is one (there always is in the larger houses); and, +if there is not, is taken to the front yard, where it is again laid on +plantain leaves. It is washed and anointed, the usual marks are made +with sandal paste and ashes as in life, and it is neatly clothed. There +is then done what is called the potavekkuka ceremony, or placing new +cotton cloths (koti mundu) over the corpse by the senior member of +the deceased's taravad followed by all the other members, and also +the sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and all relatives. These cloths +are used for tying up the corpse, when being taken to the place of +burial or cremation. In some parts of Malabar, the corpse is carried +on a bier made of fresh bamboos, tied up in these cloths, while in +others it is carried, well covered in the cloths, by hand. In either +case it is carried by the relatives. Before the corpse is removed, +there is done another ceremony called paravirakkuka, or filling up +paras. (A para is a measure nearly as big as a gallon.) All adult male +members of the taravad take part in it under the direction of a man +of the Attikkurissi clan who occupies the position of director of the +ceremonies during the next fifteen days, receiving as his perquisites +all the rice and other offerings made to the deceased's spirit. It +consists in filling up three para measures with paddy (unhusked rice), +and one edangali (1/10 of a para) with raw rice. These offerings of +paddy and rice are placed very near the corpse, together with a burning +lamp of the kind commonly used in Malabar, called nela vilaku. If the +taravad is rich enough to afford one, a silk cloth is placed over the +corpse before its removal for cremation. As much fuel as is necessary +having been got ready at the place of cremation, a small pit about the +size of the corpse is dug, and across this are placed three long stumps +of plantain tree, one at each end, and one in the middle, on which as +a foundation the pyre is laid. The whole, or at least a part of the +wood used, should be that of the mango tree. As the corpse is being +removed to the pyre, the senior Anandravan [160] who is next in age +(junior) to the deceased tears from one of the new cloths laid on the +corpse a piece sufficient to go round his waist, ties it round his +waist and holds in his hand, or tucks into his cloth at the waist, +a piece of iron, generally a long key. This individual is throughout +chief among the offerers of pindam (balls of rice) to the deceased. The +corpse is laid on the bier with the head to the south, with the fuel +laid over it, and a little camphor, sandalwood and ghi (clarified +butter), if these things are within the means of the taravad. Here +must be stated the invariable rule that no member of the taravad, +male or female, who is older than the deceased, shall take any part +whatever in the ceremony, or in any subsequent ceremony following on +the cremation or burial. All adult males junior to the deceased should +be present when the pyre is lighted. The deceased's younger brother, +or, if there is none surviving, his nephew (his sister's eldest son) +sets fire to the pyre at the head of the corpse. If the deceased left +a son, this son sets fire at the same time to the pyre at the feet of +the corpse. In the case of the deceased being a woman, her son sets +fire to the pyre; failing a son, the next junior in age to her has +the right to do it. It is a matter of greatest importance that the +whole pyre burns at once. The greatest care is taken that it burns +as a whole, consuming every part of the corpse. While the corpse is +being consumed, all the members of the deceased's taravad who carried +it to the pyre go and bathe in a tank (there is always one in the +compound or grounds round every Nayar's house). The eldest, he who +bears the piece of torn cloth and iron (the key), carries an earthen +pot of water, and all return together to the place of cremation. It +should be said that, on the news of a death, the neighbours assemble, +assisting in digging the grave, preparing the pyre, and so on, and, +while the members of the taravad go and bathe, they remain near the +corpse. By the time the relatives return it is almost consumed by +the fire, and the senior Anandravan carries the pot of water thrice +round the pyre, letting the water leak out by making holes in the +pot as he walks round. On completing the third round, he dashes the +pot on the ground close by where the head of the dead body has been +placed. A small image representing the deceased is then made out of +raw rice, and to this image a few grains of rice and gingelly seeds +are offered. When this has been done, the relatives go home and the +neighbours depart, bathing before entering their houses. When the +cremation has been done by night, the duty of seshakriya (making +offerings to the deceased's spirit) must be begun the next day +between 10 and 11 A.M., and is done on seven consecutive days. In +any case the time for this ceremony is after 10 and before 11, and +it continues for seven days. It is performed as follows. All male +members of the taravad younger than the deceased go together to a +tank and bathe, i.e., they souse themselves in the water, and return +to the house. The eldest of them, the man who tore off the strip of +cloth from the corpse, has with him the same strip of cloth and the +piece of iron, and all assemble in the central courtyard of the house, +where there have been placed ready by an enangan some rice which has +been half boiled, a few grains of gingelly, a few leaves of the cherula +(Ærua lanata), some curds, a smaller measure of paddy, and a smaller +measure of raw rice. These are placed in the north-east corner with a +lamp of the ordinary Malabar pattern. A piece of palmyra leaf, about +a foot or so in length and the width of a finger, is taken, and one +end of it is knotted. The knotted end is placed in the ground, and +the long end is left sticking up. This represents the deceased. The +rice and other things are offered to it. The belief concerning this +piece of palmyra leaf is explained thus. There are in the human body +ten humours:--Vayus, Pranan, Apanan, Samanan, Udanan, Vyanan, Nagan, +Kurman, Krikalan, Devadattan, Dhananjayan. These are called Dasavayu, +i.e., ten airs. When cremation was done for the first time, all these, +excepting the last, were destroyed by the fire. The last one flew +up, and settled on a palmyra leaf. Its existence was discovered by +some Brahman sages, who, by means of mantrams, forced it down to a +piece of palmyra leaf on the earth. So it is thought that, by making +offerings to this Dhananjayan leaf for seven days, the spirit of the +deceased will be mollified, should he have any anger to vent on the +living members of the taravad. The place where the piece of leaf +is to be fixed has been carefully cleaned, and the leaf is fixed +in the centre of the prepared surface. The offerings made to it go +direct to the spirit of the deceased, and the peace of the taravad is +assured. The men who have bathed and returned have brought with them +some grass (karuka pulla), plucked on their way back to the house. They +kneel in front of the piece of palmyra, with the right knee on the +ground. Some of the grass is spread on the ground near the piece of +leaf, and rings made with it are placed on the ring finger of the +right hand by each one present. The first offerings consist of water, +sandal paste, and leaves of the cherula, the eldest of the Anandravans +leading the way. Boys need not go through the actual performance of +offerings; it suffices for them to touch the eldest as he is making +the offerings. The half boiled rice is made into balls (pindam), and +each one present takes one of these in his right hand, and places it +on the grass near the piece of palmyra leaf. Some gingelly seeds are +put into the curd, which is poured so as to make three rings round the +pindams. It is poured out of a small cup made with the leaf on which +the half-boiled rice had been placed. It should not be poured from any +other kind of vessel. The whole is then covered with this same plantain +leaf, a lighted wick is waved, and some milk is put under the leaf. It +is undisturbed for some moments, and leaf is gently tapped with the +back of the fingers of the right hand. The leaf is then removed, and +torn in two at its midrib, one piece being placed on either side of +the pindams. The ceremony is then over for the day. The performers +rise, and remove the wet clothing they have been wearing. The eldest +of the Anandravans should, it was omitted to mention, be kept somewhat +separated from the other Anandravans while in the courtyard, and before +the corpse is removed for cremation; a son-in-law or daughter-in-law, +or some such kind of relation remaining, as it were, between him +and them. He has had the piece of cloth torn from the covering of +the corpse tied round his waist, and the piece of iron in the folds +of his cloth, or stuck in his waist during the ceremony which has +just been described. Now, when it has been completed, he ties the +piece of cloth to the pillar of the house nearest to the piece of +palmyra leaf which has been stuck in the ground, and puts the piece +of iron in a safe place. The piece of palmyra leaf is covered with +a basket. It is uncovered every day for seven days at the same hour, +while the same ceremony is repeated. The balls of rice are removed by +women and girls of the taravad who are junior to the deceased. They +place them in the bell-metal vessel in which the rice was boiled. The +senior places the vessel on her head, and leads the way to a tank, +on the bank of which the rice is thrown. It is hoped that crows will +come and eat it; for, if they do, the impression is received that +the deceased's spirit is pleased with the offering. But, if somehow +it is thought that the crows will not come and eat it, the rice is +thrown into the tank. Dogs are not to be allowed to eat it. The women +bathe after the rice has been thrown away. When the ceremony which +has been described has been performed for the seventh time, i.e., +on the seventh day after death, the piece of palmyra leaf is removed +from the ground, and thrown on the ashes of the deceased at the place +of cremation. During these seven days, no member of the taravad goes +to any other house. The house of the dead, and all its inmates are +under pollution. No outsider enters it but under ban of pollution, +which is, however, removable by bathing. A visitor entering the house +of the dead during these seven days must bathe before he can enter +his own house. During these seven days, the Karanavan of the family +receives visits of condolence from relatives and friends to whom he +is "at home" on Monday, Wednesday or Saturday. They sit and chat, +chew betel, and go home, bathing ere they enter their houses. It is +said that, in some parts of Malabar, the visitors bring with them +small presents in money or kind to help the Karanavan through the +expenditure to which the funeral rites necessarily put him. To hark +back a little, it must not be omitted that, on the third day after the +death, all those who are related by marriage to the taravad of the +deceased combine, and give a good feast to the inmates of the house +and to the neighbours who are invited, one man or woman from each +house. The person so invited is expected to come. This feast is called +patni karigi. On the seventh day, a return feast will be given by the +taravad of the deceased to all relatives and neighbours. Between the +seventh and fourteenth day after death no ceremony is observed, but the +members of the taravad remain under death pollution. On the fourteenth +day comes the sanchayanam. It is the disposal of the calcined remains; +the ashes of the deceased. The male members of the taravad go to +the place of cremation, and, picking up the pieces of unburnt bones +which they find there, place these in an earthen pot which has been +sun-dried (not burnt by fire in the usual way), cover up the mouth +of this pot with a piece of new cloth, and, all following the eldest +who carries it, proceed to the nearest river (it must be running +water), which receives the remains of the dead. The men then bathe, +and return home. In some parts of Malabar the bones are collected +on the seventh day, but it is not orthodox to do so. Better by far +than taking the remains to the nearest river is it to take them to +some specially sacred place, Benares, Gaya, Rameswaram, or even to +some place of sanctity much nearer home, as to Tirunelli in Wynaad, +and there dispose of them in the same manner. The bones or ashes of +any one having been taken to Gaya and there deposited in the river, +the survivors of the taravad have no need to continue the annual +ceremony for that person. This is called ashtagaya sradh. It puts +an end to the need for all earthly ceremonial. It is believed that +the collection and careful disposal of the ashes of the dead gives +peace to his spirit, and, what is more important, the pacified spirit +will not thereafter injure the living members of the taravad, cause +miscarriage to the women, possess the men (as with an evil spirit), +and so on. On the fifteenth day after death is the purificatory +ceremony. Until this has been done, any one touched by any member of +the taravad should bathe before he enters his house, or partakes of +any food. A man of the Athikurisi clan officiates. He sprinkles milk +oil, in which some gingelly seeds have been put, over the persons of +those under pollution. This sprinkling, and the bath which follows it, +remove the death pollution. The purifier receives a fixed remuneration +for his offices on this occasion, as well as when there is a birth in +the taravad. In the case of death of a senior member of a taravad, +well-to-do and recognised as of some importance, there is the feast +called pinda atiyantaram on the sixteenth day after death, given to +the neighbours and friends. With the observance of this feast of +pindams there is involved the diksha, or leaving the entire body +unshaved for forty-one days, or for a year. There is no variable +limit between forty-one days or a year. The forty-one-day period +is the rule in North Malabar. I have seen many who were under the +diksha for a year. He who lets his hair grow may be a son or nephew +of the deceased. One member only of the taravad bears the mark of +mourning by his growth of hair. He who is under the diksha offers +half-boiled rice and gingelly seeds to the spirits of the deceased +every morning after his bath, and he is under restriction from women, +from alcoholic drinks, and from chewing betel, also from tobacco. When +the diksha is observed, the ashes of the dead are not deposited as +described already (in the sun-dried vessel) until its last day--the +forty-first or a year after death. When it is carried on for a year, +there is observed every month a ceremony called bali. It is noteworthy +that, in this monthly ceremony and for the conclusion of the diksha, +it is not the thirtieth or three hundred and sixty-fifth day which +marks the date for the ceremonies, but it is the day (of the month) +of the star which was presiding when the deceased met his death: +the returning day on which the star presides. [161] For the bali, a +man of the Elayatu caste officiates. The Elayatus are priests for the +Nayars. They wear the Brahmin's thread, but they are not Brahmins. They +are not permitted to study the Vedas, but to the Nayars they stand in +the place of the ordinary purohit. The officiating Elayatu prepares +the rice for the bali, when to the deceased, represented by karuka +grass, are offered boiled rice, curds, gingelly seeds, and some other +things. The Elayatu should be paid a rupee for his services, which +are considered necessary even when the man under diksha is himself +familiar with the required ceremonial. The last day of the diksha is +one of festivity. After the bali, the man under diksha is shaved. All +this over, the only thing to be done for the deceased is the annual +sradh or yearly funeral commemorative rite. Rice-balls are made, +and given to crows. Clapping of hands announces to these birds that +the rice is being thrown for them, and, should they not come at once +and eat, it is evident that the spirit is displeased, and the taravad +had better look out. The spirits of those who have committed suicide, +or met death by any violent means, are always particularly vicious and +troublesome to the taravad, their spirits possessing and rendering +miserable some unfortunate member of it. Unless they are pacified, +they will ruin the taravad, so Brahman priests are called in, and +appease them by means of tilahomam, a rite in which sacrificial fire +is raised, and ghi, gingelly, and other things are offered through it." + +"There are," Mr. Fawcett writes, "many interesting features in the +death ceremonies as performed by the Kiriattil class. Those who carry +the corpse to the pyre are dressed as women, their cloths being wet, +and each carries a knife on his person. Two junior male members of +the taravad thrust pieces of mango wood into the southern end of +the burning pyre, and, when they are lighted, throw them over their +shoulders to the southwards without looking round. Close to the +northern end of the pyre, two small sticks are fixed in the ground, +and tied together with a cloth, over which water is poured thrice. All +members of the taravad prostrate to the ground before the pyre. They +follow the enangu carrying the pot of water round the pyre, and go +home without looking round. They pass to the northern side of the +house under an arch made by two men standing east and west, holding +at arms length, and touching at the points, the spade that was used +to dig the pit under the pyre, and the axe with which the wood for the +pyre was cut or felled. After this is done the kodali ceremony, using +the spade, axe, and big knife. These are placed on the leaves where +the corpse had lain. Then follows circumambulation and prostration +by all, and the leaves are committed to the burning pyre." + +In connection with the death ceremonies, it is noted in the Cochin +Census Report, 1901, that "the last moments of a dying person are +really very trying. All members (male and female), junior to the +dying person, pour into his or her mouth drops of Ganges or other +holy water or conjee (rice) water in token of their last tribute of +regard. Before the person breathes his last, he or she is removed +to the bare floor, as it is considered sacrilegious to allow the +last breath to escape while lying on the bed, and in a room with a +ceiling, which last is supposed to obstruct the free passage of the +breath. The names of gods, or sacred texts are loudly dinned into +his or her ears, so that the person may quit this world with the +recollections of God serving as a passport to heaven. The forehead, +breast, and the joints especially are besmeared with holy ashes, +so as to prevent the messengers of death from tightly tying those +parts when they carry away the person. Soon after the last breath, +the dead body is removed to some open place in the house, covered from +top to toe with a washed cloth, and deposited on the bare floor with +the head towards the south, the region of the God of death. A lighted +lamp is placed near the head, and other lights are placed all round +the corpse. A mango tree is cut, or other firewood is collected, +and a funeral pyre is constructed in the south-eastern corner of +a compound or garden known as the corner of Agni, which is always +reserved as a cemetery for the burning or burial of the dead. All male +members, generally junior, bathe, and, without wiping their head or +body, they remove the corpse to the yard in front of the house, and +place it on a plantain leaf. It is nominally anointed with oil, and +bathed in water. Ashes and sandal are again smeared on the forehead +and joints. The old cloth is removed, and the body is covered with +a new unwashed cloth or a piece of silk. A little gold or silver, or +small coins are put into the mouth. With the breaking of a cocoanut, +and the offering of some powdered rice, betel leaf, areca nut, etc., +the body is taken to the pyre. The members junior to the deceased +go round the pyre three, five, or seven times, throw paddy and rice +over the dead body, put scantlings of sandal wood, prostrate at the +feet of the corpse, and then set fire to the pyre. When the body is +almost wholly consumed, one of the male members carries a pot of water, +and, after making three rounds, the pot is broken and thrown into the +pyre. The death of an elderly male member of a family is marked by +udakakriya and sanchayanam, and the daily bali performed at the bali +kutti (altar) planted in front of the house, or in the courtyard in +the centre of the house, where there is one. The Ashtikurissi Nayar +officiates as priest at all such obsequies. On the morning of the +fifteenth day, the members of the family wear cloths washed by a +Velan, and assemble together for purification by the Nayar priest, +both before and after bathing, who throws on them paddy and rice, +and sprinkles the holy mixture. The Elayad or family purohit then +performs another punnayaham or purification, and on the sixteenth day +he takes the place of the priest. On the evening of the fifteenth day, +and the morning of the sixteenth day, the purohits and villagers are +sumptuously feasted, and presents of cloths and money are made to the +Elayads. In the Chittur taluk, the Tamil Brahman sometimes performs +priestly functions in place of the Elayad. Diksha is performed for +forty-one days, or for a whole year, for the benefit of the departed +soul. This last ceremony is invariably performed on the death of the +mother, maternal uncle, and elder brother." + +In connection with the habitations of the Nayars, Mr. Fawcett writes +as follows. "A house may face east or west, never north or south; +as a rule, it faces the east. Every garden is enclosed by a bank, +a hedge, or a fencing of some kind, and entrance is to be made at one +point only, the east, where there is a gate-house, or, in the case of +the poorest houses, a small portico or open doorway roofed over. One +never walks straight through this; there is always a kind of stile to +surmount. It is the same everywhere in Malabar, and not only amongst +the Nayars. The following is a plan of a nalapura or four-sided house, +which may be taken as representative of the houses of the rich:-- + +Numbers 6 and 7 are rooms, which are generally used for storing +grain. At A is a staircase leading to the room of the upper storey +occupied by the female members of the family. At B is another +staircase leading to the rooms of the upper storey occupied by the +male members. There is no connection between the portions allotted to +the men and women. No. 8 is for the family gods. The Karanavans and +old women of the family are perpetuated in images of gold or silver, +or, more commonly, brass. Poor people, who cannot afford to have these +images made, substitute a stone. Offerings are made to these images, +or to the stones at every full moon. The throat of a fowl will be cut +outside, and the bird is then taken inside and offered. The entrance +is at C. + +There are windows at * * *. E are rooms occupied by women and +children. It may be noticed that the apartment where the men sleep has +no windows on the side of the house which is occupied by women. The +latter are relatively free from control by the men as to who may +visit them. We saw, when speaking of funeral ceremonies, that a house +is supposed to have a courtyard, and, of course, it has this only +when there are four sides to the house. The nalapura is the proper +form of house, for in this alone can all ceremonial be observed in +orthodox fashion. But it is not the ordinary Nayar's house that one +sees all over Malabar. The ordinary house is roughly of the shape here +indicated. Invariably there is an upper storey. There are no doors, +and only a few tiny windows opening to the west. Men sleep at one end, +women at the other, each having their own staircase. Around the house +there is always shade from the many trees and palms. Every house is +in its own seclusion." + +Concerning Nayar dwellings, Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar writes that "the +houses of the Nayar, standing in a separate compound, have been by +many writers supposed to have been designed with special reference +to the requirements of offence and defence, and Major Welsh states +that the saying that every man's house is his castle is well verified +here. The higher ambition of the Nayar is, as has frequently been +said, to possess a garden, wherein he can grow, without trouble or +expense, the few necessaries of his existence. The garden surrounding +the house is surrounded by a hedge or strong fence. At the entrance +is an out-house, or patipura, which must have served as a kind of +guardroom in mediæval times. In poorer houses its place is taken by a +roofed door, generally provided with a stile to keep out cattle. The +courtyard is washed with cow-dung, and diverse figures are drawn +with white chalk on the fence. Usually there are three out-houses, +a vadakkettu on the north side serving as a kitchen, a cattle-shed, +and a tekketu on the southern side, where some family spirit is +located. These are generally those of Maruta, i.e., some member of +the family who has died of small-pox. A sword or other weapon, and +a seat or other emblem is located within this out-house, which is +also known by the names of gurusala (the house of a saint), kalari +(military training-ground), and daivappura (house of a deity). The +tekketu is lighted up every evening, and periodical offerings are +made to propitiate the deities enshrined within. In the south-west +corner is the serpent kavu (grove), and by its side a tank for +bathing purposes. Various useful trees are grown in the garden, such +as the jack, areca palm, cocoanut, plantain, tamarind, and mango. The +whole house is known as vitu. The houses are built on various models, +such as pattayappura, nalukettu, ettukettu, and kuttikettu." + +Concerning the dress of the Nayars, Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar writes that +"the males dress themselves in a mundu (cloth), a loose lower garment, +and a towel. A neriyatu, or light cloth of fine texture with coloured +border, is sometimes worn round the mundu on festive occasions. Coats +and caps are recent introductions, but are eschewed by the orthodox as +unnational. It is noted by Mr. Logan that 'the women clothe themselves +in a single white cloth of fine texture, reaching from the waist to the +knees, and occasionally, when abroad, they throw over the shoulder and +bosom another similar cloth. But by custom the Nayar women go uncovered +from the waist. Upper garments indicate lower caste, or sometimes, +by a strange reversal of Western notions, immodesty.' Edward Ives, +who came to Anjengo about 1740, observes that 'the groves on each bank +of the river are chiefly planted with cocoanut trees, and have been +inhabited by men and women in almost a pure state of nature, for they +go with their breasts and bellies entirely naked. This custom prevails +universally throughout every caste from the poorest planter of rice +to the daughter or consort of the king upon the throne.'" (According +to ancient custom, Nayar women in Travancore used to remove their +body-cloth in the presence of the Royal Family. But, since 1856, +this custom has been abolished, by a proclamation during the reign +of H. H. Vanchi Bala Rama Varma Kulasakhara Perumal Bhagiodya Rama +Varma. In a critique on the Indian Census Report, 1901. Mr. J. D. Rees +observes [162] that "if the Census Commissioner had enjoyed the +privilege of living among the Nayars, he would not have accused +them of an 'excess of females.' The most beautiful women in India, +if numerous, could never be excessive." Concerning Nayar females, +Pierre Loti writes [163] that "les femmes ont presque toutes les +traits d'une finesse particulière. Elles se font des bandeaux a la +Vierge, et, avec le reste de leurs cheveux, très noirs et très lisses, +composent une espèce de galette ronde qui se porte au sommet de la +tête, en avant et de côté, retombant un peu vers le front comme une +petite toque cavalièrement posée, en contraste sur l'ensemble de leur +personne qui demeure toujours grave et hiératique."] The Nayars are +particularly cleanly. Buchanan writes that "the higher ranks of the +people of Malayala use very little clothing, but are remarkably +clean in their persons. Cutaneous disorders are never observed +except among slaves and the lowest orders, and the Nayar women are +remarkably careful, repeatedly washing with various saponaceous plants +to keep their hair and skins from every impurity." The washerman is +constantly in requisition. No dirty cloths are ever worn. When going +for temple worship, the Nayar women dress themselves in the tattu form +by drawing the right corner of the hind fold of the cloth between the +thighs, and fastening it at the back. The cloth is about ten cubits +long and three broad, and worn in two folds. The oldest ornament +of the Nayar women is the necklace called nagapatam, the pendants +of which resemble a cobra's hood. The Nayar women wear no ornament +on the head, but decorate the hair with flowers. The nagapatam, and +several other forms of neck ornament, such as kazhultila, nalupanti, +puttali, chelakkamotiram, amatali, arumpumani, and kumilatali are +fast vanishing. The kuttu-minnu is worn on the neck for the first +time by a girl when her tali-kettu is celebrated. This ornament is +also called gnali. Prior to the tali-kettu ceremony, the girls wear a +kasu or sovereign. The inseparable neck ornament of a Nayar woman in +modern days is the addiyal, to which a patakkam is attached. The only +ornament for the ears is the takka or toda. After the lobes have been +dilated at the karnavedha ceremony, and dilated, a big leaden ring +is inserted in them. The nose ornament of women is called mukkuthi, +from which is suspended a gold wire called gnattu. No ornament is +worn in the right nostril. The wearing of gold bangles on the wrists +has been long the fashion among South Indian Hindu females of almost +all high castes. Round the waist Nayar women wear chains of gold +and silver, and, by the wealthy, gold belts called kachchapuram are +worn. Anklets were not worn in former times, but at the present day +the kolusu and padasaram of the Tamilians have been adopted. So, +too, the time-honoured toda is sometimes set aside in favour of the +Tamil kammal, an ornament of much smaller size. Canter Visscher (who +was Chaplain at Cochin in the eighteenth century) must have been +much struck by the expenditure of the Nayar women on their dress, +for he wrote [164] 'there is not one of any fortune who does not own +as many as twenty or thirty chests full of robes made of silver and +other valuable materials, for it would be a disgrace in their case +to wear the same dress two or three days in succession'." + +It is noted by Mr. Fawcett that "the Venetian sequin, which probably +first found its way to Malabar in the days of Vasco da Gama and +Albuquerque, is one of those coins which, having found favour with +a people, is used persistently in ornamentation long after it has +passed out of currency. So fond are the Malayalis of the sequin that +to this day there is quite a large trade in imitations of the coin for +purposes of ornament. Such is the persistence of its use that the trade +extends to brass and even copper imitation of the sequins. The former +are often seen to bear the legend 'Made in Austria.' The Nayars wear +none but the gold sequins. The brass imitations are worn by the women +of the inferior races. If one asks the ordinary Malayali, say a Nayar, +what persons are represented on the sequin, one gets for answer that +they are Rama and Sita; between them a cocoanut tree." + +In connection with the wearing of charms by Nayars Mr. Fawcett +writes as follows. "One individual (a Kiriattil Nayar) wore two +rings made of an amalgamation of gold and copper, called tambak, +on the ring finger of the right hand for good luck. Tambak rings +are lucky rings. It is a good thing to wash the face with the hand, +on which is a tambak ring. Another wore two rings of the pattern +called triloham (lit. metals) on the ring finger of each hand. Each +of these was made during an eclipse. Yet another wore a silver ring +as a vow, which was to be given up at the next festival at Kottiur, +a famous festival in North Malabar. The right nostril of a Sudra +Nayar was slit vertically as if for the insertion of a jewel. His +mother miscarried in her first pregnancy, so, according to custom, +he, the child of her second pregnancy, had his nose slit. Another +wore a silver bangle. He had a wound in his arm which was long in +healing, so he made a vow to the god at Tirupati (in the North Arcot +district), that, if his arm was healed, he would give up the bangle +at the Tirupati temple. He intended to send the bangle there by a +messenger. An Akattu Charna Nayar wore an amulet to keep off the +spirit of a Brahman who died by drowning. Another had a silver ring, +on which a piece of a bristle from an elephant's tail was arranged." + +Tattooing is said by Mr. Subramani Aiyar not to be favoured by North +Travancore Nayars, and to be only practiced by Nayar women living +to the south of Quilon. Certain accounts trace it to the invasion +of Travancore by a Moghul Sirdar in 1680 A.D. In modern times it has +become rare. The operation is performed by women of the Odda or Kurava +caste before a girl reaches the twelfth year. + +Concerning the religious worship of the Nayars, Mr. Subramani Aiyar +writes that "Buchanan notes that the proper deity of the Nayars is +Vishnu, though they wear the mark of Siva on their foreheads. By +this is merely meant that they pay equal reverence to both Siva and +Vishnu, being Smartas converted to the tenets of Sankaracharya. Besides +worshipping the higher Hindu deities, the Nayars also manifest their +adoration for several minor ones, such as Matan, Utayam, Yakshi, +Chattan, Chantakarnan, Murti, Maruta, and Arukula. Most of these have +granite representations, or at least such emblems as a sword or a cane, +and are provided with a local habitation. Besides these, persons who +have met with accidental death, and girls who have died before their +tali-tying ceremony, are specially worshipped under the designations +of Kazhichchavu and Kannichchavu. Magicians are held in some fear, +and talismanic amulets are attached to the waist by members of both +sexes. Kuttichattan, the mischievous imp of Malabar, is supposed to +cause much misery. Various spirits are worshipped on the Tiruvonam +day in the month of Avani (August-September), on the Uchcharam or +28th day of Makarom (January-February), and on some Tuesdays and +Fridays. Kolam-tullal, Velan-pravarti, Ayiramaniyam-tullel, Chavuttu, +Tila-homam, and a host of other ceremonies are performed with a view +to propitiate spirits, and the assistance of the Kaniyans and Velans +is largely sought. Serpents, too, whose images are located on the +north-western side of most gardens in Central and North Travancore, +receive a large share of adoration. The sun is an object of universal +worship. Though the Gayatri cannot be studied, or the Sandhyavandanam +of the Brahmans performed, an offering of water to the sun after +a bath, to the accompaniment of some hymn, is made by almost every +pious Nayar. The Panchakshara is learnt from an Ilayatu, and repeated +daily. A large portion of the time of an old Nayar is spent in reading +the Ramayana, Bhagavata and Mahabharata, rendered into Malayalam by +Tunchattu Ezhuttachhan, the greatest poet of the Malabar coast. Many +places in Travancore are pointed out as the scene of memorable +incidents in the Ramayana and Mahabharata. There are many temples, +tanks, and mountains connected with Rama's march to the capital of +Ravana. Equally important are the singular feats said to have been +performed by the five Pandavas during the time of their wanderings +in the jungles before the battle of Kurukshetra. Bhima especially +has built temples, raised up huge mountains, and performed many +other gigantic tasks in the country. There are some village temples +owned exclusively by the Nayars, where all the karakkars (villagers) +assemble on special occasions. A very peculiar socio-religious ceremony +performed here is the kuttam. This is a village council, held at the +beginning of every month for the administration of the communal affairs +of the caste, though, at the present day, a sumptuous feast at the +cost of each villager in rotation, and partaken of by all assembled, +and a small offering to the temple, are all that remains to commemorate +it. Astrology is believed in, and some of its votaries are spoken of +as Trikalagnas, or those who know the past, present, and future. It +is due to a curse of Siva on the science of his son, who made bold by +its means to predict even the future of his father, that occasional +mistakes are said to occur in astrological calculations. Sorcery +and witchcraft are believed to be potent powers for evil. To make a +person imbecile, to paralyse his limbs, to cause him to lavish all +his wealth upon another, to make him deaf and dumb, and, if need be, +even to make an end of him, are not supposed to be beyond the powers +of the ordinary wizard. Next to wizardry and astrology, palmistry, +omens, and the lizard science are generally believed in. In the +category of good omens are placed the elephant, a pot full of water, +sweetmeats, fruit, fish and flesh, images of gods, kings, a cow with +its calf, married women, tied bullocks, gold lamps, ghee, milk, and +so on. Under the head of bad omens come the donkey, a broom, buffalo, +untied bullock, barber, widow, patient, cat, washerman, etc. The worst +of all omens is beyond question to allow a cat to cross one's path. An +odd number of Nayars, and an even number of Brahmans, are good omens, +the reverse being particularly bad. On the Vinayaka-chaturthi day in +the month of Avani, no man is permitted to look at the rising moon +under penalty of incurring unmerited obloquy. + +"The chief religious festival of the Nayars is Onam, which takes +place in the last week of August, or first week of September. It is +a time of rejoicing and merriment. Father Paulinus, writing in the +latter half of the eighteenth century, observes that about the tenth +September the rain ceases in Malabar. All nature seems then as if +renovated; the flowers again shoot up, and the trees bloom. In a word, +this season is the same as that which Europeans call spring. The Onam +festival is said, therefore, to have been instituted for the purpose +of soliciting from the gods a happy and fruitful year. It continues +for eight days, and during that time the Indians are accustomed to +adorn their houses with flowers, and to daub them over with cow-dung, +because the cow is a sacred animal, dedicated to the Goddess Lakshmi, +the Ceres of India. On this occasion they also put on new clothes, +throw away all their old earthenware and replace it by new. Onam is, +according to some, the annual celebration of the Malabar new year, +which first began with Cheraman Perumal's departure for Mecca. But, +with the majority of orthodox Hindus, it is the day of the annual visit +of Mahabali to his country, which he used to govern so wisely and well +before his overthrow. There is also a belief that it is Maha-Vishnu +who, on Onam day, pays a visit to this mundane universe, for the just +and proper maintenance of which he is specially responsible. In some +North Malabar title-deeds and horoscopes, Mr. Logan says, the year is +taken as ending with the day previous to Onam. This fact, he notes, is +quite reconcilable with the other explanation, which alleges that the +commencement of the era coincides with Perumal's departure for Arabia, +if it is assumed, as is not improbable, that the day on which he sailed +was Thiruvonam day, on which acknowledgment of fealty should have +been made. Onam, it may be observed, is a contraction of Thiruvonam +which is the asterism of the second day of the festival. Throughout +the festival, boys from five to fifteen years of age go out early +in the morning to gather flowers, of which the kadali is the most +important. On their return, they sit in front of the tulasi (sacred +basil) mandapam, make a carpet-like bed of the blossoms which they have +collected, and place a clay image of Ganapati in the centre. A writer +in the Calcutta Review [165] describes how having set out at dawn to +gather blossoms, the children return with their beautiful spoils by 9 +or 10 A.M., and then the daily decoration begins. The chief decoration +consists of a carpet made out of the gathered blossoms, the smaller +ones being used in their entirety, while the large flowers, and one +or two varieties of foliage of different tints, are pinched up into +little pieces to serve the decorator's purpose. This flower carpet is +invariably in the centre of the clean strip of yard in front of the +neat house. Often it is a beautiful work of art, accomplished with a +delicate touch and a highly artistic sense of tone and blending. The +carpet completed, a miniature pandal (booth), hung with little +festoons, is erected over it, and at all hours of the day neighbours +look in, to admire and criticise the beautiful handiwork." + +"Various field sports, of which foot-ball is the chief, are indulged +in during the Onam festival. To quote Paulinus once more, the men, +particularly those who are young, form themselves into parties, +and shoot at each other with arrows. These arrows are blunted, +but exceedingly strong, and are discharged with such force that a +considerable number are generally wounded on both sides. These games +have a great likeness to the Ceralia and Juvenalia of the ancient +Greeks and Romans." + +In connection with bows and arrows, Mr. Fawcett writes that "I once +witnessed a very interesting game called eitu (eiththu), played by +the Nayars in the southern portion of Kurumbranad during the ten days +preceding Onam. There is a semi-circular stop-butt, about two feet +in the highest part, the centre, and sloping to the ground at each +side. The players stand 25 to 30 yards before the concave side of it, +one side of the players to the right, the other to the left. There +is no restriction of numbers as to sides. Each player is armed with +a little bow made of bamboo, about 18 inches in length, and arrows, +or what answer for arrows, these being no more than pieces of the +midrib of the cocoanut palm leaf, roughly broken off, leaving a little +bit of the end to take the place of the feather. In the centre of +the stop-butt, on the ground, is placed the target, a piece of the +heart of the plantain tree, about 3 inches in diameter, pointed at +the top, in which is stuck a small stick convenient for lifting the +cheppu, as the mark which is the immediate objective of the players +is called. They shoot indiscriminately at the mark, and he who hits +it (the little arrows shoot straight, and stick in readily) carries +off all the arrows lying on the ground. Each side strives to secure +all the arrows, and to deprive the other side of theirs--a sort of +'beggar my neighbour.' He who hits the mark last takes all the arrows; +that is, he who hits it, and runs and touches the mark before any one +else hits it. As I stood watching, it happened several times that as +many as four arrows hit the mark, while the youth who had hit first +was running the 25 yards to touch the cheppu. Before he could touch it, +as many as four other arrows had struck it, and, of course, he who hit +it last and touched the mark secured all the arrows for his side. The +game is accompanied by much shouting, gesticulation and laughter. Those +returning, after securing a large number of arrows, turned somersaults, +and expressed their joy in saltatory motions." In a note on this game +with bows and arrows in Kurumbranad, Mr. E. F. Thomas writes that +"the players themselves into two sides, which shoot alternately at the +mark. Beside the mark stand representatives of the two sides. When +the mark is hit by a member of either side, on his representative +shouting 'Run, man,' he runs up the lists. His object is to seize +the mark before it is hit by any one belonging to the other side. If +he can do this, his side takes all the arrows which have been shot, +and are sticking in the stop-butt. If, on the other hand, the mark +is hit by the other side before he reaches it, he may not seize the +mark. A member of the other side runs up in his turn to seize the +mark if possible before it is hit again by the first side. If he can +do this, he takes out, not all the arrows, but only the two which are +sticking in the mark. If, while number two is running, the mark is hit +a third time, a member of the first side runs up, to seize the mark +if possible. The rule is that one or three hits take all the arrows in +the stop-butt, two or four only the arrows sticking in the mark. Great +excitement is shown by all who take part in the game, which attracts +a number of spectators. The game is played every fortnight by Nayars, +Tiyans, Mappillas, and others. I am told that it is a very old one, +and is dying out. I saw it at Naduvanur." + +The Onam games in the south-east of Malabar, in the neighbourhood +of Palghat, are said by Mr. Fawcett to be of a rough character, +"the tenants of certain jenmis (landlords) turning out each under +their own leader, and engaging in sham fights, in which there is much +rough play. Here, too, is to be seen a kind of boxing, which would +seem to be a relic of the days of the Roman pugiles using the cestus +in combat. The position taken up by the combatants is much the same +as that of the pugiles. The Romans were familiar with Malabar from +about 30 B.C. to the decline of their power. [166] We may safely +assume that the 3,000 lbs. of pepper, which Alaric demanded as part +of the ransom of Rome when he besieged the city in the fifth century, +came from Malabar." Swinging on the uzhinjal, and dancing to the +accompaniment of merry songs, are said to be characteristic amusements +of the womankind during Onam festival, and, on the Patinaram Makam, +or sixteenth day after Thiruvonam. This amusement is indulged in +by both sexes. It is noted by Mr. Fawcett that "the cloths given as +Onam presents are yellow, or some part of them, is yellow. There must +be at least a yellow stripe or a small patch of yellow in a corner, +which suggests a relic of sun-worship in a form more pronounced than +that which obtains at present. It is a harvest festival, about the +time when the first crop of paddy (rice) is harvested." + +Concerning another important festival in Malabar, the Thiruvathira, +Mr. T. K. Gopal Panikkar writes as follows. [167] "Thiruvathira is +one of the three great national occasions of Malabar. It generally +comes off in the Malayalam month of Dhanu (December or January) on +the day called the Thiruvathira day. It is essentially a festival +in which females are almost exclusively concerned, and lasts for +but a single day. The popular conception of it is that it is in +commemoration of the death of Kamadevan, the Cupid of our national +mythology. As recorded in the old Puranas, Kamadevan was destroyed in +the burning fire of the third eye of Siva, one of the chief members of +our divine Trinity. Hence he is now supposed to have only an ideal or +rather spiritual existence, and thus he exerts a powerful influence +upon the lower passions of human nature. The memory of this unhappy +tragedy is still kept alive among us, particularly the female section, +by means of the annual celebration of this important festival. About +a week before the day, the festival practically opens. At about four +in the morning, every young female of Nair families with pretensions +to decency gets out of bed, and takes her bath in a tank. Usually +a fairly large number of these young ladies collect at the tank for +the purpose. Then all, or almost all of them, plunge in the water, +and begin to take part in the singing that is presently to follow. One +of them then leads off by means of a peculiar rhythmic song, chiefly +pertaining to Cupid. This singing is simultaneously accompanied by +a curious sound produced with her hand on the water. The palm of the +left hand is closed, and kept immediately underneath the surface of +the water. Then the palm of the other is forcibly brought down in a +slanting direction, and struck against its surface, so that the water +is completely ruffled, and is splashed in all directions, producing a +loud deep noise. This process is continuously prolonged, together with +the singing. One stanza is now over along with the sound, and then +the leader stops awhile for the others to follow in her wake. This +being likewise over, she caps her first stanza with another, at the +same time beating on the water, and so on until the conclusion of +the song. All of them make a long pause, and then begin another. The +process goes on until the peep of dawn, when they rub themselves +dry, and come home to dress themselves in the neatest and grandest +possible attire. They also darken the fringes of their eyelids with +a sticky preparation of soot mixed up with a little oil or ghee, and +sometimes with a superficial coating of antimony powder. They also wear +white, black, or red marks down the middle of their foreheads. They +also chew betel, and thus redden their mouths and lips. They then +proceed to the enjoyment of another prominent item of pleasure, +viz., swinging to and fro on what is usually known as an uzhinjal, +or swing made of bamboo. On the festival day, after the morning bath +is over, they take a light meal, and in the noon the family dinner is +voraciously attacked, the essential and almost universal ingredients +being ordinary ripe plantain fruits, and a delicious preparation of +arrowroot powder purified and mixed with jaggery (crude sugar) or +sugar, and also cocoanut. Then, till evening, dancing and merry-making +are ceaselessly indulged in. The husband population are inexcusably +required to be present in the wives' houses before evening, as they +are bound to do on the Onam and Vishu occasions. Failure to do this +is looked upon as a step, or rather the first step, on the part of +the defaulting husband towards a final separation or divorce from the +wife. Despite the rigour of the bleak December season during which +the festival commonly falls, heightened inevitably by the constant +blowing of the cold east wind upon their moistened frames, these +lusty maidens derive considerable pleasure from their early baths, +and their frolics in the water. The biting cold of the season, which +makes their persons shiver and quiver, becomes to them in the midst of +all their ecstatic frolics an additional source of pleasure. The two +items described above, viz., the swinging and beating of the water, +have each their own distinctive significance. The former typifies +the attempt which these maidens make in order to hang themselves +on these instruments, and destroy their lives in consequence of the +lamented demise of their sexual deity Kamadevan. The beating on the +water symbolises their beating their chests in expression of their +deep-felt sorrow caused by their Cupid's death." + +Yet another important festival, Vishu, is thus described by Mr. Gopal +Panikkar. "Vishu, like the Onam and Thiruvathira festivals, is a +remarkable event among us. Its duration is limited to one day. The +1st of Metam (some day in April) is the unchangeable day, on which it +falls. It is practically the astronomical new year's day. This was one +of the periods when, in olden days, the subjects of ruling princes or +authorities in Malabar, under whom their lots were cast, were expected +to bring their new year's offerings to such princes. Failure to comply +with the customary and time-consecrated demands was visited with royal +displeasure, resulting in manifold varieties of oppression. The British +Government, finding this was a great burden, pressing rather heavily +upon the people, obtained as far back as 1790 a binding promise from +those Native Princes that such exactions of presents from the people +should be discontinued thereafter. Consequently the festival is now +shorn of much of its ancient sanctity and splendour. But suggestive +survivals of the same are still to be found in the presents, which +tenants and dependents bring to leading families on the day previous to +the Vishu. Being the commencement of a new year, native superstition +surrounds it with a peculiar solemn importance. It is believed that a +man's whole prosperity in life, depends upon the nature, auspicious +or otherwise, of the first things that he happens to fix his eyes +upon on this particular morning. According to Nair, and even general +Hindu mythology, there are certain objects which possess an inherent +inauspicious character. For instance, ashes, firewood, oil, and a lot +of similar objects are inauspicious ones, which will render him who +chances to notice them first fare badly in life for the whole year, and +their obnoxious effects will be removed only on his seeing holy things, +such as reigning princes, oxen, cows, gold, and such like, on the +morning of the next new year. The effects of the sight of these various +materials are said to apply even to the attainment of objects by a man +starting on a special errand, who happens for the first time to look +at them after starting. However, with this view, almost every family +religiously takes care to prepare the most sightworthy objects on the +new year morning. Therefore, on the previous night they prepare what +is known as a kani. A small circular bell-metal vessel is taken, and +some holy objects are systematically arranged inside it. A grandha or +old book made of palmyra leaves, a gold ornament, a new-washed cloth, +some 'unprofitably gay' flowers of the konna tree (Cassia Fistula), +a measure of rice, a so-called looking-glass made of bell-metal, +and a few other things, are all tastefully arranged in the vessel, +and placed in a prominent room inside the house. On either side of +this vessel two brass or bell-metal lamps, filled with cocoanut oil +clear as diamond sparks, are kept burning, and a small plank of wood, +or some other seat, is placed in front of it. At about 5 o'clock in the +morning of the day, some one who has got up first wakes up the inmates, +both male and female, of the house, and takes them blindfolded, so that +they may not gaze at anything else, to the seat near the kani. The +members are seated, one after another, in the seat, and are then, +and not till then, asked to open their eyes, and carefully look at +the kani. Then each is made to look at some venerable member of the +house, or sometimes a stranger even. This over, the little playful +urchins of the house begin to fire small crackers, which they have +bought and stored for the occasion. The kani is then taken round the +place from house to house for the benefit of the poor families, which +cannot afford to prepare such a costly adornment. With the close of +the noise of the crackers, the morning breaks, and preparations are +begun for the morning meal. This meal is in some parts confined to +rice kanji (gruel) with a grand appendage of other eatable substances, +and in others to ordinary rice and its accompaniments, but in either +case on a grand scale. Immediately the day dawns, the heads of the +families give to almost all the junior members and servants of the +household, and to wives and children, money presents to serve as +their pocket-money. In the more numerically large families, similar +presents are also made by the heads of particular branches of the same +family to their juniors, children, wives and servants. One other item +connected with the festival deserves mention. On the evening of the +previous day, about four or five o'clock, most well-to-do families +distribute paddy or rice, as the case may be, in varying quantities, +and some other accessories to the family workmen, whether they live +on the family estates or not. In return for this, these labourers +bring with them for presentation the fruits of their own labours, +such as vegetables of divers sorts, cocoanut oil, jaggery, plantains, +pumpkins, cucumbers, brinjals (fruit of Solanum Melongena), etc., +according as their respective circumstances permit. With the close of +the midday meal the festival practically concludes. In some families, +after the meal is over, dancing and games of various kinds are carried +on, which contribute to the enhancement of the pleasantries incidental +to the festival. As on other prominent occasions, card-playing and +other games are also resorted to." + +On the subject of religion, Mr. Fawcett writes as follows. "No Nayar, +unless one utterly degraded by the exigencies of a Government office, +would eat his food without having bathed and changed his cloth. It +is a rule seldom broken that every Nayar goes to the temple to pray +at least once a day after having bathed: generally twice a day. The +mere approach anywhere near his vicinity of a Cheruman, a Pulayan, +or any inferior being, even a Tiyan, as he walks to his house from +the temple, cleansed in body and mind, his marks newly set on his +forehead with sandal-wood paste, is pollution, and he must turn and +bathe again ere he can enter his house and eat. Buchanan tells us +that in his time, about a century ago, the man of inferior caste thus +approaching a Nayar would be cut down instantly with a sword; there +would be no words. Now that the people of India are inconvenienced +with an Arms Act which inhibits sword play of this kind, and with a +law system under which high and low are rated alike, the Nayar has +to content himself with an imperious grunt-like shout for the way to +be cleared for him as he stalks on imperturbed. His arrogance is not +diminished, but he cannot now show it in quite the same way. + +"I will attempt a description of the ceremonial observed at the Pishari +kavu--the Pishari temple near Quilandy on the coast 15 miles north of +Calicut, where Bhagavati is supposed in vague legend to have slain an +Asura or gigantic ogre, in commemoration of which event the festival +is held yearly to Bhagavati and her followers. The festival lasts for +seven days. When I visited it in 1895, the last day was on the 31st of +March. Before daybreak of the first day, the ordinary temple priest, +a Mussad, will leave the temple after having swept it and made it +clean; and (also before daybreak) five Nambutiris will enter it, +bearing with them sudhi kalasam. The kalasam is on this occasion +made of the five products of the cow (panchagavyam), together with +some water, a few leaves of the banyan tree, and darbha grass, all +in one vessel. Before being brought to the temple, mantrams or magic +verses will have been said over it. The contents of the vessel are +sprinkled all about the temple, and a little is put in the well, +thus purifying the temple and the well. The Nambutiris will then +perform the usual morning worship, and, either immediately after it or +very soon afterwards, they leave the temple, and the Mussad returns +and resumes his office. The temple belongs to four taravads, and no +sooner has it been purified than the Karanavans of these four taravads, +virtually the joint-owners of the temple (known as Uralas) present to +the temple servant (Pisharodi) the silver flag of the temple, which +has been in the custody of one of them since the last festival. The +Pisharodi receives it, and hoists it in front of the temple (to the +east), thus signifying that the festival has begun. While this is +being done, emphasis and grandeur is given to the occasion by the +firing off of miniature mortars such as are common at all South Indian +festivals. After the flag is hoisted, there are hoisted all round the +temple small flags of coloured cloth. For the next few days there is +nothing particular to be done beyond the procession morning, noon, +and night; the image of Bhagavati being carried on an elephant to an +orchestra of drums, and cannonade of the little mortars. All those +who are present are supposed to be fed from the temple. There is a +large crowd. On the morning of the fifth day, a man of the washerman +(Vannan) caste will announce to the neighbours by beat of tom-tom +that there will be a procession of Bhagavati issuing from the gates +of the temple, and passing round about. Like all those who are in +any way connected with the temple, this man's office is hereditary, +and he lives to a small extent on the bounty of the temple, i.e., +he holds a little land on nominal terms from the temple property, +in consideration for which he must fulfil certain requirements for +the temple, as on occasions of festivals. His office also invests +him with certain rights in the community. In the afternoon of the +fifth day, the Vannan and a Manutan, the one following the other, +bring two umbrellas to the temple; the former bringing one of cloth, +and the latter one of cadjan (palm leaves). I am not sure whether the +cloth umbrella has been in the possession of the Vannan, but think it +has. At all events, when he brings it to the temple, it is in thorough +repair--a condition for which he is responsible. The cadjan umbrella +is a new one. Following these two as they walk solemnly, each with +his umbrella, is a large crowd. There are processions of Bhagavati on +the elephant encircling the temple thrice in the morning, at noon, +and at night. Early on the sixth day, the headman of the Mukkuvans +(fishermen), who by virtue of his headship is called the Arayan, +together with the blacksmith and the goldsmith, comes to the temple +followed by a crowd, but accompanied by no orchestra of drums. To the +Arayan is given half a sack of rice for himself and his followers. A +silver umbrella belonging to the temple is handed over to him, to +be used when he comes to the temple again in the evening. To the +blacksmith is given the temple sword. The goldsmith receives the +silver umbrella from the Arayan, and executes any repairs that may be +needful, and, in like manner, the blacksmith looks to the sword. In +the afternoon, the headman of the Tiyans, called the Tandan, comes to +the temple followed by two of his castemen carrying slung on a pole +over their shoulders three bunches of young cocoanuts--an appropriate +offering, the Tiyans being those whose ordinary profession is climbing +the cocoanut palm, drawing the toddy, securing the cocoanuts, etc. This +time there will be loud drumming, and a large crowd with the Tandan, +and in front of him are men dancing, imitating sword play with sticks +and shields, clanging the shields, pulling at bows as if firing off +imaginary arrows, the while shouting and yelling madly. Then come the +blacksmith and the goldsmith with the sword. Following comes the Arayan +with the silver umbrella to the accompaniment of very noisy drumming, +in great state under a canopy of red cloth held lengthways by two men, +one before, the other behind. The procession of Bhagavati continues +throughout the night, and ceases at daybreak. These six days of the +festival are called Vilakku. A word about the drumming. The number of +instrumentalists increases as the festival goes on, and on the last +day I counted fifty, all Nayars. The instruments were the ordinary +tom-tom, a skin stretched tight over one side of a circular wooden +band, about 1 1/2 feet in diameter and 2 or 3 inches in width, and +the common long drum much narrower at the ends than in the middle; +and there were (I think) a few of those narrow in the middle, something +like an hour-glass cut short at both ends. They are beaten with carved +drum-sticks, thicker at the end held in the hand. The accuracy with +which they were played on, never a wrong note although the rhythm +was changed perpetually, was truly amazing. And the crescendo and +diminuendo, from a perfect fury of wildness to the gentlest pianissimo, +was equally astonishing, especially when we consider the fact that +there was no visible leader of this strange orchestra. Early on the +seventh and last day, when the morning procession is over, there +comes to the temple a man of the Panan caste (umbrella-makers and +devil-dancers). He carries a small cadjan umbrella which he has made +himself, adorned all round the edges with a fringe of the young leaves +of the cocoanut palm. His approach is heralded and noised just as in +the case of the others on the previous day. The umbrella should have +a long handle, and, with it in his hand, he performs a dance before +the temple. The temple is situated within a hollow square enclosure, +which none in caste below the Nayar is permitted to enter. To the +north, south, east, and west, there is a level entrance into the hollow +square, and beyond this entrance no man of inferior caste may go. The +Panan receives about 10 lbs. of raw rice for his performance. In the +afternoon, a small crowd of Vettuvars come to the temple, carrying with +them swords, and about ten small baskets made of cocoanut palm leaves, +containing salt. These baskets are carried slung on a pole. The use of +salt here is obscure. [168] I remember a case of a Nayar's house having +been plundered, the idol knocked down, and salt put in the place where +it should have stood. The act was looked on as most insulting. The +Vettuvans dance and shout in much excitement, cutting their heads with +their own swords in their frenzy. Some of them represent devils or some +kind of inferior evil spirits, and dance madly under the influence +of the spirits which they represent. Then comes the Arayan as on +the previous day with his little procession, and lastly comes the +blacksmith with the sword. The procession in the evening is a great +affair. Eight elephants, which kept line beautifully, took part in it +when I witnessed it. One of them, very handsomely caparisoned, had on +its back a priest (Mussad) carrying a sword smothered in garlands of +red flowers representing the goddess. The elephant bearing the priest +is bedizened on the forehead with two golden discs, one on each side +of the forehead, and over the centre of the forehead hangs a long +golden ornament. These discs on the elephant's forehead are common +in Malabar in affairs of ceremony. The Mappilla poets are very fond +of comparing a beautiful girl's breasts to these cup-like discs. The +elephant bears other jewels, and over his back is a large canopy-like +red cloth richly wrought. Before the elephant walked a Nayar carrying +in his right hand in front of him a sword of the kind called nandakam +smeared with white (probably sandal) paste. To its edge, at intervals +of a few inches, are fastened tiny bells, so that, when it is shaken, +there is a general jingle. Just before the procession begins, there +is something for the Tiyans to do. Four men of this caste having with +them pukalasams (flower kalasams), and five having jannakalasams, +run along the west, north, and east sides of the temple outside +the enclosure, shouting and making a noise more like the barking +of dogs than anything else. The kalasams contain arrack (liquor), +which is given to the temple to be used in the ceremonies. Members +of certain families only are allowed to perform in this business, +and for what they do each man receives five edangalis of rice from the +temple, and a small piece of the flesh of the goat which is sacrificed +later. These nine men eat only once a day during the festival; they +do no work, remaining quietly at home unless when at the temple; they +cannot approach any one of caste lower than their own; they cannot +cohabit with women; and they cannot see a woman in menstruation +during these days. A crowd of Tiyans join more or less in this, +rushing about and barking like dogs, making a hideous noise. They +too have kalasams, and, when they are tired of rushing and barking, +they drink the arrack in them. These men are always under a vow. In +doing what they do, they fulfil their vow for the benefit they have +already received from the goddess--cure from sickness as a rule. To +the west of the temple is a circular pit--it was called the fire-pit, +but there was no fire in it--and this pit all the Tiyan women of +the neighbourhood circumambulate, passing from west round by north, +three times, holding on the head a pewter plate, on which are a little +rice, bits of plantain leaves and cocoanut, and a burning wick. As +each woman completes her third round, she stands for a moment at the +western side, facing east, and throws the contents of the plate into +the pit. She then goes to the western gate of the enclosure, and puts +down her plate for an instant while she makes profound salaam to the +goddess ere going away. Now the procession starts out from the temple, +issuing from the northern gate, and for a moment confronts a being so +strange that he demands description. Of the many familiar demons of +the Malayalis, the two most intimate are Kuttichchattan and Gulikan, +who are supposed to have assisted Kali (who is scarcely the Kali of +Brahmanism) in overcoming the Asura, and on the occasion of this +festival these demons dance before her. Gulikan is represented by +the Vannan and Kuttichchattan by the Manutan who have been already +mentioned, and who are under like restrictions with the nine Tiyans. I +saw poor Gulikan being made up, the operation occupying five or six +hours or more before his appearance. I asked who he was, and was told +he was a devil. He looked mild enough, but then his make-up had just +begun. He was lying flat on the ground close by the north-east entrance +of the enclosure, where presently he was to dance, a man painting +his face to make it hideous and frightful. This done, the hair was +dressed; large bangles were put on his arms, covering them almost +completely from the shoulder to the wrist; and his head and neck were +swathed and decorated. A wooden platform arrangement, from which hung +a red ornamented skirt, was fastened to his hips. There was fastened +to his back an elongated Prince of Wales' feathers arrangement, the +top of which reached five feet above his head, and he was made to +look like nothing human. Kuttichchattan was treated in much the same +manner. As the procession issues from the northern gate of the temple, +where it is joined by the elephants, Gulikan stands in the northern +entrance of the enclosure (which he cannot enter), facing it, and a +halt is made for three minutes, while Gulikan dances. The poor old +man who represented this fearful being, grotesquely terrible in his +wonderful metamorphosis, must have been extremely glad when his dance +was concluded, for the mere weight and uncomfortable arrangement of +his paraphernalia must have been extremely exhausting. It was with +difficulty that he could move at all, let alone dance. The. procession +passes round by east, where, at the entrance of the enclosure, +Kuttichchattan gives his dance, round by south to the westward, and, +leaving the enclosure, proceeds to a certain banyan tree, under which +is a high raised platform built up with earth and stones. Preceding +the procession at a distance of fifty yards are the nine men of the +Tiyan caste mentioned already, carrying kalasams on their heads, +and a crowd of women of the same caste, each one carrying a pewter +plate, larger than the plates used when encircling the fire pit, +on which are rice, etc., and the burning wick as before. The plate +and its contents are on this occasion, as well as before, called +talapoli. I could not make out that anything in particular is done +at the banyan tree, and the procession soon returns to the temple, +the nine men and the Tiyan women following, carrying their kalasams +and talapoli. On the way, a number of cocks are given in sacrifice by +people under a vow. In the procession are a number of devil-dancers, +garlanded with white flowers of the pagoda tree mixed with red, +jumping, gesticulating, and shouting, in an avenue of the crowd in +front of the elephant bearing the sword. The person under a vow holds +the cock towards one of these devil-dancers, who, never ceasing his +gyrations and contortions, presently seizes its head, wrings it off, +and flings it high in the air. The vows which are fulfilled by this +rude decapitation of cocks have been made in order to bring about cure +for some ailment. The procession passes through the temple yard from +west to east, and proceeds half a mile to a banyan tree, under which, +like the other, there is a high raised platform. When passing by the +temple, the Tiyan women empty the contents of their plates in the fire +pit as before, and the nine men hand over the arrack in their kalasams +to the temple servants. Let me note here the curious distribution of +the rice which is heaped in the fire pit. Two-thirds of it go to the +four Tiyans who carried the pukalasams, and one-third to the five who +carried the jannakalasams. Returning to the procession, we find it +at the raised platform to the east of the temple. On this platform +have been placed already an ordinary bamboo quart-like measure of +paddy (unhusked rice), and one of rice, each covered with a plantain +leaf. The principal devil-dancer takes a handful of rice and paddy, +and flings it all around. The procession then visits in turn the +gates of the gardens of the four owners of the temple. At each is a +measure of rice and a measure of paddy covered with plantain leaves, +with a small lamp or burning wick beside them, and the devil-dancer +throws a handful towards the house. The procession then finds its +way to a tree to the west, under which, on the platform, is now a +measure of paddy and a lamp. Some Brahmans repeat mantrams, and the +elephant, the priest on his back and the sword in his hand, all three +are supposed to tremble violently. Up to this time the procession +has moved leisurely at a very slow march. Now, starting suddenly, it +proceeds at a run to the temple, where the priest descends quickly from +the elephant, and is taken inside the temple by the Mussad priests. He, +who has been carrying the sword all this time, places it on the sill of +the door of the room in which it is kept for worship, and prostrates +before it. The sword then shakes itself for fifteen minutes, until +the chief priest stays its agitation by sprinkling on it some tirtam +fluid made sacred by having been used for anointing the image of the +goddess. This done, the chief amongst the devil-dancers will, with +much internal tumult as well as outward convolutions, say in the way +of oracle whether the devi has been pleased with the festival in her +honour, or not. As he pronounces this oracular utterance, he falls in +a sort of swoon, and everyone, excepting only the priests and temple +servants, leaves the place as quickly as possible. The sheds which +have been erected for temporary habitation around the temple will be +quickly demolished, and search will be made round about to make sure +that no one remains near while the mystic rite of sacrifice is about +to be done. When the whole place has been cleared, the four owners of +the temple, who have stayed, hand over each a goat with a rope tied +round its neck to the chief priest, and, as soon as they have done so, +they depart. There will remain now in the temple three Mussads, one +drummer (Marayar), and two temple servants. The reason for all this +secrecy seems to lie in objection to let it be known generally that +any sacrifice is done. I was told again and again that there was no +such thing. It is a mystic secret. The Mussad priests repeat mantrams +over the goats for an hour as a preliminary to the sacrifice. Then +the chief priest dons a red silk cloth, and takes in his hand a +chopper-like sword in shape something like a small bill-hook, while +the goats are taken to a certain room within the temple. This room is +rather a passage than a room, as there are to it but two walls running +north and south. The goats are made to stand in turn in the middle of +this room, facing to the south. The chief priest stands to the east of +the goat, facing west, as he cuts off its head with the chopper. He +never ceases his mantrams, and the goats never flinch--the effect +of the mantrams. Several cocks are then sacrificed in the same place, +and over the carcasses of goats and cocks there is sprinkled charcoal +powder mixed in water (karutta gurusi) and saffron (turmeric) powder +and lime-water (chukanna gurusi), the flow of mantrams never ceasing +the while. The Mussads only see the sacrifice--a part of the rite which +is supremely secret. Equally so is that which follows. The carcass +of one goat will be taken out of the temple by the northern door to +the north side of the temple, and from this place one of the temple +servants, who is blindfolded, drags it three times round the temple, +the Mussads following closely, repeating their mantrams, the drummer +in front beating his drum softly with his fingers. The drummer dare +not look behind him, and does not know what is being done. After the +third round, the drummer and the temple servant go away, and the three +Mussads cook some of the flesh of the goats and one or two of the cocks +(or a part of one) with rice. This rice, when cooked, is taken to the +kavu (grove) to the north of the temple, and there the Mussads again +ply their mantrams. As each mantram is ended, a handful of saffron +(turmeric) powder is flung on the rice, and all the time the drummer, +who by this time has returned, keeps up an obligato pianissimo with +his drum, using his fingers. He faces the north, and the priests +face the south. Presently the priests run (not walk) once round the +temple, carrying the cooked rice, and scattering it wide as they go, +repeating mantrams. They enter the temple, and remain within until +daybreak. No one can leave the temple until morning comes. Before +daybreak, the temple is thoroughly swept and cleaned, and then the +Mussads go out, and the five Nambutiris again enter before sunrise, +and perform the ordinary worship thrice in the day, for this day +only. The next morning, the Mussad priests return and resume their +duties. Beyond noting that the weirdness of the human tumult, busy in +its religious effusion, is on the last night enhanced by fireworks, +mere description of the scene of the festival will not be attempted, +and such charming adjuncts of it as the gallery of pretty Nayar women +looking on from the garden fence at the seething procession in the lane +below must be left to the imagination. It will have been noticed that +the Nambutiris hold aloof from the festival; they purify the temple +before and after, but no more. The importance attached to the various +offices of those who are attached to the temple by however slender +a thread, was illustrated by a rather amusing squabble between two +of the Mukkuvans, an uncle and nephew, as to which of them should +receive the silver umbrella from the temple, and bear it to the house +of the goldsmith to be repaired. During the festival, one of them +made a rapid journey to the Zamorin (about fifty miles distant), +paid some fees, and established himself as the senior who had the +right to carry the umbrella. + +"An important local festival is that held near Palghat, in November, +in the little suburb Kalpati inhabited entirely by Pattar Brahmans from +the east. But it is not a true Malayali festival, and it suffices to +mention its existence, for it in no way represents the religion of +the Nayar. The dragging of cars, on which are placed the images of +deities, common everywhere from the temple of Jagganath at Puri in +Orissa to Cape Comorin, is quite unknown in Malabar, excepting only +at Kalpati, which is close to the eastern frontier of Malabar. + +"Near Chowghat (Chavagat), about 30 miles to the southward of +Calicut, on the backwater, at a place called Guruvayur, is a very +important temple, the property of the Zamorin, yielding a very handsome +revenue. I visited the festival on one occasion, and purchase was made +of a few offerings such as are made to the temple in satisfaction +of vows--a very rude representation of an infant in silver, a hand, +a leg, an ulcer, a pair of eyes, and, most curious of all, a silver +string which represents a man, the giver. Symbolization of the +offering of self is made by a silver string as long as the giver +is tall. Goldsmiths working in silver and gold are to be seen just +outside the gate of the temple, ready to provide at a moment's notice +the object any person intends to offer, in case he is not already in +possession of his votive offering. The subject of vows can be touched +on but incidentally here. A vow is made by one desiring offspring, +to have his hand or leg cured, to have an ulcer cured, to fulfil any +desire whatsoever, and he decides in solemn affirmation to himself +to give a silver image of a child, a silver leg, and so on, in the +event of his having fulfilment of his desire. + +"A true Malayali festival is that held at Kottiyur in North Malabar, +in the forest at the foot of the Wynad hills rising 3,000 to 5,000 +feet from the sides of the little glade where it is situated. It +is held in July during the height of the monsoon rain. Though it +is a festival for high and low, these do not mix at Kottiyur. The +Nayars go first, and after a few days, the Nayars having done, the +Tiyans, and so on. A curious feature of it is that the people going +to attend it are distinctly rowdy, feeling that they have a right +to abuse in the vilest and filthiest terms everyone they see on the +way--perhaps a few days' march. And not only do they abuse to their +hearts' content in their exuberant excitement, but they use personal +violence to person and property all along the road. They return like +lambs. At Kottiyur one sees a temple of Isvara, there called Perumal +(or Perumal Isvara) by the people, a low thatched building forming +a hollow square, in the centre of which is the shrine, which I was +not permitted to see. There were some Nambutiri priests, who came +out, and entered into conversation. The festival is not held at the +temple, but in the forest about a quarter of a mile distant. This +spot is deemed extremely sacred and dreadful. There was, however, +no objection to myself and my companions visiting it; we were simply +begged not to go. There were with us a Nayar and a Kurichchan, and the +faces of these men, when we proceeded to wade through the little river, +knee-deep and about thirty yards wide, in order to reach the sacred +spot, expressed anxious wonder. They dared not accompany us across. No +one (excepting, of course, a Muhammadan) would go near the place, +unless during the few days of the festival, when it was safe; at all +other times any man going to the place is destroyed instantly. Nothing +on earth would have persuaded the Nayar or the Kurichchiyan to cross +that river. Orpheus proceeding to find his Eurydice, Danté about to +enter the Inferno, had not embarked on so fearful a journey. About +a hundred yards beyond the stream, we came upon the sacred spot, +a little glade in the forest. In the centre of the glade is a circle +of piled up stones, 12 feet in diameter. In the middle of the pile of +stones is a rude lingam. Running east from the circle of the lingam +is a long shed, in the middle of which is a long raised platform of +brick, used apparently as a place for cooking. Around the lingam there +were also thatched sheds, in which the people had lodged during the +festival. Pilgrims going to this festival carry with them offerings of +some kind. Tiyans take young cocoanuts. Every one who returns brings +with him a swish made of split young leaves of the cocoanut palm." + +Of the Kottiyur festival, the following account is given in the +Gazetteer of Malabar. "The Nambudiri priests live in a little wayside +temple at Kottiyur, but the true shrine is a quarter of a mile away +in the forest across one of the feeder streams of the Valarpattanam +river. For eleven months in the year, the scene is inconceivably +desolate and dreary; but during the month Edavam (May-June) upwards of +50,000 Nayars and Tiyans from all parts of Malabar throng the shrine +for the twenty-eight days of the annual festival. During the rest of +the year, the temple is given up to the revels of Siva and Parvati, +and the impious Hindu who dares to intrude is consumed instantly to +ashes. The two great ceremonies are the Neyyattam and the Elanirattam, +the pouring of ghee (clarified butter) and the pouring of the milk of +the green cocoanut. The former is performed by the Nayars, who attend +the festival first, and the latter by Tiyans. In May, all roads lead to +Kottiyur, and towards the middle of the month the ghee pourers, as the +Nayar pilgrims are called, who have spent the previous four weeks in +fasting and purificatory rites, assemble in small shrines subordinate +to the Kottiyur temple. Thence, clad in white, and bearing each upon +his head a pot of ghee, they set forth in large bodies headed by a +leader. At Manattana the pilgrims from all parts of Malabar meet, +and thence to Kottiyur the procession is unbroken. However long +their journey, the pilgrims must eat only once, and the more filthy +their language, the more orthodox is their conduct. As many as five +thousand pots of ghee are poured over the lingam every year. After +the Neyyattam ceremony, the Nayars depart, and it is the turn of +the Tiyans. Their preparations are similar to those of the Nayars, +and their language en route is even more startling. Eruvatti near +Kadirur is the place where most of them assemble for their pilgrimage, +and their green cocoanuts are presented gratis by the country people +as an offering to the temple. The Elanirattam ceremony begins at +midnight, and the pilgrims heap up their cocoanuts in front of the +shrine continuously till the evening of the same day. Each Tiyan then +marches thrice round the heap, and falls prostrate before the lingam; +and a certain Nayar sub-caste removes the husks preparatory to the +spilling of the milk. The festival finally closes with a mysterious +ceremony, in which ghee and mantrams play a great part, performed +for two days consecutively by the presiding Nambudiri, and Kottiyur +is then deserted for another year." + +"A shrine," Mr. Fawcett continues, "to which the Malayalis, Nayars +included, resort is that of Subramania at Palni in the north-west +corner of the Madura district about a week's march from the confines of +Malabar near Palghat. Not only are vows paid to this shrine, but men, +letting their hair grow for a year after their father's death, proceed +to have it cut there. The plate shows an ordinary Palni pilgrim. The +arrangement which he is carrying is called a kavadi. There are two +kinds of kavadi, a milk kavadi containing milk, and a fish kavadi +containing fish, in a pot. The vow may be made in respect of either, +each being appropriate to certain circumstances. When the time comes +near for the pilgrim to start for Palni, he dresses in reddish orange +cloths, shoulders his kavadi, and starts out. Together with a man +ringing a bell, and perhaps one with a tom-tom, with ashes on his face, +he assumes the rôle of a beggar. The well-to-do are inclined to reduce +the beggar period to the minimum; but a beggar every votary must be, +and as a beggar he goes to Palni in all humbleness and humiliation, +and there he fulfils his vow, leaves his kavadi and his hair, and a +small sum of money. Though the individuals about to be noticed were +not Nayars, their cases illustrate very well the religious idea of +the Nayar as expressed under certain circumstances, for between the +Nayars and these there is in this respect little if any difference. It +was at Guruvayur in November, 1895. On a high raised platform under +a peepul tree were a number of people under vows, bound for Palni. A +boy of 14 had suffered as a child from epilepsy, and seven years ago +his father vowed on his behalf that, if he were cured, he would make +the pilgrimage to Palni. He wore a string of beads round his neck, +and a like string on his right arm. These were in some way connected +with the vow. His head was bent, and he sat motionless under his +kavadi, leaning on the bar, which, when he carried it, rested on his +shoulder. He could not go to Palni until it was revealed to him in a +dream when he was to start. He had waited for this dream seven years, +subsisting on roots (yams, etc.), and milk--no rice. Now he had had +the long-looked-for dream, and was about to start. Another pilgrim +was a man wearing an oval band of silver over the lower portion of the +forehead, almost covering his eyes; his tongue protruding beyond the +teeth, and kept in position by a silver skewer through it. The skewer +was put in the day before, and was to be left in for forty days. He had +been fasting for two years. He was much under the influence of his god, +and whacking incessantly at a drum in delirious excitement. Several +of the pilgrims had a handkerchief tied over the mouth, they being +under a vow of silence. One poor man wore the regular instrument of +silence, the mouth-lock--a wide silver band over the mouth, and a +skewer piercing both cheeks. He sat patiently in a nice tent-like +affair, about three feet high. People fed him with milk, etc., and +he made no effort to procure food, relying merely on what was given +him. The use of the mouth-lock is common with the Nayars when they +assume the pilgrim's robes and set out for Palni; and I have often +seen many of them garbed and mouth-locked, going off on a pilgrimage to +that place. Pilgrims generally go in crowds under charge of a priestly +guide, one who, having made a certain number of journeys to the shrine, +wears a peculiar sash and other gear. They call themselves pujaris, +and are quite au fait with all the ceremonial prior to the journey, +as well as with the exigencies of the road. As I stood there, one +of these pujaris stood up amidst the recumbent crowd. He raised his +hands towards the temple a little to the west, and then spread out +his hands as if invoking a blessing on the people around him. Full +of religious fervour, he was (apparently at any rate) unconscious of +all but the spiritual need of his flock. + +"Brief mention must be made of the festival held at Kodungallur +near Cranganore in the northernmost corner of the Cochin State, +as it possesses some strange features peculiar to Malabar, and is +much frequented by the Nayars. I have been disappointed in obtaining +particulars of the festival, so make the following excerpt from +Logan's Manual of Malabar. 'It takes the people in great crowds from +their homes. The whole country near the lines of march rings with the +shouts "Nada-a Nada-a" of the pilgrims to the favourite shrine. Of +what takes place when the pilgrims reach this spot perhaps the less +said the better. In their passage up to the shrine, the cry of "Nada-a +Nada-a" (march, march away) is varied by terms of unmeasured abuse +levelled at the goddess (a Bhagavati) of the shrine. This abusive +language is supposed to be acceptable to her. On arrival at the +shrine, they desecrate it in every conceivable way, believing that +this too is acceptable; they throw stones and filth, howling volleys +of opprobrium at her house. The chief of the fisherman caste, styled +Kuli Muttatta Arayan, has the privilege of being the first to begin +the work of polluting the Bhoot or shrine. Into other particulars it +is unnecessary to enter. Cocks are slaughtered and sacrificed. The +worshipper gets flowers only, and no holy water after paying his +vows. Instead of water, he proceeds outside and drinks arrack or +toddy, which an attendant Nayar serves out. All castes are free to +go, including Tiyars and low caste people. The temple was originally +only a Bhoot or holy tree with a platform. The image in the temple +is said to have been introduced only of recent years.' It is a pity +Mr. Logan is so reticent. My information is that the headman of the +Mukkuvans opens the festival by solemnly making a fæcal deposit on +the image. Here again there is the same strange union of everything +that is filthy, abusive, foul and irreverent, with every mode of +expressing the deepest religious feeling." + +Of the cock festival at Cranganore, the following, account is given +by Mr. T. K. Gopal Panikkar [169] in his interesting little book on +Malabar and its folk. "In the midst of its native charms is situated a +temple dedicated to Kali, the goddess who presides over the infectious +diseases, cholera and small-pox. She is a virgin goddess, whom no +quantity of blood will satisfy. The temple is an old-fashioned one, +presenting no striking architectural peculiarities. The priestly +classes attached to it are not, as usual, Brahmins, but a peculiar sect +called Adigals, of whom there are but three families in the whole of +Malabar. The Brahmins are purposely excluded from participation in +the poojah ceremonies, lest their extreme sanctity might increase +the powers of the goddess to a dangerous extent. Poojahs are daily +offered to her. An annual festival known as Bharani, connected with +this goddess, plays a most important part in the religious history of +Malabar. It comes off in the Malayalam month of Meenam (about March +or April). Pilgrimages undertaken to the temple on this occasion +are potent enough to safeguard the pilgrims, and their friends and +relations, from the perilous attacks of cholera and small-pox. Hence +people resort thither annually by thousands from almost all parts +of Malabar; and, the more north you go, the stronger will you find +the hold which the goddess has upon the popular imagination. The +chief propitiatory offering on the occasion is the sacrifice of +cocks. In fact, every family makes a point of undertaking this sacred +mission. People arrange to start on it at an auspicious moment, on +a fixed day in small isolated bodies. Preparations are made for the +journey. Rice, salt, chillies, curry-stuffs, betel leaves and nuts, +a little turmeric powder and pepper, and, above all, a number of cocks +form an almost complete paraphernalia of the pilgrimage. These are all +gathered and preserved in separate bundles inside a large bag. When +the appointed hour comes, they throw this bag on their shoulders, +conceal their money in their girdles, and, with a native-fashioned +umbrella in the one hand and a walking-stick in the other, they +start, each from his own house, to meet the brother pilgrims at +the rendezvous. Here a foreman is selected practically by common +consent. Then commences the vociferous recitation of that series +of obscene songs and ballads, which characterises the pilgrimage +all along. The foreman it is that opens the ball. He is caught up by +others in equally loud and profuse strains. This is continued right up +till the beginning of their homeward journey. Nobody whom they come +across on the way can successfully escape the coarse Billingsgate of +these religious zealots. Even women are not spared. Perhaps it is in +their case that the pilgrims wax all the more eloquently vulgar. A +number of cock's feathers are stuck or tied upon the tip of a stick, +and with this as a wand they begin to dance and pipe in a set style, +which is extremely revolting to every sense of decency. Some of +the pilgrims walk all the distance to the temple, while others go +by boat or other conveyance; but in neither case do they spare any +passer-by. Hundreds of gallons of arrack and toddy are consumed during +the festival. The pilgrims reach the temple in their dirty attire. The +temple premises are crowded to overflowing. The worship of the goddess +is then commenced. The offerings consist of the sacrifice of cocks +at the temple altar, turmeric powder, but principally of pepper, +as also some other objects of lesser importance. A particular spot +inside the temple is set apart for the distribution of what is called +manjal prasadam (turmeric powder on which divine blessings have been +invoked). The work of doling it out is done by young maidens, who are +during the process subjected to ceaseless volleys of vile and vulgar +abuse. Now, leaving out of account the minor ceremonies, we come to +the principal one, viz., the sacrifice of cocks. The popular idea +is that the greater the number of cocks sacrificed, the greater is +the efficacy of the pilgrimage. Hence men vie with one another in +the number of cocks that they carry on the journey. The sacrifice +is begun, and then there takes place a regular scramble for the +sanctified spot reserved for this butchering ceremony. One man holds +a cock by the trunk, and another pulls out its neck by the head, and, +in the twinkling of an eye, by the intervention of a sharpened knife, +the head is severed from the trunk. The blood then gushes forth in +forceful and continuous jets, and is poured on a piece of granite +specially reserved. Then another is similarly slaughtered, and then +as many as each of the pilgrims can bring. In no length of time, +the whole of the temple yard is converted into one horrible expanse +of blood, rendering it too slippery to be safely walked over. The +piteous cries and death throes of the poor devoted creatures greatly +intensify the horror of the scene. The stench emanating from the blood +mixing with the nauseating smell of arrack renders the occasion all the +more revolting. One other higher and more acceptable kind of offering +requires more than a passing mention. When a man is taken ill of any +infectious disease, his relations generally pray to this goddess for +his recovery, solemnly covenanting to perform what goes by the name of +a thulabharum ceremony. This consists in placing the patient in one +of the scale-pans of a huge balance, and weighing him against gold, +or more generally pepper (and sometimes other substances as well), +deposited in the other scale-pan. Then this weight of the substance +is offered to the goddess. This is to be performed right in front +of the goddess in the temple yard. The usual offerings being over, +the homeward journey of the pilgrims is begun. Though the festival +is called Bharani, yet all the pilgrims must vacate the temple on +the day previous to the Bharani day. For, from that day onwards, the +temple doors are all shut up, and, for the next seven days, the whole +place is given over to the worst depredations of the countless demons +over whom this blood-thirsty goddess holds sway. No human beings can +safely remain there, lest they might become prey to these ravenous +demons. In short, the Bharani day inaugurates a reign of terror in +the locality, lasting for these seven days. Afterwards, all the dirt +is removed. The temple is cleansed and sanctified, and again left +open to public worship. The pilgrims return, but not in the same +manner in which they repaired thither. During the backward journey, +no obscene songs or expressions are indulged in. They are to come +back quietly and calmly, without any kind of demonstrations. They get +back to their respective homes, and distribute the sandals and other +pujah substances to their relations and friends who have elected to +remain at home; and the year's pilgrimage is brought to a close." + +"The month Karkkatakam," Mr. Fawcett writes, "when the Malayalis say +the body is cool, is the time when, according to custom, the Nayar +youths practice physical exercises. At Payoli in North Malabar, when +I was there in 1895, the local instructor of athletics was a Paravan, +a mason by caste. As he had the adjunct Kurup to his name, it took some +time to discover the fact. Teachers of his ilk are invariably of the +Paravan caste, and, when they are believed to be properly accomplished, +they are given the honorific Kurup. So carefully are things regulated +that no other person was permitted to teach athletics within the amsham +(a local area, a small county), and his womenfolk had privileges, +they only being the midwives who could attend on the Nayar women +of the amsham. His fee for a course of exercises for the month was +ten rupees. He, and some of his pupils, gave an exhibition of their +quality. Besides bodily contortions and somersaults, practiced in +a long low-roofed shed having a sandy floor, there is play with the +following instruments:--watta; cheruvadi, a short stick; and a stick +like a quarter-staff called a sariravadi, or stick the length of one's +body. The watta is held in the right hand as a dagger; it is used to +stab or strike and, in some ingenious way, turn over an opponent. The +total length of the watta is two feet, and of the cheruvadi about +three feet. The latter is squared at the ends, and is but a short +staff. It is held in the right hand a few inches from the end, and +is used for striking and guarding only. The sariravadi is held at +or near one end by one or by both hands. The distance between the +hands is altered constantly, and so is the end of the stick, which is +grasped now by one, now by another end by either hand, as occasion +may require; sometimes it is grasped in the middle. The performance +with these simple things was astonishing. I should say the watta and +the cheruvadi represented swords, or rather that they were used for +initiation or practice in swordsmanship, when the Nayars were the +military element in Malabar. The opponents, who faced each other +with the sariravadi or quarter-staff, stood thirty feet apart, and, +as if under the same stimulus, each kicked one leg high in the air, +gave several lively bounds in the air, held their staff horizontally +in front with out-stretched arms, came down slowly on the haunches, +placed the staff on the ground, bent over, and touched it with the +forehead. With a sudden bound they were again on their feet, and, +after some preliminary pirouetting, went for each other tooth and +nail. The sword play, which one sees during festive ceremonies, such +as a marriage or the like, is done by the hereditary retainers, who +fight imaginary foes, and destroy and vanquish opponents with much +contortion of body, and always indulge in much of this preliminary +overture to their performance. There is always, by way of preliminary, +a high kick in the air, followed by squatting on the haunches, bounding +high, turning, twisting, pirouetting, and all the time swinging the +sword unceasingly above, below, behind the back, under the arm or +legs, in ever so many impossible ways. Nayar shields are made of wood, +covered with leather, usually coloured bright red. Within the boss +are some hard seeds, or metal balls loose in a small space, so that +there is a jingling sound like that of the small bells on the ankles of +the dancer, when the shield is oscillated or shaken in the hand. The +swords are those which were used ordinarily for fighting. There are +also swords of many patterns for processional and other purposes, +more or less ornamented about the handle, and half way up the blade." + +"The Nayars," Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar writes, "have a distinct +feudal organisation, and the division of their territories had an +unmistakeable reference to it. The territorial unit was the desam, +presided over by a Dasavazhi. A number of desams adjoining one another +constituted a nadu, which was under the jurisdiction of a chieftain +called the Naduvazhi. Above the Naduvazhis was the Rajah, the highest +suzerain in the country. In course of time, each nadu split itself up +into a certain number of taras, over the affairs of which a Karanavan, +or elder, presided. An assembly of these Karanavans constituted the six +hundred--an old socio-military organisation of the Nayars in mediæval +times. These six hundred are referred to in two places in the second +Syrian Christian document, which bears the date 925 A.D. In a South +Travancore inscription, dated 371 M.E., the same organisation is +referred to as Venattarunuru, or the six hundred of Venad, and one +of their duties evidently related to the supervision of the working +of temples and charitable institutions connected therewith. As Venad +was divided into eighteen districts in ancient days, there might have +been altogether eighteen six hundred in the country. The Naduvazhis +possessed considerable authority in all social matters and possessed +enough lands to be cultivated by their Kudiyans. A feudal basis was +laid for the whole organisation. Large numbers served as soldiers in +times of war, and cultivated their lands when the country was quiet. In +modern times, none of them take to military service in Travancore, +except those employed as sepoys in the Nayar Brigade." + +Concerning the organisation of the Nayars, Mr. Logan writes that they +were, "until the British occupied the country, the militia of the +district (Malabar). This name implies that they were the 'leaders' +of the people. Originally they seem to have been organised into +six hundreds, and each six hundred seems to have had assigned to it +the protection of all the people in a nad or country. The nad was +in turn split up into taras, a Dravidian word signifying originally +a foundation, the foundation of a house, hence applied collectively +to a street, as in Tamil teru, in Telugu teruvu, and in Canarese and +Tulu teravu. The tara was the Nayar territorial unit of organisation +for civil purposes, and was governed by representatives of the caste, +who were styled Karanavar or elders. The six hundred was probably +composed exclusively of those Karanavar or elders, who were in some +parts called Mukhyastans (chief men), or Madhyastans (mediators), or +Pramanis (chief men), and there seem to have been four families of them +to each tara, so that the nad must have originally consisted of one +hundred and fifty taras. This tara organisation of the protector caste +played a most important part in the political history of the country, +for it was the great bulwark against the tyranny and oppression of the +Rajas. The evidence of the Honourable East India Company's linguist +(interpreter, agent) at Calicut, which appears in the diary of the +Tellicherry Factory under date 28th May, 1746, deserves to be here +reproduced. He wrote as follows: 'These Nayars, being heads of the +Calicut people, resemble the parliament, and do not obey the king's +dictates in all things, but chastise his ministers when they do +unwarrantable acts.' The parliament referred to must have been the +kuttam (assembly) of the nad. The kuttam answered many purposes when +combined action on the part of the community was necessary. The Nayars +assembled in their kuttams whenever hunting, or war, or arbitration, +or what not was in hand, and this organisation does not seem to have +been confined to Malabar, for the koot organisation of the people of +South Canara gave the British officers much trouble in 1832-33. In +so far as Malabar was concerned, the system seems to have remained +in an efficient state down to the time of the British occupation, +and the power of the Rajas was strictly limited. Mr. Murdoch Brown, +of Anjarakandi, who knew the country well, thus wrote to Mr. Francis +Buchanan in the earliest years of the present (nineteenth) century +regarding the despotic action of the Rajas when constituted, +after the Mysorean conquest the revenue agents of the Government of +Haidar Ali. 'By this new order of things, these latter (the Rajas) +were vested with despotic authority over the other inhabitants, +instead of the very limited prerogatives that they had enjoyed by +the feudal system, under which they could neither exact revenue from +the lands of their vassals, nor exercise any, direct authority in +their districts.' And again, 'The Raja was no longer what he had +been, the head of a feudal aristocracy with limited authority, but +the all-powerful deputy of a despotic prince, whose military force +was always at his command to curb or chastise any of the chieftains +who were inclined to dispute or disobey his mandates.' [170] From +the earliest times, therefore, down to the end of the eighteenth +century, the Nayar tara and nad organization kept the country from +oppression and tyranny on the part of the rulers, and to this fact +more than to any other is due the comparative prosperity, which +the Malayali country so long enjoyed, and which made Calicut at one +time the great emporium of trade between the East and the West. But, +besides protection, the Nayars had originally another most important +function in the body politic. Besides being protectors, they were +also supervisors or overseers, a duty which, as a very ancient deed +testifies, was styled kanam--a Dravidian word derived from the verb +kanuka (to see, etc). Parasu Raman (so the tradition preserved in +the Keralolpatti runs) separated the Nayars into taras, and ordered +that to them belonged the duty of supervision (lit. kan = the eye), +the executive power (lit. kei = the hand, as the emblem of power), +and the giving of orders (lit. kalpana, order, command), so as to +prevent the rights from being curtailed, or suffered to fall into +disuse. The Nayars were originally the overseers or supervisors of +the nad, and they seem to have been employed in this capacity as the +collectors of the share of produce of the land originally reserved for +Government purposes. As remuneration for this service, and for their +other function as protectors, another share of the produce of the soil +seems to have been reserved specially for them. It be well worth the +study of persons acquainted with other districts of the Presidency +to ascertain whether somewhat similar functions to these (protection, +and supervision) did not originally appertain to the Kavalgars of Tamil +districts and the Kapus in the Telugu country, for both of these words +seem to have come from the same root as the Malayalam kanam. And it +is significant that the Tamil word now used for proprietorship in +the soil is kani-yatchi, to which word the late Mr. F. W. Ellis in +his paper on Mirasi Rights assigned a similar derivation." + +The occupation of the Nayars is described by Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar as +"comprising all kinds of worldly pursuits. So late as the end of the +eighteenth century, there were with the then Maharaja of Travancore +a hundred thousand soldiers, consisting of Nayars and Chovas, armed +with arrows, spears, swords and battle-axes. The chief occupation of +the Nayars is agriculture. Cultivation of a slipshod, time-honoured +type is the forte of the Nayar, for which he has always found time +from times of old, though engaged in other occupations as well. In the +Velakali, a kind of mock fight, which is one of the items of the utasom +programme in every important temple in Malabar, the dress worn by the +Nayars is supposed to be their ancient military costume. Even now, +among the Nayars who form the Maharaja's own Brigade, agriculture, to +which they are enabled to attend during all their off-duty days, goes +largely to supplement their monthly pay. Various other occupations, +all equally necessary for society, have been, according to the +Keralavakasakrama, assigned to the Nayars, and would seem to have +determined their original sub-divisions. They are domestic servants in +Brahman and Kshatriya houses and temples, and deal in dairy produce, +as well as being engaged in copper-sheet roofing, tile-making, pottery, +palanquin-bearing, and so on. But these traditional occupations are +fast ceasing under the ferment of a new civilisation. In the matter of +education, the Nayars occupy a prominent position. Almost every Nayar +girl is sent to the village school to learn the three R's, quite as +much as a matter of course as the schooling of boys. This constitutes +a feature of Malabar life that makes it the most literate country in +all India, especially in respect of the female sex. After Ramanujam +Ezhuttachchan developed and enriched the Malayalam language, numerous +Asans or village teachers came into existence in different parts of +Malabar. After a preliminary study of Malayalam, such as desired +higher, i.e., Sanskrit education, got discipled to an Ambalavasi +or a Sastri. Even to-day the estimable desire to study Sanskrit is +seen in some Nayar youths, who have readily availed themselves of the +benefit of the local Sanskrit college. In respect of English education, +the Nayars occupy a prominent position. The facility afforded by the +Government of Travancore for the study of English is being largely +availed of by Nayars, and it is a matter deserving to be prominently +recorded that, in recent years, several Nayar girls have passed the +Matriculation examination of the University of Madras." + +It is noted, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that "the Nayars as a class +are the best educated and the most advanced of the communities in +Malabar (excepting perhaps the Pattar Brahmans, who are not strictly +a Malayalam class), and are intellectually the equals of the Brahmans +of the East Coast. Many of them have risen to the highest posts in +Government, and the caste has supplied many of the leading members +of the learned professions." + +Nayi (dog).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba. + +Nayinar.--Nayinar, Nayanar, or Nainar, has been recorded as a section +of Vellalas, who are thought to be descended from Jains who were +converted to Hinduism, and as a title of Jains, Kaikolans, Pallis, +and Udaiyans. Nayanikulam occurs as a synonym of Boya. The word Nayinar +is the same as Nayaka, meaning lord or master, and the Saivite saints, +being religious teachers, are so called, e.g., Sundara Murti Nayanar. + +Nayinda.--Recorded, in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, as the name of +a caste, which follows the hereditary occupation of barber, and also +of agriculture. "They are," it is there said, "members of the village +hierarchy. They are paid, like the Agasa (washerman), in kind for +their services. They are also fiddlers, and have the exclusive right +of wind instruments. They are known as Kelasiga or Hajam. They are +both Saivites and Vaishnavites. A section of them wear the lingam, +and follow Lingayetism. They are known as Silavanta. These people +are largely in requisition at feasts, marriages, etc., when they +form the music band." Kelasi is the name of a Canarese barber caste, +and Hajam is a Hindustani word for barber. + +Nedungadi.--This name, denoting a settlement in Nedunganad in the +Walluvanad taluk of Malabar, has been returned as a sub-caste of +Nayars and Samantas. + +Nekkara.--A small class of washermen in South Canara. The women +only are said to do the washing, while the men are employed as +devil-dancers. + +Nellika (Phyllanthus Emblica).--An illam of Tiyan. + +Nellu (paddy, unhusked rice).--A gotra of Kurni. + +Nemilli (peacock).--An exogamous sept of Boya and Balija. + +Nerali (Eugenia Jambolana).--An exogamous sept of Gangadikara Holeya. + +Nerati.--Nerati or Neravati is a sub-division of Kapu. + +Nese.--An occupational term, meaning weaver applied to several of +the weaving castes, but more especially to the Kurnis. It is noted, +in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that "in the inscriptions of Raja +Raja the Chola king, about the beginning of the eleventh century, +the Paraiyan caste is called by its present name. It had then two +sub-divisions, Nesavu (the weavers) and Ulavu (the ploughman)." + +Netpanivandlu (neyyuta, to weave).--Recorded by the Rev. J. Cain +[171] as a name for Mala weavers. + +Nettikotala.--In a note on the Nettikotalas or Neththikotalasi, +Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao writes that they correspond to the Kalladi +Siddhans of the Tamil country. The name means those who cut their +foreheads. They are mendicants who beg from Gavara Komatis, whom they +are said to have assisted in days of old by delaying the progress of +Raja Vishnu Vardhana. (See Komati.) When their dues are not promptly +paid, they make cuts in their foreheads and other parts of the body, +and make blood flow. + +Neyige.--The silk and cotton hand-loom weavers of the Mysore Province +are, in the Census Report, 1891, dealt with collectively under the +occupational name Neyige (weaving), which includes Bilimagga, Devanga, +Khatri, Patvegar, Sale, Saurashtra (Patnulkaran), Seniga and Togata. + +Neytikkar.--Weavers of coir (cocoanut fibre) mats in Malabar. + +Neyyala.--The Neyyala are a Telugu fishing caste found chiefly in +Vizagapatam and Ganjam, for the following note on whom I am indebted +to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The name is derived from the Telugu neyyalu, +meaning fried rice or cholam (Sorghum vulgare), which is made by female +members of the caste, especially during the harvest season, into balls +with jaggery (crude sugar). These are carried about the country by +the men for sale to those engaged in reaping the crop and others. As +payment, they receive from, the reapers a portion of the grain which +they are cutting. A further occupation of the caste is fishing with +konti vala, or koyyala vala i.e., nets supported on a row of bamboo +sticks, which are placed in shallow water, and dragged by two men. + +The Naga (cobra) is reverenced by the caste. A Brahman officiates at +marriages, during which the sacred thread is worn. The remarriage of +widows is permitted, provided that the woman has no children by her +first husband. Divorce is not allowed. The dead are burnt, and the +chinna (little) and pedda rozu (big day) death ceremonies are observed. + +As a caste, the Neyyalas do not drink intoxicating liquor, and eat +only in Brahman houses. Their usual title is Ayya. + +Neyye (clarified butter).--An occupational sub-division of Komati. + +Nila (blue).--An exogamous sept of Medara. + +Nilagara (indigo people).--The name of a class of dyers, who are, +in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, included in the Kumbara or potter +caste. + +Nili (indigo).--An exogamous sept of Padma Sale and Togata. + +Nirganti.--Recorded, in the Mysore and Coorg Gazetteer, as a regulator +and distributor of water to irrigated lands. He is usually a Holeya +by caste. + +Nirpusi (wearers of sacred ashes).--Recorded, at times of census, +as a sub-division of Pandya Vellalas. Nirpusi Vellala is described, +in the Gazetteer of the South Arcot district, as a name current +in the South Arcot district meaning Vellalas who put on holy ash, +in reference to certain Jains, who formerly became Saivites taking +off their sacred threads, and putting holy ashes on their foreheads. + +Nityadasu.--Nityadasu, or Nityulu, meaning immortal slaves, is a name +by which some Mala Dasaris style themselves. + +Nodha.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a very small +caste of hill cultivators and earth-workers in the Oriya country. + +Nokkan.--The Nokkans, who often go by the name of Jadipillais +(children of the caste), are a class of mendicants, who beg from +members of the Palli caste. The word Nokkan is said to mean 'he who +looks'. The Nokkans make periodical visits to villages where Pallis +live, and receive from them a small fee in money. They attend at Palli +marriages, and, during processions, carry flags (palempores) bearing +devices of Hanuman, tigers, Agni, etc., which are made at Kalahasti. + +The Nokkans claim fees from the Pallis, because one of their ancestors +helped them. The legend runs as follows. During the reign of a Palli +king at Conjeeveram, a car, bearing the idol of the god, stood still, +and could not be moved. A human sacrifice was considered necessary, +but no one would offer himself as a victim. A Nokkan came forward, and +allowed his only daughter, who was pregnant, to be sacrificed. Pleased +at his behaviour, the king ordered that the Pallis should in future +treat the Nokkans as their Jadipillais. Some Nokkans say that they +were presented with copper-grants, one of which is reputed to be in +the possession of one Nokka Ramaswami of Mulavayal village in the +Ponneri taluk of the Chingleput district. + +In the course of their rounds, the Nokkans repeat the story of the +origin of the Pallis, one version of which runs as follows. Two +Asuras, Vathapi and Enadhapi, who were ruling at Ratnagiripatnam, +obtained at the hands of Siva, by means of severe tapas (penance), +the following boon. No child should die within their dominions, and +the Asuras should be invincible, and not meet their death at the hands +of uterine-born beings. The Devatas and others, unable to bear the +tyranny of the Asuras, prayed to Brahma for rescue. He directed them +to the Rishi Jambuvamuni, who was doing penance on the banks of the +river Jumna. This Rishi is said to have married a woman named Asendi, +who was born from the cheeks of Parvati. Hearing the request of the +Devatas, the Rishi lighted the sacred fire, and therefrom arose a +being called Rudra Vanniyan, and forty other warriors, including +Nilakanta, Gangabala, and Vajrabahu. The Pallis are descended from +these fire-born heroes. (See Palli) + +Nokkans wear the sacred thread, and carry with them a big drum and +a gourd pipe like that used by snake-charmers. + +Noliya.--A synonym used by Oriya castes for the Telugu Jalaris. + +Nonaba.--A territorial sub-division of Vakkaliga. The name is derived +from Nonambavadi, one of the former great divisions of the Tanjore +country. + +Nottakaran.--The office of village Nottakaran, or tester, has been +abolished in modern times. It was generally held by a goldsmith, +whose duty was to test the rupees when the land revenue was being +gathered in, and see that they were not counterfeit. + +Nuchchu (broken rice).--A gotra of Kurni. + +Nukala (coarse grain powder).--An exogamous sept of Padma Sale. + +Nulayan.--In the Madras Census Report, 1901, ninety-six individuals +are recorded as belonging to a small caste of Malayalam fishermen +and boatmen. The Nulayans are found in Travancore, and were returned +in the census of Malabar, as the two small British settlements of +Anjengo and Tangacheri in Travancore are under the jurisdiction of +the Collector of Malabar. + +Nune (oil).--An occupational sub-division of Komati. + +Nunia (nuno, salt).--A sub-division of Odiya. + +Nurankurup.--An occupational name for Paravans settled in Malabar, +whose employment is that of lime-burners (nuru, lime). + +Nurbash.--Recorded, at the census, 1901, as a synonym of Dudekula. A +corruption of nurbaf (weaving). + +Nuvvala (gingelly: Sesamum indicum).--An exogamous sept of Kamma +and Medara. Gingelly seeds, from which an oil is extracted, "form an +essential article of certain religious ceremonies of the Hindus, and +have therefore received the names of homa-dhanya or the sacrificial +grain, and pitri-tarpana or the grain that is offered as an oblation +to deceased ancestors." (U. C. Dutt.) During the death ceremonies of +some Brahmans, libations of water mixed with gingelly seeds, called +tilothakam, and a ball of rice, are offered daily to two stones +representing the spirit of the deceased. + +Nyayam (justice).--An exogamous sept of Padma Sale. + + + + + + + +O + + +Occhan.--The Occhans are a class of temple priests, usually officiate +as pujaris at Pidari and other Amman (Grama Devata) temples. They +are for the most part Saivites, but some belong to the Vadagalai or +Tengalai Vaishnava sects. Some of the pujaris wear the sacred thread +when within the temple. Their insignia are the udukkai, or hour-glass +shaped drum, and the silambu, or hollow brass ring filled with bits +of brass, which rattle when it is shaken. In the Chingleput district, +some Occhans act as dancing-masters to Devadasis, and are sometimes +called Nattuvan. + +The name Occhan is derived from the Tamil ochai, meaning sound, in +reference to the usual mode of invoking the Grama Devatas (village +deities) by beating on a drum and singing their praises. It has been +suggested that Occhan is a contracted form of Uvacchan, which occurs +in certain old inscriptions. [172] Of these, the oldest is dated +Sakha 1180 (A.D. 1258), and refers to the tax on Uvacchas. Another +inscription, in which the same tax is referred to, is dated Sakha 1328 +(A.D. 1406). In both these inscriptions, Uvacchan has been interpreted +as referring to Jonakas, who are a class of Muhammadans. This is one +of the meanings given by Winslow, [173] who also gives "a caste of +drummers at temples, Occhan." + +In the northern districts, the Occhans are divided into five +sections, called Marayan, Pandi, Kandappan, Periya or Pallavarayan, +and Pulavan. Marayan is also the name of temple priests in Travancore, +on whom the title Occhan is bestowed as a mark of royal favour by +the Travancore sovereigns. [174] The Occhans have many titles, e.g., +Archaka or Umai Archaka, Devar, Parasaivan, Mudaliar, Vallabarayan, +Pusali, Pulavar, and Kamban. Of these, the last two are said to be +derived from the Tamil epic poet Kamban, who is traditionally believed +to have belonged to the Occhan caste. There is a legend that Kamban was +on his way to the residence of a king, when he heard an oil-monger, +who was driving his bulls, remonstrate with them, saying "Should you +kick against each other because the poet Kamban, like the Occhan he is, +hums his verse?" On hearing this, Kamban approached the oil-monger, +and went with him to the king, to whom he reported that he had been +insulted. By order of the king, the oil-monger burst forth into verse, +and explained how his bulls had taken fright on hearing Kamban's +impromptu singing. Kamban was greatly pleased with the poet oil-monger, +and begged the king to let him go with honours heaped on him. + +In the southern districts, more especially in Madura and Tinnevelly, +it is usual for an Occhan to claim his paternal aunt's daughter +in marriage. In the northern districts, a man may also marry his +maternal uncle's or sister's daughter. Brahman Gurukkals officiate +at marriages. In their puberty, marriage, and death ceremonies, the +Occhans closely follow the Pallis or Vanniyans. The dead are burnt, +and Brahmans officiate at the funeral ceremonies. + +The caste is an organised one, and there is usually a headman, called +Periyathanakaran, at places where Occhans occur. + +Oda vandlu (boatmen).--A synonym of Mila, a fishing caste in Ganjam +and Vizagapatam. Some prosperous Milas have adopted Oda Balija as +their caste name. (See Vada.) + +Odan.--An occupational name of a class of Nayars, who are tile-makers. + +Odari.--The Odaris or Vodaris are Tulu-speaking potters in the South +Canara district. Those who have abandoned the profession of potter call +themselves Mulia, as also do some potters, and those who are employed +as pujaris (priests) at bhuthasthanas (devil shrines). In many cases, +the headman combines the duties of that office with those of pujari, +and is called Mulia. Otherwise his title is Gurikara. + +The Canarese potters in South Canara, in making pots, use the ordinary +wheel, which is rotated by means of a long stick. The wheel of the +Odaris is more primitive, consisting of a small disc, concave above, +made of unburnt clay, fitting by means of a pebble pivot into a pebble +socket, which is rotated by hand. + +Like other Tulu castes, the Odaris worship bhuthas, but also reverence +Venkataramana. + +In their marriage ceremonial, the Odaris follow the Bant type. At the +betrothal, the headmen or fathers of the contracting couple exchange +betel, and the party of the future bridegroom give a ring to the +people of the bride-elect. The marriage rites are completed in a +single day. A bench is placed within the marriage pandal (booth), and +covered with clothes brought by the Madivali (washerman caste). The +bridegroom is conducted thither by the bride's brother, and, after +going round three times, takes his seat. He is generally preceded by +women carrying lights, rice and fruits before him. The lamp is hung +up, and the other articles are deposited on the ground. One by one, +the women throw a grain of rice, first over the lamp, and then a few +grains over the head of the bridegroom. Then the barber comes, and, +after throwing rice, shaves the face of the bridegroom, using milk +instead of water. The bride is also shaved by a barber woman. The +pair are decorated, and brought to the pandal, where those assembled +throw rice over their heads, and make presents of money. Their hands +are then united by the headman, and the dhare water poured over them +by the maternal uncle of the bride. + +An interesting rite in connection with pregnancy is the presentation +of a fowl or two to the pregnant woman by her maternal uncle. The +fowls are tended with great care, and, if they lay eggs abundantly, +it is a sign that the pregnant woman will be prolific. + +The dead are either buried or cremated. If cremation is resorted to, +the final death ceremonies (bojja) must be celebrated on the eleventh +or thirteenth day. If the corpse has been buried, these ceremonies +must not take place before the lapse of at least a month. + +Odde.--The Oddes or Voddas, who are commonly called Wudders, are +summed up by Mr. H. A. Stuart [175] as being "the navvies of the +country, quarrying stone, sinking wells, constructing tank bunds, and +executing other kinds of earthwork more rapidly than any other class, +so that they have got almost a monopoly of the trade. They are Telugu +people, who came originally from Orissa, whence their name. Were +they more temperate, they might be in very good circumstances, but, +as soon as they have earned a small sum, they strike work and have +a merry-making, in which all get much intoxicated, and the carouse +continues as long as funds last. They are very ignorant, not being +able even to calculate how much work they have done, and trusting +altogether to their employer's honesty. They are an open-hearted, +good-natured lot, with loose morals, and no restrictions regarding +food, but they are proud, and will only eat in the houses of the +higher castes, though most Sudras look down upon them. Polygamy and +divorce are freely allowed to men, and women are only restricted from +changing partners after having had eighteen. Even this limit is not +set to the men." + +Women who have had seven husbands are said to be much respected, +and their blessing on a bridal pair is greatly praised. There is a +common saying that a widow may mount the marriage dais seven times. + +In the Census Report, 1871, the Oddes are described as being "the +tank-diggers, well-sinkers, and road-makers of the country who live in +detached settlements, building their huts in conical or bee-hive form, +with only a low door of entrance. They work in gangs on contract, +and every one, except very old and very young, takes a share in the +work. The women carry the earth in baskets, while the men use the +pick and spade. The babies are usually tied up in cloths, which are +suspended, hammock fashion, from the boughs of trees. They are employed +largely in the Public Works Department, and in the construction and +maintenance of railways. They are rather a fine-looking race, and +all that I have come across are Vaishnavites in theory, wearing the +trident prominently on their foreheads, arms, and breasts. The women +are tall and straight. They eat every description of animal food, +and especially pork and field-rats, and all drink spirituous liquors." + +Of the Oddes, the following brief accounts are given in the Nellore, +Coimbatore, and Madura Manuals:-- + +Nellore.--"These people are the tank-diggers. They sometimes engage in +the carrying trade, but beyond this, they only move about from place +to place as they have work. The word Vodde or Odde is said to be a +corruption of the Sanskrit Odhra, the name for the country now called +Orissa, and the people are ordinarily supposed to have emigrated from +the Uriya country. Besides Telugu, they are said to speak a peculiar +dialect among themselves; and, if this should turn out to be Uriya, +the question might be regarded as settled. The laborious occupation +of the men tends to develop their muscles. I have seen some very fine +men among the tribe." + +Coimbatore.--"Numerous, owing to the hard nature of the subsoil and the +immense and increasing number of irrigation wells, which demand the +labour of strong men accustomed to the use of the crowbar, pick-axe, +and powder. They are black, strong, and of good physique, highly paid, +and live on strong meat and drink." + +Madura.--"An itinerant caste of tank-diggers and earth-workers. They +are Telugus, and are supposed to have come southward in the time +of the Nayyakkans. Possibly Tirumala sent for them to dig out his +great teppakulam, and assist in raising gopuras. They are a strong, +hard-working class, but also drunken, gluttonous, and vicious. And +but little faith can be placed in their most solemn promises. They +will take advances from half a dozen employers within a week, and +work for none of them, if they can possibly help it." + +In Mysore numbers of Oddes are now permanently settled in the outskirts +of large towns, where both sexes find employment as sweepers, etc., +in connection with sanitation and conservancy. Some Oddes are, at +the present time (1908), employed at the Mysore manganese mines. The +tribe is often found concerting with the Korachas, Koramas, and +other predatory classes in committing dacoities and robberies, and it +has passed into a proverb that they would rather bear any amount of +bodily torture than confess or disclose the truth regarding the crimes +attributed to them. Some Oddes have settled down as agriculturists +and contractors, and some are very prosperous. For example, there are +a few Oddes near Kuppam in the North Arcot district, whose credit +is so good that any rich merchant would advance them large sums of +money. A wealthy Odde, worth nearly a lakh of rupees, worried my +assistant for half an anna, wherewith to purchase some betel leaf. It +is recorded by Bishop Whitehead, [176] in the diary of a tour in the +Nizam's Dominions, that, at Khammamett, "the Waddas who have become +Christians have for some time past possessed land and cattle of their +own, and are well-to-do people. One of the headmen, who was presented +to me after service, said that he had 80 acres of land of his own." + +Some of the timber work in the Nallamalai hills, in the Kurnool +district, is done by Oddes, who fell trees, and keep bulls for dragging +the timber out of the forests. Under the heading "Uppara and Vadde +Vandlu," the Rev. J. Cain gives [177] the following account of the +distribution of wages. "The tank-diggers had been paid for their work, +and, in apportioning the share of each labourer, a bitter dispute +arose because one of the women had not received what she deemed her +fair amount. On enquiry it turned out that she was in an interesting +condition, and therefore could claim not only her own, but also a +share for the expected child." + +A legend is current to the effect that, long ago, the Oddes were +ordered to dig a tank, to enable the Devatas and men to obtain +water. This was done, and they demanded payment, which was made in +the form of a pinch of the sacred ashes of Siva to each workman, +in lieu of money. When they reached home, the ashes turned into +money, but they were not satisfied with the amount, and clamoured +for more. The god, growing angry, cursed them thus: "What you obtain +in the forests by digging shall be lost as soon as you reach high +ground." Parvati, taking pity on them, asked Siva to give them large +sums of money. Whereon Siva, hollowing out a measuring-rod, filled +it with varahans (gold coins), and gave it to the maistry. He also +filled a large pumpkin with money, and buried it in a field, where the +Oddes were working. The measuring-rod was pawned by the maistry for +toddy. The Oddes, noticing the raised mound caused by the burying of +the pumpkin, left it untouched to show the depth that they had dug. A +buffalo, which was grazing in a field close by, exposed the pumpkin, +which the Oddes, not suspecting its contents, sold to a Komati. + +According to another legend, the Oddes were employed by God, who had +assumed a human form, and was living amongst them. On one occasion, +God had to perform a certain ceremony, so he gave the Oddes an advance +of three days' pay, and ordered them not to worry him. This they failed +to do, and were accordingly laid under a curse to remain poor for ever. + +A further legend is current among the Oddes to the effect that, when +Siva and Parvati were walking one sultry day upon the earth, they +got very hot and thirsty. The drops of perspiration which fell from +Siva were changed by him into a man with a pick and crowbar, while +those falling from Parvati turned into a woman carrying a basket. The +man and woman quickly sunk a well, with the cooling waters of which +the god and goddess refreshed themselves, and in gratitude promised +the labourers certain gifts, the nature of which is not now known, +but neither was satisfied, and both grumbled, which so incensed Siva +that he cursed them, and vowed that they and their descendants should +live by the sweat of their brows. + +Among the Oddes, the following sayings are current:-- + +The Oddes live with their huts on their heads (i.e., low huts), with +light made from gathered sticks, on thin conji (gruel), blessing +those who give, and cursing those who do not. + +Cobras have poison in their fangs, and Oddes in their tongues. + +Though wealth accumulates like a mountain, it soon disappears like +mist. + +At recent times of census, the following occupational +sub-divisions were returned:--Kallu or Rati (stone-workers) and +Mannu (earth-workers), Manti or Bailu (open space), between which +there is said to be no intermarriage. The endogamous sub-divisions +Natapuram and Uru (village men), Bidaru (wanderers), and Konga +(territorial) were also returned. Beri was given as a sub-caste, +and Odderazu as a synonym for the caste name. In Ganjam, Bolasi is +said to be a sub-division of the Oddes. The caste titles are Nayakan +and Boyan. The similarity of the latter word to Boer was fatal, for, +at the time of my visit to the Oddes, the South African war was just +over, and they were afraid that I was going to get them transported, +to replace the Boers who had been exterminated. Being afraid, too, +of my evil eye, they refused to fire a new kiln of bricks for the +new club chambers at Coimbatore until I had taken my departure. + +It is noted, in the Mysore Census Report, 1891, that "the caste divides +itself into two main branches, the Kallu and Mannu Vaddas, between whom +there is no social intercourse of any kind, or intermarriage. The +former are stone-workers and builders, and more robust than the +latter, and are very dexterous in moving large masses of stone +by rude and elementary mechanical appliances. They are hardy, and +capable of great exertion and endurance. The Kallu Vaddas consider +themselves superior to the Mannu Vaddas (earth diggers). Unlike the +Kallu Vaddas, the Mannu Vaddas or Bailu Vaddas are a nomadic tribe, +squatting wherever they can find any large earthwork, such as deepening +and repairing tanks, throwing up embankments, and the like. They are +expert navvies, turning out within a given time more hard work than +any other labouring class." The Mannu Oddes eat rats, porcupines, +and scaly ant-eaters or pangolins (Manis pentadactyla). + +Of exogamous septs, the following may be cited:-- + + + Bandollu, rock. + Bochchollu, hairs. + Cheruku, sugarcane. + Enumala, buffalo. + Goddali, axe. + Gampa, basket. + Idakottu, break-down. + Jambu (Eugenia Jambolana). + Komali, buffoon. + Santha, a fair. + Sivaratri, a festival. + Manchala, cot. + Sampangi (Michelia Champaca). + Thatichettu, palmyra palm. + Bandari (Dodonoea viscosa). + Devala, belonging to god. + Donga, thief. + Malle, jasmine. + Panthipattu, pig-catcher. + Panthikottu, pig-killer. + Upputholuvaru, salt-carrier. + Pitakala, dais on which a priest sits. + Thappata, drum. + + +At the Mysore census, 1901, a few returned gotras, such as arashina +(turmeric), huvvina (flowers), honna (gold), and akshantala (rice +grain). + +"The women of the Vaddevandlu section of the tank-digger caste," the +Rev. J. Cain writes, [178] "only wear the glass bracelets on the left +arm, as, in years gone by (according to their own account), a seller +of these bracelets was one day persuading them to buy, and, leaving +the bracelets on their left arms, went away, promising to return with a +fresh supply for their right arms. As yet he has not re-appeared." But +an old woman explained that they have to use their right arm when at +work, and if they wore bangles on it, they would frequently get broken. + +In some places, tattooing on the forehead with a central vertical +line, dots, etc., is universally practiced, because, according to the +Odde, they should bear tattoo marks as a proof of their life on earth +(bhulokam) when they die. Oddes, calling themselves Pachcha Botlu, +are itinerant tattooers in the Ganjam, Vizagapatam and Godavari +districts. While engaged in performing the operation, they sing Telugu +songs, to divert the attention of those who are being operated on. + +The office of headman, who is known as Yejamanadu, Samayagadu, or +Pedda (big) Boyadu, is hereditary, and disputes, which cannot be +settled at a council meeting, are referred to a Balija Desai Chetti, +whose decision is final. In some cases, the headman is assisted by +officers called Chinna (little) Boyadu, Sankuthi, and Banthari. An +Odde, coming to a place where people are assembled with shoes on, +is fined, and described as gurram ekki vachchinavu (having come on +a horse). The Oddes are very particular about touching leather, and +beating with shoes brings pollution. Both the beater and the person +beaten have to undergo a purificatory ceremony, and pay a fine. When +in camp at Dimbhum, in the Coimbatore district, I caught hold of a +ladle, to show my friend Dr. Rivers what were the fragrant contents +of a pot, in which an Odde woman was cooking the evening meal. On +returning from a walk, we heard a great noise proceeding from the +Odde men who had meanwhile returned from work, and found the woman +seated apart on a rock and sobbing. She had been excommunicated, not +because I touched the ladle, but because she had afterwards touched +the pot. After much arbitration, I paid up the necessary fine, and +she was received back into her caste. + +When a girl reaches puberty, she is confined in a special hut, in +which a piece of iron, margosa leaves (Melia Azadirachta), sticks +of Strychnos Nux-vomica, and the arka plant (Calotropis gigantea) +are placed, to ward off evil spirits. For fear of these spirits she +is not allowed to eat meat, though eggs are permitted. On the seventh +day, a fowl is killed, waved in front of the girl, and thrown away. At +the end of the period of pollution, the hut is burnt down. Sometimes, +when the girl bathes on the first day, a sieve is held over her head, +and water poured through it. In some places, on the eleventh day, +chicken broth, mixed with arrack (liquor), is administered, in order +to make the girl's back and waist strong. The hen, from which the +broth is made, must be a black one, and she must have laid eggs for +the first time. The flesh is placed in a mortar, pounded to a pulp, +and boiled, with the addition of condiments, and finally the arrack. + +Both infant and adult marriages are practiced. The marriage ceremony, +in its simplest form, is, according to Mr. F. S. Mullaly, [179] +not a tedious one, the bride and bridegroom walking three times +round a stake placed in the ground. In the more elaborate ritual, +on the betrothal day, the bride-price, etc., are fixed, and an +adjournment is made to the toddy shop. The marriage rites are, as +a rule, very simple, but, in some places, the Oddes have begun to +imitate the marriage ceremonies of the Balijas. On the third day, the +contracting couple go in procession to a tank, where the bridegroom +digs up some mud, and the bride carries three basketfuls thereof to +a distance. The following story is narrated in connection with their +marriage ceremonies. A certain king wanted an Odde to dig a tank, +which was subsequently called Nidimamidi Koththacheruvu, and promised +to pay him in varahalu (gold coins). When the work was completed, the +Odde went to the king for his money, but the king had no measure for +measuring out the coins. A person was sent to fetch one, and on his +way met a shepherd, who had on his shoulders a small bamboo stick, +which could easily be converted into a measure. Taking this stick, +he returned to the king, who measured out the coins, which fell short +of the amount expected by the Oddes, who could not pay the debts, +which they had contracted. So they threw the money into the tank, +saying "Let the tank leak, and the land lie fallow for ever." All +were crying on account of their misery and indebtedness. A Balija, +coming across them, took pity on them, and gave them half the amount +required to discharge their debts. After a time they wanted to marry, +and men were sent to bring the bottu (marriage badge), milk-post, +musicians, etc. But they did not return, and the Balija suggested the +employment of a pestle for the milk-post, a string of black beads +for the bottu, and betel leaves and areca nuts instead gold coins +for the oli (bride-price). + +The Oddes are in some places Vaishnavites, in others Saivites, +but they also worship minor deities, such as Ellamma, Ankamma, +etc., to whom goats and sheep are sacrificed, not with a sword or +knife, but by piercing them with a spear or crowbar. Writing at the +commencement of the nineteenth century, Buchanan states [180] that +"although the Woddaru pray to Vishnu, and offer sacrifices to Marima, +Gungama, Durgama, Putalima, and Mutialima, yet the proper object of +worship belonging to the caste is a goddess called Yellama, one of the +destroying spirits. The image is carried constantly with their baggage; +and in her honour there is an annual feast, which lasts three days. On +this occasion they build a shed, under which they place the image, +and one of the tribe officiates as priest or pujari. For these three +days offerings of brandy, palm wine, rice, and flowers are made to the +idol, and bloody sacrifices are performed before the shed. The Woddas +abstain from eating the bodies of the animals sacrificed to their +own deity, but eat those which they sacrifice to the other Saktis." + +The dead are generally buried. By some Oddes the corpse is carried +to the burial-ground wrapped up in a new cloth, and carried in a +dhubati (thick coarse cloth) by four men. On the way to the grave, +the corpse is laid on the ground, and rice thrown over its eyes. It is +then washed, and the namam (Vaishnavite sect mark) painted, or vibuthi +(sacred ashes) smeared on the forehead of a man, and kunkumam (coloured +powder) on that of a female. Earth is thrown by those assembled into +the grave before it is filled in. On the karmandhiram day, or last day +of the death ceremonies, the relations repair to a tank or well outside +the village. An effigy is made with mud, to which cooked rice, etc., +is offered. Some rice is cooked, and placed on an arka (Calotropis) +leaf as an offering to the crows. If a married woman has died, the +widower cuts through his waist thread, whereas a widow is taken to +the water's edge, and sits on a winnow. Her bangles are broken, and +the bottu is snapped by her brother. Water is then poured over her +head three times through the winnow. After bathing, she goes home, +and sits in a room with a lamp, and may see no one till the following +morning. She is then taken to one or more temples, and made to pull +the tail of a cow three times. The Oddes of Coimbatore, in the Tamil +country, have elaborated both the marriage and funeral ceremonies, +and copy those of the Balijas and Vellalas. But they do not call in +the assistance of a Brahman purohit. + +A woman, found guilty of immorality, is said to have to carry a +basketful of earth from house to house, before she is re-admitted to +the caste. + +The following note on a reputed cure for snake poisoning used by Oddes +was communicated to me by Mr. Gustav Haller. "A young boy, who belonged +to a gang of Oddes, was catching rats, and put his hand into a bamboo +bush, when a cobra bit him, and clung to his finger when he was drawing +his hand out of the bush. I saw the dead snake, which was undoubtedly +a cobra. I was told that the boy was in a dying condition, when a man +of the same gang said that he would cure him. He applied a brown pill +to the wound, to which it stuck without being tied. The man dipped +a root into water, and rubbed it on the lad's arm from the shoulder +downwards. The arm, which was benumbed, gradually became sensitive, +and at last the fingers could move, and the pill dropped off. The +moist root was rubbed on to the boy's tongue and into the corner of +the eye before commencing operations. The man said that a used pill +is quite efficacious, but should be well washed to get rid of the +poison. In the manufacture of the pill, five leaves of a creeper are +dried, and ground to powder. The pill must be inserted for nine days +between the bark and cambium of a margosa tree (Melia Azadirachta) +during the new moon, when the sap ascends." The creeper is Tinospora +cordifolia (gul bel) and the roots are apparently those of the same +climbing shrub. There is a widespread belief that gul bel growing on +a margosa tree is more efficacious as a medicine than that which is +found on other kinds of trees. + +The insigne of the caste at Conjeeveram is a spade. [181] + +"In the Ceded Districts," Mr. F. S. Mullaly writes, [182] "some of +the Wudders are known as Donga Wuddiwars, or thieving Wudders, from +the fact of their having taken to crime as a profession. Those of +the tribe who have adopted criminal habits are skilful burglars and +inveterate robbers. They are chiefly to be found among the stone +Wudder class, who, besides their occupation of building walls, +are also skilful stone-cutters. By going about under the pretence +of mending grindstones, they obtain much useful information as to +the houses to be looted, or parties of travellers to be attacked. In +committing a highway robbery or dacoity, they are always armed with +stout sticks. Burglary by Wudders may usually be traced to them, +if careful observations are made of the breach in the wall. The +implement is ordinarily the crowbar used by them in their profession +as stone-workers, and the blunt marks of the crowbar are, as a rule, +noticeable. They will never confess, or implicate another of their +fraternity, and, should one of them be accused of a crime, the women +are most clamorous, and inflict personal injuries on themselves +and their children, to deter the police from doing their duty, +and then accuse them of torture. Women and children belonging to +criminal gangs are experts in committing grain thefts from kalams or +threshing-floors, where they are engaged in harvest time, and also in +purloining their neighbours' poultry. Stolen property is seldom found +with Wudders. Their receivers are legion, but they especially favour +liquor shopkeepers in the vicinity of their encampment. Instances have +been known of valuable jewellery being exchanged for a few drams of +arrack. In each Wudder community, there is a headman called the Ganga +Raja, and, in the case of criminal gangs of these people, he receives +two shares of spoil. Identifiable property is altered at once, many of +the Wudders being themselves able to melt gold and silver jewellery, +which they dispose of for about one-tenth of the value." + +It has been said of the navvies in England that "many persons are quite +unaware that the migratory tribe of navvies numbers about 100,000, and +moves about from point to point, wherever construction works are going +forward, such as railways, harbour, canals, reservoirs and drainage +works. Generally the existence of these works is unknown to the public +until their completion. They then come into use, but the men who risked +their lives to make them are gone nobody knows where. They are public +servants, upon whose labours the facilities of modern civilised life +largely depend, and surely, therefore, their claim on our sympathies +is universal." And these remarks apply with equal force to the Oddes, +who numbered 498,388 in the Madras Presidency at the census, 1901. + +In the Census Report, 1901, Odderazulu is given as a synonym of +Odde. One of the sections of the Yerukalas is also called Odde. Vadde +(Odde) Cakali (Tsakala) is recorded, in the Vizagapatam Manual, as +the name for those who wash clothes, and carry torches and palanquins. + +Oddilu.--The Oddilu are described [183] by the Rev. J. Cain as +principally raftsmen on the Godavari river, who have raised themselves +in life, and call themselves Sishti Karanamalu. He states further that +they are Kois (or Koyis) who are regarded as more honourable than any +of the others, and have charge of the principal velpu (tribal gods). + +Odhuvar (reader or reciter).--A name for Pandarams, who recite hymns +in temples. + +Odisi.--A sub-division of Bhondari. + +Odiya.--It is noted, in the Madras Census Report, 1891, that "this +is the principal Uriya caste of farmers in Ganjam. Odia and Uriya +are different forms of one and the same word, and this caste name +simply means a native of the Odia or Uriya country, as Telaga means +a man of the Telugu country. In both cases, therefore, we find +a number of persons included, who are in reality members of some +other caste. The total number of sub-divisions of Odia, according +to the census schedules, is 146, but a number of these are names +of various Uriya castes, and not true sub-divisions. The largest +sub-division is Benaito, which is returned by 62,391 persons. The Nunia +sub-division, the next largest, was returned by 9,356 individuals." It +is further recorded, in the Census Report, 1901, that Odiya, Oriya, +or Uriya "is one of the vaguest terms in the whole of Table XIII +(Caste and Tribe). The Odiyas are a race by themselves, split up +into many castes. 'Odiya' also often means merely a man who speaks +Oriya. The term is, however, so constantly returned by itself without +qualification, that Odiya has perforce figured in the tables of all +the censuses as a caste. The Odiyas of the hills differ, however, +from the Odiyas of the plains, the Odiyas of Ganjam from those of +Vizagapatam, and the customs of one muttah (settlement) from those +of the next." Mr. Narasing Doss writes to me that "Odiya literally +means an inhabitant of Odissa or Orissa. There is a separate caste +called Odiya, with several sub-divisions. They are cultivators by +profession. Marriage is infant or adult. They employ Brahmans at +ceremonials. Widows and divorcees are remarried. They eat fish and +meat, but not fowls or beef, and do not drink liquor. They burn +the dead. Members of the Nagabonso sept claim to be descendants of +Nagamuni, the serpent rishi." + +I gather that there are three main sections among the Odiyas, viz., +Benaito, Nuniya, and Baraghoria, of which the first-named rank above +the others in the social scale. From them Oriya Brahmans and Koronos +will accept water. The Benaitos and Nuniyas are found all over Ganjam, +whereas the Baraghorias are apparently confined to villages round about +Aska and Purushothapur. There are numerous exogamous gotras within +the caste, among which are Nagasira (cobra), Gonda (rhinoceros), +Kochipo (tortoise), and Baraha (boar). The gods of the gotra should +be worshipped at the commencement of any auspicious ceremony. The +Odiyas also worship Jagannatha, and Takuranis (village deities). A +number of titles occur in the caste, e.g., Bissoyi, Podhano, Jenna, +Bariko, Sahu, Swayi, Gaudo, Pulleyi, Chando, Dolei, and Torei. + +When an unmarried girl is ill, a vow is taken that, if she recovers, +she shall be married to the dharma devata (sun), which is represented +by a brass vessel. + +People of mixed origin sometimes call themselves Odiyas, and pass as +members of this caste. Some Bhayipuos, for example, who correspond +to the Telugu Adapapas, call themselves Odiyas or Beniya Odiyas. + +Odiya Toti.--A Tamil synonym for Oriya Haddis employed as scavengers +in municipalities in the Tamil country. + +Ojali.--The Ojali, Vojali, or Ozolu are summed up, in the Madras +Census Report, 1901, as being "Telugu blacksmiths in the Vizagapatam +Agency. They eat beef, but are somewhat superior to the Paidis and +Malas in social position. They are also called Mettu Kamsali." It +is stated in the Vizagapatam Manual that, during the reign of +Chola Chakravati, the Kamsalas (artisans) claimed to be equal +to Brahmans. This offended the sovereign, and he ordered their +destruction. Some only escaped death by taking shelter with people of +the 'Ozu' caste. As an acknowledgment of their gratitude many of the +Kamsalas have ozu affixed to their house-name, e.g., Kattozu, Lakkozu. + +Okkiliyan.--Okkiliyan is the Tamil synonym for Vakkaliga, the large +caste of Canarese cultivators, and the name is derived from okkalu, +meaning cultivation or agriculture. In the Madras Census Report, 1901, +the Vakkaligas or Okkiliyans are described as "Canarese cultivators, +who originally belonged to Mysore, and are found mainly in Madura +and Coimbatore. The caste is split up into several sub-divisions, +the names of two of which, Nonaba and Gangadikara, are derived from +former divisions of the Mysore country. Each of these is again split up +into totemistic exogamous sections or kulas, some of which are Chinnada +(gold), Belli (silver), Khajjaya (cake), Yemme (buffalo), Alagi (pot), +Jola (cholum: a millet)." The Vakkaligas say they are descendants +of the Ballal Rajah of Anegundi, and that they left their homes in +pursuit of more suitable occupation, and settled themselves in Konganad +(Coimbatore). The Okkiliyans, whom I have investigated, were settled +in the Tamil country in the Coimbatore district, where they were +engaged as cultivators, bakers, milk-vendors, bricklayers, merchants, +cart-drivers, tailors, cigar manufacturers, and coolies. They returned +the following eight endogamous sub-divisions:-- + + + (1) Gangadikara, or those who lived on the banks of the Ganges. + (2) Gudi, temple. + (3) Kire (Amarantus), which is largely cultivated by them. + (4) Kunchu, a tassel or bunch. + (5) Kamati, foolish. Said to have abandoned their original + occupation of cultivating the land, and adopted the + profession of bricklayer. + (6) Gauri, Siva's consort. + (7) Bai. + (8) Sanu. + + +Like other Canarese castes, the Okkiliyans have exogamous septs +(kuttam or kutta), such as Belli (silver), Kasturi (musk), Pattegara +(headman), Aruva, Hattianna, etc. By religion they are both Saivites +and Vaishnavites. Those of the Aruva sept are all Saivites, and +the Hatti sept are Vaishnavites. Intermarriage between Saivites and +Vaishnavites is permitted, even though the former be Lingayats. The +Okkiliyans also worship village deities, and sacrifice goats and +fowls to Magaliamma and Koniamma. + +The Kiraikkarans of Coimbatore, whose main occupation is cultivating +kirai (Amarantus) and other vegetables, are said to be Kempati +Okkiliyans, i.e. Okkiliyans who emigrated from Kempampatti in Mysore. + +The hereditary headman of the caste, at Coimbatore, is called +Pattakaran, who has under him a Chinna (little) Pattakaran. The +headman presides over the caste council meetings, settles disputes, +and inflicts fines and other forms of punishment. If a person is +accused of using coarse language, he is slapped on the cheek by the +Chinna Pattakaran. If, during a quarrel, one person beats the other +with shoes, he has to purify himself and his house, and feed some +of his fellow castemen. The man who has been slippered also has to +undergo purificatory ceremony, but has not to stand a feast. In cases +of adultery, the guilty persons have to carry a basket of sand on the +head round the quarters of the community, accompanied by the Chinna +Pattakaran, who beats them with a tamarind switch. In some places, I +am informed, there is a headman for the village, called Uru Goundan, +who is subject to the authority of the Nattu Goundan. Several nadus, +each composed of a number of villages, are subject to a Pattakar, +who is assisted by a Bandari. All these offices are hereditary. + +When a Gangadikara girl reaches puberty, her maternal uncle, or his +son, constructs a hut of stems of cocoanut leaves, reeds and branches +of Pongamia glabra. Every day her relations bring her a cloth, +fruits, and flowers. On alternate days she is bathed, and dressed +in a cloth supplied by the washerwoman. The hut is broken up, and a +new one constructed on the third, fifth, and seventh days. During +the marriage ceremony, the bridegroom carries a dagger (katar) +with a lime stuck on its tip, and partly covered with a cloth, +when he proceeds to the bride's house with a bamboo, new clothes, +the tali (marriage badge), jewels, wrist-thread (kankanam), fruits, +cocoanuts, rice, and a new mat, camphor, etc. He must have the +dagger with him till the wrist-threads are untied. The barber cuts +the nails of the bridegroom. The Pattakaran, or a Brahman priest, +takes round the tali to be blessed by those assembled, and gives it +to the bridegroom, who ties it on the bride's neck. The ends of the +cloths of the contracting couple, with betel leaves and areca nuts in +them, are tied together, and they link together the little finger of +their right hands. They then look at the sky, to see the pole-star, +Arundati, who was the wife of the ascetic Vasishta, and the emblem +of chastity. The marriage booth has four posts, and the milk-post is +made of the milk hedge (Euphorbia Tirucalli), to which are tied mango +leaves and a wrist-thread. At some Okkiliyan marriages, the caste +priest, called Kanigara (soothsayer), officiates at the tali-tying +ceremony. Very great importance is attached to the linking of the +fingers of the bridal couple by the Kanigara or maternal uncle. The +dowry is not given at the time of marriage, but only after the +birth of a child. For her first confinement, the woman is taken to +her parents' home, and, after delivery, is sent back to her husband +with the dowry. This is not given before the birth of a child, as, +in the event of failure of issue or death of his wife, the husband +might claim the property, which might pass to a new family. + +Among some Okkiliyans the custom is maintained by which the father of a +young boy married to a grown-up girl cohabits with his daughter-in-law +until her husband has reached maturity. + +A dead person, I was informed at Coimbatore, is buried in a sitting +posture, or, if young and unmarried, in a recumbent position. As +the funeral procession proceeds on its way to the burial-ground, +the relations and friends throw coins, fruits, cakes, cooked rice, +etc., on the road, to be picked up by poor people. If the funeral is +in high life, they may even throw flowers made of gold or silver, +but not images, as some of the higher classes do. At the south +end of the grave, a hollow is scooped out for the head and back to +rest in. A small quantity of salt is placed on the abdomen, and the +grave is filled in. Leaves of the arka plant (Calotropis gigantea), +or tangedu (Cassia auriculata), are placed in three corners, and a +stone is set up over the head. The son, having gone round the grave +with a pot of water and a fire-brand, breaks the pot on the stone +before he retires. The widow of the deceased breaks her bangles, and +throws them on the grave. The son and other mourners bathe, and return +home, where they worship a lighted lamp. On the third day, dried twigs +of several species of Ficus and jak tree (Artocarpus integrifolia), +milk, a new cloth, plantains, tender cocoanuts, cheroots, raw rice, +betel, etc., required for worship, are taken to the grave. The twigs +are burnt, and reduced to ashes, with which, mixed with water, the +figure of a human being is made. It is covered with a new cloth, +and flowers are thrown on it. Puja is done to plantains, cocoanut, +etc., placed on a plantain leaf, and milk is poured over the figure by +relations and friends. The widow breaks her tali string, and throws it +on the figure. The son, and the four bearers who carried the corpse +to the grave, are shaved. Each of the bearers is made to stand up, +holding a pestle. The barber touches their shoulders with holy grass +dipped in gingelly (Sesamum) oil. Raw rice, and other eatables, are +sent to the houses of the bearers by the son of the deceased. At +night the cloths, turban, and other personal effects of the dead +man are worshipped. Pollution is removed on the eleventh day by a +Brahman sprinkling holy water, and the caste people are fed. They +perform sradh. By some Okkiliyans, the corpse is, like that of a +Lingayat Badaga, etc., carried to the burial-ground in a structure +called teru kattu, made of a bamboo framework surmounted by a canopy, +whereon are placed five brass vessels (kalasam). The structure is +decorated with cloths, flags, and plantain trees. + +The Morasu Vakkaligas, who sacrifice their fingers, are dealt with +separately (see Morasu). + +Olai.--A sub-division of Palli, the members of which wear an ear +ornament called olai. + +Olaro.--A sub-division of Gadaba. + +Olekara.--See Vilyakara. + +Olikala (pyre and ashes).--An exogamous sept of Devanga. + +Omanaito.--The Omanaitos or Omaitos are an Oriya cultivating caste, +for the following account of which I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana +Rao. According to a tradition, the ancestor of the caste was one +Amatya, a minister of Sri Rama at Ayodhya. After Rama had gone to +heaven, there was no one to take care of them, and they took to +agriculture. The caste is divided into two endogamous sections, +called Bodo (big) and Sanno (little). The latter are regarded as +illegitimate children of the former by a Bottada, Gaudo, or other +woman. The Bodo section is divided into septs, called Sva (parrot), +Bhag (tiger), Kochchimo (tortoise), Naga (cobra), Sila (stone), Dhudho +(milk), Kumda (Cucurbita maxima), and Kukru (dog). + +The caste headman is called Bhatha Nayak, whose office is +hereditary. He arranges council meetings for settling social questions, +and takes a leading part in excommunicating members of the caste. Like +the Gonds, the Omanaitos cannot tolerate a man suffering from sores, +and he is formally excommunicated. To be received back into the caste, +he has to give a caste feast, of which the Bhatha Nayak is the first +to partake. + +Girls are married before or after puberty. A man claims his paternal +aunt's daughter in marriage. As soon as a young man's parents think +it is time that he should get married, they set out, with some +sweets and jaggery (crude sugar), for the house of the paternal +aunt, where the hand of her daughter is asked for. A second visit +of a similar nature is made later on, when the marriage is decided +on. An auspicious day is fixed by the Desari. A messenger is sent to +the house of the bride-elect with some rice, three rupees, a sheep, +and a new cloth, which are presented to her parents, who invite the +bridegroom and his party to come on the appointed day. On that day, +the bridegroom is conducted in procession, sometimes on horseback, +to the bride's village. There, in front of her hut, a pandal (booth) +has been constructed of eight posts of the sal tree (Shorea robusta), +and a central post of the ippa (Bassia) tree, to which seven pieces of +turmeric and seven mango leaves are tied. At the auspicious moment, the +bridegroom is conducted in procession to the booth, and the messenger +says aloud to the paternal aunt "The bridegroom has come. Bring the +bride quickly." She stands by the side of the bridegroom, and the +Desari links together their little fingers, while the women throw +rice coloured with turmeric over them. Water, which has been brought +from the village stream at early morn, and coloured with turmeric, +is poured over the couple from five pots. They then dress themselves +in new cloths presented by their fathers-in-law. A feast is given by +the bride's party. On the following day, the bride is conducted to +the home of the bridegroom, at the entrance to which they are met by +the bridegroom's mother, who sprinkles rice coloured with turmeric +over them, and washes their feet with turmeric-water. Liquor is then +distributed, and a meal partaken of. The Desari takes seven grains +of rice and seven areca nuts and ties them up in the ends of the +cloths of the contracting couple. On the following day, a feast is +held, and, next day, the parties of the bride and bridegroom throw +turmeric-water over each other. All then repair to the stream, and +bathe. A feast follows, for which a sheep is killed. + +It is noted, in the Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam District, that in +the course of an Omanaito wedding there is a free fight, with mud +for missiles. + +The remarriage of widows is permitted, and a younger brother may marry +the widow of his elder brother. Divorce is allowed, and divorcées +may marry again. + +The Omanaitos worship Takurani and Chamariya Devata, as priest of +whom a member of the caste officiates. An annual festival is held in +the month of Chaitro. + +The dead are burnt. Pollution on account of a death in a family lasts +for ten days, during which the caste occupation is not carried out, +and the mourners are fed by people of another sept. On the eleventh +day a feast is held, at which liquor is forbidden. + +The caste title, is usually Nayako, but the more prosperous take the +title Patro. + +Ondipuli.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as +Telugu-speaking cultivators and cattle-breeders in the Salem +district. The name is sometimes applied to the beggars attached to +the Palli caste. + +Onnam Parisha (first party).--A section of Elayad. + +Onne (Pterocarpus Marsupium).--An exogamous sept of Toreyas, who are +not allowed to mark their foreheads with the juice which exudes from +the trunk of this tree. + +Onteddu.--Onteddu or Onti-eddu is the name of a sub-division of +Ganigas or Gandlas, who only use one bullock for their oil-mills. + +Opoto.--Opoto or Apoto is the name of the palanquin-bearing section +of Gaudos. + +Oppamtara.--A title conferred by the Raja of Cochin on some Nayars. + +Oppanakkaran (trader).--Telugu traders and agriculturists. Recorded +as a sub-division of Balija. + +Oppomarango (Achyranthes aspera).--An exogamous sept of Bhondari, +the members of which may not use the root as a tooth-brush. + +Ore.--An honorific title of Nayars. + +Origabhakthudu (saluting devotee).--A class of mendicants, who are +said to beg only from Perikes. + +Oriya.--Oriya, or Uriya, is a general term for those who speak +the Oriya language. At times of census, it has been recorded as a +sub-division of various castes, e.g., Sondi and Dhobi. + +Oruganti.--A sub-division of Kapu and Mutracha. + +Orunul (one string).--A sub-division of Marans, whose widows do +not remarry. + +Oshtama.--A corrupt form of the word Vaishnava, applied to Satanis, +who are called by illiterate folk Oishnamaru or Oshtamaru. + +Osta.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as the name +of a caste of barbers for Muhammadans. + +Otattu (tile-makers).--An occupational name for Nayars, who tile or +thatch temples and Brahman houses. + +Ottaisekkan.--The name, indicating those who work their oil-mill with +a single bullock, of a sub-division of Vaniyan. + +Ottikunda (empty pot).--An exogamous sept of Kamma. + + + + + + + +P + + +Paccha (green).--An exogamous sept of Kamma. The equivalent Pacchai +is a sub-division of Tamil Paraiyans, and of Malaiyalis who have +settled on the Pacchaimalais (green hills). Pacchi powaku (green +tobacco) occurs as an exogamous sept of Devanga. Pacchai Kutti is the +name given to Koravas who travel about the country as professional +tattooers, the operation of tattooing being known as pricking with +green. In like manner, Pacchai Botlu is the name for Oddes, who are +itinerant tattooers in the Ganjam, Vizagapatam, and Godavari districts. + +Pachilia.--A sub-division of Oriya Gaudos. + +Pada (fighting).--A sub-division of Nayar. + +Padaharu Madala (sixteen madalas).--The name, indicating the amount +of the bride-price, of a section of Upparas. A madala is equal to two +rupees. Some say that the name has reference to the modas, or heaps +of earth, in which salt was formerly made. + +Padaiyachi.--A synonym or title of Palli or Vanniyan, and Savalakkaran. + +Padal.--A title of headmen of the Bagatas. + +Padam.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a +sub-division of Nayar. Padamangalum or Padamangalakkar is also +recorded as a sub-division of Nayars, who escort processions in +temples. Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar writes that "Padamangalam and the +Tamil Padam are recorded as a division of Nayars, but they are said +to be immigrants to Travancore from the Tamil country." Padam also +occurs as an exogamous sept of Moosu Kamma. + +Padarti.--A title of pujaris (priests) in South Canara, and a name +by which Stanikas are called. + +Padavala (boat).--An exogamous sept of Devanga. + +Padiga Raju.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, as the same as +Bhatrazu. The Padiga Rajulu are, however, beggars attached to the Padma +Sales, and apparently distinct from Bhatrazus. The name is probably +derived from padiga, a kind of vessel, and may bear reference to the +vessel which they carry with them on their begging expeditions. + +Padma (lotus).--A sub-division of Velama. + +Padma Sale.--The Padma (lotus) Sales are a Telugu-speaking caste +of weavers, who are scattered all over the Madras Presidency. The +majority are engaged in their hereditary occupation, but only the +minority possess looms of their own, and they work, for the most +part, for the more prosperous owners of hand-looms. As a class they +are poor, being addicted to strong drinks, and in the hands of the +money-lenders, who take care that their customers always remain in +debt to them. Like the Kaikolans, the Padma Sales weave the coarser +kinds of cotton cloths, and cannot compete with the Patnulkarans and +Khatres in the manufacture of the finer kinds. + +The Padma Sales have only one gotra, Markandeya. But, like other +Telugu castes, they have a number of exogamous septs or intiperus, +of which the following are examples:-- + +Bandari, treasurer. Bomma, an idol. Canji, gruel. Chinthaginjala, +tamarind seeds. Gorantla, Lawsonia alba. Jinka, gazelle. Kalava, +ditch. Kasulu, copper coins. Kongara, crane. Kadavala, pots. Manchi, +good. Nili, indigo. Nukalu, flour of grain or pulse. Nyayam, +justice. Utla, rope for hanging pots. Pothu, male. Paththi, +cotton. Putta, ant-hill. Thelu, scorpion. Tangedla, Cassia +auriculata. Tumma, Acacia arabica. Avari, indigo plant. Chinnam, +gold? Gurram, horse. Geddam, beard. Kota, fort. Meda, raised mound +Middala, storeyed house. Mamidla, mango. Narala, nerves. Pula, +flowers. Sadhu, quiet or meek. + +The Padma Sales profess to be Vaishnavites, but some are Saivites. All +the families of the exogamous sept Sadhu are said to be lingam-wearing +Saivites. In addition to their house-god Venkateswara, they worship +Pulikondla Rangaswami, Maremma, Durgamma, Narasappa, Sunkalamma, +Urukundhi Viranna, Gangamma, Kinkiniamma, Mutyalamma, Kalelamma, +Ankamma, and Padvetiamma. Their caste deity is Bhavana Rishi, to whom, +in some places, a special temple is dedicated. A festival in honour of +this deity is celebrated annually, during which the god and goddess +are represented by two decorated pots placed on a model of a tiger +(vyagra vahanam), to which, on the last day of the ceremonial, large +quantities of rice and vegetables are offered, which are distributed +among the loom-owners, pujari, headman, fasting celebrants, etc. + +The Padma Sales belong to the right-hand, and the Devangas to the +left-hand faction, and the latter aver that the Padma Sales took away +the body of the goddess Chaudeswari, leaving them the head. + +Three kinds of beggars are attached to the Padma Sales, viz., +Sadhana Surulu, Padiga Rajulu or Koonapilli vandlu, and Inaka-mukku +Bhatrazus. Concerning the Sadhana Surulu, Buchanan writes as +follows. [184] "The Vaishnavite section of the Samay Sale is called +Padma Sale. The whole Shalay formerly wore the linga, but, a house +having been possessed by a devil, and this sect having been called +on to cast him out, all their prayers were of no avail. At length +ten persons, having thrown aside their linga, and offered up their +supplications to Vishnu, they succeeded in expelling the enemy, and +ever afterwards they followed the worship of this god, in which they +have been initiated by their brethren. The descendants of these men, +who are called Sadana Asholu (Sadana Surulu), or the celebrated heroes, +never work, and, having dedicated themselves to god, live upon the +charity of the industrious part of the caste, with whom they disdain +to marry." + +The Padiga Rajulu are supposed to be the descendants of three persons, +Adigadu, Padigadu and Baludu, who sprang from the sweat of Bhavana +Rishi, and the following legend is current concerning the origin of +the Padma Sales and Padiga Rajulu. At the creation of the world, +men were naked, and one Markandeya, who was sixteen years old, +was asked to weave cloths. To enable him to do so, he did thapas +(penance), and from the sacred fire arose Bhavana Rishi, bearing a +bundle of thread obtained from the lotus which sprang from Vishnu's +navel. Bhavana Rishi made cloths, and presented them to the Devatas, +and offered a cloth to Bhairava also. This he refused to accept, as +it was the last, and not the first, which is usually rolled up, and +kept on the loom. Finding it unsuitable for wearing, Bhairava uttered a +curse that the cloths made should wear out in six months. Accordingly, +Siva asked Bhavana to procure him a tiger's skin for wearing. Narada +came to the assistance of Bhavana, and told him to go to Udayagiri, +where Bhadravati, the daughter of Surya, was doing penance to +secure Bhavana as her husband. She promised to secure a skin, +if he would marry her. To this he consented, and, in due course, +received the tiger's skin. Making the tiger his vahanam (vehicle), +he proceeded to the abode of Siva (Kailasam), and on his way thither +met a Rakshasa, whom he killed in a fight, in the course of which +he sweated profusely. From the sweat proceeded Adigadu, Padigadu, +and Baludu. When he eventually reached Siva, the tiger, on the sacred +ashes being thrown over it, cast its skin, which Siva appropriated. In +consequence of this legend, tigers are held in reverence by the Padma +Sales, who believe that they will not molest them. + +The legendary origin of the Padma Sales is given as follows in the +Baramahal Records. [185] "In former days, the other sects of weavers +used annually to present a piece of cloth to a rishi or saint, named +Markandeyulu. One year they omitted to make their offering at the +customary period, which neglect enraged the rishi, who performed a +yaga or sacrifice of fire, and, by the power of mantras or prayers, +he caused a man to spring up out of the fire of the sacrifice, +and called him Padma Saliwarlu, and directed him to weave a piece +of cloth for his use. This he did, and presented it to the rishi, +saying 'Oh! Swami, who is thy servant to worship, and how is he to +obtain moksham or admittance to the presence of the Supreme?' The +rishi answered 'Pay adoration to me, and thou wilt obtain moksham.'" + +The office of headman (Setti or Gaudu) is hereditary. The headman +has under him an assistant, called Ummidi Setti or Ganumukhi, who +is the caste messenger, and is exempt from the various subscriptions +for temple festivals, etc. + +When a girl reaches puberty, she is forbidden to eat meat or +Amarantus during the period of ceremonial pollution. In settling +the preliminaries of a marriage, a Brahman purohit takes part. With +some Padma Sales it is etiquette not to give direct answers when a +marriage is being fixed up. For example, those who have come to seek +the hand of a girl say "We have come for a sumptuous meal," to which +the girl's parents, if consenting to the match, will reply "We are +ready to feed you. You are our near relations." The marriage rites are +a blend of the Canarese and Telugu types. In the Ceded districts, the +bride is conveyed to the house of the bridegroom, seated on a bull, +after worship has been done to Hanuman. As she enters the house, +a cocoanut is waved, and thrown on the ground. She then bathes in an +enclosure with four posts, round which cotton thread has been wound +nine times. Wrist-threads of cotton and wool are tied on the bride and +bridegroom. The bottu (marriage badge) is tied round the bride's neck, +and she stands on a pile of cholum (Sorghum vulgare: millet) on the +floor or in a basket. The bridegroom stands on a mill-stone. While the +bottu is being tied, a screen is interposed between the contracting +couple. The bride's nose-screw ornament is dropped into a plate of +milk, from which she has to pick it out five times. Towards evening, +the bridal couple go in procession through the streets, and to the +temple, if there is one. On their return to the house, the bridegroom +picks up the bride, and dances for a short time before entering. This +ceremony is called dega-ata, and is performed by several Telugu castes. + +Some Padma Sales bury their dead in the usual manner, others, like +the Lingayats, in a sitting posture. It is customary, in some places, +to offer up a fowl to the corpse before it is removed from the house, +and, if a death occurs on a Saturday or Sunday, a fowl is tied to +the bier, and burnt with the corpse. This is done in the belief that +otherwise another death would very soon take place. The Tamilians, in +like manner, have a proverb "A Saturday corpse will not go alone." On +the way to the burial-ground, the corpse is laid down, and water +poured into the mouth. The son takes a pot of water round the grave, +and holes are made in it by the Ummidi Setti, through which the water +trickles out. On the fifth day, a sheep is killed, and eaten. During +the evening the Satani comes, and, after doing puja (worship), gives +the relatives of the deceased sacred arrack (liquor) in lieu of holy +water (thirtham) and meat, for which he receives payment. On the last +day of the death ceremonies (karmandiram), the Satani again comes with +arrack, and, according to a note before me, all get drunk. (See Sale.) + +Pagadala (trader in coral).--A sub-division or exogamous sept of +Balija and Kavarai. The Pagadala Balijas of the Vizagapatam district +are described as dealing in coral and pearls. Pagada Mukara (coral +nose-ring) has been returned as a sub-division of Kamma. + +Pagati Vesham.--A class of Telugu beggars, who put on disguises +(vesham) while begging. [186] At the annual festival at Tirupati in +honour of the goddess Gangamma, custom requires the people to appear +in a different disguise every morning and evening. These disguises +include those of a Bairagi, serpent, etc. [187] + +Paguththan.--A title of Sembadavan. + +Paida (gold or money).--An exogamous sept of Mala. The equivalent +Paidam occurs as an exogamous sept of Devanga. + +Paidi--The Paidis are summed up, in the Madras Census Report, +1891, as "a class of agricultural labourers and weavers, found in +the Vizagapatam district. Some of them are employed as servants and +village watchmen. They are closely akin to the Panos and Dombos of +the hills, and Malas of the plains. They speak a corrupt dialect of +Uriya." In the Census Report, 1901, Kangara (servant) is recorded as +a synonym for Paidi. + +For the following note on the Paidis of the Vizagapatam district, +I am mainly indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. There is a great deal +of confusion concerning this caste, and the general impression seems +to be that it is the same as Domb and Pano. I am informed that the +same man would be called Paidi by Telugus, Domb by the Savaras, and +Pano by the Konds. In the interior of the Jeypore Agency tracts the +Dombs and Paidis both repudiate the suggestion that they are connected +with each other. The Paidis, in some places, claim to belong to the +Valmiki kulam, and to be descended from Valmiki, the author of the +Ramayana. A similar descent, it may be noted, is claimed by the +Boyas. In the Vizagapatam Manual, the Paidimalalu or Paidi Malas +(hill Malas) are described as cultivating land, serving as servants +and village watchmen, and spinning cotton. It is said that they will +not eat food, which has been seen by Komatis. The Paidis stoutly deny +their connection with the Malas. + +When a Paidi girl reaches puberty, she is kept under pollution for a +varying number of days, and, on the last day, a Madiga is summoned, +who cuts her finger and toe nails, after which she bathes. Girls are +married either before or after puberty. The menarikam custom is in +force, according to which a man should marry his maternal uncle's +daughter. If he does so, the bride-price (voli) is fixed at five +rupees; otherwise it is ten rupees. The marriage ceremonies last over +four days, and are of the low-country Telugu type. The remarriage of +widows and divorce are permitted. + +The Paidis are Vaishnavites, and sing songs in praise of Rama during +the month Karthika (November-December). Each family feeds a few of +the castemen at least once during that month. They also observe the +Sankramanam festival, at which they usually wear new clothes. The +dead are either burnt or buried, and the chinna (small) and pedda rozu +(big day) death ceremonies are observed. + +Some Paidis are cultivators, but a large number are prosperous traders, +buying up the hill produce, and bringing it to the low-country, +where it is sold at markets. Their children study English in the hill +schools. The caste titles are Anna and Ayya. + +Some time ago some prisoners, who called themselves Billaikavu +(cat-eaters), were confined in the Vizagapatam jail. I am informed +that these people are Mala Paidis, who eat cat flesh. + +The following note refers to the Paidis who live in the southern part +of Ganjam. Some have settled as watchmen, or in other capacities, +among the Savaras, whose language they speak in addition to their +own. In their marriage ceremonies, they conform to the Telugu type, +with certain variations adopted from the Oriya ceremonial. On the +first day, a pandal (booth) is set up, and supported on twelve +posts. A feast is given to males during the day, and to females at +night. Like the Oriya Dandasis, they bring water from seven houses +of members of castes superior to their own. The auspicious time for +tying the pushte (gold marriage badge) on the following day is fixed +so as to fall during the night. At the appointed time, the bridegroom +rushes into the house of the bride, and the contracting couple throw +rice over each other. Taking the bride by the hand, the bridegroom +conducts her to the pandal, wherein they take their seats on the +dais. The bride should be seated before the bridegroom, and there is +a mock struggle to prevent this, and to secure first place for the +bridegroom. He then ties a mokkuto (chaplet) on the bride's forehead, +a thread on her wrist, and the pushte on her neck. After this has been +done, the couple bathe with the water already referred to, and once +more come to the dais, where a small quantity of rice, sufficient to +fill a measure called adda, is placed before them. Some amusement is +derived from the bride abstracting a portion of the rice, so that, +when the bridegroom measures it, there is less than there should +be. The marriage ceremonies conclude on the third day with offerings +to ancestors, and distribution of presents to the newly married couple. + +The death ceremonies are based on the Oriya type. On the day after +death, the funeral pyre is extinguished, and the ashes are thrown on +to a tree or an ant-hill. As they are being borne thither, the priest +asks the man who carries them what has become of the dead person, +and he is expected to reply that he has gone to Kasi (Benares) or +Jagannatham. A cloth is spread on the spot where the corpse was burnt, +and offerings of food are placed on it. On the fourth day, a pig is +killed and cooked. Before being cooked, one of the legs is hung up near +the spot where the deceased breathed his last. Death pollution is got +rid of by touching oil and turmeric, and the ceremonies conclude with a +feast. An annual offering of food is made, in the month of November, to +ancestors, unless a death takes place in the family during this month. + +The Ganjam Paidis worship the Takuranis (village deities), and +sacrifice goats and sheep at local temples. As they are a polluting +caste, they stand at a distance opposite the entrance to the temple, +and, before they retire, take a pinch or two of earth. This, on their +return home, they place on a cloth spread on a spot which has been +cleansed, and set before it the various articles which have been +prepared as offerings to the Takurani. When a Paidi is seriously +ill, a male or female sorcerer (Bejjo or Bejjano) is consulted. A +square, divided into sixteen compartments, is drawn on the floor +with rice-flour. In each compartment are placed a leaf, cup of Butea +frondosa, a quarter-anna piece, and some food. Seven small bows and +arrows are set up in front thereof in two lines. On one side of the +square a big cup, filled with food, is placed. A fowl is sacrificed, +and its blood poured thrice round this cup. Then, placing water +in a vessel near the cup, the sorcerer or sorceress throws into it +a grain of rice, giving out at the same time the name of some god +or goddess. If the rice sinks, it is believed that the illness is +caused by the anger of the deity, whose name has been mentioned. If +the rice floats, the names of various deities are called out, until +a grain sinks. + +It is recorded [188] that, in the Parvatipur country of the Vizagapatam +district, "the Paidis (Paidi Malas) do most of the crime, and often +commit dacoities on the roads. Like the Konda Doras, they have induced +some of the people to employ watchmen of their caste as the price +of immunity from theft. They are connected with the Dombus of the +Rayagada and Gunupur taluks, who are even worse." + +Paik.--It is noted by Yule and Burnell, [189] under the heading Pyke +or Paik, that "Wilson gives only one original of the term so expressed +in Anglo-Indian speech. He writes 'Paik or Payik, corruptly Pyke, +Hind., etc. (from S. padatika), Paik or Payak, Mar., a footman, an +armed attendant, an inferior police and revenue officer, a messenger, a +courier, a village watchman. In Cuttack the Paiks formerly constituted +a local militia, holding land of the Zamindars or Rajas by the tenure +of military service.' But it seems clear to us that there are here +two terms rolled together: (a) Pers. Paik, a foot-runner or courier; +(b) Hind. paik and payik (also Mahr.) from Skt. padatika, and padika, +a foot-soldier." + +In the Madras Census Report, 1891, Paiko is defined as "rather an +occupational than a caste name. It means a foot-soldier, and is +used to denote the retainers of the Uriya Chiefs of Ganjam and +Vizagapatam. These men were granted lands on feudal tenure, and +belonged to various castes. They are now ordinary agriculturists. Some +are employed in the police, and as peons in the various public +departments." In the records relating to human sacrifice and +infanticide, 1854, the Paiks are referred to as matchlock men, +by whom the Konds and Gonds are kept in abject servitude. In the +Vizagapatam Manual, 1869, various castes are referred to as being +"all paiks or fighting men. Formerly they were a very numerous body, +but their numbers are much diminished now, that is as fighting men, +for the old army used to be paid, some in money, and some in grants +of land. Now there are very few paiks kept up as fighting men; those +discharged from service have taken to trading with the coast, and to +cultivating their pieces of land. The fort at Kotapad on the Bustar +frontier always had a standing garrison of several hundred paiks. They +are gradually being disbanded since we have put police there. The men +are a fine race, brave, and capital shots with the matchlock." Paiko +has been recorded, at times of census, as a synonym or sub-division +of Rona. And Paikarayi occurs as a title of Badhoyis. + +Paiki.--A division of Toda. + +Pailman.--Pailman or Pailwan has been described [190] as "an +occupational term meaning a wrestler, used by all classes following +the occupation, whether they are Hindus or Musalmans. The Hindus +among them are usually Gollas or Jettis." In the Telugu country, +the Pailmans wrestle, and perform various mountebank, conjuring, +and juggling feats. A wandering troupe of Maratha Pailwans performed +before me various stick-exercises, acrobatic and contortionist feats, +and balancing feats on a bamboo pole supported in the kamerband +(belly-band) of a veteran member of the troupe. The performance wound +up with gymnastics on a lofty pole kept erect by means of ropes tied +to casual trees and tent-pegs, and surmounted by a pliant bamboo, on +which the performer swung and balanced himself while playing a drum, +or supporting a pile of earthen pots surmounted by a brass vessel +on his head. The entertainment took place amid the music of drum +and clarionet, and the patter of one of the troupe, the performers +playing the drum in the waits between their turns. + +Painda.--A synonym of Paidi. + +Pakanati (eastern territory).--A sub-division of various Telugu +classes, e.g., Balija, Golla, Kamsala, Kapu, Mala, and Tsakala. + +Paki.--Recorded by the Rev. J. Cain [191] as a sweeper caste in the +Godavari district, members of which have come from the neighbourhood +of Vizagapatam, and are great sticklers for their caste rules. + +Pakinadu.--A territorial sub-division of Kamsalas and other Telugu +castes, corresponding to Pakanati. + +Pakirithi.--Pakirithi or Parigiri, meaning Vaishnavite, is a +sub-division of Besthas, who, on ceremonial occasions, wear the +Vaishnava sect mark. + +Pal (milk).--Pal or Pala has been recorded as a sub-division of +Idaiyan and Kurumba, and an exogamous sept of Mala. (See Halu.) + +Palakala (planks).--An exogamous sept of Kamma. + +Palamala.--Palama is recorded as a sub-division of the Kanikars of +Travancore and Palamalathillom, said to denote the mountain with +trees with milky juice, as an exogamous sept of the same tribe. + +Palavili.--A gotra of Gollas, who are not allowed to erect palavili, +or small booths inside the house for the purpose of worship. + +Palayakkaran.--See Mutracha. + +Paligiri.--A sub-division of Mutracha. + +Palissa (shield) Kollan.--A class of Kollans in Malabar, who make +leather shields. It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that, +at the tali-kettu ceremony, "the girl and manavalan (bridegroom) +go to the tank on the last day of the ceremony. The girl, standing +in the tank, ducks her whole body under water thrice. As she does +so for the third time, a pandibali or triangular platter made of +cocoanut fronds and pieces of plantain stem and leaf plaited together +and adorned with five lighted wicks, is thrown over her into the +water, and cut in half as it floats by an enangan, who sings a song +called Kalikkakam. Lastly, the girl chops in two a cocoanut placed +on the bank. She aims two blows at it, and failure to sever it with +a third is considered inauspicious. Among Palissa Kollans and some +other castes, the lucky dip ceremony is performed on the last day +(called nalam kalyanam or fourth marriage). An enangan, drawing out +the packets at random, distributes them to the manavalan, the girl, +and himself in turn. It is lucky for the manavalan to get the gold, +and the girl the silver. A significant finish to the ceremony in +the form of a symbolical divorce is not infrequent in South Malabar +at all events. Thus, among the Palissa Kollans the manavalan takes a +piece of thread from his mundu (cloth), and gives it, saying 'Here is +your sister's accharam' to the girl's brother, who breaks it in two +and puffs it towards him. In other cases, the manavalan gives the +girl a cloth on the first day, and cuts it in two, giving her one +half on the last; or the manavalan and an enangan of the girl hold +opposite ends of a cloth, which the manavalan cuts and tears in two, +and then gives both pieces to the girl." + +Paliyans of Madura and Tinnevelly. In a note on the Malai (hill) +Paliyans of the Madura district, the Rev. J. E. Tracy writes +as follows. "I went to their village at the foot of the Periyar +hills, and can testify to their being the most abject, hopeless, and +unpromising specimens of humanity that I have ever seen. There were +about forty of them in the little settlement, which was situated in +a lovely spot. A stream of pure water was flowing within a few feet +of their huts, and yet they were as foul and filthy in their personal +appearance as if they were mere animals, and very unclean ones. Rich +land that produced a luxuriant crop of rank reeds was all around +them, and, with a little exertion on their part, might have been +abundantly irrigated, and produced continuous crops of grain. Yet +they lived entirely on nuts and roots, and various kinds of gum that +they gathered in the forest on the slopes of the hills above their +settlement. Only two of the community had ever been more than seven +miles away from their village into the open country below them. Their +huts were built entirely of grass, and consisted of only one room each, +and that open at the ends. The chief man of the community was an old +man with white hair. His distinctive privilege was that he was allowed +to sleep between two fires at night, while no one else was allowed +to have but one--a distinction that they were very complaisant about, +perhaps because with the distinction was the accompanying obligation +to see that the community's fire never went out. As he was also +the only man in the community who was allowed to have two wives, +I inferred that he delegated to them the privilege of looking after +the fires, while he did the sleeping, whereas, in other families, +the man and wife had to take turn and turn about to see that the fire +had not to be re-lighted in the morning. They were as ignorant as they +were filthy. They had no place of worship, but seemed to agree that +the demons of the forest around them were the only beings that they +had to fear besides the Forest Department. They were barely clothed, +their rags being held about them, in one or two cases, with girdles of +twisted grass. They had much the same appearance that many a famine +subject presented in the famine of 1877, but they seemed to have had +no better times to look back upon, and hence took their condition +as a matter of course. The forest had been their home from time +immemorial. Yet the forest seemed to have taught them nothing more +than it might have been supposed to have taught the prowling jackal +or the laughing hyæna. There were no domesticated animals about their +place: strange to say, not even a pariah dog. They appeared to have +no idea of hunting, any more than they had of agriculture. And, as +for any ideas of the beauty or solemnity of the place that they had +selected as their village site, they were as innocent of such things +as they were of the beauties of Robert Browning's verse." + +In a note written in 1817, Mr. T. Turnbull states that the Madura +Pulliers "are never seen unless when they come down to travellers +to crave a piece of tobacco or a rag of cloth, for which they have a +great predilection. The women are said to lay their infants on warm +ashes after delivery, as a substitute for warm clothing and beds." + +The Palayans, or Pulleer, are described by General Burton [192] as +"good trackers, and many of them carried bows and arrows, and a few +even possessed matchlocks. I met one of these villagers going out on +a sporting excursion. He had on his head a great chatty (earthen pot) +full of water, and an old brass-bound matchlock. It was the height +of the dry season. He was taking water to a hollow in a rock, which +he kept carefully replenished, and then ensconced himself in a clump +of bushes hard by, and waited all day, if necessary, with true native +patience, for hog, deer, or pea-fowl to approach his ambush." + +In the Madura Manual, it is noted that "the Poleiyans have always been +the prædial slaves of the Kunuvans. According to the survey account, +they are the aborigines of the Palni hills. The marriage ceremony +consists merely of a declaration of consent made by both parties at +a feast, to which all their relatives are invited. As soon as a case +of small-pox occurs in one of their villages, a cordon is drawn round +it, and access to other villages is denied to all the inhabitants +of the infected locality, who at once desert their homes, and camp +out for a sufficiently long period. The individual attacked is left +to his fate, and no medicine is exhibited to him, as it is supposed +that the malady is brought on solely by the just displeasure of the +gods. They bury their dead." + +The Paliyans are described, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, +as a "very backward caste, who reside in small scattered parties +amid the jungles of the Upper Palnis and the Varushanad valley. They +speak Tamil with a peculiar intonation, which renders it scarcely +intelligible. They are much less civilised than the Pulaiyans, but do +not eat beef, and consequently carry no pollution. They sometimes build +themselves grass huts, but often they live on platforms up trees, in +caves, or under rocks. Their clothes are of the scantiest and dirtiest, +and are sometimes eked out with grass or leaves. They live upon roots +(yams), leaves, and honey. They cook the roots by putting them into +a pit in the ground, heaping wood upon them, and lighting it. The +fire is usually kept burning all night as a protection against wild +beasts, and it is often the only sign of the presence of the Paliyans +in a jungle, for they are shy folk, who avoid other people. They make +fire with quartz and steel, using the floss of the silk-cotton tree as +tinder. Weddings are conducted without ceremonies, the understanding +being that the man shall collect food and the woman cook it. When +one of them dies, the rest leave the body as it is, and avoid the +spot for some months. + +A detailed account of the Paliyans of the Palni hills by the +Rev. F. Dahmen has recently been published, [193] to which I am +indebted for the following information. "The Paliyans are a nomadic +tribe, who for the most part rove in small parties through the +jungle-clad gorges that fringe the Upper Palnis plateau. There they +maintain themselves mostly on the products of the chase and on roots +(yams, etc.), leaves and wild fruits (e.g., of the wild date tree), +at times also by hiring their labour to the Kunnuvan or Mannadi +villagers. The find of a bee-hive in the hollow of some tree is a +veritable feast for them. No sooner have they smoked the bees out +than they greedily snatch at the combs, and ravenously devour them +on the spot, with wax, grubs, and all. Against ailments the Paliyans +have their own remedies: in fact, some Paliyans have made a name for +themselves by their knowledge of the medicinal properties of herbs and +roots. Thus, for instance, they make from certain roots (periya uri +katti ver) a white powder known as a very effective purgative. Against +snake-bite they always carry with them certain leaves (naru valli ver), +which they hold to be a very efficient antidote. As soon as one of them +is bitten, he chews these, and also applies them to the wound. Patience +and cunning above all are required in their hunting-methods. One of +their devices, used for big game, e.g., against the sambar (deer), or +against the boar, consists in digging pitfalls, carefully covered up +with twigs and leaves. On the animal being entrapped, it is dispatched +with clubs or the aruval (sickle). Another means consists in arranging +a heap of big stones on a kind of platform, one end of which is made +to rest on higher ground, the other skilfully equipoised by a stick +resting on a fork, where it remains fixed by means of strong twine so +disposed that the least movement makes the lever-like stick on the +fork fly off, while the platform and the stones come rapidly down +with a crash. The string which secures the lever is so arranged as +to unloose itself at the least touch, and the intended victim can +hardly taste the food that serves for bait without bringing the +platform with all its weight down upon itself. Similar traps, but +on a smaller scale, are used to catch smaller animals: hares, wild +fowl, etc. Flying squirrels are smoked out of the hollows of trees, +and porcupines out of their burrows, and then captured or clubbed to +death on their coming out. The first drops of blood of any animal the +Paliyans kill are offered to their god. A good catch is a great boon +for the famished Paliyan. The meat obtained therefrom must be divided +between all the families of the settlement. The skins, if valuable, +are preserved to barter for the little commodities they may stand in +need of, or to give as a tribute to their chief. One of their methods +for procuring fish consists in throwing the leaves of a creeper called +in Tamil karungakodi, after rubbing them, into the water. Soon the +fish is seen floating on the surface. Rough fashioned hooks are also +used. When not engaged on some expedition, or not working for hire, +the Paliyans at times occupy themselves in the fabrication of small +bird-cages, or in weaving a rough kind of mat, or in basket-making. The +small nicknacks they turn out are made according to rather ingenious +patterns, and partly coloured with red and green vegetable dyes. These, +with the skins of animals, and the odoriferous resin collected from +the dammer tree, are about the only articles which they barter or +sell to the inhabitants of the plains, or to the Mannadis." + +Concerning the religion and superstitions of the Paliyans, the +Rev. F. Dahmen writes as follows. "The principal religious ceremony +takes place about the beginning of March. Mayandi (the god) is usually +represented by a stone, preferably one to which nature has given +some curious shape, the serpent form being especially valued. I said +'represented,' for, according to our Paliyans, the stone itself is not +the god, who is supposed to live somewhere, they do not exactly know +where. The stone that represents him has its shrine at the foot of +a tree, or is simply sheltered by a small thatched covering. There, +on the appointed day, the Paliyans gather before sunrise. Fire is +made in a hole in front of the sacred stone, a fine cock brought in, +decapitated amidst the music of horn and drum and the blood made to +drip on the fire. The head of the fowl ought to be severed at one +blow, as this is a sign of the satisfaction of the god for the past, +and of further protection for the future. Should the head still +hang, this would be held a bad omen, foreboding calamities for +the year ensuing. The instrument used in this sacred operation is +the aruval, but the sacrificial aruval cannot be used but for this +holy purpose. Powers of witchcraft and magic are attributed to the +Paliyans by other castes, and probably believed in by themselves. The +following device adopted by them to protect themselves from the +attacks of wild animals, the panther in particular, may be given as an +illustration. Four jackals' tails are planted in four different spots, +chosen so as to include the area within which they wish to be safe +from the claws of the brute. This is deemed protection enough: though +panthers should enter the magic square, they could do the Paliyans +no harm; their mouths are locked." It is noted by the Rev. F. Dahmen +that Paliyans sometimes go on a pilgrimage to the Hindu shrine of +Subrahmaniyam at Palni. + +Writing concerning the Paliyans who live on the Travancore frontier +near Shenkotta, Mr. G. F. D'Penha states [194] that they account for +their origin by saying that, at some very remote period, an Eluvan +took refuge during a famine in the hills, and there took to wife +a Palliyar woman, and that the Palliyars are descended from these +two. "The Palliyar," he continues, "is just a shade lower than the +Eluvan. He is permitted to enter the houses of Eluvans, Elavanians +(betel-growers), and even of Maravars, and in the hills, where the +rigour of the social code is relaxed to suit circumstances, the +higher castes mentioned will even drink water given by Palliyars, +and eat roots cooked by them. The Palliyars regard sylvan deities +with great veneration. Kurupuswami is the tribe's tutelary god, and, +when a great haul of wild honey is made, offerings are given at some +shrine. They pretend to be followers of Siva, and always attend the Adi +Amavasai ceremonies at Courtallum. The Palliyar cultivates nothing, +not even a sweet potato. He keeps no animal, except a stray dog or +two. An axe, a knife, and a pot are all the impedimenta he carries. An +expert honey-hunter, he will risk his neck climbing lofty precipices +or precipitous cliffs. A species of sago-palm furnishes him with a +glairy glutinous fluid on which he thrives, and such small animals +as the iguana (Varanus), the tortoise, and the larvae of hives are +never-failing luxuries." + +The Paliyans, whom I investigated in North Tinnevelly, were living +in the jungles near the base of the mountains, in small isolated +communities separated from each other by a distance of several +miles. They speak Tamil with a peculiar intonation, which recalls +to mind the Irulas. They are wholly illiterate, and only a few can +count up to ten. A woman has been known to forget her own name. At +a marriage, the father, taking the hand of the bride, and putting it +into that of the bridegroom, says "I give this girl to you. Give her +roots and leaves, and protect her." The value of a bride or bridegroom +depends very much on the quantity of roots, etc., which he or she can +collect. When a widow does not remarry, the males of the community +supply her with roots and other products of the jungle. Marriages +are, as a rule, contracted within the settlement, and complications +occasionally occur owing to the absence of a girl of suitable age for +a young man. Indeed, in one settlement I came across two brothers, who +had for this reason resorted to the adelphous form of polyandry. It +would be interesting to note hereafter if this custom, thus casually +introduced, becomes established in the tribe. As an exception to the +rule of marriage within the settlement, it was noted that a party +of Paliyans had wandered from the Gandamanaikanur forests to the +jungle of Ayanarkoil, and there intermarried with the members of the +local tribe, with which they became incorporated. The Paliyans admit +members of other castes into their ranks. A case was narrated to me, +in which a Maravan cohabited for some time with a Paliya woman, who +bore children by him. In this way is the purity of type among the +jungle tribes lost as the result of civilisation, and their nasal +index reduced from platyrhine to mesorhine dimensions. + +The Tinnevelly Paliyans say that Valli, the wife of the god +Subramaniya, was a Paliyan woman. As they carry no pollution, they +are sometimes employed, in return for food, as night watchmen at +the Vaishnavite temple known as Azhagar Koil at the base of the +hills. They collect for the Forest Department minor produce in the +form of root-bark of Ventilago madraspatana and Anisochilus carnosus, +the fruit of Terminalia Chebula (myrabolams), honey, bees-wax, etc., +which are handed over to a contractor in exchange for rice, tobacco, +betel leaves and nuts, chillies, tamarinds and salt. The food thus +earned as wages is supplemented by yams (tubers of Dioscorea) and +roots, which are dug up with a digging-stick, and forest fruits. They +implicitly obey the contractor, and it was mainly through his influence +that I was enabled to interview them, and measure their bodies, in +return for a banquet, whereof they partook seated on the grass in +two semicircles, the men in front and women in the rear, and eating +off teak leaf plates piled high with rice and vegetables. Though +the prodigious mass of food provided was greedily devoured till +considerable abdominal distension was visible, dissatisfaction was +expressed because it included no meat (mutton), and I had not brought +new loin-cloths for them. They laughed, however, when I expressed a +hope that they would abandon their dirty cloths, turkey-red turbans +and European bead necklaces, and revert to the primitive leafy garment +of their forbears. A struggle ensued for the limited supply of sandal +paste, with which a group of men smeared their bodies, in imitation +of the higher classes, before they were photographed. A feast given +to the Paliyans by some missionaries was marred at the outset by the +unfortunate circumstance that betel and tobacco were placed by the +side of the food, these articles being of evil omen as they are placed +in the grave with the dead. A question whether they eat beef produced +marked displeasure, and even roused an apathetic old woman to grunt +"Your other questions are fair. You have no right to ask that." If a +Paliyan happens to come across the carcase of a cow or buffalo near a +stream, it is abandoned, and not approached for a long time. Leather +they absolutely refuse to touch, and one of them declined to carry +my camera box, because he detected that it had a leather strap. + +They make fire with a quartz strike-a-light and steel and the floss +of the silk-cotton tree (Bombax malabaricum). They have no means +of catching or killing animals, birds, or fish with nets, traps, or +weapons, but, if they come across the carcase of a goat or deer in the +forest, they will roast and eat it. They catch "vermin" (presumably +field rats) by smoking them out of their holes, or digging them out +with their digging-sticks. Crabs are caught for eating by children, +by letting a string with a piece of cloth tied to the end down the +hole, and lifting it out thereof when the crab seizes hold of the +cloth with its claws. Of wild beasts they are not afraid, and scare +them away by screaming, clapping the hands, and rolling down stones +into the valleys. I saw one man, who had been badly mauled by a tiger +on the buttock and thigh when he was asleep with his wife and child in +a cave. During the dry season they live in natural caves and crevices +in rocks, but, if these leak during the rains, they erect a rough shed +with the floor raised on poles off the ground, and sloping grass roof, +beneath which a fire is kept burning at night, not only for warmth, +but also to keep off wild beasts. They are expert at making rapidly +improvised shelters at the base of hollow trees by cutting away the +wood on one side with a bill-hook. Thus protected, they were quite +snug and happy during a heavy shower, while we were miserable amid +the drippings from an umbrella and a mango tree. + +Savari is a common name among the Tinnevelly Paliyans as among other +Tamils. It is said to be a corruption of Xavier, but Savari or Sabari +are recognised names of Siva and Parvati. There is a temple called +Savarimalayan on the Travancore boundary, whereat the festival takes +place at the same time as the festival in honour of St. Xavier among +Roman Catholics. The women are very timid in the presence of Europeans, +and suffer further from hippophobia; the sight of a horse, which they +say is as tall as a mountain, like an elephant, producing a regular +stampede into the depths of the jungle. They carry their babies +slung in a cloth on the back, and not astride the hips according to +the common practice of the plains. The position, in confinement, is +to sit on a rock with legs dependent. Many of these Paliyans suffer +from jungle fever, as a protection against which they wear a piece +of turmeric tied round the neck. The dead are buried, and a stone is +placed on the grave, which is never re-visited. + +Like other primitive tribes, the Paliyans are short of stature +and dolichocephalic, and the archaic type of nose persists in some +individuals. + +Average height 150.9 cm. Nasal index 83 (max. 100). + +Pallan.--The Pallans are "a class of agricultural labourers found +chiefly in Tanjore, Trichinopoly, Madura and Tinnevelly. They are also +fairly numerous in parts of Salem and Coimbatore, but in the remaining +Tamil districts they are found only in very small numbers." [195] + +The name is said to be derived from pallam, a pit, as they were +standing on low ground when the castes were originally formed. It +is further suggested that the name may be connected with the +wet cultivation, at which they are experts, and which is always +carried out on low ground. In the Manual of the Madura district +(1868), the Pallans are described as "a very numerous, but a most +abject and despised race, little, if indeed at all, superior to the +Paraiyas. Their principal occupation is ploughing the lands of more +fortunate Tamils, and, though nominally free, they are usually slaves +in almost every sense of the word, earning by the ceaseless sweat +of their brow a bare handful of grain to stay the pangs of hunger, +and a rag with which to partly cover their nakedness. They are to be +found in almost every village, toiling and moiling for the benefit +of Vellalans and others, and with the Paraiyas doing patiently nearly +all the hard and dirty work that has to be done. Personal contact with +them is avoided by all respectable men, and they are never permitted +to dwell within the limits of a village nattam. Their huts form a +small detached hamlet, the Pallacheri, removed from a considerable +distance from the houses of the respectable inhabitants, and barely +separated from that of the Paraiyas, the Parei-cheri. The Pallans +are said by some to have sprung from the intercourse of a Sudra and +a Brahman woman. Others say Devendra created them for the purpose of +labouring in behalf of Vellalans. Whatever may have been their origin, +it seems to be tolerably certain that in ancient times they were the +slaves of the Vellalans, and regarded by them merely as chattels, and +that they were brought by the Vellalans into the Pandya-mandala." Some +Pallans say that they are, like the Kallans, of the lineage of Indra, +and that their brides wear a wreath of flowers in token thereof. They +consider themselves superior to Paraiyans and Chakkiliyans, as they +do not eat beef. + +It is stated in the Manual of Tanjore (1883) that the "Pallan and +Paraiya are rival castes, each claiming superiority over the other; and +a deadly and never-ending conflict in the matter of caste privileges +exists between them. They are prædial labourers, and are employed +exclusively in the cultivation of paddy (rice) lands. Their women +are considered to be particularly skilled in planting and weeding, +and, in most parts of the delta, they alone are employed in those +operations. The Palla women expose their body above the waist--a +distinctive mark of their primitive condition of slavery, of which, +however, no trace now exists." It is noted by Mr. G. T. Mackenzie +[196] that "in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, the female +converts to Christianity in the extreme south ventured, contrary to +the old rules for the lower castes, to clothe themselves above the +waist. This innovation was made the occasion for threats, violence, +and a series of disturbances. Similar disturbances arose from the same +cause nearly thirty years later, and, in 1859, Sir Charles Trevelyan, +Governor of Madras, interfered, and granted permission to the women +of lower caste to wear a cloth over the breasts and shoulders." + +In connection with disputes between the right-hand and left-hand +factions, it is stated [197] that "whatever the origin of the factions, +feeling still runs very high, especially between the Pallans and the +Paraiyans. The violent scenes which occurred in days gone by [198] +no longer occur, but quarrels occur when questions of precedence +arise (as when holy food is distributed at festivals to the village +goddesses), or if a man of one faction takes a procession down a +street inhabited chiefly by members of the other. In former times, +members of the opposite faction would not live in the same street, +and traces of this feeling are still observable. Formerly also the +members of one faction would not salute those of the other, however +much their superiors in station; and the menials employed at funerals +(Paraiyans, etc.) would not salute the funeral party if it belonged +to the rival faction." + +In the Coimbatore Manual it is noted that "the Pallan has in all +times been a serf, labouring in the low wet lands (pallam) for his +masters, the Brahmans and Goundans. The Pallan is a stout, shortish +black man, sturdy, a meat-eater, and not over clean in person or +habit; very industrious in his favourite wet lands. He is no longer a +serf." The occupations of the Pallans, whom I examined at Coimbatore, +were cultivator, gardener, cooly, blacksmith, railway porter, tandal +(tax-collector, etc.), and masalchi (office peon, who looks after +lamps, ink-bottles, etc.). Some Pallans are maniyagarans (village +munsifs or magistrates). + +In some places a Pallan family is attached to a land-holder, for +whom they work, and, under ordinary conditions, they do not change +masters. The attachment of the Pallan to a particular individual is +maintained by the master paying a sum of money as an advance, which +the Pallan is unable to repay. + +The Pallans are the Jati Pillais of the Pandya Kammalans, or Kammalans +of the Madura country. The story goes that a long while ago the +headman of the Pallans came begging to the Kollan section of the +Pandya Kammalans, which was employed in the manufacture of ploughs +and other agricultural implements, and said "Worshipful sirs, we are +destitute to the last degree. If you would but take pity on us, we +would become your slaves. Give us ploughs and other implements, and +we shall ever afterwards obey you." The Kollans, taking pity on them, +gave them the implements and they commenced an agricultural life. When +the harvest was over, they brought the best portion of the crop, +and gave it to the Kollans. From that time, the Pallans became the +"sons" of the Pandya Kammalans, to whom even now they make offerings +in gratitude for a bumper crop. + +At times of census the Pallans return a number of sub-divisions, +and there is a proverb that one can count the number of varieties of +rice, but it is impossible to count the divisions of the Pallans. As +examples of the sub-divisions, the following may be quoted:-- + + + Aiya, father. + Amma, mother. + Anja, father. + Atta, mother. + Devendra.--The sweat of Devendra, the king of gods, is said to + have fallen on a plant growing in water from which arose a child, + who is said to have been the original ancestor of the Pallans. + Kadaiyan, lowest or last. + Konga.--The Kongas of Coimbatore wear a big marriage tali, said to + be the emblem of Sakti, while the other sections wear a small tali. + Manganadu, territorial. + Sozhia, territorial. + Tondaman, territorial. + + +These sub-divisions are endogamous, and Aiya and Amma Pallans of the +Sivaganga zemindari and adjacent parts of the Madura district possess +exogamous septs or kilais, which, like those of the Maravans, Kallans, +and some other castes, run in the female line. Children belong to +the same kilai as that of their mother and maternal uncle, and not +of their father. + +The headman of the Pallans is, in the Madura country, called +Kudumban, and he is assisted by a Kaladi, and, in large settlements, +by a caste messenger entitled Variyan, who summons people to attend +council-meetings, festivals, marriages and funerals. The offices of +Kudumban and Kaladi are hereditary. When a family is under a ban of +excommunication, pending enquiry, the caste people refuse to give them +fire, and otherwise help them, and even the barber and washerman are +not permitted to work for them. As a sign of excommunication, a bunch +of leafy twigs of margosa (Melia Azadirachta) is stuck in the roof +over the entrance to the house. Restoration to caste necessitates +a purificatory ceremony, in which cow's urine is sprinkled by the +Variyan. When a woman is charged with adultery, the offending man +is brought into the midst of the assembly, and tied to a harrow or +hoeing plank. The woman has to carry a basket of earth or rubbish, with +her cloth tied so as to reach above her knees. She is sometimes, in +addition, beaten on the back with tamarind switches. If she confesses +her guilt, and promises not to misconduct herself again, the Variyan +cuts the waist-thread of her paramour, who ties it round her neck as +if it was a tali (marriage badge). On the following day, the man and +woman are taken early in the morning to a tank (pond) or well, near +which seven small pits are made, and filled with water. The Variyan +sprinkles some of the water over their heads, and has subsequently to +be fed at their expense. If the pair are in prosperous circumstances, +a general feast is insisted on. + +At Coimbatore, the headman is called Pattakaran, and he is assisted +by various subordinate officers and a caste messenger called +Odumpillai. In cases of theft, the guilty person has to carry a man +on his back round the assembly, while two persons hang on to his +back-hair. He is beaten on the cheeks, and the Odumpillai may be +ordered to spit in his face. A somewhat similar form of punishment +is inflicted on a man proved guilty of having intercourse with a +married woman. + +In connection with the caste organisation of the Pallans in the +Trichinopoly district, Mr. F. R. Hemingway writes as follows. "They +generally have three or more headmen for each village, over whom is +the Nattu Muppan. Each village also has a peon called Odumpillai (the +runner). The main body of the caste, when attending council-meetings, +is called ilam katchi (the inexperienced). The village councils are +attended by the Muppans and the Nattu Muppan. Between the Nattu +Muppan and the ordinary Muppans, there is, in the Karur taluk, +a Pulli Muppan. All these offices are hereditary. In this taluk a +rather different organisation is in force, to regulate the supply of +labour to the landholders. Each of the village Muppans has a number +of karais or sections of the wet-land of the village under him, +and he is bound to supply labourers for all the land in his karai, +and is remunerated by the landowner with 1 1/4 marakkals of grain +for every 20 kalams harvested. The Muppans do not work themselves, +but maintain discipline among their men by flogging or expulsion +from the caste. In the Karur taluk, the ordinary Pallans are called +Manvettaikarans (mamoty or digging-tool men)." + +The Pallans have their own washermen and barbers, who are said to +be mainly recruited from the Sozhia section, which, in consequence, +holds an inferior position; and a Pallan belonging to another section +would feel insulted if he was called a Sozhian. + +When a Pallan girl, at Coimbatore, attains puberty, she is bathed, +dressed in a cloth brought by a washerwoman, and presented with +flowers and fruits by her relations. She occupies a hut constructed +of cocoanut leaves, branches of Pongamia glabra, and wild sugarcane +(Saccharum arundinaceum). Her dietary includes jaggery (crude sugar) +and milk and plantains. On the seventh day she is again bathed, and +presented with another cloth. The hut is burnt down, and for three days +she occupies a corner of the pial of her home. On the eleventh day +she is once more bathed, presented with new cloths by her relations, +and permitted to enter the house. + +It is stated by Dr. G. Oppert [199] that "at a Pallan wedding, before +the wedding is actually performed, the bridegroom suddenly leaves +his house and starts for some distant place, as if he had suddenly +abandoned his intention of marrying, in spite of the preparations that +had been made for the wedding. His intended father-in-law intercepts +the young man on his way, and persuades him to return, promising to +give his daughter as a wife. To this the bridegroom consents." I have +not met with this custom in the localities in which the Pallans have +been examined. + +In one form of marriage among the Pallans of the Madura district, the +bridegroom's sister goes to the house of the bride on an auspicious +day, taking with her the tali string, a new cloth, betel, fruits and +flowers. She ties the tali round the neck of the bride, who, if a +milk-post has been set up, goes round it. The bride is then conducted +to the house of the bridegroom, where the couple sit together on the +marriage dais, and coloured water, or coloured rice balls with lighted +wicks, are waved round them. They then go, with linked fingers, thrice +round the dais. In a more complicated form of marriage ceremonial, +the parents and maternal uncle of the bridegroom, proceed, on the +occasion of the betrothal, to the bride's house with rice, fruit, +plantains, a cocoanut, sandal paste, and turmeric. These articles +are handed over, with the bride's money, to the Kudumban or Kaladi +of her village. Early in the morning of the wedding day, a pandal +(booth) is erected, and the milk-post, made of Thespesia populnea +or Mimusops hexandra, is set up by the maternal uncles of the +contracting couple. The bride and bridegroom bring some earth,with +which the marriage dais is made. These preliminaries concluded, +they are anointed by their maternal uncles, and, after bathing, the +wrist-threads (kankanam) are tied to the bridegroom's wrist by his +brother-in-law, and to that of the bride by her sister-in-law. Four +betel leaves and areca nuts are placed at each corner of the dais, and +the pair go round it three times, saluting the betel as they pass. They +then take their place on the dais, and two men stretch a cloth over +their heads. They hold out their hands, into the palms of which the +Kudumban or Kaladi pours a little water from a vessel, some of which +is sprinkled over their heads. The vessel is then waved before them, +and they are garlanded by the maternal uncles, headmen, and others. The +bride is taken into the house, and her maternal uncle sits at the +entrance, and measures a new cloth, which he gives to her. She clads +herself in it, and her uncle, lifting her in his arms, carries her +to the dais, where she is placed by the side of the bridegroom. The +fingers of the contracting couple are linked together beneath a cloth +held by the maternal uncles. The tali is taken up by the bridegroom, +and placed by him round the bride's neck, to be tightly tied thereon +by his sister. Just before the tali is tied, the headman bawls out +"May I look into the bride's money and presents"? and, on receiving +permission to do so, says thrice "Seven bags of nuts, seven bags of +rice, etc., have been brought." + +At a marriage among the Konga Pallans of Coimbatore, the +bridegroom's wrist-thread is tied on at his home, after a lamp +has been worshipped. He and his party proceed to the house of +the bride, taking with them a new cloth, a garland of flowers, +and the tali. The milk-post of the pandal is made of milk-hedge +(Euphorbia Tirucalli). The bride and bridegroom sit side by side and +close together on planks within the pandal. The bridegroom ties the +wrist-thread on the bride's wrist, and the caste barber receives +betel from their mouths in a metal vessel. In front of them are +placed a Pillayar (figure of Ganesa) made of cow-dung, two plantains, +seven cocoanuts, a measure of paddy, a stalk of Andropogen Sorghum, +with a betel leaf stuck on it, and seven sets of betel leaves and +areca nuts. Camphor is burnt, and two cocoanuts are broken, and placed +before the Pillayar. The tali is taken round to be blessed in a piece +of one of the cocoanuts. The Mannadi (assistant headman) hands over the +tali to the bridegroom, who ties it round the bride's neck. Another +cocoanut is then broken. Three vessels containing, respectively, +raw rice, turmeric water and milk, each with pieces of betel leaf, +are brought. The hands of the contracting couple are then linked +together beneath a cloth, and the fourth cocoanut is broken. The +Mannadi, taking up a little of the rice, turmeric water, milk, and +betel leaves, waves them before the bride and bridegroom, and throws +them over their heads. This is likewise done by five other individuals, +and the fifth cocoanut is broken. The bride and bridegroom go round +the plank, and again seat themselves. Their hands are unlinked, +the wrist-threads are untied, and thrown into a vessel of milk. The +sixth cocoanut is then broken. Cooked rice with plantains and ghi +(clarified butter) is offered to Alli Arasani, the wife of Arjuna, +who was famed for her virtue. The rice is offered three times to +the contracting couple, who do not eat it. The caste barber brings +water, with which they cleanse their mouths. They exchange garlands, +and the seventh cocoanut is broken. They are then taken within the +house, and sit on a new mat. The bridegroom is again conducted to the +pandal, where cooked rice and other articles are served to him on a +tripod stool. They are handed over to the Odumpillai as a perquisite, +and all the guests are fed. In the evening a single cloth is tied to +the newly married couple, who bathe, and pour water over each other's +heads. The Pillayar, lamp, paddy, Andropogon stalk, and two trays with +betel, are placed before the guests. The Mannadi receives four annas +from the bridegroom's father, and, after mentioning the names of the +bridegroom, his father and grandfather, places it in one of the trays, +which belongs to the bride's party. He then receives four annas from +the bride's father, and mentions the names of the bride, her father +and grandfather, before placing the money in the tray which belongs +to the bridegroom's party. The relations then make presents of money +to the bride and bridegroom. When a widow remarries, her new husband +gives her a white cloth, and ties a yellow string round her neck in +the presence of some of the castemen. + +At a marriage among the Kadaiya Pallans of Coimbatore, the wrist-thread +of the bride is tied on by the Mannadi. She goes to a Pillayar shrine, +and brings back three trays full of sand from the courtyard thereof, +which is heaped up in the marriage pandal. Three painted earthen +pots, and seven small earthen trays, are brought in procession from +the Mannadi's house by the bridegroom, and placed in the pandal. To +each of the two larger pots a piece of turmeric and betel leaf are +tied, and nine kinds of grain are placed in them. The bridegroom has +brought with him the tali tied to a cocoanut, seven rolls of betel, +seven plantains, seven pieces of turmeric, a garland, a new cloth +for the bride, etc. The linked fingers of the contracting couple are +placed on a tray containing salt and a ring. They go thrice round +a lamp and the plank within the pandal, and retire within the house +where the bridegroom is served with food on a leaf. What remains after +he has partaken thereof is given to the bride on the same leaf. The +wrist-threads are untied on the third day, and a Pillayar made of +cow-dung is carried to a river, whence the bride brings back a pot +of water. + +In some places, the bridegroom is required to steal something from +the bride's house when they return home after the marriage, and the +other party has to repay the compliment on some future occasion. + +When a death occurs among the Konga Pallans of Coimbatore, the big +toes and thumbs of the corpse are tied together. A lighted lamp, +a metal vessel with raw rice, jaggery, and a broken cocoanut are +placed near its head. Three pieces of firewood, arranged in the +form of a triangle, are lighted, and a small pot is placed on them, +wherein some rice is cooked in turmeric water. The corpse is bathed, +and placed in a pandal made of four plantain trees, and four green +leafy branches. The nearest relations place a new cloth over it. If +the deceased has left a widow, she is presented with a new cloth by +her brother. The corpse is laid on a bier, the widow washes its feet, +and drinks some of the water. She then throws her tali-string on the +corpse. Her face is covered with a cloth, and she is taken into the +house. The corpse is then removed to the burial-ground, where the son +is shaved, and the relations place rice and water in the mouth of the +corpse. It is then laid in the grave, which is filled in, and a stone +and some thorny twigs are placed over it. An earthen pot full of water +is placed on the right shoulder of the son, who carries it three times +round the grave. Each time that he reaches the head end thereof, +a hole is made in the pot with a knife by one of the elders. The +pot is then thrown down, and broken near the spot beneath which the +head lies. Near this spot the son places a lighted firebrand, and +goes away without looking back. He bathes and returns to the house, +where he touches a little cow-dung placed at the entrance with his +right foot, and worships a lamp. On the third day, three handfuls +of rice, a brinjal (Solanum Melongena) fruit cut into three pieces, +and leaves of Sesbania grandiflora are cooked in a pot, and carried +to the grave together with a tender cocoanut, cigar, betel, and other +things. The son places three leaves on the grave, and spreads the +various articles thereon. Crows are attracted by clapping the hands, +and it is considered a good omen if they come and eat. On the fourth +day the son bathes, and sits on a mat. He then bites, and spits +out some roasted salt fish three times into a pot of water. This is +supposed to show that mourning has been cast away, or at the end. He +is then presented with new cloths by his uncle and other relations. On +the ninth or eleventh day, cooked rice, betel, etc., are placed near a +babul (Acacia arabica) or other thorny tree, which is made to represent +the deceased. Seven small stones, representing the seven Hindu sages, +are set up. A cocoanut is broken, and puja performed. The rice is +served on a leaf, and eaten by the son and other near relations. + +The Pallans are nominally Saivites, but in reality devil worshippers, +and do puja to the Grama Devata (village deities), especially those +whose worship requires the consumption of flesh and liquor. + +It is recorded, [200] in connection with a biennial festival in +honour of the local goddess at Attur in the Madura district, that +"some time before the feast begins, the Pallans of the place go +round to the adjoining villages, and collect the many buffaloes, +which have been dedicated to the goddess during the last two years, +and have been allowed to graze unmolested, and where they willed, +in the fields. These are brought in to Attur, and one of them is +selected, garlanded, and placed in the temple. On the day of the +festival, this animal is brought out, led round the village in state, +and then, in front of the temple, is given three cuts with a knife +by a Chakkiliyan, who has fasted that day, to purify himself for +the rite. The privilege of actually killing the animal belongs by +immemorial usage to the head of the family of the former poligar +of Nilakkottai, but he deputes certain Pallans to take his place, +and they fall upon the animal and slay it." + +It is noted by Mr. Hemingway [201] that the Valaiyans and the class of +Pallans known as Kaladis who live in the south-western portion of the +Pudukkottai State are professional cattle-lifters. They occasionally +take to burglary for a change. + +The common titles of the Pallans are said [202] to be "Muppan and +Kudumban, and some style themselves Mannadi. Kudumban is probably +a form of Kurumban, and Mannadi is a corruption of Manradi, a title +borne by the Pallava (Kurumban) people. It thus seems not improbable +that the Pallas are representatives of the old Pallavas or Kurumbas." + +Pallavarayan.--The title, meaning chief of the Pallavas, of the leader +of the Krishnavakakkar in Travancore. Also a sub-division of Occhans. + +Palle.--In the Telugu country, there are two classes of Palles, +which are employed respectively in sea-fishing and agriculture. The +former, who are the Min (fish) Palles of previous writers, are also +known as Palle Kariyalu, and do not mingle or intermarry with the +latter. They claim for themselves a higher position than that which +is accorded to them by other castes, and call themselves Agnikula +Kshatriyas. Their title is, in some places, Reddi. All belong to one +gotra called Ravikula. + +The caste headman is entitled Pedda Kapu,' and he is assisted by +an Oomadi. + +In puberty, marriage, and death ceremonies, the Palles follow the +Telugu form of ceremonial. There is, however, one rite in the marriage +ceremonies, which is said to be peculiar to the fishing section. On +the fifth day after marriage, a Golla perantalu (married woman) is +brought to the house in procession, walking on cloths spread on the +ground (nadapavada). She anoints the bridal couple with ghi (clarified +butter), and after receiving a cloth as a present, goes away. + +The fishing class worship the Akka Devatalu (sister gods) periodically +by floating on the surface of the water a flat framework made of +sticks tied together, on which the various articles used in the +worship are placed. + + + + + + + +NOTES + + +[1] Gazetteer of the South Arcot District. + +[2] Gazetteer of the South Arcot district. + +[3] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[4] The Rangaris are Maratha dyers and tailors. + +[5] Ind. Ant., VII, 1878. + +[6] Our Viceregal Life in India, 1884-88. + +[7] Loc. cit. + +[8] Ind. Ant., II, 1874. + +[9] The word Genoa occurs on several blades in the Madras Museum +collection. + +[10] The bas-relief of the statue of Lord Cornwallis in the Connemara +Public library, Madras, represents him receiving Tipu's two youthful +sons as hostages. + +[11] Brahmanism and Hinduism. + +[12] Gazetteer of the Bellary district. + +[13] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[14] Madras Review, 1899. + +[15] F. Fawcett. Journ. Anthrop. Inst., XXXIII, 1903. + +[16] F. Fawcett, loc. cit. + +[17] Madras Journ. Lit. Science, 1890. + +[18] Sketch of the Dynasties of South India. + +[19] Numismata Orient. Ancient Coins and Measures of Ceylon. + +[20] Kalith-thokai. + +[21] Kanakasabhai Pillai. The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years ago. 1904. + +[22] Manual of the Tinnevelly district, 1879. + +[23] Madras Census Report, 1901. + +[24] Notes on Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency. + +[25] Tinnevelly, being an account of the district, the people, and +the missions. Mission Field, 1897. + +[26] Madras Journ. Lit. Science, IV, 1836. + +[27] Journ. Anthrop. Inst., XXXIII, 1903. + +[28] F. Fawcett, loc. cit. + +[29] Madras Journ. Lit. Science, IV, 1836. + +[30] Madras Journ. Lit. Science, IV, 1836. + +[31] Manual of the Madura district. + +[32] Madras Journ. Lit, Science, XXV. + +[33] Ind. Ant., VIII, 1879. + +[34] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[35] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[36] G. Richter. Manual of Coorg. + +[37] Madras Museum Bull., V, 3, 1907. + +[38] For portions of this article I am indebted to a note by +Mr. J. D. Samuel. + +[39] Hobson-Jobson. + +[40] Gazetteer of the Tanjore district. + +[41] Malabar Law and Custom. + +[42] Madras Museum Bull. III, 3, 1901. + +[43] Hobson-Jobson. + +[44] Sea Fisheries of India. + +[45] Journey from Madras through Mysore, Canara, and Malabar, 1807. + +[46] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[47] Section III, Inhabitants, Government Press, Madras, 1907. + +[48] East India Gazette. + +[49] Hindu Manners, Customs, and Ceremonies Ed., 1897. + +[50] History of Mysore. + +[51] Ind. Antiquary, II, 1873. + +[52] Mysore. + +[53] Manual of the South Canara district. + +[54] Journey through Mysore, etc. + +[55] Monograph of Tanning and Working in Leather, Madras, 1904. + +[56] G. D. Iyah Pillay, Madras, 1878. + +[57] Notes on Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency. + +[58] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[59] Manual of the Coimbatore district. + +[60] Madras Journ. Lit. Science, I, 1833. + +[61] Agricult: Ledger Series, Calcutta, No. 7, 1904. + +[62] Journey through Mysore, Canara, and Malabar, 1807. + +[63] A New Account of the East Indies, 1744. + +[64] I am informed that the Mukkuvans claim to be a caste distinct +from the Arayans. + +[65] For further details concerning the fisheries and fish-curing +operations of the West Coast, see Thurston, Madras Museum Bull. III, +2, 1900. + +[66] Spelt Pusler in a recent educational report. + +[67] Madras Museum Bull., III, 3, 1901. + +[68] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[69] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[70] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[71] Madras Census Report, 1901. + +[72] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[73] Madras Census Report, 1901. + +[74] Mysore Census Reports, 1891, 1901. + +[75] Mysore and Coorg Gazetteer. + +[76] Hobson-Jobson. + +[77] Wigram : Malabar Law and Customs. + +[78] Ibid., 3rd ed., 1905. + +[79] A Forgotten Empire, Vijayanagar. + +[80] Fifth Report of the Committee on the affairs of the East India +Company. Reprint, Higginbotham, Madras. + +[81] College History of India, 1888. + +[82] Manual of the South Canara district. + +[83] Ibid. + +[84] M.J. Walhouse. Journ. Anthrop. Inst., V, 1876. + +[85] Devil Worship of the Tuluvas, Ind. Ant., XXIII, 1894. + +[86] Devil Worship of the Tuluvas. Ind. Ant., XXIII, XXIV, XXV, +XXVI, 1894-7. + +[87] With the exception of the notes by Mr. Subramani Aiyar, this +article is a reproduction, with very slight changes, of an account +of the Nambutiris by Mr. F. Fawcett, which has already been published +in the Madras Bulletin Series (III, I, 1900). + +[88] N. Subramani Aiyar, Malabar Quart. Review, VII, I, 1908. + +[89] A New Account of the East Indies, 1744. + +[90] The Nambutiris everywhere believe that Europeans have tails. + +[91] The Todas, 1906. + +[92] Taravad or tarwad: a marumakkatayam family, consisting of all +the descendants in the female line of one common female ancestor. + +[93] The Lusiad. + +[94] Chela, the cloth worn by Muppillas (Muhammadans in Malabar). There +are also Chela Nayars. The word is said to mean the rite of +circumcision. + +[95] Malabar Quart. Review, I, 1, 1902. + +[96] In all ceremonies, and indeed in all arrangements connected +with labour in rural Malabar, it is the rule to reckon in the old, +and not in the existing, currency. + +[97] Brahmanism and Hinduism. + +[98] Op. cit. + +[99] Ibid. + +[100] The Nambutiris take objection to a statement of Mr. Logan, in +the Manual of Malabar, that the Vadhyar shuts the door, and locks it. + +[101] Orissa. Annals of Rural Bengal. + +[102] By keeping a lamp lighted at the fire perpetually alight, or +by heating a piece of plasu or darbha grass in the fire, and putting +it away carefully. + +[103] An amana palaga or ama palaga, literally tortoise plank, is +a low wooden seat of chamatha wood, supposed to be shaped like a +tortoise in outline. + +[104] The accounts of marriage and death ceremonies in the Gazetteer +of Malabar are from a grandhavari. + +[105] Ind. Law Reports, Madras Series, XII, 1889. + +[106] Madras Census Report, 1901. + +[107] The proverb Chetti Chidambaram is well known. + +[108] Malabar Quart: Review, 1905. + +[109] C. Hayavadana Rao, Indian Review, VIII, 8, 1907. + +[110] Gazetteer of the South Arcot district. + +[111] Gazetteer of the Madura district. + +[112] Indian Review, VIII, 8, 1907. + +[113] Indian Law Reports, Madras Series, XXIX, 1906. + +[114] C. Hayavadana Rao, Loc. cit. + +[115] C. Hayavadana Rao. Loc. cit. + +[116] Historical Sketches of the South of India, 1810. + +[117] Malabar and its Folk. + +[118] Malabar and its Folk. + +[119] This note is based mainly on articles by Mr. S. Appadorai Aiyar +and Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna Aiyar. + +[120] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[121] Gazetteer of the Malabar district. + +[122] Manual of the Malabar district. + +[123] The author of Tahafat-ul-Mujahidin or hints for persons seeking +the way to God, as it is frequently translated, or more literally an +offering to warriors who shall fight in defence of religion against +infidels. Translated by Rowlandson. London, 1833. + +[124] See Manual of the Malabar district, 164, sq., and Fawcett, +Madras Museum Bull., III, 3, 1901. + +[125] E. Hultzsch, South-Indian Inscriptions, III, 2, 1203. + +[126] Description of the Coasts of East Africa and +Malabar. Translation. Hakluyt Society, 1866. + +[127] New Account of the East Indies, 1744. + +[128] Voyage to the East Indies, 1774 and 1781. + +[129] Journey through Mysore, Canara, and Malabar, 1807. + +[130] Malabar Law and Custom, 3rd ed., 1905. + +[131] Vide R. Sewell. A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar), 1900. + +[132] Father Coleridge's Life and Letters of St. Francis Xavier. + +[133] History of Tinnevelly. + +[134] Coleridge's Xavier. + +[135] Burnell. Translation of the Daya Vibhaga, Introduction. Vide +also Elements of South Indian Palæography (2nd ed., p. 109), where +Dr. Burnell says that it is certain that the Vijayanagar kings were +men of low caste. + +[136] Vide Glossary, Report of the Malabar Marriage Commission, p. 2, +and Day's Land of the Permauls, p. 44. + +[137] Fifth Report of the Committee on the affairs of the East India +Company, II, 499, 530. Reprint by Higginbotham, Madras. + +[138] Lives of the Lindsays. By Lord Lindsay, 1849. + +[139] Madras Museum Bull., III, 3, 1901. + +[140] A manchil is a conveyance carried on men's shoulders, and more +like a hammock slung on a pole, with a flat covering over it, than +a palanquin. + +[141] Tarwad or taravad, a marumakkathayam family, consisting of all +the descendants in the female line of one common female ancestor. + +[142] The Voyage and Travell of M. Cæsar Fredericke, Merchant +of Venice, into the East Indies and beyond the Indies +(1563). Translation. Hakluyt Voyages, V, 394. + +[143] Travels to the East Indies. + +[144] Voyage to the East Indies, 1774 and 1781. + +[145] R. Kerr. General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, +1811, History of the Discovery and Conquest of India by the Portuguese +between the years 1497 and 1525, from the original Portuguese of +Herman Lopes de Castaneda. + +[146] Wigram, Malabar Law and Custom, Ed. 1900. + +[147] T. A. Kalyanakrishna Aiyar, Malabar Quart. Review, II, 1903. + +[148] Op cit. + +[149] Malabar and its Folk, 1900. + +[150] Malabar Law and Custom, 1882. + +[151] Report of the Malabar Marriage Commission, 1894. + +[152] The rights and obligations of Karanavans are fully dealt with +by Moore, Malabar Law and Custom, 3rd edition, 1905. + +[153] Journ. Anthrop. Inst., XII, 1883. + +[154] Op. cit. + +[155] Malabar Quart. Review, VII, 3, 1908. + +[156] Op. cit. + +[157] Gazetteer of Malabar. + +[158] An Enangan or Inangan is a man of the same caste and sub-division +or marriage group. It is usually translated "kinsman," but is at once +wider and narrower in its connotation. My Enangans are all who can +marry the same people that I can. An Enangatti is a female member of +an Enangan's family. + +[159] The aimpuli or "five tamarinds" are Tamarindus indica, Garcinia +Cambogia, Spondias mangifera, Bauhinia racemosa, and Hibiscus hirtus. + +[160] The eldest male member of the taravad is called the +Karanavan. All male members, brothers, nephews, and so on, who are +junior to him, are called Anandravans of the taravad. + +[161] All caste Hindus who perform the sradh ceremonies calculate +the day of death, not by the day of the month, but by the thithis +(day after full or new moon). + +[162] Nineteenth Century, 1904. + +[163] L'Inde (sans les Anglais). + +[164] Letters from Malabar. + +[165] January, 1899. + +[166] See Thurston. Catalogue of Roman, etc., Coins, Madras Government +Museum, 2nd ed., 1894. + +[167] Malabar and its Folk, 1900. + +[168] The Vettuvans were once salt-makers. + +[169] Malabar and its Folk, Madras, 1900. + +[170] Buchanan, Mysore, Canara and Malabar. + +[171] Ind. Ant., VIII, 1879. + +[172] E. Hultzsch. South Indian Inscriptions, I. 82, 108, 1890. + +[173] Comprehensive Tamil and English Dictionary. + +[174] Travancore Census Report, 1901. + +[175] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[176] Madras Dioc. Magazine, April, 1908. + +[177] Ind. Ant., VIII, 1879. + +[178] Ind. Ant., V, 1876. + +[179] Notes on Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency. + +[180] Journey through Mysore, Canara, and Malabar. + +[181] J. S. F. Mackenzie. Ind. Ant., IV, 1875. + +[182] Op. cit. + +[183] Ind. Ant., VIII, 1879. + +[184] Journey through Mysore, Canara and Malabar, 1807. + +[185] Section III. Inhabitants. Madras Government Press, 1907. + +[186] Madras Census Report, 1901. + +[187] See Manual of the North Arcot district, 1, 187. + +[188] Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district. + +[189] Hobson-Jobson. + +[190] Madras Census Report, 1901. + +[191] Ind. Ant., VIII, 1879. + +[192] An Indian Olio. + +[193] Anthropos, III, 1908. + +[194] Ind. Ant., XXX, 1902. + +[195] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[196] Christianity in Travancore, 1901. + +[197] Gazetteer of the Trichinopoly district. + +[198] See Nelson, the Madura Country, II, 4--7, and Coimbatore District +Manual, 477. + +[199] Original Inhabitants of Bharatavarsa or India. + +[200] Gazetteer of the Madura district. + +[201] Op Cit. + +[202] Madras Census Report, 1891. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Castes and Tribes of Southern India, by +Edgar Thurston + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42995 *** |