Castes and tribes of southern India

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CASTES AND TRIBES

OF

SOUTHERN INDIA

CASTES AND TRIBES

OF

SOUTHERN INDIA

EDGAR THURSTON, c.r.E.,

Superintendent, Madras Government Museum ; Correspondant Etranger,

Soci6t6 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.

College
lilOrary

v.r

CASTES AND TRIBES
OF SOUTHERN INDIA.

VOLUME V.

iARAKKAYAR.— The Marakkayars are de-
[ scribed, 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 {<j.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."^
" 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 Marak-
kayar 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

* Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

20G5G13

MARAKKAYAR 2

the people of markab. The Musalmans of pure descent
hold themselves to be socially superior to the Marak-
kayars, 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 proces-
sions and music, which were once common at marriages,
are slowly giving place to a simpler ritual more in resem-
blance 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 Farangi-
pettai 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

3 marakkAyar

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 (yig 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 white-
wash. 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

V-I B

marakkAyar 4

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." *

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 contemp-
tuous 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 Shafts.

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 per-
formance 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

* Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

5 mAran or MARAYAN

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 Malayans 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,* " is interesting. In Chirakkal, the

• Madras Census Report, 1891.

MArAN or MArAYAN 6

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. Neverthe-
less, he betrays his kinship with the Marayan of the
north by the privilege w^hich 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 distin-
guish between the two sections, and have classed all as

7 maran or marayan

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 ser-
vices 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

mArAn or mArAyan 8

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 Travan-
core, 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

9 mArAn or mArAyan

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 for-
bidden 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 Ma-
rans called Muttal, meaning substitute or emergency
employee, 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,

marAn or MARAYAN IO

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 func-
tionary 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 instru-
ments 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

II mArAn or mArAyan

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

MARAN or MARAYAN 12

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 pre-
paration 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

13 MARASARI

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 cere-
mony, 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, gener-
ally 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, chen-
gulam, 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 indispensa-
ble, 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 14

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

Taoijore .. .. .. .. ..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 B5gam, 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. Marriao^e is both infant

•&'

15, MARATHA

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 Konkani 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 Kshatri-
yas — 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.*
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 Rangaris are Maratha dyers and tailors.

MARATHA 1 6

The last Maratha King of Tanjore, Maharaja Sivaji,
died in 1855. It is noted by Mr. M. J. Walhouse *
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 re-
corded t 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

♦ Ind. Ant., VII, 1878, f Our Viceregal Life in India, 1884-88.

17 marAtha

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 Euro-
pean scholars by H.S.H. Count Noer, Prince Frederic
of Schleswig-Holstein, who brought an account of it to
the late Professor Goldstucker. 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,* " consisted of
great heaps of old weapons of all conceivable descrip-
tions, lying piled upon the floor of the Sangita Mahal
(music-hall), which had long been occupied by many

* Loc. cit.
V-2

MARATHA 1 8

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 ir. 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

19 marAtha

weapons,* 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 Maratha 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 Rija Sivaji's favourite
sword Bhavani was a Genoa blade t . . . . Even-
tually 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 multifari-
ous 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. J Sandur
was allotted to the Marathas, and a part of the Bellary

♦ Ind. Ant., II, 1874.

t The word Genoa occurs on several blades in the Madras Museum collection.
X 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.
V-2 B

MARATHA 20

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 g5tras, 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 * that * a deification, Khando-ba (also called
Khande-Rao), was a personage who lived in the neigh-
bourhood of the hill Jejuri, thirty miles from Poona.

* Brahmanism and Hinduism.

21 MARATHA

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 some-
times represented with his wife on horseback, attended
by a dog. A sect existed in Sankara's time, who wor-
shipped 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 cere-
mony, 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 god-
dess 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

MARAVAN

22

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 them-
selves, but occasionally their girls are married to Kunbis.
Their women are in no way gosha." *

The cranial type of the Marathas is, as shown by the
following table, like that of the Canarese, mesaticephalic
or sub-brachycephalic : —

—

Cephalic
Av.

Index
Max.

Canarese

SO Holeyas

79-1

87-4

Marathi

30 Rangaris

79-8

92 '2

Canarese

50 Vakkaligas

817

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,t "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 Kalians, 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

• Gazetteer of the Bellary district.

t Madras Census Report, 1891..

23 MARA VAN

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 some-
what more bold and lawless. Agamudaiyan and Kalian
are returned as sub-divisions by a comparatively large
number of persons. Maravan is also found among the
sub-divisions of Kalian, and there can be little doubt that
there is a very close connection between Kalians, Mara-
vans, and Agamudaiyans." This connection is dealt
with in the article on the Kalians. 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 Kalian. 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 earn-
ing for himself the name of Ahamudeiyan, or the possessor
of pride. This name was corrupted into Ahambadiyan."*

* Madras Review, 1899.

MARAVAN 24

" Some say the word Mara van is derived from
marani, sin ; a Maravan being one who commits sin by
killing living creatures without feeling pity, and without
fear of god." *

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 learn-
ing 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

* F. Fawcett. Journ. Anthrop. Inst., XXXIII, 1903.

25 MARAVAN

result of Indra's escapade was a son, who was stowed
away in a secret place (maravuidam). Hence his
descendants are known as Maravan."^

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, t " 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 state-
ment 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

* F. Fawcett, loc, cit. f Madras Joum. Lit. Science, 1890.

MARAVAN 26

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 Maha-
wanso, 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 these 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* show that grants were made by Sethupati
princes in 14 14, 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 Krish-
nappa 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, t ' are prob-
ably 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."

* Sketch of the Dynasties of South India,
t Numismata Orient. Ancient Coins and Measures of Ceylon.

27 MARAVAN

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." * 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." t
In a note on the Maravans of the Tinnevelly district, it is
recorded J 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

* Kalith-thokai.

t Kanakasabhai Pillai. The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years ago. 1904.

X Manual of the Tinnevelly district, 1879.

MARA VAN 28

consideration of protection afforded against armed inva-
sion. 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 Mara vans, Mr. Francis writes,* " 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
a/zdi. 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 CO., 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, f " furnish
nearly the whole of the village police (kavilgars, watch-
men), robbers and thieves of the Tinnevelly district.

* Madras Census Report, 1901.

t Notes on Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency.

29 MARAVAN

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 suppres-
sion of a bad old custom, by which the police were in
the habit of engaging the help of the Maravans them-
selves 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 \idiY^ his quid pro quo. This method being discoun-
tenanced, 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 informa-
tion concerning tuppukuli, or clue hire, will be found in
the note on Kalians.

From a very interesting note on the Maravans of the
Tinnevelly district, the following extract is taken.* " 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

* Tinnevelly, being an account of the district, the people, and the missions.
Mission Field, 1897.

MARAVAN 30

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 other-
wise. Possession is nine points of the law. On occa-
sions 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 some-
times 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

31 MARAVAN

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 (^.^., 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

MARA VAN 32

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 here-
ditary 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 obliga-
tion not to injure the family which has entertained him.
In a note entitled Marava jati vernanam,* from the
Mackenzie Manuscripts, it is recorded that " there are
seven sub-divisions in the tribe of the Maravas, respect-
ively 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, Kalian, 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.

* Madras Journ. Lit. Science, IV, 1836.

33

MARAVAN

"The Kondayamkottai Maravars," Mr. F. Fawcett
writes,* "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 restric-
tions. 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.

f

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.

* Journ. Anthrop. Inst., XXXIII, 1903.

v-3

MARAVAN 34

" 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 Kondayam-
kottai 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 bride-
groom 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

35 MARAVAN

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." ^

In another form of the marriage ceremony, the
father of the bridegroom goes to the bride's house,

• F, Fawcett, loc. cit.
V-3B

MARAVAN 36

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).
2 1 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

37 MAR A VAN

the thurvi grass It is said in the Atharwana Veda " May
this grass, which rose from the water of Hfe, 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 Brah-
man 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,* 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

• Madras Journ. Lit. Science, IV, 1836.

MARAVAN 38

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 * 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) ;

* Madras Journ. Lit. Science, IV, 1836.

39 MARAVAN

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 other-
wise 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 post-
poned 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, orna-
ments, 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,"

MARAVAN 40

Mr. Fawcett writes, "may marry her deceased hus-
band'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,

41 MARA VAN

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

MARAVAN 42

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 punyaga-
vachanam or purification, at which the Brahman priest
presides, and the karma karta takes an oil bath. The
wood of the pipal tree {Ficus religiosd) is never used for
purposes of cremation."

Concerning the death ceremonies in the Trichinopoly
district, Mf. 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 kat-
tugiradu, 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 Brah-
man being called in. On the return home from these
ceremonies, each member of the party has to dip his toe

<

-J
<

43 MARAVAN

into a mortar full of cow-dung water, and the last man
has to knock it down."

Among some Kondaiyamkottai Maravans, a cere-
mony 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.* "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

* Manual of the Madura district.

MARAVAN

44

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 acci-
dentally 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 per-
haps 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,

45 MARAVAN

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

MARAVAN 46

of the more virile sections of the community, especially
the Kalians {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 Kalian country
in Tirumangalam, and next come those in Melur and
Madura taluks."

" Boomerangs," Dr. G. Oppert writes,* " are used
by the Maravans and Kalians 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-I-" along the outer curve, and
the chord of the arc 17I-". At the handle end is a
rather ovate knob 2^' long and i^^" in its maximum
thickness. The thinnest and smallest part of the weapon
is just beyond the knob, and measures \\" in diameter
by i-^" in width. From that point onwards its width
increases very gradually to the distal end, where it
measures 2^' across and is squarely truncated. The
lateral diameter is greatest three or four inches before
the truncated end, where it measures i". 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

* Madras Journ. Lit, Science, XXV,

47 MARAVAN

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.

MARAYAN 48

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 Rayar-
vamsam (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 gotraof 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.

49 MATTIYA

Mastiga.— The Mastigas are described by the Rev.
J. Cain* as mendicants and bards, who beg from Gollas,
Malas, and Madigas. 1 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, 1 90 1, 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 labour-
ers. In the Census Report, 1871, it is noted that the
Matiyas are ' altogether superior to the Kois and to the

• Ind. Ant., VIII, 1879.
v-4

MATTIYA 50

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 contem-
plated, 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 j holla 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.

51 MAVILAN

By the Mattiyas, and other Oriya castes, the ghoro-
javai (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 bam-
boo pole, to which one of the dead man's rags is attached.
The domestic pots, which were used during his last ill-
ness, 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,* " 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

* Madras Census Report, 1891.
V-4B

MAYALOTILU 52

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 K5yis 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, Cana-
rese, 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 {Pkcenix).

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,

53 m£da, m£dara

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 (Hima-
layas), 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,* 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.

* Manual of the North Arcot district.

MEDA, MEDARA

54

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).

Puli (tiger).

Thagenilu (drinking water).

Avisa {Sesbania grandiflord)

Rela {Ficus).

Seshai (snake ?).

{b) Exogamous septs.

Bombadai (a fish).
Vinayaka (Ganesa).
Kasi (Benares).
Moduga {Butea frondosd).
Kovila (koel or cuckoo).

Pilli (cat).

Parvatham (mountain).
Putta (ant-hill).
Konda (mountain).
Javadi (civet-cat).
Nandikattu (bull's moath).
Kandikattu (dhal soup).
Kottakunda (new pot).
Pooreti (a bird).
Kalluri (stone village).

Nuvvulu (gingelly).
Senagapapu (Bengal gram).
Tsanda (subscription).
Nila (blue).
Sirigiri (a hill).
Kanigiri (a hill).
Pothu (male).
Naginidu (snake).
Kola (ear of corn).

55 m£da, medara

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 Vaish-
navites 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 Vaish-
navites 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
(Oczmum 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

mEda, medara 56

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

57 m£da, mEdara

trouble, went to the spot. He asked her how he was to
expiate his sin, and she repHed. " 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 sthambamuhur-
tham (putting up the post) ceremony is performed when
the building of a new house is commenced, and the deep-
arathana (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 in-
flicting punishments for adultery, eating with members
of lower castes, etc. Excommunication is a real punish-
ment, as the culprit is not allowed to take bamboo, or
mess with his former castemen. In the Kistna and Goda-
vari 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 pre-
sentation " 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 remar-
riage is permitted. A widow can be recognised by her
not wearing the tali, gazulu (glass bangles), and mettu
(silver ring on the second toe).

m£da 58

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.*

It is recorded by Bishop Whitehead f 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, Gaurigawas 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.J

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, § " is usual in Bengal, especially for the domestic

* G. Richter. Manual of Coorg.

t Madras Museum Bull., V, 3, 1907.

J For portions of this article I am indebted to a note by Mr. J. D. Samuel.

% Hobson-Jobson.

59 melakkAran

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 con-
solation 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 Muhamma-
dans.

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.* " 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
Kalian, 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,

* Gazetteer of the Tanjore district.

MELLIKALLU 60

resemble generally the Vellalans and other higher
Tamil castes, while the latter speak Telugu, and follow
domestic practices similar to those of the Telugu Brah-
mans. 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 mar-
ried 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 Nattu-
vans, 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 Kalians,
Vellalans, Agamudaiyans, and so on, and that their pro-
fession is merely an accident." The Vairavi, or temple
servant of Nattukottai Chettis, must be a Melakkaran.

Mellikallu. — Under the name Mellikallu or Mal-
lekalu, 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 them-
selves. They pollute by touch, have their own priests,
and eat pork but not beef."

6i menOn

Melnadu.— Melnadu, or Melnatar, meaning western
country, is the name of a territorial sub-division of
Kalian and Shanan.

Melu Sakkare.— A name, meaning western Sak-
kare, 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,* 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

* Malabar Law and Custom.

MERA 62

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* that "to those of
the sub-clan attached to the Zamorin who were suffi-
ciently 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 Me-
non.' Nowadays be it said, the title Men5n 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.

* Madras Museum Bull. Ill, 3, 1901.

63 MiLA

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.* "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 Mila-
vandlu, 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

• Hobson-Jobson.

MILAKU 64

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 wed-
dings, 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 subscrip-
tion 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.

65 MOGER

Minpidi (fish-catching). — A sub-division of Panan.

'M.ira.pa.'k.SLya. (Capsicum /ruUscens). — 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.^5^^ Mucchi.

Modikaran.— The name sometimes applied to Nok-
kan 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 g5tra of Medara.

Moger.— The Mogers are the Tulu-speaking fisher-
men 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 saw-
fish {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.
v-5

MOGER 66

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 indi-
viduals were sentenced to a fine of fifty rupees, and three
months' imprisonment. In connection with my inspec-
tions of fisheries, the following quaint official report
was submitted. " The Mogers about the town of Udipi
are bound to supply the revenue and magisterial estab-
lishment 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 fisher-
man 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* that " at
Cannanore, the Rajah's cat appears to be exercising a
deleterious influence on one branch at least of the fish-
ing, 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) collec-
tion. The cats apparently have not augmented so much
as the fishing boats, so this has been commuted into a

* Sea Fisheries of India.

6; mogEr

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 * 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 boat-
men, 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 profes-
sion 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,

• Journey from Madras through Mysore, Canara, and Malabar, 1807.
V-S B

MOGEr 68

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 Pan-
jurli and Baikadthi. There is a caste priest, called
Mangala pujari, whose head-quarters are at Banne-
kuduru 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

69 MOG£r

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

Marsupiutn.
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 Guri-
kara, 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 baraha-
kodu, 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

MOGlLl

10

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 cere-
monies (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.

8o-i

91*5

71-

78-

91*2

70-8

77-1

84-9

71-8

No. of times index
8o or over.

50 Billavas
40 Bants
40 Mogerc

28
13
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
DSvanga.

Moktessor or Mukhtesar. — See Stanika.

Mola (hare). — An exogamous sept of Gangadikara
Holeya and Gangadikara Vakkaliga.

71 MONDl

Molaya Devan. — A'.title of Kalian 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 (^.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 carry-
ing 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, He 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,* 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

• Manual of the North Arcot district.

MONDI 72

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 shep-
herd, who had both his legs cut off by robbers in a
jungle. The king of the country in compassion directed

yZ MORASU

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 head-
man, 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, 1 90 1, as an Oriya title given by Zamindars to
the headmen of villages. It is also a title of various
Oriya castes.

Mora Buwa.— A sub-division of Madigas, who
offer food (buwa) 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 Barama-
hal Records.* " 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 hand-
some daughter with whom the chieftain fell in love, and
demanded her in marriage of her parents. But they

* Section III, Inhabitants, Government Press, Madras, 1907.

MORASU 74

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 cere-
monies. 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 entertain-
ment 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

75 MORASU

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)* 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 incum-
bent on her to suffer the operation." Of the same
ceremony among the " Morsa-Okkala-Makkalu " of
Mysore the Abbe Dubois t 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

• East India Gazetteer.

t Hindu Manners, Customs, and Ceremonies, £d., 1897.

MORASU 76

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, 1 89 1, 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 grand-
child born be the eldest son or not, as in any case it is
the wife of the eldest son who has to undergo the muti-
lation. 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,* and
is briefly this. Mahadeo or Siva, who was in great peril,
after hiding successively in a castor-oil andjawari planta-
tion, 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

* History of Mysore.

"]"] MORASU

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.* " These people are
roughly classed under three heads, viz. : (i) 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

• Ind. Antiquary, II, 1873.

MORASU 78

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

79 MORASU

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 ofl"ering 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 dis-
tinction of marriage into a great family, the amputation

motAti 8o

of part of two fingers of women of the caste was
instituted.

" Since the prohibition of cutting off the fingers,"
Mr. L. Rice writes,* " 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 fore-
head 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 Kalians, wear a horse-shoe thread round the neck.

Motati.— A sub-division of Kapu.

Moyili. — The Moyilis or Moilis of South Canara
are said t 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 My-
sore Census Report, this term is said to be applied to
children of Brahmans by Malerus (temple servants in
Mysore).

Mysore, f Manual of the South Canara district.

8 1 MOYILI

The following account of the origin of the Moylars
was given by Buchanan at the beginning of the
nineteenth century.* " 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

* Journey through Mysore, etc.
v-6

MUCCHI 82

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 M5chis, 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,*
" 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 eng-asfed 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 manu-
facture 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,

* Monograph of Tanning and Working in Leather, Madras, 1904.

83 MUCCHI

and affix stamps to covers and aid the despatch of tappals "
(postal correspondence). In the Moochee's Hand-book *
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 com-
prises 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 Matricu-
lation 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.

* G. D. lyah Pillay, Madras, 1878.
V-6 B

MUCHERIKALA 84

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* 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. t Mudali further occurs as
a title of some Jains, Gadabas, Occhans, Pallis or Vanni-
yans, and Panisavans. Some Pattanavans style them-
selves Varunakula Mudali.

Mudavandi. — ^The Mudavandis are said J 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. Thence-
forward 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

* Notes on Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency,
t Manual of the North Arcot district.
% Manual of the Coimbatore district,

85 MUDAVANDI

serious consequences. Their special village is Modi-
vandi Satyamangalam near Erode. The chief Modi-
vandi, 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 Muda-
vandis 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, some-
times 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 Arthanar-
iswara at Trichengodu. None of the Vellalas can refuse

MUDI 86

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 prepara-
tion 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, 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 com-
mon. 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 indi-
genous to the hills ; the legend, handed down from
father to son, is that they originally lived in Madura.

8; MUDUVAR

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* 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 Muham-
madan invaders in the latter part of the eighteenth
century. Judging from the two distinct types of coun-
tenance, their language, and their curious mixture of

* Madras Journ. Lit. Science, I, 1833.

MUDUVAR 88

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
travancoricd) 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.

89 MUDUVAR

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 adop-
tion 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 consan-
guinity, 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

MUDUVAR 90

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 culti-
vation, 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 veiy 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

91 MUDUVAR

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.

P\iday, 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
criven, 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

MUDUVAR 92

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 some-
times 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

93 MUDUVAR

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 prohibi-
tion 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 pre-
vious husband, being replaced. Widows do not wear a
special dress, but are known by the absence of jewelry.

MUDUVAR 94

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 Kada-
vallu, who are supposed to live in the Madura temple with
Minakshiammal and her husband Sokuru. They are
also said to worship Chantiattu Bhagavati and Neriya-
mangalam Sasta. Suryan (the sun) is a beneficent deity.
The deities which are considered maleficent are numerous,

95 MUDUVAR

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 princi-
pally 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,

MUDUVAR 96

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 parti-
cular kind of tree has first to be found, the inside of

97 MUDUVAR

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 some-
times 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
v-7

MUDUVAR 98

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 culti-
vators 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 r^gi (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 ani-
mals 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 J immediately finds itself caught by both legs, and

99 MUDUVAR

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 immedi-
ately 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

V-7 B

MUDUVAR lOO

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 {Semnopitkecus 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

lOl MUDUVAR

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 stretch-
ing 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

MUDUVAR 102

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 gene-
rates 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 counte-
nance ; 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 informa-
tion 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 conver-
sation 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

I03 MUKA DORA

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." *

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.

• Agricult : Ledger Series, Calcutta, No. 7, 1904.

MUKA DORA 104

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 Azadirackta), chikkudi {Dolichos Lablab),
velanga (Feronia elepkantum), 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 bride-
groom'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 per-
formed. On an appointed day, the bridegroom's party
repair to the house of the bride, and bring her in pro-
cession 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

I05 MUKA DORA

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 con-
nected together by three rownds 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 occupa-
tion 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

MUKKARA I 06

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 fisher-
men of the Malabar coast, who are described as follows
by Buchanan.* " 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 occupa-
tions. 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

♦ Journey through Mysore, Canara, and Malabar, 1807.

107 MUKKUVAN

Brahmans ; but they sometimes stand at a distance, and
send their offerings by more pure hands."

It is recorded by Captain Hamilton* 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 (inheri-
tance 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, t 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 Muk-
kuvans 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

* A New Account of the East Indies, 1744.

t I am informed that the Mukkuvans claim to be a caste distinct from
the Arayans.

MUKKUVAN 1 08

converts to the ranks of Muhammadanism. In North
Malabar the Mukkuvans are divided into four exoga-
mous 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 Pani-
magans (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 neces-
sary to all regular marriages. The Mukkuvans have
their oracles or seers called Ayittans or Attans ; and,

109 MUKKUVAN

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 mem-
bers of the Kadavan families priests called Manakkans
or Banakkans, to perform puja in their temples.

" Fishing is the hereditary occupation of the Mukku-
vans. 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 |-" mesh for sardines and such
small fry to a stout valiya sravuvala or shark net with a
6 J" 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 compara-
tively 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 quan-
tities 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

MUKKUVAN IIO

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 mon-
soon.' 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 occa-
sionally 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."* 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

• For further details concerning the fisheries and fish-curing operations of the
West Coast, see Thurston, Madras Museum Bull. Ill, 2, 1900.

1 1 1 MUKKUVAN

result thereof on Friday were handed over to the Map-
pilla community. It is recorded, in the Madras Census
Report, 1 89 1, that "conversion to Islam is common
among this caste. The converts are called Puislam or
Putiya Islam* (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 Mukku-
vas 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 orna-
ments which were on her person. I am informed that
Tanur is the only place where this feeling exists. Puis-
lams and Mappillas settle down together peacefully
enough elsewhere.

* Spelt Pusler in a recent educationalreport.

MUKKUVAN 112

There are two titles in vogue among the Mukkuvans,
viz., Arayan and Maraikkan. 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 Arayan-
mar, 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 Ay at hen, 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 prob-
ably 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 cere-
mony. 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

113 MUKKUVAN

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 repre-
sentatives, 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 bride-
groom sits down to a meal with nine or eleven young
men in a line, or in the same room. On the second day,
v-8

MUKKUVAN 114

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 sweet-
ened 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
brideo"room, and obtaining the consent of those assem-
bled. 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
brideo'room. 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 vechchi-
rukkal, which is an informal union with the consent of
the parents and the Arayans. It is recorded, in the

115 MUKKUVAN

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
husband's 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 vida-
ram 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.
v-8b

MUKKUVAN il6

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

ii; mundAla

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,
1 90 1, 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 ii8

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.— 6"^^ 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.

119 MUSSAD

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 terri-
torial name, which occurs as a division of Telugu Brah-
mans, 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 MQssads
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

MUSSAD 1 20

Poduvals) or Akapotuvals in North Malabar. The
word Muttatu means elder, and is generally taken to
indicate a community, which is higher than the Ambala-
vasi 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.y 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 caste-
men 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

1 2 1 MUSSAD

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, mar-
ried 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 pro-
fession 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, corrobo-
rative evidence of the Brahmanical origin of the Muttatus

MUSSAD 122

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 govern-
ment of the Muttatus rests wholly with the Nambutiris,
who enforce the smartavicharam or enquiry into a

12$ MUSSAD

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. Poly-
gamy 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 dis-
tinction, 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.

MUSSAD 124

The Muttatus stand above all sections of the Ambala-
vasi 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 Ambala-
vasis 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 Ambala-
vasis freely receive food from Muttatus.

It is further noted, in the Cochin Census Report,
1 90 1, 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

125 MUSSAD

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 discri-
minate 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. : —

(i) Brahman or quasi- Brahman.

{a) Ashtavaidyanmar, or eight physicians, are eight
families of hereditary physicians. They are called Jati-
matrakaras (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.

(<5) 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 ana-
charams, or rules of conduct peculiar to Kerala. They

MUSU KAMMA 126

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 Mils sad. — So called from the karuga
grass i^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 us * 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 orna-
ment worn by the Musu Kamma sub-division of Balijas.

• Madras Museum Bull., Ill, 3, 1901.

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-i^^^^^^^^^^^^K ,^Ax ., ■^

"

MUSU KAMMA WOMAN.

127 MUTRACHA

In the Salem District Manual, Musuku is recorded as a
sub-division of this caste.

Mutalpattukar.— A synonym of Tandan in Travan-
core, 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.* ** 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 t 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

* Madras Census Report, 1891, t Manual of the North Arcot district.

MUTRACHA

128

members are poor, even when they have left the pro-
fession 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 * 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

• Manual of the North Arcot district.

129 MUTRACHA

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 persu-
aded 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,
v-9

MUTRACHA

130

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.
India, house,
iga, fly.
Koppula, hair-knot.

Katari, dagger.
Marri, Ficus bengalensts.
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 earthern cup, which is eventually thrown away.

131 MtJTTAN

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 versd, 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,
T-9B

muttAn 132

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 popula-
tion. 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 (inherit-
ance 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

133 muwAri

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 consider-
able 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 * 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."

* Madras Census Report, 1901.

myasa 134

Myasa.— Myasa, meaning grass-land or forest, is
one of the two main divisions, Uru (village) and Myasa,
of the Bedars and B5yas. 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 AH.

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,* "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, Naga-
sa, or Nageswara, occurs in the name of a sept or gotra of
various classes in Ganjam and Vizagapatam, e.g., Aiyara-
kulu, 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,

• Madras Census Report, 189 1.

135 NAGARALU

the serpent rishi. Naga is further a gotra or sept of
Kurnis and Toreyas, of whom the latter, at their wed-
dings, 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
[Rhinacanthtis 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 * 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 occu-
pation 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

* Madras Census Report, 1901.

NAGARTHA 1 36

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 nameM(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).

137 nAga-sr£ni

Concerning the Nagarthas, who are settled in the
Mysore Province, I gather * 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 f that ,
" cases sometimes occur ofaSivachar marrying a Nama-
dari 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.

• Mysore Census Reports, l8gi, 1901. t Mysore and Coorg Gazetteer.

NAGAVASULU 13^

Nagavasulu.— The Nagavasulu are described, in
the Vizagapatam Manual, as "cultivators in the Vizaga-
patam 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, 1 891, 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, ^.^., 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,* may be cited : —

(a) Native captain or headman. "II s'appelle Naique,
qui signifie Capitaine." Barretto, Rel du Prov de
Malabar.

• Hobson-Jobson.

139 NAIK

{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. "II y a
plusieurs Naiques au Sud de Saint Thom6, 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, Mutti-
riyan, 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."

NAINAR 140

The name Nayar or Nair is, it may be noted, akin to
Naik and Naidu, and signifies a leader or soldier.* In
this connection, Mr. Lewis Moore writes f that " almost
every page of Mr. Sewell's interesting book on Vijaya-
nagar | 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."§

It is noted by Mr. Talboys Wheeler || 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.— 5^^ 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

* Wigram : Malabar Law and Customs. t Ibid., 3rd ed., 1905.

X A Forgotten Empire, Vijayanagar.

§ Fifth Report of the Committee on the affairs of the East India Company.
Reprint, Higginbotham, Madras.

II College History of India, 1888.

NALKE l^EVIL-DANCER.

141 NALKE

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* 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 balls. They are generally held to be
Holeyas or Pariahs. In Canarese they are called
Panaras."

" Every village in Canara," Mr. Stuart writes
further,! " 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 scat-
tered 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,

• Manual of the South Canara district. f Ibid.

NALKE 142

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 Bhuta-
kotya. 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 with-
out 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 occa-
sions.* 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, t 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

• M. J. Walhouse. Journ. Anthrop. Inst., V, 1876.

t Devil Worship of the Tuluvas, Ind. Ant., XXIII, 1894.

NALKE DEVIL-DANCER.

143 NALKE

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.

NALKE 144

During the nema, the Bhutas, i.e.y the things represent-
ing 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

NALKE DEVIL-DANCER.

145 NALKE

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 aliya-
santana law of inheritance (in the female line), follow
the makkalakattu law of inheritance from father to son.
The caste has numerous balls (septs), which are evi-
dently borrowed from the Bants and Billavas. As
examples of these, Salannaya, Bangerannaya, Kundar-
annaya, and Uppenannayya may be cited. The Nalkes
v-io

NALKE 146

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

H.V.Bi.

lUMADI BHUTA.

147 NALKE

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 pro-
pitiation 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,
v-io e

NALKE 148

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, Koda-
manitaya, 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, Baideru-
kulu, 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, Bob-
bariya 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,

149 NAMBIDI

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 numer-
ous, and vary in different localities. Of the stories
relating to Bhutas, a very full account has been given
by Mr. A. C. BurnelL*

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 Naluvltan 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 func-
tions for the latter. Their ceremonies are very much

* Devil Worship of the Tuluvas. Ind. Ant., XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVI,
1894-7.

NAMBIDI 150

like those of the Kshatriyas. Tradition connects them
with royalty acquired under rather unenviable circum-
stances. They are, therefore, called Tampurans (lords)
by the Sudras, and also Muppinnu (elder) or Karanavap-
pat (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 fol-
lowed, 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 com-
panions 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

151 NAMBIYATIRl

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, how-
ever, 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 Nambi-
yars 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.)

Naiubiyatiri (a person worthy of worship). — A
synonym of Elayad.

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 1 52

Nambutiri Brahman.* — 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 aris-
tocracy 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 organ-
ization 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

• 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).

153 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

gave the name Karma Bhumi, or the country in which
salvation or the reverse depends ahogether 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 Payya-
nur, 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 1 20 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

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 1 54

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." *

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 Nam-
butiris, 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

• N. Subramani Aiyar, Malabar Quart. Review, VII, I, J908.

155 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

coast whence their ancestors originally came, and the
sub-divisions of the Smarta caste, Vadama, Brihatcha-
ranam, 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 progeni-
tor 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 Treta-
yuga, or the second great Hindu cycle. The reference
to the gramams of Chovvur and Panniyiir 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

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 156

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 ob-
serves * 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 Presi-
dency, 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

* A New Account of the East Indies, 1744.

157 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 Wallu-
vanad, 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,* and they have not been
influenced by contact with the English. 1 his 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."

* The Nambutiris everywhere believe that Europeans have tails.

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 158

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 pro-
gressive 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 tradi-
tional hospitality of the Hindu kings of Malabar, which,
fortunately for them, has not yet relaxed, is the only suste-
nance and support of the ordinary Nambutiri. The

159 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 Patira-
manal (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 rela-
tion 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, how-
ever, far from re-assuring. They are no doubt the
traditional owners of Kerala, and hold in their hands the

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN l6o

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 withdraw^n, and he became so helpless that
he had to throw aside the orthodox ceremonials of crema-
tion, 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

l6l NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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. 7'he 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 var-
ious 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

T-II

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 1 62

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 sepa-
rated 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 religiosd)
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

1 63 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 doc-
tor necessitates the performance of surgical operations
entailing the shedding of blood, the Mussads are also consi-
dered as slightly degraded. They too are entitled only to

V-IIB

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 164

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 func-
tions 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 : —

(i) 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 (i)
bhadrasanam, or the highest position in an assembly, (2)
brahmavarchasa, or authority in Vedic lore, and con-
sequent sanctity, (3) brahmasamragyam, or lordship over
Brahmans, (4) sarvamanyam, or universal acknowledg-
ment of reverence. Once in six years, the Azhvancheri
Tampurakkal is invited by the Maharaja of Travan-
core, who accords him the highest honours, and pays
him the homage of a sashtanganamaskaram, or prostra-
tion 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.

1 65 NAMBtJTIRI BRAHMAN

(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 accumu-
lated 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 : — (i) Akkittiris, who have performed the
agnichayanayaga, (2) Adittiris, who have done the cere-
mony 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

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 1 66

Malabar ; the six Vaidikas or expounders of the caste
canons, and the Smartas, who preside at the smarta-
vicharams or socio-moral tribunals of Brahmanical
Malabar.

(4) Sdmdnyas. — They form the Nambutiri prole-
tariat, 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) Jdtimatras. — The eight leading physician
families of Malabar, or Ashta Vaidyas, are, by an inexcusa-
ble misuse of language, called Gatimatras or nominal
Nambutiris. The class of Nambutiris called Yatrakalik-
kar (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 unfortu-
nately 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,

1 6; NAMBUTIRl BRAHMAN

the Panniyur Gramakkar, and the Payyanur Gramakkar
or the Ammuvans (uncles), so called from their matri-
archal 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 perform-
ance 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 becom-

ing a Sanyasi.

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN l68

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. i in ^ 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 ^ have similarly all
the privileges from No. 3 downwards in A and B, and
so on. Those entitled to No. i in B have all the
privileges except No. i in A ; similarly those entitled to
No. 2 in ^ 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

1 69 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

have as many as four wives, and he does not shave when
any of them is in an interesting condition, he some-
times 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.* " 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 indus-
tries 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

• The Todas, 1 906,

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 170

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

171 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 : —

(i) 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

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 172

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 oi Elceocarpus
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 Nambutiris

173 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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. Plan-
tains 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

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 1 74

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

175 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 ceiHng 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 inherit-
ance 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. Subra-
mani 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.

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN (76

As a father supports his sons, so let the eldest
support his younger brothers, and so let them, in accord-
ance with the law, behave towards their eldest brother
as sons behave towards their father.

Should a Nambutiri eldest son die, the next mar-
ries, 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 tara-
vad,* 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 aggran-
dizement, 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 escheat-
ing 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. 1 he man
so brought in is henceforth a member of the family which
he has joined, and as such he performs the sraddha or

• Taravad or tarwad : a marumakkatayam family, comiiting of all the
descendants in the female line of one common female ancestor.

o

Si

177 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 ghl (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

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 178

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 chil-
dren. 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 pre-
pared by any one of a caste inferior to her own, as the
Pattar is considered to be. Tea and coffee are objected

179 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 chura-
khai, palmyra fruit, and palmyra jaggery are taboo to the
Nambutiri at all times. Water-melons are eaten regu-
larly 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 Camoens writes : *

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 cocoa-
nut 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

♦ The Lusiad.
V-I2 B

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 1 80

Malabar and among the Chela * Nambutiris, as those
are termed who, in the turbulent period of Tippu's inva-
sion, 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 : —

(i) 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

» Chela, the cloth worn by Mappillas (Muhammadans in Malabar). There
are also Chela Nayars. The word is said to mean the rite of circumcision.

l8l NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 imme-
diately 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 mantra-
vadis 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 inter-
minably. 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

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 1 82

say that they have seen him, vis-a-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 unbear-
able 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 Changa-
nacheri 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 oppres-
sing humanity, believed to be in the power of sorcerers,

183 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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. Some-
times 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 forefi-nger 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

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 184

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 con-
secrated 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, w^hether
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

l85 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

or in public, is also prohibited. This injunction runs
counter to that of the Sutrakaras, who say ' Na vivasanah
snayat,' ^.^., 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 Nam-
butiri 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 indu-
rated 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 promul-
gated by the great reformer Sankarachary^a. These are
as follows : —

(i) 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.

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN i86

(lo) You must bathe if you happen to be near
another, i.e., a Chandala.

(ii) 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 hori-
zontal 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.

18; NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

(26) You must not sell women (receive money for
girls given in marriage).

(27) You must not fast in order to obtain fulfil-
ment 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 them-
selves.

(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 grand-
mothers).

(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).

(sy) 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.

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 1 88

(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 wordly
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.

l89 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

(55) They should not bow down to one another.
(Among non-Malabar Brahmans, juniors receive bene-
diction 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
ac haras. 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 : —

(i) 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.

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 1 9©

(3) Worship of the Gods and manes. — The anni-
versary 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 inter-
vening 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 establish-
ment 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

191 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 per-
formed 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

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 192

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, Mar-
gasirsha, 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 : —

(i) Sivardtri. — Worship of Siva on the last day of
Magha. Fast and vigil at night, and puja.

(2) Updkarma. — 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) Ndgara panchimi. — The serpent god is wor-
shipped, and bathed in milk. On the 5th of Sravana.
This festival is common in Southern India.

(4) Gokuldshtami. — 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) NavardtiH. — The first nine days of Asvayuja
are devoted to this festival in honour of Durga.

(6) Dipdvali. — 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) Vindyaka Chaturthi. — The elephant-headed
god of learning is worshipped. At the end of the

193 nambOtiri brahman

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 offer-
ings 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. Subra-
mani Aiyar : —

(i) 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
V-13

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 194

festival, when the specific ordinance of Sankara against
food cooked before sunrise is contravened, is not known.

(2) Makam or Mag ha 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 shiver-
ing bath, as the mornings are usually cold and intensely

195 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 Karkdta-
kam. — 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

V-I3 B

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 196

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 Pulaiyanthan 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.

197 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 * that he is " not prepared to assert that infant
marriage is unknown among Nambudris, and that mar-
riages 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

Malabar Quatt. Review, I, I, 1902.

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 198

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 * (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 kan-
kanam) 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

* 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.

199 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 ashtaman-
galyam — 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 : —

(i) 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 formulae) 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 mar-
riage. 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,* it should be worshipped thus. " In the

* Brahmanism and Hinduism.

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 200

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, Nar-
mada, 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 auspi-
cious 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 follow-
ing the latter screened from the general gaze by a big

20I NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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.* " 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.t " 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 Nambu-
tiri 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 bride-
groom, 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,

• op. cit. t Ibid.

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 202

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 canying 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 cere-
mony, in which the bride plants a jasmine cutting, by
way of symbolising help to her husband in the per-
formance 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.* 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 look-
ing 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

• The Nambuliris take objection to a statement of Mr. Logan, in the Manual
of Malabar, that the Vadhyar shuts the door, and locks it.

203 NAMBUTIRl BRAHMAN

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 kanka-
nam, bamboo staft', arrow, and mirror are given to the
Vadhyar, and the wedding is over.

Sir W. W. Hunter* 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 fisher-
men, and making a number of Brahmanical threads

* Orissa. Annals of Rural Bengal.

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 204

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 Nambu-
diri 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

205 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 prayas-
chittam, 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,

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 2o6

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, wnth a piece of jack-wood {Artocarpus integri-
folia), 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 frondosd). 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 * — 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

• 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.

207 NAMBtJTIRI BRAHMAN

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 bride-
groom. 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 respec-
tively. 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 * 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

♦ 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.

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 2o8

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 con-
clusion, 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, pradhak-
shinam, 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 bride-
groom ; 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

209 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 Sishtakral-
homam 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
v-14

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 2IO

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 fseminae ad partes pudendas
admovit, vestibus scilicet baud 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 com-
mences 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 J nazhiga before sun-
set 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

211 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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

V-14B

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 212

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) Kama 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

213 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 glomeratd), 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

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 214

calls out the name thrice. Gifts and nandimukham com-
plete 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 com-
menced 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 com-
pound 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 neces-
sity 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

215 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 cere-
mony enjoined by the Vedas. After the body is burnt,
those who attended go away and bathe. The disem-
bodied 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 ances-
tors, and give a dinner and presents of money and cloths

NA^IBUTIRI BRAHMAN 2i6

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 rela-
tions 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 Vaishna-
vite 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 cere-
monies, 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

217 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 plan-
tain 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

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 2i8

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 cele-
brate the obsequies, each perform an oblation of water
(udagakriya) to a piece of karuga grass stuck up to re-
present 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

2 19 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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." *

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

* The accounts of marriage and death ceremonies in the Gazetteer of Malabar
are from a grandhavari.

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 220

by infliction of penance, fasting, or doing special puja to
the gods. Graver offences are dealt with by excommu-
nication from the caste. Against the decision of the
Smarta there is no appeal. Adultery between a Nam-
butiri 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 accord-
ing 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

221 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 pre-
serve 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,

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 2 22

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 judica-
tory 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 coun-
cil 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, land

2 23 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 Nam-
butiris 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

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 224

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 Suchlndram 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 * 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 bona 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 C herakkal. A Tiyan named

• Ind. Law Reports, Madras Series, XII, 1889.

225 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 226

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 instruc-
tion 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

227 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 Budha-
natha, 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.
Nampiyattan.
Ittiyattan.
Uzhutran.
Tuppan.
Nampotta.

Females.
Nangngaya.
Nangngeli.
Pappi.
Ittichchiri.
Unnima.
Chiruta.

" Some names in this list are identifiable with the
names of divinities and puranic personages. For exam-
ple, 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 Tamaras-
seri 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
V-15B

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 228

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 Nambu-
tiri 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 conver-
sation 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

229 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 perform-
ance 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 propi-
tiation 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 Atta-
kat 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 Neruman-
galam. When the Nambutiris were returning through

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 230

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 en-
joined them to go, via 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 endow-
ment 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 superi-
ority. 'I'he 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

231 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 cor-
rect 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 Numbutiri 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

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 232

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 laspect 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

233 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

Kottarakkara. As the earliest theme represented was
the Ramayana, the Kathakali is also known as Rama-
nattam. 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 repre-
sent 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 intro-
duced by the seventh Nambutiri gramam of Kerala.
It is a miniature form of Yatrakali, but without its qtiasi-
religious character, and is intended to serve merely as
a social pastime. The players need not all be Brah-
mans ; 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

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 234

and is the presiding judge. There is interrogation and
answering by two persons, and a third proclaims the mis-
takes 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, Pattaror Paradesa
Brahman, and other characters, who appear on the stage
and amuse the assembly."

The Nambutiris are Vedic Brahmans : their scrip-
tures are the Vedas. It is safe to say that the Nambu-
tiris 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 Sankar-
narayanan — 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, 1 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,

235 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 karmavipakaprayas-
chittam 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 per-
forms the aja yagam, or goat sacrifice, in order to
obtain salvation. Though animal food is strictly for-
bidden, 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 cere-
monies connected with pregnancy, and the early life
of a child. There are three further important cere-
monies, 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

NAMBtJTIRI BRAHMAN 236

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, Brah-
maggnana 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 Krishna-
mriga (antelope) is attached, is thrown over his shoulders
and under his right arm, while he stands reverently with

237 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 Savitriman-
tram. 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 in-
structor.' 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
religiosd) wood, as if to keep him in perpetual memory
of what would follow if any of the directions be dis-
regarded. 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 * Bhik-
sham bhavati dadatu' (May you be pleased to give me

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 238

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 cere-
mony of Samidadhana is performed. This is the Brah-
machari's daily worship of the sacred fire, corresponding
to the aupasana of the Grihastha, and has to be per-
formed 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

239 NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

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 Upana-
yana ceremonies, casts off the skin strap and mekhala, and
bathes. He puts on sandal paste marks, bedecks him-
self 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

NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN 240

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 {jFicus

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 [^gle

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 gYd^sS'z(Eragrostis

241 NANCHINAD VELLALA

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
V-16

NANCHINAD VELLALA 242

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 mediaeval 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 makka-
thayam 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.

243 NANCHINAD VELLALA

While the Vellalas in the south reside in streets, their
brethren in the north hve, like Nayars, in isolated
houses. In their dress and ornaments, too, the Nanchi-
nad 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 designa-
tion 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 circum-
stances 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

V-l6 B

NANCHINAD VELLALA 244

treasurer, and the pilla or accountant. Contributions
towards village funds are made on certain ceremonial
occasions. Their high priest belongs to the Umayoru-
bhagam 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 Nan-
chinad 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

245 NANCHINAD VELLALA

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 per-
formed 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

NANDIKATTU 246

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

247 NANTUNIKKURUPPU

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 248

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, 1 90 1, as a sub-division of Nayar.

Naththalu (snails). — An exogamous sept of Mala.

249 NAtTUKOTTAI CHETTI

Natramiludaiyan. — A name, meaning the reposi-
tory of chaste Tamil, returned by some Nattamans at
times of census.

Nattan.-^At the Census, 1901, nearly 12,000 indi-
viduals 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 Kalians 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 Kalian, and of the Malayans of Cochin.

Nattukattada Nayanmar.— A class of mendicants
attached to the Kaikolans (g'.v.).

Nattukottai Chetti.— " Of all the Chettis," Mr.
Francis writes,* " perhaps the most distinctive and
interesting are the Nattukottai Chettis, who are wealthy
money-lenders with head-quarters in the Tiruppattur

♦ Madras Census Report, 1901.

NATTUKOTTAI CHETTI 250

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

251 NATTTTKOTTAI CHETTI

difficulties is readily responded to. By religion they are
fervent Saivites, and many of the men proclaim the fact
by wearing a rudraksham i^Elcsocarpus 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,* 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 " Nattu-
kottai Settis in particular are notorious for their greed,
and most amusing stories are told about them. However

* The proverb Chetti Chidambaram is well known.

NATTUKOTTAI CHETTI 252

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 Nattu-
kottai 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."

253 nAttukOttai chetti

Concerning the Nattukottai Chettis, Mr. P. R.
Sundara Aiyar writes as follows.* " 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 rela-
tion 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 t are said to employ Kam-
malans, Valaiyans, Kalians, 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 doubt-
less accorded to them owing to the large sums of money

* Malabar Quart : Review, 1905.

t C. Hayavadana Rao, Indian Review, VIII, 8, 1907.

NATTUKOTTAI CHETTI 254

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 trans-
actions, 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

255 nattukOttAi chetti

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."*

In 1906, the purificatory ceremony, or kumbabi-
shekam, 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 C hettis. The ceremony cost about fifty thou-
sand 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 subscrip-
tions from the Hindu community generally, and in

* Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

NATTUKOTTAI CHETTI 256

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 appoint-
ment. 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* 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

* Gazetteer of the Madura district.

XATTUKOTTAI CHETTI CHILDREN.

257 NATTUKOTTAI CHETTI

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 busi-
ness is transacted, and customers are invited, and receive
presents of fruits, sweets, etc.

In connection with Nattukottai agencies, Mr. Haya-
vadana Rao writes as follows. * " 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. loo 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.

* Indian Review, VIII, SJ, 1907.
Y-17

NATTUKOTTAI CHETTI 258

" 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 court-
yard 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 com-
modious 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

259 NATTUKOTTAI chetti

much respected, and led the Hfe 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 Conjee-
veram 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 them-
selves, 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
V-17 B

NATTUKOTTAI CHETTI 260

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 Sundara-
pattanam 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

26 1 nAttukottai chetti

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,

Manniir.

Kannur.

Karuppur.

Kulaththur.

3. Vairavan kovil —

Sirukulaththur.

Kazhanivasal.

M ar udendrapu r am .

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.* In villages where their main
temples are situated, the temple manager is obliged to

* Indian Law Reports, Madras Series, XXIX, 1906.

NATTUKOTTAI CHETTI 262

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 pancha-
yats (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

263 NATTUKOTTAI CHETTI

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 media-
tors' 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 arbitra-
ment 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 man-
ager, 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 fails 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

NATTUKOTTAI CHETTI 264

a ^^arland 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 (i) 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).

JEWELRY OF NATTUKOTTAI CHETTIS

265 nAttukottai chetti

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 prepa-
ration, 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 invio-
lable 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.*
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. Perish-
able articles, such as rice, ghi (clarified butter), dhal
(Cajamcs 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

* C. Hayavadana Rao. Lee. cit.

NATTUKOTTAI CHETTI 266

and bridegroom belong. The bride's party go to the
house of the bridegroom, taking on a tray a silk handker-
chief 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 pro-
gramme is nalkuriththal, or fixing the day. The bride-
groom'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 Azadi-
rachta) twigs, touches the girl's shoulders, head, and
knees with tiiem, 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, sc
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 mar-
riage contract (isagudi manam) is written. Two copies
are made, for the bride and bridegroom respectively.

26; NATTUKOTTAI CHETTI

As an example of a marriage contract, the following
may be cited : " This is written for the marriage cele-
brated 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 bride-
groom 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 proces-
sion 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 con-
ducted 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

NATTUKOTTAI CHETTI 268

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 auspici-
ous 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 stor>^ 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

269 nAttukottai chetti

they reached their new settlement they shaved their
heads completely as a memorial of their stern resolution."*
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 be-
reaved family are received with outstretched hands (kai-
nittikolludhal). 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

* C. Hayavadana Rao. Loc. cit.

nAttukOttai chetti 270

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, Munes-
wara, and Karuppan. They are also said to worship
two village goddesses, called Sellattamman and Kannu-
dayamman, 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 Nattu-
kottai Chettis. The syllables (in the inverse order), and
their money equivalent are as follows

Ri ... .. .. ... ... -^ anna.

Da

Un
Su
Ra

2 annas.

3 »

271

NATTUSAMBAN

Pu
Ri
Ti

4 annas.
8 „
12

2

rupees

3

»>

4

»

5

»

6

11

7

M

8

>>

9

»

10

II

II

11

The rupee table is composed of the word Vedagiris-
vararthunai, meaning with the help of Vedagirisvarar,
the god at Tirukalikundram near Madras : —

Ve ... ... ... ... ... I rupee.

Da

Gi

Ri

i

Is

Va

Ra

Ar

Thu

Nai

The tens-of-rupees table is made up from the word
Tirukalikundram : —

Ti ... ... ... ... ... 10 rupees.

Ru ... ... ... ... ... 20 ,,

Ik 30 „

Ka ... ... ... ... ... 40 „

Li 50 „

Ik ... ... ... ... ... 60 „

Ku 70 „

In ... ... ... ... ... 80 „

Ra ... 90 „

Im ... ... ... ... ... 100 „

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 272

Nattuvan.— Defined in the Madras Census Report,
1 90 1, 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 accom-
paniment 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, grasp-
ing 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, t.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.* " 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

* Historical Sketches of the South of India, 1810.

273 NAVUTIYAN

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 Hishem 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 descend-
ants 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 system-
atically avoiding intermarriage with the Indians, and
even with the highest Muhammadan families, for many
centuries after the establishment of the Musalman dynas-
ties 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.
v-i8

nayadi 274

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 ignomini-
ously 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 gentle-
man 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."

275 nAyAdi

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 monoto-
nous 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 hunt-
ing 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 rail-
way. 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

v-iSb

NAyADI 276

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. Some-
times 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 aerial roots. The banyan i^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. Succes-
sion 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 {Ailantkus
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 {Baukinia). The
bark is soaked in water, sun-dried, and the fibre manu-
factured 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,

277 NAYADI

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 (Dtoscorea) and Colocasia are included.

nayAdi 278

They produce fire by friction with two sticks of Litscsa
sebifera, in the shorter of which a cavity is scooped out.
They do not, Hke 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 opera-
tion 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

279 NAyADI

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.* "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

♦ Malabar and its Folk.

NAYADI 280

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.* 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

* Malabar and its Folk.

28 1 NAYADI

{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 rela-
tions, 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 con-
cluded, 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

NAYADI 282

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 ilia (nothing to lick on). As a protection against

283 NAYAR

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.*

Average height, 155 cm. ; nasal index, 86.

Nayar.— "The Nayars," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes^f
" are a Dravidian caste, or rather a community, for we
find several distinct elements with totally different occu-
pations 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

* This note is based mainly on articles by Mr. S. Appadorai Aiyar and Mr,
L. K. Anantha Krishna Aiyar.
t Madras Census Report, 1891.

nAyab 284

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 commu-
nity 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 Ar^^an 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

285 NAYAR

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.*

In connection with the former position of the Nayars
as protectors of the State, it is noted by Mr. Logan f that
" in Johnston's * Relations of the most famous Kingdom
in the world' (161 1), 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 : Sesamwn indicttin\ : 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 Astonish-
ment 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 ' —

* Gaietteer of the Malabar district. f Manual of the Malabar district.

NAYAR 286

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 Re-
searches, V. 10, 18). M. Mahe de la Bourdonnais, who
had some experience of their fighting qualities in the field,
thus described them : * Les Nairs sont de grands hom~
mes basanes, legers, et vigoureux : lis n'ont pas d'autre
profession que celle des armes, et seraient de fort bons
soldats, s'ils etiaent disciplines : mais ils combattent sans
ordre, ils prennent la fuite des qu'on les serre de pres
avec quelque superiorite ; pourtant, s'ils se voient presses
avec vigueur et qu'ils se croient en danger, ils revien-
nent a la charge, et ne se rendent jamais ' (M. Esquer,
Essai sur les Castes dans I'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 organ-
ised. Among other strange Malayali customs. Sheikh

28; NAVAR

Zin-ud-diii * noticed the fact that, if a chieftain was slain,
his followers attacked and obstinately persevered in rava-
ging 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 them-
selves 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 f — devoted themselves to death in the

* 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.

t See Manual of the Malabar district, 164, sq., and Fawcett, Madras Museum
Bull., Ill, 3, 1901.

NAYAR 288

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.*

The following description of the Nayars at the
beginning of the sixteenth century is given by Duarte
Barbosa.t " 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.

* E. Hultzsch, South-Indian Inscriptions, III, 2, 1203.

t Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar. Translation.
Hakluyt Society, 1866.

289 NAYAR

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 *
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

• New Account of the East Indies, 1744.
V-19

nAyar 290

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 * 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

Voyage to the East Indies, 1774 and 1781.

291 NAYAR

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 * 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 Sans-
krit Nayaka, a leader, and to be cognate with Naik, and
Nayudu or Naidu. In this connection, Mr. L. Moore
writes t 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. | Xavier,
writing in 1542 to 1544, makes frequent references to
men whom he calls Badages, who are said to have been

* Journey through Mysore, Canara, and Malabar, 1807.
t Malabar Law and Custom, 3rd ed., 1905.
X Vide R. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar), 1900.
V-19 B

nAyar

292

collectors of royal taxes, and to have grievously-
oppressed Xavier's converts among the fishermen of
Travancore.* Dr. Caldwell, alluding to Xavier's letters,
says t 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).J Bish-
naghur 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 four-
teenth century belonged to a low non-Aryan caste,
namely, that of Canarese cow-herds.§ They were there-
fore 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. || It is remarkable that Colonel (after-
wards Sir Thomas) Munro, in the memorandum written
by him in 1802 ^ on the Poligars of the Ceded Districts,

* Father Coleridge's Life and Letters of St. Francis Xavier.

t History of Tinnevelly. % Coleridge's Xavier.

^ Burnell. Translation of the Daya Vibhaga, Introduction. Vide also
Elements of South Indian Palaeography (2nd ed., p. 109), where Dr. Burnell says
that it is certain that the Vijayanagar kings were men of low caste.

II Vide Glossary, Report of the Malabar Marriage Commission, p. 2, and
Day's Land of the Permauls, p. 44.

^ Fifth Report of the Committee on the affairs of the East India Company,
II, 499, 530. Reprint by Higginbotham, Madras.

293 NAYAR

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* 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 inde-
pendence, 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

* Lives of the Lindsays. By Lord Lindsay, 1849.

NAYAR

294

been after the Brahmans changed their title to Aiyar
(father), by which name the non- Brahman people invari-
ably 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
mediaeval 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 pan-
supari (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

295

NAYAR

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 recogni-
tion 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 author-
ities were called on to intercede. All the Kartas belong
to the 1 11am 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, instruc-
tors in the use of arms, while others were superintendents
of maid-servants in the royal household. Writing con-
cerning 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 per-
formed. The title Panikkar; is derived from pani, work<

NAYAR 296

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 life-
time, 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,

297

nayar

mentioned in vernacular books, are Kiriyam, I Ham,
Svarupam, Itacheri or Idacheri, Pallichan, Ashtikkurich-
chi, 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 mediaeval 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

NAYAR 298

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 differen-
tiated 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 custo-
dians 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 Trivan-
drum, by which they were accosted by the local chieftain.

9. Pallichchan. — Bearers of palanquins for Brah-
mans and Malabar chieftains. They are also employed

299

NAYAR

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.

1 1 . 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.

1 2. 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

NAYAR 300

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 * : —

Kiriyattil .

Vangiloth.

Sudra..

Kitavu.

Kurup.

Pallichan.

Nambiyar.

Muppathinayiran.

Urali.

Viyapari or Eavari.

Nallioden.

Attikurissi.

Viyyur.

Manavalan.

Akattu Charna.

Adungadi.

Purattu Charna.

Adiodi.

Vattakkad.

Amayengolam.

" The Kurup, Nambiyar Viyyur, Manavalan, Ven-
golan, Nellioden, Adungadi, Kitavu, Adiodi, Amayen-
golam, 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 versa. 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
arc said to have bee;n masons; the Pallichans manchil

* Madras Museum Bull., Ill, 3, 1901.

30I

nAyar

bearers. =*^ The Sudra clan supplies female servants in the
houses of Nambudiris. The Vattakkad (or Chakkingal :
chakku, oil press) clan, whose proper mitier 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 Nayar 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,

• A manchil is a convej'ance carried on men's shoulders, and more like a
hammock slung on a pole, with a flat covering over it, than a palanquin.

NAYAR 302

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.* 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 prati-
lomam. 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

* Tarwad or taravad, a marumakkathayam family, consisting of all the
descendants in the female line of one common female ancestor.

303

nAyar

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 con-
fined 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 now-
adays 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

NAYAR 304

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 metier 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. Pollu-
tion, 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

AKATTUCHARNA NAYAR.

305 nAyar

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 corre-
sponding 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 com-
plete 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

V-20

NAYAR 306

this tract or nad there were originally six stanis or chief-
tains, 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 presi-
dents of kuttams belonged to the Pattillat kulam. The
younger members of the stani houses are called kidavu.
It is the duty of women of V^iyyur and Nelliot kulams to
join in the bridal procession of members of the Ven-
galat 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' pollu-
tion, 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 Kuruvattan-
cheri. 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

I

307 nAyar

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 col-
lective 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
v-20 B

NAYAR 308

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,
Caesar Fredericke writes as follows.* " 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

* The Voyage and Travell of M. Csesar Fredericke, Merchant of Venice, into
the East Indies and beyond the Indies (1563). Translation. Hakluyt Voyages,
V, 394-

309 NAYAR

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 them-
selves, and he that cohabits with her maintains her in
all things necessary for his time, so that she is plenti-
fully 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 * 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

* Travels to the East Indies.

NAYAR 310

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 * 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 drunken-
ness and debauchery betrayed them into a commerce
with all sorts of women. The following right is estab-
lished 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 (notwith-
standing 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, t "By the laws of their country these Nayres
cannot marry, so that no one has any certain or acknowl-
edged 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

* Voyage to the East Indies, 1774 and 1781.

t R. Kerr. General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, i8n,
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.

3 1 1 NAYAR

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. Consider-
ing 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.* 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 shame-
less 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." f

* Wigram, Malabar Law and Custom, Ed. 1900.

t T, A. Kalyanakrishn a Aiyar, Malabar Quart. Review, II, 1903.

NAYAR 312

* 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,* " 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 t 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 Naif 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

* op cit. f Malabar and its Folk, 19CX).

NAYAR FEMALES.

313 NAYAR

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.'^ " Polyandry may now
be said to be dead, and, although the issue of a Nayar
marriaofe 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 per-
formed 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. f

" 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

* Malabar Law and Custom, 1882.

t Report of the Malabar Marriage Commission, 1894.

NAYAR 314

invited to the girls 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 * (senior male in a tarvvad) 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 con-
ducted 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 ina 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

* The rights and obligations of Karanavans are fully dealt with by Moore,
Malabar Law and Custom, 3rd edition, 1905,

315 NAyaR

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 pollu-
tion 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 proces-
sion, 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

nAyar 316

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 Brah-
man, 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 role 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 formulae), 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

Siy NAYAR

consider a coral necklace an essential. In her right
hand she holds a valkannadi (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 ashtaman-
galyam. 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 morn-
ing, 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 cere-
monial 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

NAYAR 318

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 then
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 i^ 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

319 NAYAR

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 Kovi lagans and big Nayar
houses will feed i,ooo 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 consi-
derations 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 ot
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 Machcham-
pikkar, 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 Machcham-
pikkar, 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

nAyar 320

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 pro-
cession, 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

S^SIiiWP'-

NAYAR JEWELRY.

321 NAYAR

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 Travan-
core 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 * 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 bride-
groom." 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, 1 901, it is stated that " the celebra-
tion 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 ot
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

* Joum. Anthrop. Inst., XII, 1883,
V-2I

NAYAR 322

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 pro-
cession 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 ashta-
mangalyam in their hands, and seated on a bench or

323 NAYAR

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, i6, 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

V-3I B

nAyar 324

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 auspi-
cious 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.*
" 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

• op, cii.

325 NAYAR

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."

nAyar 326

The opinion was expressed by Mr. (now Sir Henry)
Winterbotham, one of the Malabar Marriage Commis-
sioners, that the Brahman taH-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."

327 nAyar

In a recent note, Mr. K. Kannan Nayar writes * :
"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 (sacra-
ment) 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 t that it seems to prove beyond all reason-
able 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

* Malabar Quart. Review, VII, 3, 1908. f Op. cit.

nAyar 328

Nayars by divine law to administer to the lust of the
Nambudris were disseminated abroad. The better
classes among the Nayars revolted against the degrad-
ing 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 accord-
ance 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 Com-
mission. " The variations of the sambandham are the
pudamuri, vastradanam, uzhamporukkuka, vitaram kaya-
ruka, 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 prin-
cipal 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

329 NAyAR

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 examina-
tion, 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 sam-
bandhams 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 re-
ferred 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 varia-
tions 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 de-
scribe 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 sam-
bandham, I consider the pudamuri the most solemn and
the most fashionable in North Malabar. The prelimi-
nary 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 bride-
groom. The astrologer, after examination, writes down

NAYAR 330

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 con-
ducted 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 bride-
groom's party has, of course, brought with them a
quantity of new cloths, and betel leaves and nuts. The

33^ NAYAR

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 bride-
groom 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

nAyar 332

of marriage in North Malabar. It will be seen from the
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 cere-
mony, 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,

333 nAyar

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. Prepara-
tions 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

nAYAR 334

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 bride-
groom 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, i6, 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 com-
pletion 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,

335 NAyaR

Vishu, and Thiruvathira festivals, she sends besides a
little money, areca nuts, betel and tobacco. The money
sent should be z^, 8, 1 6, 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 house-
hold, 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

nAyar 336

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 tirandu-
kuli 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

337 NAyar

(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
v-22

NAYAR

338

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." ^ 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

I90I

3

I

4

1902

1903

2

2

Total ...

57

10

20

87

* Gazetteer of Malabar.

339 nAyar

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 ceremoiiies
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 formulae) 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 neces-
sary that the brother should wear a gold ring on his

V-22 B

nAyar 340

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 sweet-
meats. 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 cere-
mony 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 preg-
nancy are described as follows in the Gazetteer of

341 NAYAR

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 *
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

♦ 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.

NAYAR 342

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 (wor-
ship 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.* 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

* The aimpuli or ♦' five tamarinds " are Tamarindus indica, Garcinia Cambogia,
Spondias ?nangifera, Bauhinia racemosa, and Hibiscus hirtus.

343 NAyaR

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 pol-
lution, 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

NAYAR 344

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. Bala-
krishnan 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 impor-
tant 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 cere-
monial. 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.]

345 NAyaR

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 child-
hood, 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 i^Cynodon Dactylon) as a
sprinkler. Her perquisites are the usual niracchaveppu
(i edangazhi of paddy and i 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

nAyar 346

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 1 5th 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 con-
tributes 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,

347 nAyar

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 spoon-
ful 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 Chor-
unnu 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

nAyar 348

near the house, round which he makes three pradakshi-
nams, 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 Gana-
pathi 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 invo-
cation 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

349 NAYAR

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 charac-
teristic Malayali ear ornament, the boss-shaped toda."

Of the death ceremonies among the Nayars of Malabar,
the following detailed account is given by Mr. F^awcett.
"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 ;
and, 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

nayar 350

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 the
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 para-
virakkuka, 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 (-j^ 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.

35 1 nAyar

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 * 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, sandal-
wood 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

* 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.

nayar 352

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 taravadwho
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

353 NAYAR

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
{/^rua 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, Dha-
nanjayan. 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.
v-23

nAyar 354

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 Anandra-
vans 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 wear-
ing. 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 remain-
ing, 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

355 NAYAR

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 bath-
ing. 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, Wednes-
day or Saturday. They sit and chat, chew betel, and go
home, bathing ere they enter their houses. It is said
v-23 B

nAyar 356

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 cal-
cined 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

357 nAyar

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

nAyar 358

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.* 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 officiat-
ing 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

* 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).

359 nAyar

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
ghl, 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 south-
wards 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

nAyar 360

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 con-
structed in the south-eastern corner of a compound or
garden known as the corner of Agni, which is always re-
served 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

-V'T

fi

<
>

361 nAyar

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 ball 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 punnaya-
ham 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

NAYAR

362

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 : —

N.

W.

Ground

floor.

Verandah all round.

Kitchen store
room.

Dining hall.

Courtyard.

A.

Kitchen.

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 lead-
ing 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

363

NAYAR

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.

N.

W.

Upper
storey.

E

E

E

E

*
E

* *

* *

* •

*
E

E

E

Tekkini. A large hall occupied by the men.

s.
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 court-
yard, 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
-1 shape here indicated. Invariably there
J is an upper storey. There are no doors,
•^ and only a few tiny windows opening to
I the west. Men sleep at one end, women
-J at the other, each having their own
staircase. Around the house there is

N.

nAyar 364

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 of
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 guard-
room in mediaeval 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,

365 NAYAR

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
1 740, 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 Travan-
core 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* that

* Nineteenth Century, 1904.

nAyar 366

" 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 * that
" les femmes ont presque toutes les traits dune finesse
particuliere. Elles se font des bandeaux a la Vierge, et,
avec le reste de leurs cheveux, tres noirs et tres lisses,
composent une espece de galette ronde qui se porte au
sommet de la tete, en avant et de c6te, retombant un
peu vers le front comme une petite toque cavalierement
posee, en contraste sur I'ensemble de leur personne qui
demeure toujours grave et hi6ratique."] 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,

* L'Inde (sans les Anglais).

3^7 nAyar

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 * ' 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

• Letters from Malabar.

nAyar 368

of Vasco da Gama and Albuquerque, is one of those coins
which, having found favour with a people, is used per-
sistently 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 repre-
sented 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 dis-
trict), that, if his arm was healed, he would give up the
bangle at the Tirupati temple. He intended to send the

369 nAyar

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 Sanka-
racharya. 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 Kannich-
chavu. 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
v-24

NAYAR 370

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 per-
formed here is the kuttam. This is a village council,
held at the beginning of every month for the adminis-
tration of the communal affairs of the caste, though, at

371 nAyar

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 merri-
ment. Father Paulinus, writing in the latter half of the
V-24B

nAyar 372

eighteenth century, observes that about the tenth of
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 reconcileable 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

Z7Z NAYAR

early in the morning to gather flowers, of which the
kadah 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 * 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
made 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."

* January, 1899.

NAYAR 374

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 south-
ern 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

375 nAyar

shouting, gesticulation and laughter. Those returning,
after securing a large number of arrows, turned somer-
saults, and expressed their joy in saltatory motions." In
a note on this game with bows and arrows in Kurum-
branad, Mr. E. F. Thomas writes that " the players
form 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

NAYAR 376

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.* 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 charac-
teristic 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.f "Thiruvathira is one of the three great
national occasions of Malabar. It generally comes off
in the Malayalam month of Dhanu (December or Janu-
ary) on the day called the Thiruvathira day. It is
essentially a festival in which females are almost exclu-
sively 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

* See Thurston. Catalogue of Roman, etc., Coins, Madras Government
Museum, 2nd ed., 1894.

t Malabar and its Folk, 1900.

<

Q
<

H
I— I

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zn nayar

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 lead^s off by means of a peculiar rhythmic
song, chiefly pertaining to Cupid. This singing is simul-
taneously 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

nAyar 378

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 separa-
tion 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

379 nAyar

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 ist
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

nAyar 380

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 ' fiowers 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

38 1 nAyar

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 prepa-
rations 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, plan-
tains, pumpkins, cucumbers, brinjals (fruit of Solanum
Melongena), etc., according as their respective circum-
stances permit. With the close of the midday meal
the festival practically concludes. In some families, after

nAyar 382

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

383 nAyar

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

NAYAR 384

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 require-
ments for the temple, as on occasions of festivals. His
office also invests him with certain rights in the com-
munity. 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 head-
man 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

2

<

<

>

385 nAyar

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 climb-
ing 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 i|- 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
curved drum sticks, thicker at the end held in the hand.
v-25

nAyar 386

The accuracy with which they were played on, never a
wrong note although the rhythm was changed per-
petually, 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. "^ 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

* The Vettuvans were once salt-makers.

sSy nAyar

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 pro-
cession in the evening is a great affair. Eight elephants,
which kept line beautifully, took part in it when I wit-
nessed 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 com-
paring 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 cere-
monies. Members of certain families only are allowed
to perform in this business, and for what they do each
v-25 B

NAYAR 388

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 overcom-
ing the Asura, and on the occasion of this festival these

389 nAyar

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 fiat 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 arrange-
ment, 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. Kuttich-
chattan 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
difificulty 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

nAyar 390

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 men-
tioned 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 encir-
cling 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 gyra-
tions 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 dis-
tribution of the rice which is heaped in the fire pit.

391 NAYAR

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 bam-
boo quart-like measure of paddy (unhusked rice), and
one of rice, each covered with a plantain leaf The princi-
pal 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

NAYAR 392

in a sort of swoon, and everyone, excepting only tlie
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 three
Mussads only see the sacrifice — a part of the rite which

■^

u

393 NAYAR

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 obligate
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, repeat-
ing 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

NAYAR 394

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 satis-
faction 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

395 NAyar

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 what-
soever, 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,

nAyar 396

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 aeompany 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, Dante
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

Q
>

<
I— (

397 NAYAR

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 jour-
ney, 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

NAYAR 398

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 role
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

399 NAYAR

is in this respect little if any difference. It was at Guru-
vayur 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. H e 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 ;

nAyar 400

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 pujarls, 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 per-
haps 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 abu-
sive 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

40I nAyar

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 faecal 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 * 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,

* Malabar and its Folk, Madras, 1900.
V-26

NAYAR 402

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 the
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 propitia-
tory offering on the occasion is the sacrifice of
cocks. In fact, every family makes a point of under-
taking 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 com-
plete 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 fore-
man it is that opens the ball. He is caught up by others

403 NAYAR

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 success-
fully 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
v-26 B

nAyar 404

trunk, and another pulls out its neck by the head, and, in
the twinkling of an eye, by the intervention of a shar-
pened 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

405 nAyar

they might become a 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 respec-
tive 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,

nAyar 406

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 oppo-
nent. 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
swordmanship, 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

407 NAyAR

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 mediaeval 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 Venat-
tarunuru, or the six hundred of Venad, and one of
their duties evidently related to the supervision of the

NAYAR 408

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 organi-
sation. 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 orga-
nisation of the protector caste played a most important

409 NAYAR

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 repro-
duced. 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

NAYAR 410

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.' * 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 capa-
city 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 func-
tion as protectors, another share of the produce of the soil

* Buchanan, Mysore, Canara and Malabar.

411 NAYAR

seems to have been reserved specially for them. It
would 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 occu-
pations, 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

NAYAR 412

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

413 NELLU

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,
1 90 1, 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, mar-
riages, 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.

l^t\\iV^3.{Pkyllantkus Emblica). — An illam ofTiyan.
Nellu (paddy, unhusked rice). — A gotra of Kurni.

NEMILLI 414

Nemilli (peacock). — An exogamous sept of Boya
and Balija.

Nerali {Eugenia J amboland). — 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 * 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 fore-
heads. 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.

* Ind. Ant., VIII, 1879.

415 NILI

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 follow-
ing 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 416

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 im-
mortal slaves, is a name by which some Mala Dasaris
style themselves.

Nodha.— Recorded, in the Madras Census Report,
1 90 1, 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 Conjee-
veram, 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

417 NOTTAKARAN

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, includ-
ing 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
v-27

NUCHCHU 418

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).

Nuwala (gingelly : Sesamum indicum). — An exoga-
mous 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 there-
fore 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.

419 OCCHAN

Occhan.— The Occhans are a class of temple priests,
who 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 dis-
trict, 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."^ 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, t 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. | The Occhans have

* E. Hultzsch. South Indian Inscriptions, I. 82, 108, 1890.
t Comprehensive Tamil and English Dictionary.
X Travancore Census Report, 1901.
V-27 B

ODA VANDLU 420

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 pros-
perous Milas have adopted Oda Balija as their caste
name. {See Vada.)

421 ODARI

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 prim-
itive, 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 con-
ducted 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

ODDE 422

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 *
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,

» Manual of the North Arcot district.

423 ODDE

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

ODDE 424

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

4J>5 ODDE

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,* 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 t 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

* Madras Dioc. Magazine, April, 1908. t Ind. Ant., VIII, 1879.

ODDE 426

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
Heu 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, hollow-
ing 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 f6rm, 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

427 ODDE

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 occupa-
tional 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 Nata-
puram 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.

odd£ 428

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.
BochchoUu, hairs.
Cheruku, sugarcane.
Enumala, buffalo.
Goddali, axe.
Gampa, basket.
Idakottu, break-down.
Jambu {Eugenia Jambo-

lana).
Komali, buffoon.
Santha, a fair.
Sivaratri, a festival,
Manchala, cot.

Sampangi {Michelia Cham-

pacd).
Thatichettu, palmyra palm-
Bandari {Dodonceaviscosa).
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).

429 ODDE

" The women of the Vaddevandlu section of the tank-
digger caste," the Rev. J. Cain writes,* "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

* Ind. Ant., V, 1876.

ODDE 430

pay a fine. When in camp at Dimbhum, in the Coimba-
tore 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 pro-
ceeding 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 Azadirackta), 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,^ not a tedious one, the bride and

* Notes on Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency.

431 ODDE

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 subse-
quently 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 of
gold coins for the oli (bride-price).

ODDE 432

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 com-
mencement of the nineteenth century, Buchanan states *
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 fore-
head 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 karman-
dhiram day, or last day of the death ceremonies, the

* Journey through Mysore, Canara, and Malabar.

433 0UD£

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 with-
out 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 sensi-
tive, and at last the fingers could move, and the pill
v-28

ODDE 434

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 appa-
rently 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. ^
" In the Ceded Districts," Mr. F. S. Mullaly writes, t
" some of the Wudders are known as Donga Wuddi-
wars, 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

J. S. Y. Mackenzie. Ind. Ant., IV, 1875. tiC>/. cit.

435 ODDE

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
v-28 B

ODDILU 436

witji 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 Yeru-
kalas 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 * 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,
1 89 1, 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
^y 9»356 individuals." It is further recorded, in the

* Ind. Ant., VIII, 1879.

437 ODIYA

Census Report, 1901, that Odiya, Orlya, 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 Jagan-
natha, and Takuranis (village deities). A number of
titles occur in the caste, e.g., Bissoyi, Podhano, Jenna,

ODIYA TOTI 438

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

439 OKKILIYAN

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 occupa-
tion, 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 manu-
facturers, and coolies. They returned the following
eight endogamous sub-divisions : —

(i) Gangadikara, or those who lived on the banks
of the Ganges.

(2) Gudi, temple.

(3) Kire {Amarantus), which is largerly 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

OKKILIYAN 440

deities, and sacrifice goats and fowls to Magaliamma
and Koniamma.

The Kiraikkarans of Coimbatore, whose main occu-
pation 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 purifi-
catory 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

VAKKALIGA BRIDE.

441 OKKILIYAN

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 assem-
bled, 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 TirMcalli), 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. Tke 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.

OKKILIYAN 442

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 {Arto-
carpus 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

443 OMANAITO

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 a 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 illegiti-
mate 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).

OMANAITO 444

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 mar-
riage 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 cf the sal tree {Skorea robustd), 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 bride-
groom, 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

445 ONDIPULI

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 divorcees 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.

OndipuH.— Recorded, in the Madras Census Report,
190 1, as Telugu-speaking cultivators and cattle-breeders

ONNAM PARISHA 446

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 {Ptej^ocarpus Marsupiurn). — 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 agri-
culturists. Recorded as a sub-division of Balija.

OppomarangO {Achyranthes aspera). — An exoga-
mous 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,
1 901, as the name of a caste of barbers for Muhammadans.

447

pAdam

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.

Paccha (green). — An exogamous sept of Kamma.
The equivalent Pacchai is a sub-division of Tamil Parai-
yans, and of Malaiyalis who have settled on the Pacchai-
malais (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 Vanni-
yan, and Savalakkaran.

Padal. — A title of headmen of the Bagatas.

Padam.— Recorded, in the Travancore Census Re-
port, 1 90 1, as a sub -division of Nayar. Padamangalam

PADARTI 448

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 De-
vans^a.

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 Rhatrazus. 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

449

PADMA SALE

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.

MSda, 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, Nara-
sappa, 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
v-29

PADMA SALE 450

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 Koona-
pilli vandlu, and Inaka-mukku Bhatrazus. Concerning
the Sadhana Surulu, Buchanan writes as follows.* " 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 descend-
ants 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 Vish-
nu's navel. Bhavana Rishi made cloths, and presented
them to the Devatas, and offered a cloth to Bhairava also.

* Journey through Mysore, Canara and Malabar, 1807.

451 PADMA SALE

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 con-
sented, 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 pro-
ceeded Adigadu, Padigadu, and Baludu. When he
eventually reached Siva, the tiger, on the sacred ashes
being thrown over it, cast its skin, which Siva appro-
priated. 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.* "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

* Section III. Inhabitants. Madras Government Press, 1907.
V-29 B

PADMA SALE 452

it to the rishi, saying * Oh ! Swami, who is thy servant
to worship, and how is he to obtain moksham or admit-
tance 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 consent-
ing 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 bride-
groom, 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,

453 PAGADALA

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 cere-
mony 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 454

Pagati Vesham. — A class of Telugu beggars, who
put on disguises (vesham) while begging.* 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.t

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 Vizaga-
patam district, I am mainly indebted to Mr. C. Hayava-
dana 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

* Madras Census Report, 190 1.

t See Manual of the North Arcot district, I, 187.

455 PAIDI

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

PAIDI 456

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

457 PAIDI

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 Buteafrondosa, 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.

PAIK 458

If the rice floats, the names of various deities are called
out, until a grain sinks.

It is recorded * 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,t 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 ; {d) 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

* Gazelleer of ihe Vizagapatam district. f Hobson-Jobson.

459 PAILMAN

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 *
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

* Madras Census Report, 1901.

PAINDA 460

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 * 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 Vaishna-
vite, 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.

* Ind. Ant., VIII, 1879.

46 1 PALIYAN

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 (brrdegroom) 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

PALIYAN 462

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 com-
munity 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 look-
ing 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

463 PALIYAN

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 hyaena.
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 18 17, 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 predilec-
tion. 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* 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.

* An Indian Olio.

PALIYAN 464

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 Polei-
yans have always been the prsedial slaves of the Kunu-
vans. 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,

i'ALlYAN.

465 PALIYAN

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 j)resence
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 under-
standing 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,*
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 main-
tain themselves mostly on the products of the chase and
on roots (yams, etc.), leaves and wild fruits (e.£:, 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

* Anthropos, III, 1908.
V-30

PALIYAN 466

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 commo-
dities 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

4^7 PALIYAN

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

PALIYAN 468

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 pilgrim-
age 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 ^ 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. Kurupu-
swami 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

* Ind. Ant., XXX, 1902.

PALIYAN.

469 PALIYAN

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 Tinne-
velly, 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 settle-
ment, 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 estab-
lished 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 inter-
married with the members of the local tribe, with which
they became incorporated. The Paliyans admit members

PALIYAN . 4>0

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, dis-
satisfaction 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

47 1 PALIYAN

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 f6r 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 mala-
baricum). 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

PALLAN 472

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
ofhollowtreesbycuttingaway 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 recog-
nised 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 I50"9 cm. Nasal index S^ (max. 100).

Pallan.-— The Pallans are " a class of agricultural
labourers found chiefly in Tanjore, Trichinopoly, Madura

PALL AX.

473 PALLAN

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." *

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

* Madras Census Report, 1891.
V-31

PALLAN 474

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 Kalians, 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 praedial 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 * 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 t that " whatever the

* Christianity in Travancore, 1901.

t Gazetteer of the Trichinopoly district.

475 PALLAN

origin of the factions, feeling still runs very high, espe-
cially between the Pallans and the Paraiyans. The
violent scenes which occurred in days gone by * 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 (pal lam) 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 mani-
yagarans (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 attach-
ment 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.

• See Nelson, the Madura Country, II, 4—7, and Coimbatore District
Manual, 477.

V-31 B

PALLAN 476

The Pallans are the Jati Pillais of the Pandya Kam-
malans, 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 manu-
facture 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.

477 PALLAN

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, Kalians,
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 excommu-
nication, a bunch of leafy twigs of margosa [Me Ha
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

PALLAN 478

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 head-
men 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 ij- marakkals of
grain for every 20 kalams harvested. The Muppans do
not work themselves, but maintain discipline among their

479 PALLAN

men by flogging or expulsion from the caste. In the
Karur taluk, the ordinary Pallans are called Manvettai-
karans (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 washer-
woman, and presented with flowers and fruits by her
relations. She occupies a hut constructed of cocoanut
leaves, branches of Pongamia glabra, and wild sugar-
cane {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 * that " at a Pallar
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.

* Original Inhabitants of Bhaoratavarsa or India.

PALLAN 480

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 bride-
groom, 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 wed-
ding day, a pandal (booth) is erected, and the milk-post,
made of Thespesia populnea or Mimusops kexandra, 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

48 I PALLAN

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.
Thefingersof 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 Coim-
batore, 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 Andropogon
Sorghum with a betel leaf stuck on it,' and seven sets of
bet^ 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

PALLAN 482

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 thi'ows them over their
heads. This is likewise done by five other individuals,
and the fifth cocoanut is broken. The bride and bride-
groom 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 Alii 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

483 PALLAN

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 Coim-
batore, 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

PALLAN 484

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 Melongend) 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,

485 PALLAN

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 arabicd)
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 (vil-
lage deities), especially those whose worship requires
the consumption of flesh and liquor.

It is recorded, * 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

• Gazetteer of the Madura district.

PALLAVARAYAN 486

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 ^^ 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 saidf 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

cii. t Madras Census Report, 1891.

4^7 PALLE

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.

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