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AGENTS  FOR  THE  SALE  OF  MADRAS  GOVERNMENT  PUBLICATIONS. 


IN   THE   EAST. 

R.  Cambeay  k  Co..  Culciitlii. 

A.  J.  CoMBKiDGE  &  Co.,  Bombay. 
CoMBRiDOK  &  Co.,  Madras. 

JI.  GuLAB  Singh  &  Sons,  Mu(id-I-Am  Press,  Lahore-. 

HiGOiNBOTHAM  &  CO.,  Mouiit  Rowi,  Matlras. 

V.  Kalyanarama  Iter  &.  Co.,  EsplaiUKle.  Madras. 

S.  K.  Lahiri  &  Co.,  Calcutta. 

S.  MuRTHY  &  Co.,  Kapalet'  Press,  Madras. 

(;.  A.  Natesan  &  Co.,  Madra.s. 

Xewman  4  Co.,  Calcutta. 

P.  R.  Rama  Iyar  &  Co.,  192,  Esplanade,  Madra-s. 

•  T.  K.  SiTARAMA  AiTAR,  Kuuibakonam. 

Slterintendent,  American  Baptist  Mission  Press,  Ranjcoon.  . 

SrPERiXTENDENT,  Nazaie  Kanun  Hind  Press,  Allaliahad. 

I).  B.  Taraporevala  Sons  &  Co.,  Bombay. 

Temple  &  Co.,  Mylapore,  Madras. 

Thacker  &  Co.  (Limited),  Bombay. 

TnACKER,  Spink  &  Co.,  Calcutta. 

Thompson  &  Co.,  Madras. 

IN   ENGLAND. 

E.  A.  ARNOLD,  41  and   t3,  Maddox  Street,  Bond  Street,  W.,  London. 

B.  H.  Blackwell,  51)  and  51,  Broad  Street,  Oxford. 
Constable  &  Co.,  IG,  J."\mes  Street,  Haymarkel,  W..  Ijondon. 
Deiqhton,  Bell  &  <^o.,  Cambridge. 

CJRINDLAY  &  Co.,  54,  Parliament  Street,  S.W.,  London. 

liENRT  S.  King  &  Co.,  65,  Comhill,  E.C.,  London. 

P.  S.  Kino  &  Son,  2  and  1,  Great  Smith  Street,  Westminster,  S.W.,  London. 

Keoan  Paul,  Trench,  Trubner  &  Co.,  «.  Gerravd  Street,  Solio.  W..  London. 

B.  QUARITCH.  1.-.,  Piccadilly,  \V.,  London. 

ON  THE  CONTINENT. 
Friedl'andbr  &  SoHN,  11,  Carl.stnisse,  Berlin. 
Otto  Harrassowitz,  Leipzig. 
RrnoLF  Haupt,  Halle-a-S,  Gei-many. 
Karl  \V.  Hiersemann,  Lcipzic. 
Ernest  Lkuoux,  2S,   Rue  Bonaparte,  I'aris. 
Mautinus  Nijitoff.  The  Hague,  Holland. 


•  Agent  for  sale  of  the  Lepislative  Deparlmpnt  publications. 


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MA  DBAS  DISTRICT  GAZETTEERS 


MADURA. 

VOLUME  I, 


[Peicb,  2  rupees.'] 


3  shtUirijfS."} 


MADRAS    DISTRICT  GAZETTEERS. 


MADUEA 


BY 

W.    FRANCIS, 

INDIAN    CIVIL    SERVICE. 


]\I  A  D  R  A  S  : 
PRINTED  BY  THE  SUPERINTENDENT,  GOVERNMENT  PRESS. 

1906. 


PEEFACE. 


/  />  *    ^ 


/.  ; 


The  first  '  Manual  '  of  this  district  was  The  Madura  Country 
of  Mr.  J.  H.  Nelson,  I.C.S.,  published  at  Madras  in  1868. 

The  chief  features  of  his  work  were  its  sections  on  the 
political  and  revenue  history  of  the  district ;  and  these  have 
been  freely  utilized  in  the  present  volume.  The  early  part  of 
the  former  of  them,  however,  has  naturally  been  largely 
superseded  by  the  discoveries  due  to  the  progress  of  epigraphy 
in  recent  years ;  and  limits  of  space  have  necessitated  the 
ruthless  condensation  of  much  of  Mr.  Nelson's  picturesque 
account  of  the  Nayakkan  dynasty  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
same  section.  Most  of  the  rest  of  the  book  is  new.  It  is 
arranged  on  the  system  followed  in  the  other  District  Gazet- 
teers of  the  new  series  now  being  brought  out,  and  statistical 
matter  appears  in  a  separate  Appendix  which  is  to  be  revised 
decennially,  after  each  census. 

Under  instructions,  the  volume  does  not  deal  with  the 
Ramnad  and  Sivaganga  zamindaris,  which  are  to  be  transfer- 
red to  another  district,  and  treats  the  area  which  will  be 
included  in  the  proposed  new  Nilakkottai  taluk  as  though 
this  taluk  were  already  in  existence.  The  absence  of  statistics 
for  this  latter  tract  has,  however,  in  some  cases  prevented 
the  consistent  carrying  out  of  this  method  of  referring  to  it. 

Thanks  to  the  various  gentlemen,  non-official  and  official, 
who  have  been  kind  enough  to  help  with  the  undertaking 
have  been  rendered  wherever  possible  in  the  body  of  the 
volume.  The  plan  of  the  Madura  temple  at  p.  267  and  the 
early  portions  of  the  lists  of  Collectors  and  Judges  on  pp.  SOS 
and  218  were  prepared  for  the  revised  District  Manual  which 
was  begun  by  Sir  Harold  Stuart. 


W.  F. 


14^MS5^ 


>> 


PLAN  OF  CONTENTS. 


Chapter 

PAGES 

I.  Physical  Description 

1-23 

II.  Political  History  . . 

24-71 

III.  Thb  People 

72-111 

IV.  Agriculture  AND  Irrigation        ..          ..          ..          ..     J 12-131 

V.  Forests 

132-143 

VI.  Occupations  and  Trade 

144-153 

VII.  Means  of  Communication 

154-159 

Vlli.  Eainfall  and  Seasons 

160-167 

IX.  Public  PIealtii 

168-17a 

X.  Education 

174-178 

XI.  Land  Revenue  Administr.' 

i-TiON 179-209 

XII.  Salt,  Abkari  AND  Miscellaneous  Eevenue       ..          ..     210-213 

XIII,  Administration  of  Jusiici 

214-219 

XIV.  Local  Self-Goveknment    . 

220-227 

XV.  Gazetteer — 

Dindignl  Taluk 

228-244 

Kodaikanal  Taluk 

245-253 

Madura  Taluk 

254-281 

Melur  Taluk 

282-291 

Nilakkottai  Taluk 

292-299 

Palui  Taluk 

300-311 

Periyakulam  Taluk 

312-324 

Tirumangalam  Taluk 

325-331 

Index           

333-363 

TABLE  OF  CONTENl^. 


CHAJ'TER   I. 

PHYSICAL   DKSCBJPTION. 

PASE 

Gexieat,  Desi  RiPTioN  (pHgo  1)  —  Positiwii  and  In >niulai-ie.s— Taluks  and  chief 
towns — Pjtymology  of  t.lic  iiamn  (2)— Naturnl  divisions.  Hili.s  (3) —The 
Palnis — Vanishanad  and  Andjpai.ii  hills  ((>) — Tho  Nagjmalai  (7) — Siru- 
malais— Kaiaiidamalais  (8) — Aiaofarraalais  (9) — Tho  Nattam  and  Aildr 
hills — Isolated  hills — Scenery  (10).  Rivers — The  Gundar — Tirnniaiiiniut- 
tar  and  Palar  — Ko  Javanar,  Nanganji,  Xallatangi  and  Shaninuganadi — The 
Vaigai  and  its  tribufcai-ies  (M).  .S(>ii-s(12).  Climatk  (13)— Rainfall- 
Temperatme.  Gkology  (!4! — Minerals  (15).  Flora.  I-'aixa  (20) — 
Cattle — Sheep  and  goats  (,22) — Game ...  ...  1-23 


CHAPTER  II. 

POLITICAL  HISTOKY. 

PtBHinoKic  Peoples  (page  2'1-)  -  PaUcolithic  man — Kistvaeix,  etc.  (25). 
Early  History — The  Pandya  dynasty — Its  antiquity  (2G) — Appears  in 
early  Tamil  liteiature  — Its  first,  mention  in  inscription*  (29) — Its  sf-rua;- 
gles  with  tlie  Pallavas,  7th  century — Decline  of  the  latter — The  Ganga- 
Pallavas,  9th  century  (30) — Pandya  ascendancy — Chola  revival,  10th 
to  12th  centnries^Pandja  rebellions  (31)  —  Pand\-a  renaissance,  12th 
century  (33) — Struggle  for  the  throne — Decline  of  the  Clioias,  13th 
century  (311 — Pandya  rule  thenceforth  — Maravarman  Sundara-Paudya  I, 
121G-3-')  (35) — Arrival  of  the  Hoysalas — Jatavarnian  Sundara-Pandya  I, 
1251-61  (30) -End  of  the  Hoysala  and  Chola  power — Maravarman  Kula- 
86khara  I  (12G8-1308)  and  his  successor — Splendour  of  the  Pandya  realm 
(37).  Musalii*..\]Invasio\,  1310 — Musalraan  dynasty  at  Madura  (38). 
VrJAYANAGAR  DOMINION,  1305 — Its  effects  (39)— King  Achyuta's  campaign, 
1532  (40).  Na'yakkan  Dynasty,  1559-173G— Its  origin  (40— Vjsvantitlia 
Nayakkaii,  1559-63  (■12)  —  His  incnediatc  succosaors  (43)— Fall  of  Vijaya- 
nagar  kingilom,I5tj5  (41) — Tiruniala  Xayakkan,  1623-59 — Kedefies  Vijaya- 
nagar  (45) — Calls  the  Muliamniadans  to  his  aid — And  becomes  their  fenda- 
tory  (iG) — His  wars  with  Mysore — His  death  (47)  -Kebellions  among  hi» 
vassals  (48) — A.  curious  rumour — Tiruraala's  capital  (49) — His  public  build- 
ings—Mnfctu  Alakadri,  1659-62  (50)  — Chokkanatha  (1662-82)  — His 
troubles  with  his  neiirbbours  —His  coB(iue8t  and  loss  of  Tanjore  (51) — At- 
tacked by  Mysore  and  the  Marathas  (52) — The  latter  seize  his  country 
(53) — Ranga  Krishna  Muttu  Viiappa  (1682-89) — iMatters  improve — Man- 
gam  mil  (l(;89-1701)  (54.)— Her  charities— Her  wars— Her  tragic  death 
(55)— Vijaya  Ranga  Chokkanatha  (170t-31)  (5G)— His  feeble  rule  — Mi'nak- 
shi  (1731  .");;) -Miisfilman  interference — I'hid  of  Nayakkan  dvTasty(5<S)  — 
Character  of  its  rule.     Misalman  Domikiok— Chanda  Sahib   (L7S6-40)  — 

h 


Table  or  oontbnts. 


VAftB 


A  Marafclia  interlude,  1740-43 — Musalman  authority  re'establishcd,  174J 
(59) — The  rival  Musalman  parties  ('iO).  English  Period — Sieg^e  of 
Madura,  1751 — Col.  Heron's  expedition,  1755  (62) — Mahfnz  Khau  rents 
tlie  oouiitrj' — Muhammad  Vusuf  sent  to  quiet  it  —Mahfnz  Kh&a  rebels 
(03) — Captain  Calliaud's  attacks  on  Madura,  1757 — Anarchy  again  prevails 
(Gtj) — Yusnf  Khan  again  despatched — He  rebels  and  is  han<fed,  1764— His 
cliaraoter  (67) — Haidar  Ali's  invasion,  1780 — Assignment  of  tlie  revenue  to 
the  Company,  1781  ((38) -Colonel  Fnllarton's  expedition.  1783 — Assign- 
ment of  the  revenue  cancelled,  1785  (69)  —  Assumption  of  the  revenue, 
1790 — The  Company  collects  the  peshkash,  1792  — Story  of  the  Dindigfil 
country— Its  cession  in  1792  (71)— Cession  of  the  rest  of  Madura,  1801     ...       24-71 


CHAPTER  III. 

THP]  PEOPLE. 

OiNERAL  Chahactkristics  (page  72)-  Density  of  the  population — Its  growth 
— Parent-tongne  (73)— Education  (74)^ — Occupations — Eeligiotis.  The 
Jains.  The  Christians  (75) — Roman  Catholic  Mission — American  Mis- 
sion (77) — Leipzig  Evangelical  Lutheran  Mission  (79).  The  Mi'Saljians — 
Ravutans—BelatioHS  with  Hindus  (80).  The  Hindis — Villages — Houses 
(81)— Dress  (82)— Food  (83)  —  Amusements — Religious  life  :  Brahman  in- 
fluence small  (84) — Popular  deities:  Karuppan  (85)  — Aiyanar — Madurai 
Viran— Others  (86) — Vows — Devils  (87).  Principal  Castes— Kalians  (88) 
— Idaiyaus  (96)  —  Valaiyans  (97)— Kammalans  (99) — Nattukottai  Chettis 
— Vannans  (101)— Kusavans— Parivarams(102) — Kunnavaus  (103) — Pulai- 
yans  (104)— Paliyans  (105)— Tottiyans  (106)— Kappiliyans  (108)— Anup- 
pans  (109)  — Patnulkarans  72-111 


CHAPTER  IV. 

AGRICULTURE  AND  IRRIGATION. 

AoRicULTDRAL  STATISTICS  (page  112)— The  different  taluks— The  various  cropi 
(113).  Wet  Cultivation  (114)— Paddy — Its  cultivation  (115) — Its  varie- 
ties. Dry  Cultivation  (116)— Methods— Cotton  (118) — Tobacco  (119). 
Irrigation  ^121) — Area  protected— Wells  (122) — TanVs  and  channels 
(123) — The    Periyar   project    (126).     Economic   Condition  of   Agricul- 

Tu»i«T8  (lao)        iia-iai 


CHAPTER  V. 

FORESTS. 

Be^nnings  of  conservancy  (page  132)— The  Forest  Act  of  1882  (135)— The 
existing  forests — Their  position  (136) — Their  characteristics— In  the  east 
and  south  of  the  district  (137)— On  the  slopes  of  the  Palnis  (138)--On  the 
Falni  plateaus— In  the  Kambam  valley  (139)— Plantations  (110)— Minor 
produce  (141)— Grazing-fees— Working  plans:  in  the  four  eastern  taluks 
—In  the  Kambam  valley  (142)  132-143 


TABLB    OF    CONTENTS.  1:1 

CHAPTER  TI. 

OCCUPATIONS  AND  TKADE. 


0(  ciii'ATiONB  (page  144)--Agiiciilturc  and  imsturo.  Arts  anh  IxnrsTRiES  — 
Hlankut  miking  (145)— ^Gotton-weaving  — Silk-Wfaviiig:  (lifi) — Appliances 
(147)  — Hyeing — Gold  and  silver  thread  \\i8)  —  Wax-prim inir — ("olton- 
spinninu:  (140)  Cigar-n  aking  Coffce-eniing  (ir)0)--()il.s- Tanning — 
Wood-carving — Metal-work — Banjiies  (151) — Jlinor  intlustiics.  Trauk — 
Exports — Imports — Mechanism  of  trade  (152).  Wkights  ani>  Mkasukks  — 
Ta])les  (if  weight — Measures  for  grain-  Li(iuid8  (153)  —  Land —Distance — 
And  time — Coinajje  ...         ...  ...         ...         ...  ...  ...  ...    144-153 


CHAPTER  VI r. 

MEANS  OF  OOMMUMCATION. 

Roads  (page  154"^  —  Their  foriiicr  state  -Their  oxisting  condition  -  Tlie  chief 
routes  (155) — The  Kottakudi  ropeway  —  Law's  ghat  — The  .4ttur  ghat(15fj) 

—  I'ridges-    Travellers'  bungalows  and  chattrjims    (l')7).     h'Aii.wAVa   '.158) 

—  Existing  lines — Projected  roites         ...  ...         ...  ...  ...  ...   154-159 

CHAPTEE  Vin. 

RAINFALL  AND  SHASONS. 

R.AiNFAr.i,  (page  UlUi — Li;il)ilily  to  famine  and  Hoods  (Itil).  1<'ami.\f,s  A.\r> 
S<  AKCiTiEs- In  prc-British  days-In  17S:>'J— In  1812-14  (162) -In  1832 
and  lyaO- In  l857--ln  18615  -The  great  famine  of  1870-78  (1615).  Pluoks 
(160)  100-167 

CHAPTER  IX. 

PUHLIC  HEALTH. 

Gknkral  Ilf.ALTH  (page  108)- Cholera — Fever  (109) — Small-pox — Madnra  foot 
— Vital  Ktatistics  (171'.  Medical  Institutions  — American  Mission  hospi- 
tals and  disj)en8aries — The  Madura  hospital-  The  Dindi^ul  hospital  172) 
— Other  institutions  168-173 


CHAPTER  X. 

EDUCATION. 

RarTjV  History  (page  174) — The  three  Sangams— The  new  Sangam  (175) — 
Education  under  the  Nayakkans.  Cknsus  Statistics — Figures  by  reli- 
gions and  talnks  (170).  EnicATioNAi,  ixsTiTUTioxs— The  lasumalai  Col- 
lege— The  ^Lidura  College  (177)  -Upper  secondary  schools—  Lower  second- 
ary pechools  (178)— Other  schools— Nowsimpers,  etc.  ...  ...  ...   174-378 


adi  TABl^B    OF    CONTBNtS. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

LAND  KE VENUE  ADMINISTRATION. 

PA»B 

R.F. VENUE  History  (pane  179) — Native  revenue  gystems— Methods  of  tli** 
Navakkans  (180)— Of  the  Marathas  (181)  -And  of  the  later  renters — 
British  administration  :  in  the  Dindisu'  conntry  (183) — Mr.  ^^c^>eod,  first 
Collector.  l700~IIis  incapacity  (184)— Mr.  Wynch  and  liis  maladministra- 
tion, 1794  (IS.'S) — rommissibn  of  enquiry,  1796 — Mr.  Hurdi.s'  Collector- 
ship  (186)  — Order  restored  and  survey  and  settlement  bcsfun,  1800  (187) — 
Principles  of  these  (188) — Miscellaneous  taxes  ()8fl) — The  finantial  results 
(190)— Air.  Parish  becomes  Collector— The  di.-trict  declines,  1805  (191)-- 
Mr.  Hodgson's  report  upon  it — Triennial  village  leases,  1808-10 — Mr.  Rons 
Peter's  redactions  in  the  assessments,  1823  (192)  —  Further  reductions, 
1831 — Abolition  of  vavpayir  assessments,  lSo4  (193) — Unsettled  pa'aiyams 
(194)  —  British  administration  in  the  Madura  country  (196) — Eitticulties  at 
the  outset — Formal  cession  of  the  conntry,  1801  (197) — Early  setcleuu-nta 
in  it  -The  various  land  tenures — Government  land  (198) — TLafta  devas- 
tanam — Sihhwndi  pomppu  (199) — JtritJiam — Pnruppn  villagfcs —Church 
maniijam.9—Chiitirn.ra  land  (200) — Arcfi-kattahii — Arai-Jatfahn  villatres — 
Ardha-ma7)iijai>i,  etc.  -Defects  of  the  settlement — Triennial  leases  and 
the  ryoiwari  system  (201' — Kednctions  in  assessments.  The  Existing 
Stkvky  AKn  Skttlemext,  1885-89 — Principles  followed  (202) — Kates 
prescril)ed  (203")- Resultant  effects  (204)— Settlement  of  hill  villages 
(205).  iNAMs  (206).  ExisTixe  Divisional  Charges.  Appendix,  List  of 
Collectors  (208)       179-209 

CHAPTER  XII. 

SAliT.ABKAj'.I  AND  MISCELLANKOUS  liEVENUE. 

Sait  (page  210)  —  Earth-salt — Saltpetre.  AbkXki  and  opum  (211) — Arraok 
—  Foreign  liquor — Toddy — Opium  and  hemp  drugs  (212).  Income-Tax 
(913).     Stamps       :!10-813 

CHAPTER  XIII 

ADMINISTRATION  OF  JUSTICE. 

Former  Courts  ^xjage  214).  Civil  Jvstice -E.xisting  courts  (215) — Amount 
of  litigation— Uegititration.  Criminal  Justice — The  vaiious  tribunals — 
Crime — Criminal  castes  (216).  Police— Previous  systeu.s — '1  he  existing 
force.  (217).    Jails.     Appendix,  List  of  Judges  (218j  3U-319 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

LOCAL  SELF-GOVEKNMENT. 

The  Local  Boards  (page  220)— The  Unions— Finances  of  the  Boards  (221). 
The  five  Mixicipalities — Madura  Municipality  (222)  — Improvements 
effected  by  it— The  water-supply  scheme — Drainage  (224) — Dindigul 
Municipality  (225) — Water-supply —Palni  Municipality  (22U) — Periya- 
knlam  Mxmicipality— Kodaikanal  Municipality  (227)  220-827 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  XIU 

CHAPTER  XV. 

GAZETTP]ER.     . 

PAOK 

DmniGiL  Talik  (page  228)— Agaram  (229)— AmbSturai— Atfcur  (230)— 
Ayyampalaiyam  (231) — Dindii^ul—  Kinakkalapuram  (237) — Eriyddu  (238) 
— Kannivadi— Knvakkapatti  (21U)— Madnr— Maruauttu  (211)  — Palakka- 
nuttu  —  Sukkampatti  (242)  --  Tadikkoiului  —  Tavasimadai  (243)  —  Veda- 
■andur.  Kodaikaxai,  Taluk  (245) — Kodaikanal.  Madura  T\LLK(2ci)  - 
Anaimalai — Anappanadi  (250) — Kodim:ingalam(257) — Waduiu — ilangulaiu 
(278) — PaBumalai — Sirnpalai^Tirupparankunrain  (279) —  v'elliyakimdani 
(281).  Mklur  Taluk  (282)— Ahigarkovil— AriMapatti  (28(3;- Kanmgala- 
kndi- Kot.tampatti  (287;  -IM^lur  (288)  —  Nattain  —  Tiruvadi'ir  (280). 
NiLAKKoTTAl  Taluk  (292) — Ammayanayakkandr — Kulasekharaiikottai 
(294)  — Mettnpatti— Nilakkottni  (295)— Sandaiyiir  (296)-S6Iavandan— 
Tiruv6dagam  (297)— Tottiyankortai  (298)— Vattilaguiidu.  Palm  Taluk 
(300) — Aivarmalai— Ayakkudi  (301) — Idaiyankottjii  (302)  Kalayamuttiir 
(303)— Kirauur  — Mauibarai—Palni  (304)— Eettayauibadi  (3U8)— V6Iur 
(309) — Virupakshi.  Pkiuyakulam  Taluk  (312)— APinagaiam  (313) — 
Andipatti — Anuraaudanpatti —  Bodiiiayakkaiiur —  (  hinnunianur  (31(»)  — 
D^vadanapatti — Erasakkanayakkanui- — Gantamanayakkanur  (317) — Gnda- 
lur  (318)  —  Kanibam— Kombai  (319)  -  Margaiyaiikottai  (^320) — Peiiya- 
kulam — Tevarain  (321) — Uttamapalaiyam — Vadaknrai  (322) — Virapatidi 
(324).  Tirjmangalam  Taluk  (325) — Anai^m-  -  Doddappanayakkanur 
.  (326)— Elumalai— Jotilnayakkaimr— Kalligudi— Kilakkottai  (327)  — Kovil- 
ankolam — Kuppalanattam  — Rlelakkottai — Nadukkottai  v328) — Poraiydr — 
Puliyaukiilam — :?andaiyur — Saptiir  (329)  — Tiruinangalam —  L'siUnnpatti 
(330) — Uttappauayakkanur  —  Vikkirauiaagulaiu  ..  ...  ...  ...   ^3<8-331 


GAZETTEER 


OF    THE 


MADUEA    DISTEICT 


CHAPTER  I. 
PHYSICAl.  PESCEIPTION. 


Gexeral  Description — PoBition  and  boundaries — Taluks  and  chief  towns  — 
Etymology  of  the  name — Natural  divisions.  Hills — The  Palnis  —  Varuslia- 
nad  and  Xudipatti  hills — Tlie  Nagamalai— Sirumaluis  — Karandamalais-  ■ 
Alagarmalais— The  Nattam  and  Ailfir  hills — Isolated  hills — Scenery.  Rivers 
— The  Gundar — Tirumanimuttar  and  Palar — Kodavanar,  Nanganji,  Nalla- 
tangi  and  Shanmuganadi — The  Vaigai  and  its  tributaries.  Soils.  Climate 
— Rainfall— Temperature.  Geology — Minerals.  Flora.  Faun'A— Cattle 
— Sheep  and  goats— Game. 

Except  Tinnevelly,  Madura  is  the  soutlierninost  CoUectorate  of      CH.VP.  I. 
the  Madras    Presidency.     On    the  north  it    is    bounded   by   the      General 

Coimbatore  and   Trichinopoly  districts  ;  on   the   east   by  Trichi-  

nopoly,  a  corner  of  Pudukkottai  State  and  the  Sivaganga  Position  and 
zamindari;  on  the  south  by  the  Sivaganga  and  Ramnad  '°""'*"^^- 
zamindaris  ;  and  on  the  whole  of  its  western  side  by  the  great 
range  of  the  AVestern  Grhats,  which  here  is  nearly  all  included  in 
the  Native  State  of  Travancore.  Except  this  last  mountain 
frontier,  none  of  the  boundaries  of  Madura  follow  any  natural 
features,  but  owe  tlieir  origin  to  administrative  convenience  or  the 
vicissitudes  of  history. 

Madura  is  made  up  of  the  eight  taluks  of  Dindigul,  Kodai-  Taluks  and 
kanal  (comprising  the  Upper  and  Lower  Palni  hills  to  be  referred  '^'''*^^  iowup 
to  immediately),  Madura,  Melur,  Nilakkottai,  Palni,  Periyakulam 
and  Tirumangalam.  The  boundaries  and  position  of  these  will  be 
evident  from  a  glance  at  the  map  in  the  pocket  at  the  end  of  this 
volume.  Statistical  particulars  regarding  them  will  be  found  in 
the  separate  Appendix.     The  chief  towns  in  the  district  are  its 


MADUHA. 


CHAP.  I. 

General 
Description. 


Etymology 
of  the  name. 


Natural 
divisions. 


capital,  Madara  (tlie  largest  mufassal  municipality  in  the  Presi- 
dency) ;  tlie  seven  places  wliicli  are  the  head-quarters  of,  and  give 
their  names  to,  the  remaining  taluks  ;  and  Bodinayakkanur  and 
Uttamapalaiyam  in  Periyakulam.  Some  account  of  these,  and 
also  of  other  localities  of  interest  in  the  district,  will  be  found  in 
Chapter  XY  belovr. 

The  district  is  named  after  its  chief  town.  The  word  is  spelt 
Madurai  in  Tamil,  and  Yule  and  Burnell  say  that  it  is  generally 
supposed  to  be  the  Tamil  form  of  the  name  of  Mathura  (the 
modern  Muttra),  the  very  ancient  and  holy  city  on  the  Jumna, 
30  miles  above  Agra.  They  point  out  that  the  name  Madura 
seems  to  have  been  a  favourite  among  eastern  settlements  under 
Hindu  influence — there  being  places  so  called  iu  Ceylon  and  to 
the  north  of  Mandalay  and  an  island  of  the  name  near  Java — 
and  suggest  that  it  was  perhaps  adopted  from  reverence  for  the 
holy  city  of  the  north. 

Another  etymology  is  from  the  Tamil  MaJhurai,  meaning 
anything  sweet,  the  story  being  that  Siva  was  so  pleased  with 
the  buildings  erected  round  about  his  shrine  by  the  first  Pandyan 
king  that,  as  a  mark  of  special  favour,  he  sprinkled  the  temples, 
towers ,  palaces  and  houses  of  the  town  with  drops  of  sweet  nectar 
shaken  from  his  locks. 

There  are  five  well-marked  natural  divisions  in  the  district. 
The  Palni  hills  are  totally  unlike  any  other  part  of  it.  Tiru- 
mangalam  taluk  in  the  south  similarly  differs  widely  from  the 
rest,  being  a  level  expanse,  dotted  with  a  few  granite  hills,  which 
is  mainly  covered  with  black  cotton-soil  and  the  scanty  vegetation 
characteristic  thereof.  The  remainder  of  Madura  may  be  grouped 
into  three  areas;  namely,  first,  the  level  tracts  of  rice-land 
(mainly  irrigated  with  the  water  of  the  Periyar  project  referred  to 
on  pp.  126-130  below)  which  cover  much  of  the  Nilakkottai  and 
Madura  taluks  and  the  southern  half  of  Melur,  and  which  receive 
a  high  rainfall ;  secondly,  the  higher  and  far  drier  expanse  of  red 
soil  which  spreads  across  the  north  of  Melur  taluk,  all  Dindigul 
and  Palni,  and  strongly  resembles  in  its  general  features,  soil  and 
products  the  adjoining  areas  in  Coimbatore  district ;  and,  thirdly, 
the  long  Kambam  Yalley  which  makes  up  the  Periyakulam 
taluk  (see  the  map)  and  which,  owing  to  the  perennial  streams 
which  flow  from  its  numerous  forests  and  the  cool  wind  which 
passes  down  it  from  the  great  hills  on  the  west,  is  the  greenest 
and  pleasantest  part  of  the  district.  The  low-lying  centre  of  this 
valley  is  occupied  by  fertile  wet  land  irrigated  from  the  Yaigai, 
the  Suruli,  and  the  Periyar  water  flowing  down  the  latter ;  but 
the  higher  sides  of  it  consist  of  dry,  red  land  which  is  cultivated 


PHYSICAL    DESCBIPTION.  O 

here  and  there   under  wells,  Lut  for  tJie  most  part  is  as  "barren      CHAP.  I. 
and   stony    as    the    infertile    parts    of   the    Mysore    plateau    and        Hill*. 
resembles  them  markedly  in  general  appearance. 

As  will  he  seen  from  the  map,  the  mountain  ranges  of  Madura 
include  the  broad  mass  of  the  Palni  liills  on  the  west ;  south  of 
these,  on  the  other  side  of  the  beautiful  Kambam  valley,  the 
narrower,  nearly  parallel,  Varushanad  and  Andipatti  range  ;  the 
northern  continuation  of  this,  the  snake-like  Nagamalai  which 
eventually  turns  south-eastwards  in  a  wide  curve  nearly  as  far  as 
Madura  town ;  the  Sirumalais  north-north-west  of  that  place ; 
and,  to  the  east  of  these,  the  Alagarmalais  and  Karandamalais. 
Round  about  Nattam,  the  town  which  lies  within  the  triangle 
formed  by  these  last  three  ranges,  are  several  groups  of  smaller 
heights  which  are  usually  called  '  the  Nattam  hills'  ;  and  the 
similar  elevations  to  the  northward,  round  the  Ailur  railway- 
station,  are  known  as  '  the  Ailur  hills.' 

The  Palnis  are  apparently  so  called  from  tlie  to\\Ti  of  the  same  The  I'alnis. 
name  which  lies  just  north  of  them.  Their  Sanskrit  appellation 
is  Yarahagiris,  or  '  pig  hills,'  and  to  account  for  it  a  legend  is 
related  of  twelve  naughty  childreu,  who  scoffed  at  a  devout  rishi 
who  dwelt  amid  the  forests  on  them,  were  transformed  by  hin 
into  pigs,  were  rescued  by  Siva  and  were  eventually  promoted  to 
high  office  under  the  Pandya  kings.  Eepreseutations  of  this  story 
appear  among  the  sculptures  in  the  Pudu  mantapam  at  Madura 
(p.  271).  It  has  led  to  another  derivation  of  the  name,  the  word 
Palni  being  thought  by  some  to  be  a  corruption  of  Panri-malai, 
the  Tamil  form  of  the  Sanskrit  Yarahagiri. 

The  range  is  an  oSshoot  of  the  Western  Ghats  and  is  con- 
nected with  the  main  part  of  that  great  formation.  South-west 
of  it  runs  another  oifshoot  called  the  Cardamom  Hills.  These 
wall  in  the  western  side  of  the  upper  part  of  the  Kambam  valley, 
but  all  except  their  steep  slopes  is  outside  Madura  and  the  scope 
of  the  present  volume. 

The  greatest  length  of  the  Palni  range  is  40  miles  and  its 
maximum  breadth  25  miles,  and  it  is  divided  east  and  west  into 
two  distinct  portions,  the  Upper  Paluis  and  the  Lower  Palnis,  the 
line  between  which  runs  north  and  south  througli  Neutral 
Saddle  on  the  map.  The  forests  on  both  these  ranges  (as  also 
those  on  the  other  hills  of  the  district)  arc  referred  to  in  Chapter 
V  below  and  the  roads  up  them  in  Chajiter  YII. 

The  Lower  Palnis  consist  of  a  confused  jumble  of  peaks  from 
3,000  to  5,000  feet  high,  separated  from  one  another  by  steep, 
wooded  valleys  of  great  beauty.     In   these   ravines    are   a   few 


4  mAduea. 

OHAP.  I.  villages.  They  are  all  small  (the  largest  of  them,  Pannaikada, 
-Hir.Ls,  contains  less  than  3,000  inhabitants)  and  they  are  picturesquely 
surrounded  with  groves  of  tamarind,  jack,  mango,  orange,  lime, 
citron,  sago  and  other  trees.  At  the  approaches  to  some  of  them 
may  still  be  seen  remains  of  the  gates  v^hich  led  through  the 
hedges  with  which  they  were  defended  in  the  turbulent  days 
of  old.  They  usually  possess  a  number  of  hamlets,  perched  at 
haphazard  on  the  slopes  of  the  valleys  among  dry  cultivation  and 
fields  of  the  peculiar  aroinatic -flavoured  plantain  for  which  this 
country  is  famous  and  which  goes  on  bearing  for  twenty  years  at 
a  stretch,  even  without  irrigation.  The  crops  include  paddy, 
coffee,  cardamoms,  ginger,  turmeric  and  most  of  the  usual  dry 
cereals  of  the  plains.  Coffee  was  first  planted  in  these  hills  by 
M.  Eraile  de  Fondclair  about  1846.  He  obtained  the  seed  from 
the  Sirumalais,  where  his  father  had  already  experimented  with  the 
plant.  The  coffee  gardens,  like  those  elsewhere,  have  now  faUen 
on  evil  days  and  several  of  them  have  been  almost  abandoned. 
Cardamoms  and  ginger  require  shade  and  are  grown  under  the 
forest  trees.  The  former  take  five  years  to  come  into  bearing. 
Turmeric  is  planted  in  the  open  and  is  eighteen  months  before  it 
is  ready  for  gathering. 

None  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  part  of  the  range  are  hill-men 
in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word,  all  of  them  having  come  up,  in 
some  distant  past,  from  the  low  country.  They  do  not  differ 
greatly  from  the  people  of  the  plains  in  appearance,  dress  or 
physical  characteristics.  The  principal  landowners  are  the 
Kunnuvans,  and  the  Pulaiyans  form  the  chief  labouring  caste. 
Both  these  communities  are  mentioned  again  on  pp.  108  and  104 
below.  Telugu-speaking  Chettis  and  Musalmans  are  gradually 
acquiring  a  good  deal  of  the  land  which  formerly  belonged  to 
the  Kunnuvans ;  they  trade  with  these  latter,  involve  them  in 
financial  difiiculties  and  then  take  their  fields. 

The  hill  cattle  are  similarly  merely  animals  which  have  been 
taken  up  from  the  plains.  There  are  no  distinctive  breeds  like 
the  Toda  buffaloes  of  the  Nilgiris. 

Parts  of  this  lower  range  are  feverish.  March  to  July  are 
perhaps  the  worst  months  in  them^  but  no  part  of  the  year  can  be 
considered  safe. 

The  Upper  Palnis  run  from  6,000  to  8,000  feet  in  elevation. 
The  highest  point  in  them  (or  in  the  district)  is  Vembadi  Shola 
hill,  which  is  8,218  feet  above  the  sea.  The  sanitarium  of 
Kodaikanal  (p.  245)  stands  on  the  southern  edge  of  them.  They 
differ  from  the  Lower  Palnis  in  possessing  fewer  ravines  and 
valleys,  much  less  forest,  a  colder  climate  and  a  more  barren  soil. 


PHYSICAL  d:escription.  5 

and  tliey  consist  largely  of  considerable  plateaus  made  up  of  rolling-      CHAP.  I. 
downs   covered  wdth    coarse    grasses,  hidden   away   in  the  more        Hu.ls. 
sheltered    valleys    of  which    are    isolated    woods    called  sholas. 
Except  in  these  hollows,  the  soil  is  usually  a  thin  stratum  of  black 
peaty  earth  of  varying  depth  beneath  which  is  a  yellow  clay,  and 
in  many  places  the  underlying  rock  crops  out. 

Tlie  general  fall  of  the  range  is  to  the  north,  and  the  slope 
in  that  direction  is  fairly  gradual ;  but  on  the  south  the  hills 
terminate  abruptly  in  precipitous  cliffs  which  in  parts  of  the 
Kambam  valley  are  veritable  walls  of  rock  forjiiing  scenery  of  the 
boldest  and  wildest  description.  On  the  north,  two  great  valleys 
pierce  the  range  and  penetrate  southwards  through  it  as  far  as 
the  villages  of  Vilpatti  and  Pumbarai.  Up  these,  in  days  gone  by, 
led  two  of  the  most  frequented  of  all  the  routes  followed  by  the 
pack  animals  of  the  merchants  from  Palni,  then  the  chief  centre 
for  the  trade  with  the  hills.  The  path  from  Palni  to  Vilpatti  is 
interrupted  in  the  middle  by  precipitous  ground  over  which  no 
horse  could  travel.  The  other  up  the  Pumbarai  valley  is  easier. 
Both  these,  like  other  similar  tracks  on  the  range,  have  now  been 
almost  deserted  in  favour  of  the  bridle-path  from  Periyakulam  to 
Kodaikanal.  This  bridle-path.  Law's  Uliat,  the  new  Attur  Ghat 
(see  pp.  155-6)  and  the  roads  within  the  Kodaikanal  settlement  are 
as  yet  the  only  really  practicable  routes  on  the  range.  Communi- 
cation between  village  and  village  is  by  forest  roads  and  rough 
Inll-paths. 

The  Pumbarai  valley  is  the  most  remarkable  on  the  range. 
Its  almost  parallel  sides,  up  which  cultivation  climbs  amid  woods 
and  broken  ground,  are  bounded  by  precipitous  crags  which  look 
as  if  they  had  been  formed  by  the  sudden  subsidence  of  the 
ground  between  them.  I'umbarai  itself  stands  on  a  terrace  at  the 
head  of  the  valley  and  (although  its  inhabitants  number  less  than 
1,500)  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  Upper  Palni  villages. 
It  was  once  suggested  as  the  station  of  the  revenue  subordinate 
in  charge  of  these  hills  and  it  Loasts  a  temple  to  Subrahmanya 
wliich  is  held  in  much  repute. 

The  houses  in  this  upper  range  are  usually  divided  by  regular 
paved  lanes,  are  built  of  wattle  and  daub,  are  thatched  with  grass 
and  possess  fire-places.  The  people  are  chiefly  the  Kunnuvans 
already  mentioned,  Karakkat  Yellalaus  and  a  few  of  the  wild 
Palijans  referred  to  again  on  p.  105  below.  In  the  Upper  and 
Lower  I'alnis  taken  together  there  are  in  all  fifteen  Government 
villages  containing  a  population  of  just  under  20,000  persons. 

The  crops  of  the  upper  range  include  paddy,  coffee,  poor 
varieties  of  wheat  and  barley,  and  garlic.     This  latter  is  the  great 


patti  hills. 


6  MADURA. 

CHAP.  I,  article  of  export.  The  frequent  torrents  pouring  down  the  sides 
Hills.  of  tlie  hills,  which  are  almost  perennial,  are  often  dammed  at  the 
top  of  a  slope  and  thence  cunning-lj  led  to  irrigate  paddy  planted 
on  a  series  of  narrow  terraces  ingenioQsly  cut  in  the  hill-side  from 
its  brow  down  to  its  foot.  Manure  is  supplied  to  these  terraces  in 
liquid  form  hy  leading  the  stream  through  the  manure-heaps. 
The  paddy  is  a  coarse  variety  and  takes  eight  or  ten  months  to  ripen. 
There  are  wide  extents  of  land  over  which  the  hill  folk  have  no 
rights  of  occupation,  and  the  greater  part  of  these  has  been  consti- 
tuted reserved  forest.  At  present  the  disposal  of  unsurveyed  and 
unassessed  waste  land  other  than  reserves  is  governed  by  the 
provisions  of  Board's  Standing  Order  No.  20  and  not  by  the  rules 
usual  in  the  low  country. 
Vaiuslumad  After  the  Palnis,  the  largest  area  of  hill  in  Madura  is  the  line 

^"II-^'mV."  which,  for  want  of  a  better  name,  may  be  called  the  Varushanad 
and  Andipatti  range  from  the  Varushanad  valley  at  the  southern 
end  of  it  and  the  village  of  Andipatti  near  its  northern  extremity. 
Tins  (see  the  map)  runs  north-eastwards  from  the  south-western 
corner  of  the  disti'ict,  almost  parallel  with  the  Palnis  and 
Cardamom  liills  which  face  it  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Kambam 
valley.     Like  them,  it  is  an  outlier  of  the  Western  Grhdts. 

The  great  Varushanad  ('  rain  country ')  valley,  in  which  the 
Yaigai  river  takes  its  rise,  is  so  called  after  the  village  of  the 
same  name,  now  deserted  on  account  of  its  malaria,  the  interesting 
ruins  of  which  (see  p.  '518  below)  stand  on  the  right  bank  of  a  fine 
bend  of  the  Vaigai  near  the  centre  of  the  lower  part  of  it.  Not 
far  off  are  the  remains  of  Narasingapuram,  also  deserted.  At 
the  uppermost  end  of  the  valley  stands  the  prominent  Kottaimalai 
('fort  hill '),  6,<JI7  feet  above  the  sea  and  the  junction  between 
Madura,  liamnad  and  Travancore.  The  valley  is  quite  unin- 
habited except  for  a  few  Paliyans.  It  was  apparently  originally 
Government  land,  but  was  quietly  annexed  by  the  Gantamanayak- 
kanur  poligar  in  the  old  days  before  the  value  of  such  tracts  was 
properly  understood.  The  poligar  gradually  exercised  mder  and 
wider  rights  of  ownersliip  over  it,  and  when  at  last,  in  1880,^ 
the  attention  of  Government  was  directed  to  the  matter,  they 
reluctantly  adopted  the  view  that  it  was  too  late  to  attempt  to 
establish  their  claims. 

The  western  side  of  the  head  of  the  valley  is  flanked  by  the 
highest  portion  of  the  Varushanad  and  Andipatti  range.  This 
for  many  years  remained  unsurveyed,  and  was  merely  marked  in 
the   atlas   sheets   as  '  a  high  waving  mountain  overrun  with   an 

^  See  the  history  of  the  matter  in  G.O.,  ^''o.  917  Revenue,  dated  4th 
August  1880,  and  connected  paperg. 


PHYSICAL   DESCRIPTION.  7 

iinpenctraWe  forest';  whence  it  is  still  called  'tLe  High  AYavj'.      CHAP.  I. 
It  is  the  least  known  part  of  the  hills  of  Madura!     On  the  top  of        Hills. 

it  is  a  plateau  covered  with  evergreen  forest,  and  the  jungle  runs  

down  on  both  sides  of  it  in  great  continuous  masses  to  a  belt  of 
more  barren  land  consisting  of  rock  and  rough  grass.  Below 
this  again,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  is  a  fairly  thick  line  of  deciduous 
forest.  The  High  Wavy  is  entirely  uninhabited  except  for  a  few 
of^the  miserable  Paliyans  already  referred  to,  who  live  in  the 
forest  at  its  foot. 

The  eastern  side  of  the  Varushandd  valley  is  formed  by  a  lower, 
narrower  and  more  broken  line  of  liills.  The  most  prominent 
peaks  in  this  are  holy  Saduragiri  in  the  Saptur  zamindari  (pro]> 
erly  Chaturagiri,  '  the  four-square  liill,'  from  its  appearance) 
which  is  4,172  feet  high,  is  declared  to  be  even  now  the  residence 
of  celestial  sages  and  is  a  favourite  place  of  pilgrimage ;  and 
Kudiraimalai  ('  horse  hill ')  1,262  feet  above  the  sea.  The  range 
is  an  inhospitable  region.  It  is  rugged,  gaunt  and  burnt  up, 
clothed  for  the  most  part  with  only  the  scantiest  sprinkling  of 
thorny  trees,  euphorbias  and  cactus,  covered  often  with  stupend- 
ous blocks  of  naked  grtinite  and  visited  by  no  one  but  a  few 
herdsmen  and  their  flocks.  The  rock  of  which  it  is  formed  contains 
numerous  narrow  dykes  of  a  hard  stone  which  weathers  more 
slowly  than  the  rest,  and  these  stand  out  in  all  kinds  of  curious 
shapes  and  from  a  distance  often  closely  resemble  L-uildings  and 
lines  of  fortification. 

From  the  extreme  northern  end  of  these  rugged  heights  the  The 
odd  Ndgamalai  \' snake  hilP)  range  strikes  oft  east  and  then  ^"^'agauiai.ii. 
south  and  runs  to  within  three  or  four  miles  of  Madura  town.  It 
is  well  named,  being  a  long,  straight  ridge  of  barren  rock  of  very 
uniform  height ;  and  local  legends  declare  that  it  is  the  remains 
of  a  huge  serpent,  brought  into  existence  by  the  magic  arts  uf  the 
Jains,  which  was  only  prevented  by  the  grace  of  Siva  from 
devouring  the  fervently  Saivite  city  it  so  nearly  ap})roaches. 
All  the  last  part  of  it  consists  of  granuhir  quartz  of  a  very  light 
colour  (pale  red  or  yellow)  and  this  renders  it  a  most  conspicuous 
item  in  the  landscape  round  Madura. 

On  the  eastern  side  of  the  district  the  most  considerable  hills  sirunialnis. 
are  the  Sirumalais  ('  little  mountains  ')  which  stand  some  sixteen 
miles  north  of  Madura.  They  consist  of  a  compact  block  almost 
twelve  miles  across,  and  their  highest  points  are  a  little  over 
4,400  feet  above  the  sea.  On  the  top  of  them  is  a  basin-shaped 
plateau  some  3,00U  feet  high,  in  the  north-eastern  corner  of  which 
ftre  three  small  villages  inhabited  by  immigrants  from  the  low 


CHAP.  I. 

Hills. 


8  MADUBA. 

country.  The  climate  is  very  malarious  and  the  only  Europeans 
who  have  ever  attempted  to  settle  on  the  range  (the  American 
missionaries,  see  p.  250)  were  speedily  compelled  to  quit  it.  The 
fever  of  1809-10  committed  great  havoc  in  these  hills  and  the 
Survey  Account  of  1815-16  says  that  there  were  then  only  89 
people  left  upon  them. 

The  range  has  always  been  noted  for  its  great  fertility.  The 
earliest  Tamil  poems  extant  speak  of  the  many  varieties  of  fruits 
which  it  produced  in  abundance,  and  it  is  still  famous  for  its 
plantains  (which  are  vociferously  hawked  at  all  the  neighbouring 
railway-stations),  its  coffee  and  its  cardamoms,  and  grows  all  the 
fruit  trees  already  mentioned  as  occurring  in  the  Lower  Palni 
valleys.  The  Survey  Account  speaks  with  enthusiasm,  also,  of 
the  timber  trees  '  of  prodigious  height  and  magnitude '  which 
grow  upon  it  in  those  days ;  but  most  of  the  range  belongs  to 
the  Ammayanayakkanur  zamindari  and  its  forests  have  been  so 
recklessly  denuded  that  much  (f  the  great  damage  done  by  the 
floods  of  1877-78  (the  breaching  of  road^,  of  the  railway,  and  of 
950  tanks  in  Melur  taluk  alone)  was  attributed  by  the  then 
Collector  to  the  utter  bareness  of  its  slopes. 

Mr.  William  Elliott,  Judge  of  Madura  from  1838  to  1840, 
appears  to  have  been  the  first  to  start  planting  coffee  on  the 
range,  and  he  is  said  to  have  obtained  his  seeds  and  young  plants 
from  Mysore.  His  estate  (which  is  still  called  '  Elliottdale ') 
eventually  passed  to  M.  Faure  de  Fondclair  (father  of  the  M. 
Emile  de  Fondclair  already  mentioned  as  the  pioneer  of  coffee- 
planting  on  the  Lower  Palnis  )  and  from  his  family  to  the  Eoman 
Cath.^lic  Mission.  '  Vans  Agnew's  estate '  is  another  property 
on  the  range  which  is  under  European  management.  The  coolies 
who  work  on  the  estates  go  up  every  day  and  return  to  their 
villages  at  night.  The  coffee  grown  is  considered  superior  to 
that  from  the  Palnis.  In  1870  Capt.  E.  A.  Campbell,  late  of  the 
Madras  Army,  was  experimenting  on  these  hills,  on  behalf  of  the 
Cotton  and  Silk  Supply  Associations,  with  mulberry  trees  and 
exotic  cotton. 

K&ranila-  The  Karandauialais,  which  stand  some  eight  miles  north-east 

malais.  of  the  Sirumalais,  measure  about  six  miles  across  and  are  crowned 

by  a  little  plateau  un  which  are  three  small  villages.  From  all 
sides  of  this  run  down  low  ridges  enclosing  steep  valleys  each  of 
which  has  its  own  local  name  and  gives  rise  to  a  small  rivulet.  On 
the  southern  slope  are  the  remains  of  a  fine  cocoanut  garden  and 
of  a  hunting-seat  of  a  former  poligar. 


PHYSICAL   EE8CRIPTI0JC.  » 

The   Alagarmalais,  so   called    from   tlio   fa-nous   tomi>lo    to      CU.W.  T. 
Ala^arsvarai  v/hioh  etar.ds  at  the  soatliern  f(jot  (»f  thoin  tA-e've        Hills. 
miles  from  Madara  (see  p.  2.S2),  consist  of  a  ridtre  about  ten  miles  j^]^^^^ 
in  length  and  1,000  foet  above  the  sea  at  its  highest  point,  from  malaij. 
which  lesser  ridges  branch  otf   in  every  direction  I'lTiniag  valleys 
which  again  have  each  a  local  name. 

The   JVattam    and    Ailur    hills  merit  no  lengthy  detcription.   TheXaitam 
They  are   little,  stony    ridges   and   hummocks  with  steep  sides  ^J'lfg'^'^'^'" 
covered  with  the  shallowest  soil,  and  are  of  value  only  for  the  icon 
ore  they  contain  and  the  scrub  they  support. 

Besides  all  the  above,  the  district  contains  a  large  number  Isolarcdh  lla 
of  isolated  peaks  and  heights  which  belong  to  no  regular  range. 
Some  of  these  are  worthy  of  passing  mention.  The  Diudigul 
rock,  the  Anaiinalai  and  the  Pasumalai  are  separately  relVrred 
to  later  on  fpp.  2-32,  254  an  1  2:S).  Eangamalai  {o,0'J\)  feet), 
en  the  northern  frontier  of  Dindigul,  is  excee<ling]y  pr^.miuent 
throughout  most  of  that  taluk  and  Palni.  On  one  of  its 
precipitous  sides  is  a  temple  and  a  sacred  pool  iuto  which  the 
devout  throw  money  and  jewellery  in  performance  of  vows,  and 
on  top  of  it  is  a  cauldron  which  is  filled  with  ghee  and  lighted  ut 
Kartigai  and  l)ipavali.  Karumalai  ('  black  hill,'  2, '"'2 7  feet) 
five  miles  to  the  south-sou'h  west,  is  similarly  sucrf^d,  peopla 
going  op  on  Saturdays  to  the  spring  which  issues  from  its  side 
from  beneath  two  big  boulders  leaning  towards  one  another. 
Kondrangimalai  (2,701  feet),  tea  miles  away  on  the  rorthern 
frontier  of  Palni,  is  even  more  striking  in  appearance  than  either 
of  these.  The  foot  of  it  is  clothed  with  jungle,  and  out  of  this 
rises  a  very  steep,  tapenng,  sugar-loaf  peak,  formed  of  one  mass 
of  solid  rock,  bare  of  any  vegetation.  On  the  top  of  it  (as  is  the 
case  with  so  many  of  the  striking  peaks  in  this  district)  is  a  tiny 
shrine,  the  ascent  to  which  passes  up  steps  cut  in  the  rock  and  is 
provided  with  iron  stanchions  where  the  climb  is  steepest.  The 
hi'l  is  a  most  not,iceable  landmark  for  miles  in  every  direction. 
It  is  the  h>indsomest  peak  of  its  kind  in  all  Madira,  aud  the 
morning  mists  cling  lovingly  round  it  long  after  they  have  risen 
from  the  side.,  of  its  plainer  rivals. 

There  are  surprisingly  few  noticeable  tors  among  all  the 
wildernesses  of  rock  with  which  tlie  district  abounds.  Perhaps 
the  most  reniHrkable  15  that  on  S6;nagiii,  a  hill  four  miles  east  of 
the  eastern  edge  of  the  Alagarmidais.  This  consists  of  one  huge 
j«tone  balanced  upon  a  much  sleniierer  pedestal,  the  whole  being 
perhaps  80  feet  hi^rh.  It  is  visible  over  half  Melur  taluk  aud 
Mr.  Bruce  Foote  has  likened  its  appearance  from  the  low  grouud 
on  the  north  to  that  of  the  head  and  neck  of  a  bcaatiful  child. 

9 


10 


MADUHA, 


CHAP.  I. 

HlLT,9. 

Scenery. 


RiVKRS. 


The  Gundar, 


Tirnmani- 
muttar  ani 
Pilar. 


Kodavanar, 
NangSnji, 
Nallatangi 
and  Shanmu- 
ganadi. 


These  many  ranges  and  hills  make  Madura  a  very  picturesque 
country.  'J'hey  form  a  background  wliich  redeems  from  the 
commonplace  even  its  least  inviting  portion  (the  Llack  cotton-soil 
country  of  Tirumangalam,  diversified  only  by  scattered  babul 
trees  and  shimmering  mirages)  and  which  elevates  its  most 
charming  corner  (the  deep  Kambam  valley)  into  a  high  position 
among  the  entirely  delightful  localities  in  the  Presidency.  Their 
colouring  would  exhaust  the  vocabulary  of  the  most  facile  word- 
p.'iinter  and  their  outlines  vary  infinitely  from  the  gentlest  of 
grass-covered  sloj)es  to  the  wildest  of  precipitous,  bare  crags. 
Among  them  all,  the  Palnis  stand  without  a  rival  ;  whether  when 
at  the  first  dawn  a  peak  here  and  a  slioulder  there  advance, 
capriciously,  into  the  warm  light,  leaving  all  the  rest  in  mysteri- 
ous gloom  ;  at  evening,  when  their  topmost  heights  glow  with  the 
rose-colour  of  the  fading  sunset  ;  or  at  night,  when  the  big  cliffs 
resume  once  more  their  silent  watch  over  the  villages  below. 
Perhaps  of  all  the  many  moods  of  this  range  the  most  memorable 
is  when,  during  a  break  in  the  rains,  its  summits,  looking  loftier 
than  ever,  remain  wreathed  in  heavy  clouds,  while  its  slopes, 
seamed  with  a  hundred  torrents  and  cascades,  gleam  in  the  fitful 
sunlight  with  every  shade  of  green  and  blue,  from  jade-colour  to 
emerald,  from  turquoise  to  lapis  lazuli. 

The  multiplicity  of  hills  renders  the  drainage  system  of  the 
district  somewhat  complicated.  It  is  enough  to  mention  shortly 
here  the  direction  and  general  nature  of  the  various  rivers.  The 
irrigation  works  which  depend  upon  them  are  referred  to  below 
in  Chapter  IV. 

•  The  Tirumangalam  taluk  drains  south-eastwards  away  from 
the  Varushanad  and  Andipatti  range  into  the  Gundar  and  its 
tributary  the  Kamandalanadi,  which  unite  outside  the  district 
within  the  Ramnad  zamindari.  The  Gundar  flows  through  Tiru- 
mangalam town,  but  not  until  it  reaches  Kamudi  in  the  Eamnad 
country  is  it  utilised  to  any  extent  for  irrigation.  The  river  is 
very  uncertain,  being  often  in  high  flood  one  day  and  nearly  dry 
the  next. 

The  north  of  Melur  taluk  drains  eastwards  into  the  Tirumani- 
muttar  and  the  Palar,  which  are  also  fickle  streams  of  little 
importance  within  this  district  but  more  useful  in  the  lower  part  of 
their  courses. 

The  red  soil  plains  of  Dindigul  and  Palni  in  the  north  of  the 
district  drain  due  northwards  into  four  almost  parallel  rivers 
which  rise  in  the  Palnis  and  eventually  fall  into  the  Amaravati 
and  so  into  the  Cauvery.     These  (see  the  map)  are  the  Kodavanar, 


PHYSICAL    DESCRIPTION.  ll 

Nanganji,  Nallatangi  and  Slianmuganadi.     Like  tlie  Gundar,  they      CHAP.  I. 
are   often  in   heavy  flood   one   day  and  trickling"   streamlets  the       Kivers. 
next.     The  picturesque  falls  of  the  Nanganji  near  Yirupakshi  are  ' 

referred  to  in  the  account  of  that  place  on  p.  809  below.  U'he  most 
useful  of  these  four  rivers  is  the  Shanmuganadi  ('  six-faced 
stream '),  which  receives  the  drainage  of  the  great  Vilpatti  and 
Pumlbarai  valleys  already  mentioned.  Six  principal  torrents 
flowing  down  from  these  combine  to  form  it,  and  hence  its  name. 

The  streams  thus  far  referred  to  drain  the  outskirts  of  the  The  Vaigai 
district.  The  centre  is  included  in  the  main  river  system — that  ^'^■!  '^^  tribu. 
of  the  Vaigai  and  its  tributaries.  These  latter  all  rise  in  the 
Palni  hills  or  the  Varushanad  and  Andipatti  range,  and  join  the 
Vaigai  in  the  valley  which  lies  between  these  two.  Thereafter 
the  river  receives  no  tributaries  of  any  importance  and  flows 
south-eastwards  past  Madura  town  into  the  Bay  of  Bengal  not 
far  from  Eamnad.  The  geography  of  this  upper  part  of  the 
"Vaigai  and  the  courses  of  the  affluents  it  there  receives  can  be 
better  grasped  from  the  map  than  from  any  quantity  of  written 
description. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  river  rises  in  the  Varushandd  valley 
already  mentioned  and  at  first  flows  due  north  in  a  winding  bed. 
Nearly  parallel  with  it  meanders  the  Suruli,  which  drains  the 
whole  of  the  upper  pait  of  the  adjoining  Kambam  valley.  The 
head  waters  of  this  latter  fling  themselves  down  from  the  lower 
spurs  of  the  High  Wavy  in  a  beautiful  fall  which  is  visible  from 
the  road  along  the  bottom  of  the  valley.  Near  here  are  sacred 
caves  (the  chief  is  the  Kaildm  pudavu)  whicli  are  annually  visited 
by  many  pilgrims,  who  bathe  in  the  river  and  sacrifice  goats. 
The  water  has  the  property  (possessed  by  several  of  the  Derby- 
shire streams)  of  '  petrifying  '  objects  placed  in  it.  The  river  is 
almost  entirely  supplied  from  the  south  flank  of  the  Kambam 
valley  (the  hills  on  the  other  side  drain  northwards  into  Travan- 
core)  and  until  lately  it  was  of  comparatively  small  importance, 
Recently,  however,  the  biggest  of  the  Travancorc  rivers,  the 
Periyar,  has  been  dammed  up  (see  p.  126),  and  turned,  by  a  tunnel 
blasted  through  the  watershed,  down  into  the  Kambam  valley, 
where  it  is  led  into  the  bed  of  the  Suruli.  In  consequence  tho 
latter  is  now  full  of  water  for  nine  or  ten  months  in  the  year. 

About  two  miles  south  of  Allinagaram  the  Suruli  is  joined  by 
tho  Teni,  an  almost  perennial  stream  which  rises  in  the  deep 
Bodinayakkanur  valley.  Another  two  miles  further  on,  their 
combined  waters  join  the  Vaigai  and  they  arc  no  more  heard  of. 
The  Vaigai  is  now  a  deep   and  rapid  stream  flowing  in  a  narrow 


12 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  I. 

KlVM.S. 


Soits. 


channel.  It  soon  chang-es  its  direction  and  runs  cast-north-east- 
wards under  the  northern  slopes  of  the  Aifdipatti  hills  and  the 
J^Iaganialai.  In  tliis  part  of  its  course  it  is  met.  hy  the  Varaha- 
nidi  ('boar  river')  and  tlie  Manjalar  (' yellow  river ').  The 
fo finer  of  these  runs  down  from  the  Upper  I'aluis  through  Teri- 
jakulam  town,  where  it  unites  with  the  Pambar,  a  stream  well 
kngwn  at  Kodaikanal  and  the  falls  of  which  are  a  prominent 
object  from  the  bridle-path  leading  to  that  station.  The  Manja- 
lar  (sometimes  called '  the  Yattilagionda  river  ')  dashes  down  the 
side  ol'  the  Palnis  just  above  Devadauapatti  in  a  splendid  cataract 
200  feet  high  which  is  visible  from  the  main  road  there,  and 
then  races  past  A^'attilagundu,  is  joir  ed  by  tl.e  A yynmpalaijara  river 
from  tie  Lower  Palnis  and  flows  into  the  Vaigai.  Immediately 
afterwards,  the  latter  turns  and  begi-^s  the  soutt-easterly 
conr?o  wluch  it  continues  until  it  reaihes  the  st  a.  Just  at  the 
point  where  it  rims  under  the  corresponding  bend  iu  the  Naga- 
malai  it  is  crossed  by  the  important  Peranai  and  Chittanai  darns 
referred  to  in  Chapter  IV,  the  former  of  which  renders  available 
for  irrigation  the  water  of  ti:e  Periyar  which  has  reached  it 
through  the  Suruli. 

Before  the  advent  of  this  water  the  Vaigai  used  to  be  in 
heavy  flood  for  a  week  or  two  and  dry  for  almost  all  the  rest  of 
the  vear  ;  and  its  supply  was  so  inadequate  that  in  normal  years 
hardly  any  water  escaped  being  diawn  off  by  the  channels  which 
lead  off  from  either  bank,  so  that  at  the  point  where  it  enters  the 
Bay  of  Bengal  the  stream  was  reduced  to  the  merest  trickle. 
Now  even  below  the  two  dam?,  the  flow  is  more  considerable  and 
more  constant. 

The  soils  of  Madura  belong  principally  to  the  red  ferruginous 

series,  the  black  varieties  being 
uncommon  and  the  purely  are- 
naceous sorts  entirely  absent. 
The  marginal  table  shows  the 
percentage  of  the  assessed  area 
of  ryotwari  and  minor  inam  land 
in  each  taluk  wliich  is  covered 
with  black  and  red  soils  respect- 
ively. It  will  be  noticed  that, 
excluding  the  Palni  hills,  Tiru- 
roangalam  is  the  only  taluk  in 
which  the  proportion  of  black 
cotton-soil  is  considerable,  and 
tliat  the  other  taluks  are  almost  cntirel}'  covered  with  red  earths. 


T:.luk. 

l'prcentao;e. 

^ 

o 

"i 

cS 

a> 

pq     1     HH 

KcdaiVraTial 

3G 

ei 

Palni            

0 

94 

Dindigul        

4 

9;3 

I*(i;  lyjikulani 

<) 

91 

Maf'iira 

U 

H) 

M6Iiir           

100 

'i  i.urjargriluni 

Total       . 

61 
15 

3'J 

8  J 

PHYSICAL    DESCKIPTION-. 


13 


CHAP.  I. 

Soils. 


Climate. 
Ruinfall, 


The  cotton-soil  of  Tiremangalain  differs,  however,  from  that  of 
the  Deccan  districts  ;  being-  more  friaWe,  less  retentive  of  mois- 
ture and  more  suited  to  irrigation.  It  is,  in  fact,  regularly 
irrigated  from  both  tanks  and  wells,  and  systematically  irrigated 
paddy  may  often  be  seen  growdng  side  by  side  with  cotton 
cultivated  as  a  dry  crop. 

The  rainfall  of  the  district  is  referred  to  in  some  detail  on 
p.  160  below.  The  average  fall  is  33"88  inches  (half  cf  which  is 
received  in  the  north-east  niimsoon  between  October  and  Decem- 
ber) and  is  lightest  in  Palni  and  Dindigal  and  heaviest  (excluding 
the  Palni  hills)  in  Madura  and  Melur. 

The  temperature  is  officially  recorded  at  Madura   ami  Kodai-   Temierature. 

kanal,  but  figures  for 
the  latter  are  avail- 
able for  only  a  short 
period.  The  aver- 
age maxima  and 
minima  and  the  mean 
for  'each  month  at 
Madura  are  shown 
in  degrees  Fahren- 
heit in  the  margin, 
and  alongside  is 
given  the  daily  velo- 
city of  the  wind  in 
each  month.  These 
figures  do  not,  how- 
ever, give  an  idea 
of  the  extremes 
which  are  sometimes 
reached.  The  mer- 
cury has  been  known,  for  example,  to  fall  to  59*2°  and  to  rise 
to  105-5°. 

The  annual  mean  temperature  is  four  degrees  higher  than  in 
the  next  recording  station  to  the  north,  Coimbatore,  and  in  every 
month  in  the  year  the  mean  in  Madura  is  in  excess  of  the  figure 
at  that  station.  Compared  with  its  other  next  neighbours, 
Trichinopoly  and  Tinnovclly,  Madura  will  be  found  to  be  a  degree 
or  two  cooler  than  the  latter  in  every  month  in  the  year,  but 
slightly  hotter  than  the  former  in  the  four  months  November  to 
February.  TJie  worst  part  of  the  year  is  April,  May  and  June, 
and  it  is  only  in  November,  December  anti  January  that  tlie  mean 
temperature  is  below  80°.     Dindigul,  however,  is  considerably 


Month. 

Tempeiatur 

-. 

iii 

«    2 
tfc  s 

£  3 

a;  .- 

^  a 

.Average 
minimum. 

o 

° 

^ 

January 

87-5 

68-6 

78-1 

129-G 

February 

020 

09-5 

80-8 

120-0 

March 

i)Q-7 

72-8 

84-8 

98-4 

Apiil 

99-.3 

76-4. 

fc-7  9 

80  4 

May 

100- 1 

77-5 

J^8-8 

88-8 

June 

98-2 

77-1 

87-7 

115-2 

July 

97-2 

76-4, 

8G-8 

110-4 

August 

9GG 

7.' -8 

86-2 

88-8 

September  ... 

95-;*. 

7.'j-3 

85-3 

81-6 

October 

91-3 

74-0 

82  7 

G9-6 

November    ... 

87-3 

72-5 

799 

912 

December     ... 
The  year 

8G0 

70-5 

78-3 

117  6 

94-0 

1      73-9 

1 

83-9 

{      99-8 

i 

Geology, 


ll  MADURA. 

CHAP.  I,      cooler  than  Madura,  and  daring  the  south-west  monsoon  the  heat 

Climate.      in  the  Xambam  vallej  is  reduced  V>y  the  pleasant  breeze  which 

blows  down  it  from  the  hills.     In  Madura  town,   as  the  figures 

above  show,  the  only  2:)eriods  when  the  wind  is  at  all  strong  are 

after  the  north-east,  and  during  the  south-west,  monsoon. 

The  annual  mean  humidity  of  Madura  (70'2)  is  slightly  less 
than  that  of  Tinne\elly  and  rather  higher  than  that  of  Trichinopoly. 
Of  the  five-day  periods  for  which  the  Meteorological  department 
works  out  averages,  the  driest  in  the  year  (humidity  61"6)  is 
usually  that  from  June  20th  to  24th  and  the  wettest  (humidity 
78-8)  from  November  7th  to  11th. 

Geologically,  Madura  is  not  interesting.  Except  a  narrow 
alluvial  strip  along  the  Yaigai  valley  (which  generally  consists  of 
a  very  sandy  loam)  the  whole  of  the  district  is  covered  with 
gneissic  rocks.  These  have  not  yet  been  examined  in  any  great 
detail,  especially  in  the  north  of  the  district,  but  in  the  centre 
and  south  they  may  apparently  be  divided^  into  the  following  six 
groups  :-- 

1.  Lower  granitoid  gneiss — Tirumangalam  group. 

2.  Lower  granular  quartz  rock — Kokkulam  group. 

3.  Middle  granitoid  gneiss — Skandamalai  group. 

4.  Middle  grauular  quartz  rock — Nagamalai  group. 

5.  Upper  granitoid  gneiss — Melur  group. 

6.  Upper  granular  quartz  rock — Alagarmalai  group. 

The  lowest  of  this  series,  the  lower  granitoid  gneiss  group, 
is  the  set  of  beds  which  occur  in  the  Tirumangalam  taluk.  The 
next  lowest,  the  lower  granular  quartz  rock,  forms  a  ridge  about 
two  miles  to  the  south  of  the  Nagamalai  and  has  been  named 
after  the  village  of  Kokkulam  (off  the  Tirumangalam-Solavandan 
road)  which  stands  close  by  one  portion  of  it.  This  can  be 
traced,  despite  some  gaps,  for  many  miles.  Northwards  from 
Kokkulam  the  ridge  runs  parallel  to  the  Nagamalai  for  a  great 
distance  and  to  the  south  it  extends  beyond  the  Skandamalai  (or 
Tirupparankunram  hill)  before  it  disappears  under  the  alluvium. 
The  middle  granitoid  gneiss  group  is  well  exemplified  in  the 
Skandamalai  and  in  some  smaller  hills  to  the  north-west  of  this 
near  the  Tirumangalam-Solavandan  road.  The  fourth  of  the  six 
groups,  the  middle  granular  quartz  rock,  forms  the  Nagamalai 
and  its  continuation  the  Pasumalai,  and  then  disa^jpears  south- 
wards   under   the    alluvium.     The  upper  grauitoid   gneiss   group 

^  See  Mr.  Bruce  Foote'B  description  of  them  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Geol. 
Sury.  of  India,  xx,  pt,  Ij  H  ff-j  from  which  the  pi-eeent  account  is  abstracted. 


PHYSICAL   DESCRIT'TION.  15 

occupies  tlie  country  to  the  nortli-west  of  Tirnvadur  in  the    Meh'ir      CHAP   T. 
taluk  anrl  stretches  to   the  north-east  as   far    as  tlic  alluvium  of      GKor.ooy. 

the  Palar  and  to  the  south-west  down  to  the  valley  of  the  Yaigai.         

The  numerous  hills  which  are  ^formed  of  this  rock  in  this  tract 
are  conspicuous  for  their  holdness  of  form  and  Leauty  of  colour. 
Among-  them  is  the  curious  Anaimalai  referred  to  on  p.  254, 
below. 

The  uppermost  of  the  six  groups,  the  upper  granular  quartz 
rock,  appears  prominently  in  the  hold  scarp  of  the  south-east  side 
of  the  Alagarraalai. 

In  the  west  of  the  district  charnockite  is  found,  and  the 
Palnis  consist  entirely  of  this  rock.  In  the  Yarushanad  hills  are 
hornblende  schists  and  granulites,  penetrated  by  veins  of  mica- 
bearing  pegmatite. 

Minerals  are  extremely  rare.  At  Tirumal,  a  village  five  miles  Minerals, 
north-east  of  Kalligudi  railway-station  in  the  Tirumangalam  taluk, 
is  a  broad  band  of  white  crystalline  limestone  which  may  be 
traced  nearly  two  miles  to  the  eastward  and  has  been  much 
quarried,  and  a  little  to  the  westward  of  Kokkulam  (two  miles 
north  of  Tirumal)  are  two  smaller  limestone  beds.  This  rock  is 
also  scattered  through  other  parts  of  the  district.  From  the 
Gopalasvami  hill,  in  the  extreme  south  of  Tirumangalam  near  the 
road  to  Srivilliputtur,  red  and  white  fragments  of  transparent 
quartz  are  obtained.  Short  and  small  quartz  veins  also  occur 
on  the  western  slope  of  the  Sirumalais  east  and  south-east  of 
Ammayanayakkanur  railway-station.  Perhaps  the  best  building- 
stone  in  the  district  is  that  quarried  from  the  Skandamalai. 
The  iron  ore  found  near  Kottampatti  in  Melur  taluk  and  the  gold- 
washing  at  Palakkaniittu  in  Dindigul  are  referred  to  in  the 
accounts  of  those  places  in  Chapter  XV  (pp.  287  and  241)   below. 

In  1899  the  Greological  Survey  of  India  acquired  an  interest- 
ing meteorite  which  had  been  found  near  Kodaikanal.  It  is  only 
the  second  iron  mctc.>vite  which  has  been  discovered  in  India  and 
weighed  about  85  lbs.  against  the  10  lbs.  of  the  other  known 
example,  which  fell  in  the  Vizagapatam  district  in  18~0.  It  was 
composed  almost  entirely  of  nickeliferous  iron.' 

Botanically,  the  most  interesting  parts  of  the  district  are  the        Flora. 
Palni  and  Sirumalai  Hills.      Dr.   Eobert   Wight,  the  well-known 
botanist,  vi>ited  a  portion  of  the  former  in  1836  and  recorded  his 
observations  in  the  Madras  Journal  of  Liferafure  and  Science  for 

'  See  the  Survey's  General  Report  for  1890-1900,  4,  for  moro  particiilars 
of  it. 


16  MADURA. 

CHAP.  1.      April  18^7  ;   and  in  the  sarno  mngfizitiG  for  Jan nary-Marcli  1858 

.  Fr.oRA.        is  (Jolonol  Bodiiomo's  account  of  tho  '  Flora  of  the  Piilnej  Hill' 

whifli  enumerates  over  703  species  of  plants,  exclusive  of  Compo- 

sittT,   Gra>nin(B    and    Cryplojams   wliicli    wore    not    determined. 

Wight  says  : — 

'  The  natural  productions  of  the  country  are  eufficiently  varied  to 
give  us  reason  to  put  a  high  estimate  on  its  probable  capahillties.  In 
the  course  of  about  15  days  I  collected  little  short  of  500  species  of 
plants,  and  without  any  attempt  on  my  part  to  preserve  specimens  of 
all  the  plants  in  flower  or  fruit  at  this  season ;  many  being  rejected 
merely  because  1  was  not  in  want  of  specimens.  It  did  not  in  bhort 
occur  to  me  at  the  time,  which  it  has  since,  to  compare  the  vegetable 
productions  of  these  hills  with  the  recorded  ones  of  the  country  generally. 
Tliis  I  greatly  regret,  as  I  tnink,  were  a  somewhat  perfect  collection 
formed,  it  would  be  found  to  contain  a  number  of  species  amounting  to 
from  one-half  to  four-fifths  of  the  whole  peninsula  flora,  so  far  as  we 
are  yet  acquainted  with  it,  and  to  present  a  vast  number  of  species 
peculiar  to  themselves.  Among  the  European  forms  observed  were 
two  species  of  Ranunculus;  two  oi  Anemone ;  three  of  Clematis;  two 
of  Berberis  ;  a  new  Parnassia  ;  two  of  Drcsera  (sun-dew) ;  one  Stellana, 
and  one  Cerastium  (chick-weed) ;  a  rose,  very  abundant ;  three  or  four 
kinds  of  rasps  or  brambles  ;  one  Potennlhi ;  one  Circaa  (enchanter's 
night  shade) ;  a  tree  allied  to  the  Bilberry  {Thihaudt'a);  one  AnagalUs; 
two  oi  Lysimichia,  both  allied  to  British  species;  the  common  dock, 
very  abundant  about  the  vilbiges;  and  three  kinds  of  rushes  (Juncvs), 
one  very  nearly  allied  to  the  common  British  rush  {Jimcus  rffasus). 
Among  the  truly  tropical  forms,  a  species  of  Magnolia,  the  first  I 
believe  that  has  been  discovered  in  the  peninsula,  is  the  most  interest- 
ing; the  RJiododendron  ncbihs,  very  abundant;  a  very  large  and  hand- 
some Ilex  (holly),  but  without  the  thorny  leaves  of  the  European  pi  int ; 
a  sj)Gcics  of  Gordonia,  a  tree  resembling  In  its  flowers  the  Car'ie'ia  and 
tea  plant;  a  veiy  remarkable  s;k  cies  of  fig,  with  a  climbing  stem, 
bearing  fruit  of  the  size  of  large  oranges,  in  clusters  along  the  stems; 
besides  many  other  interesting  trees  which  1  fear  it  would  be  tedious 
to  mention.  Four  species  o?  palms  are  met  with  ou  the  higher 
regions,  name'}',  the  sago  palm  [Canjota  urcns),  a  wild  areca  palm,  the 
Jien(ir,cl-ia  co?idiipana,  and  an  alpine  species  of  date.  The  grasses  aio 
very  numerous  but  the  predominant  tribe  (Andro^'O^inex)  are  not  those 
best  suited  for  pasturage,  being  generally  of  a  coarse  nature  and 
highly  aromatic  quality.  Ferns,  m-  ss  s,  and  lichens,  abound  :  among 
which,  the  moit  conspicuous  is  a  branching  variety  of  the  Tre^  fern 
[Aldophila)  very  common  in  thick  jungles  ou  moist  banks  of  ttream=.' 

Dr.  A.  G.  Bourne,  f.r.S.,  and  Mrs.  Bourne  have  since  studied 
the  flora  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kodaikanal,  and  the  former  has 
vorj  kindly  permitted  the  reproduction  of  the  following  extracts 


PHYSICAL   DESCRIPTION.  17 

from  hia  introductory  note  to  tLe  list  of  plants  they  observed  in      CIIAP.  I. 
that  part : —  Flora. 

'  I  have  been  able  to  trace  most  of  the  plants  mentioned  by 
Wight.  Ranunculus  reniforml>i,  Wall,  and  B.  Walh'c/nanus,  W. 
and  A.  are  both  very  common.  The  two  species  of  Anemone  are 
doubtless  merged  into  A.  rwularis,  Ham, ;  that  at  any  rate  is  the 
only  species  I  find.  The  three  Clematis  are  C.  smilacifolia,  Wall., 
C.  GoiirianOy  Eoxb.  and  C.  Wiyhtiana,  Wall.  The  two  Berberids 
are  B.  nepalensis,  Spr.  and  B.  aristata,  DC.  The  new  '  Parnassia ' 
is  doubtless  Parnassia  nnjsorcnsis,  Heyne.  The  Droseras  are 
B.  Burmaimi,  Valil.  and  D.  peltata,  Sm.  The  latter  literally 
clothes  the  banks  in  certain  places.  Stellaria  media  occurs  and 
is  common  in  certain  places  only,  while  Cerastium  indicum  is 
abundant  in  a  few  spots.  Ros(\  LesehetiauUiana,  AV.  &  A.,  the 
only  wild  rose  I  found,  is  common  in  a  few  localities  only.  The 
*  three  or  four  kinds  of  rasps  or  brambles  '  resolve  themselves  into 
Rubus  molluccanus,  L.,  R.  ellipticus,  Sm.  and  R.  lasiocarpus,  Sm. 
The  latter  is  doubtless  Roxburgh's  R.  racemosus.  Potentilla  Les- 
chenaultiana  is  very  common.  Wight's  Girccea  turns  out  to  be  C. 
alpina.  With  regard  to  the  '  tree  allied  to  the  Bilberry,'  I  have 
three  species  of  Vaccinium.  Anagallis  arvensis  is  very  rare  except 
near  Pumbarai.  Lysimachia  Leschenaultii,  Duby  and  L.  deltoides 
both  abound.  Rumex  nepalensis^  Spreng.  is  the  only  '  dock ' 
I  found  and  there  was  not  much  of  that.  Juncus  glaucus,  Ehrh. 
{J.  effusus,  Steud.)  and  J.  prismatoca^'pus,  Br.  are  both  common. 

With  regard  to  the  '  truly  tropical  forms  '  the  Magnolia 
mentioned  by  Wight  and  subsequently  by  Beddome  must  be 
Mtchelia  champaca,  and  this  is  more  frequently  met  with  on  the 
Piimbarai  side,  which  they  chiefly  explored,  than  near  Kodaikanal ; 
it  also  occurs  on  the  Sirumalais,  but  in  both  places  has  been 
doubtless  planted,  as  it  is  not  found  far  away  from  the  villages. 
Rhododendron  arboreum,  var.  nilagirica,  Ilex  malabarica,  I.  Gard- 
neriana  and  three  other  species,  Gordonia  obtusa,  Ftcus  macrocarpa, 
with  its  '  fruit  the  size  of  large  oranges,'  all  find  a  place  in  my  list. 

The  soil  on  the  hills  varies  in  depth  from  a  few  inches  to  a 
few  feet,  while  in  many  places  patches  of  fairly  smooth  bare  rock 
are  exposed ;  this  is  sometimes  full  of  cracks  and  covered  with 
loose  boulders.  In  such  places,  even  where  there  is  not  sufficient 
soil  for  grass,  may  be  found  Cyanoiis  arachnoidea,  Anisochilus, 
Kalanchoe,  Aneilema  Koenigii,  and  here  and  there  groups  of 
Osbeha  Wightiana  attaining  from  five  to  six  feet  in  height, 
all  rooting  in  the  crevices.  Where  there  is  a  little  soil,  the 
commonest  grasses  will  be  Andropogon  contortus  and  A.  lividus,  the 

3 


18  MADURA. 

CIIAP.  I.  spikes,  stems,  and  (when  mature)  tlie  leaves,  of  wliich  form  tlie 
Flora.  chief  factor  in  giving  the  hill  tops  their  purplish  tinge.  A  little 
lower  down  come  great  tufts  of  Pollmia  quadrinervis  var. 
Wiyhtii,  with  its  fascicles  of  rich  brown  spikes  on  stems  generally- 
several  feet  in  height,  of  Ischcemum  ciliare,  with  its  pairs  of  thick 
rich  purple  spikes,  of  ArundineUa  villosa,  with  its  solitary  untidy- 
looking  spikes,  and  of  Andropo(/on  zeylanicus  and  A.  Wiyhtiana, 
both  with  long  graceful  panicles — the  former  mostly  purplish  in 
colour  with  bright  yellow  anthers  and  rich  purple  styles,  and  the 
latter  a  most  beautiful  grass,  the  outer  glumes  of  the  pedicelled 
spikelets  being  salmon-coloured,  the  sessile  spikelets  leraon-yellow 
(as  are  the  anthers  and  styles)  while  the  awns  are  over  two  inches 
long  and  yellowish  brown  in  colour.  Among  these  tall  species, 
in  addition  to  those  above  mentioned,  occur  Tripogon  bromoides, 
ArundineUa  mesophylla  (peculiar,  so  far  as  I  know,  to  these  hills) 
and,  keeping  quite  low  on  the  ground,  Eragrostis  amabilis.  At 
rather  lower  elevations,  say  5,000  feet  downw^ards,  one  may  come 
across  miniature  forests  of  Andropogon  Nardus  and,  though  not 
usually  in  the  same  localities,  A.  schoenanthus,  the  former  readily 
distinguishable  here  from  the  latter  by  the  almost  electric  green 
of  its  leaves.  On  the  ghdt  are  some  splendid  clumps  of 
Andropogon  halepemis  and  Garnotia. 

To  return  to  the  high  hills,  almost  everywhere  are  to  be  found 
among  the  grass  Brunella  vulgaris,  Knoxia  mollis,  Wahlenbergia 
gracilis,  Leucas  hehanthemifolia,  Indigofera  pedicellata,  Cyanotis 
Wighiii  (in  better  soil  only,  than  C.  arachnoidea  will  grow  in — it 
may  generally  be  found  at  the  bottom  of  the  pits  which  have  beeu 
dug  for  planting  trees  in  if  they  have  been  left  empty  for  a  year 
or  two),  Poly  gala  sibirica  and,  frequently  with  it  and  closely 
resembling  it  in  leaf  and  habit,  Crotalaria  albida.  The  small- 
leaved  variety  of  C.  rubiginosa  is  common  in  some  places  and 
commoner  stiU.  is  a  Crotalaria  which  I  cannot  match.  This  occurs 
in  perfectly  glabrous  forms  in  some  places  ;  it  attains  its  largest 
size  where  it  grows  in  good  soil  on  a  road-side  bank  and  its 
branches  hang  down.  Yery  common  also  in  similar  situations 
are  two  Valerians  ( V.  Hookeriana  on  the  Kodaikanal  side,  V. 
Beddomei  on  the  Piimb^rai  side),  Striga  lutea,  Gentiana  quadrifaria^ 
to  see  the  azure  blue  of  whose  flowers  one  must  go  out  in  the 
middle  of  the  day,  Micromeria  bijlora^  the  leaves  of  which  are  most 
delicately  aromatic,  Bupleurum  disticophyllum ,  Curculigo  orchioides, 
with  its  three  or  four  leaves  and  single  yellow  flower  coming  up 
out  of  the  ground,  and,  sometimes  in  great  patches  making  a  whole 
hill-side  white,  Anaphalis  oblonga  and  A.  brevi/olia. 


PHYSICilL  DBSCRIPTION,  19 

A  notable  feature  ol  many  of  those  liill-sicles  is  the  number  of  CHAP.  I. 
small  landslips  whicli  liave  occurred  owing-  to  the  surface  soil  Flora 
slipping-  on  the  smooth  rock.  Sometimes  they  look  like  the  foot- 
steps of  a  gigantic  animal  wliich  lias  slipped  in  going  up  hill  ;  at 
others  they  are  on  a  larger  scale  and  an  entire  liill-side  appears  to 
be  terraced  with  steps  from  tliree  to  four  feet  high  and  from  five 
to  six  feet  Avide ;  in  some  places  they  have  occurred  on  a  huge 
scale  and,  as  suggested  hy  Wight,  the  whole  of  the  Pumbarai 
■valley  with  its  numerous  offshoots  looks  as  though  it  had  been 
formed  in  this  way.  Going  down  the  slopes  to  the'  bottoms  of 
the  valleys  one  constantly  passes  through  masses  of  Strobikmt/ies 
JCunthianus  and  below  it  bracken.  At  the  bottom  flourish  Dipsacus 
Leschenaultii  and  alas  !  huge  thistles — Cnicus  WalUchii — and 
Heradeum  SprerKjeUamum  and  H.  rigens.  The  streamlet  at  the 
bottom  runs  as  a  rule  between  six  and  eight  feet  underground, 
showing-  itself  here  and  there  at  the  bottom  of  deep  holes  formed 
by  the  falling  in  of  the  earth.  In  the  tunnels  live  jackals  and 
the  hill  mongoose,  Herpesies  viiUcollis.  The  vertical,  or  even 
under-cut,  sides  of  the  holes  are  covered  with  ferns,  and  here 
one  may  constantly  find  Biumea  hieracifolia,  Parnassia  mysorensis, 
HydrocotyJe,  Se^^picuJa  indica  and  in  some  places  the  charming 
little  Circcea  aJpina.  Very  few  other  plants  grow  in  tliese  holes, 
into  many  of  which  very  little  light  penetrates. 

When  there  is  a  large  damp  area  the  ground  is  generally 
bright  with  flowers — in  contrast  to  most  similar  spots  on  the 
Nilgiris.  In  such  places  grow  Lysimachia  Leschenaultii,  FedicuJaris 
zeylanica,  Impatiens  tenella,  Osbekia  cupuJaris,  Exacum  airopur- 
pureum,  Scdyrium  nepalense,  AnapJialis  Wightiana,  BanuncuJus 
reniformis,  Dipsacm  Leschenaultii,  Oommelina  clavata,  Eriocauhn, 
Lenttbuhrtce,  Xyris,  Hypericum  napoulense  and  H.  j'aponicwn,  and 
Drosera.  The  commonest  plants  forming  road-side  hedges  are  the 
species  of  Rubus  and  in  some  places  Adenostemma.  Scattered  trees 
are  almost  sure  to  be  Photinia,  Vaccinium,  Eurya  or  Bhododendron, 
Other  plants  which  one  is  pretty  sure  to  meet  with  hcte  and 
there  in  any  walk  are  Artemisia,  Polygonum  Chineme^  Heradeum 
Sprengelianum,  Pimpinella,  Coleus  barbatus,  Hedyoiis  Sweriioides  and 
H.  articularis,  Sopubia  irifida  and  S.  Delphinifolia,  Gaultheria 
fragrantissima ,  Senedo  zeylanica  and  S.  LaranduJif alius ,  Anaphalis 
artstata,  Cnicus  WalUchii,  various  species  of  Pledranthus,  Campanula 
fulgens,  Emilia  Sond/ifolia,  Flemingia,  etc.,  etc.  Strobilanfhes  Kun- 
ihianus  forms  great  patches  here  and  there  and  even  covers 
whole  hill-sides.  The  commonest  ground  orchids  are  Spiranthes 
aushrdis,  of  wliich  I  have  counted  over  fifty  spikes  while  standing 
in  one  spot,  Habemria  elliptica  and  H.  Gakandra.' 


20 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  I.  The  flora  of  the  Sirumalais  has  not  yet  "been  examined  in 

Flora.        detail,   but  Dr.    Bourne's    collectors    found  there   a  number  of 
plants  which  do  not  occur  on  the  Palnis,  and  the  range  deserves 
systematic  study. 
Fauna.  The  indigenous   cattle  of   the   district  are  small  and   of   no 

Cattle.  special  value,  and  the  Kappiliyans  of  the  upper  part  of  the  Kam- 
bam  valley  (see  belo^)  are  the  only  people  who  take  any  trouble 
to  improve  the  breed.  In  Melur  and  Tirumangalam  ploughing 
is  even  done  (especially  by  the  Kalians)  with  cows.  In  Dindigul 
and  Melur'  the  ryots  import  ani]nals  from  Manapdrai  and 
Marungdpuri  in  Trichinopoly,  while  Palni  taluk  is  partly  supplied 
with  Coimbatore  {'  Kongandd  ')  cattle.  The  richer  ryots  in  Tiru- 
mangalam also  purchase  Mysore  bullocks  for  ploughing  the 
cotton-soil  there,  which  requires  strong  animals,  In  many 
villages  cattle  are  specially  raised  for  the  j'allikats  referred  to 
on  p.  83  beloWj  and  these  have  been  described'  as  being  a 
special  breed. 

The  chief  cattle  market  in  the  district  is  that  held  at  Madura 
on  the  occasion  of  the  great  Chittrai  festival  at  the  temple  there. 
As  many  as  30,000  head  have  been  counted  at  this  fair  and  it  is 
perhaps  the  largest  in  the  southern  districts.  The  majority  of 
the  foreign  animals  brouglit  to  it  are  those  reared  round  about 
Manapdrai  and  in  Coimbatore,  but  some  Mysore  cattle  from 
Salem  are  also  offered  for  sale. 

The  number  of  ploughing-bullocks  per  cultivated  acre  is,  as 
elsewhere,  smallest  in  the  dry  taluks  and  largest  where  wet  lands 
are  most  common.  The  supply  is  at  present  insufficient  on  the 
land  in  Melur  whicli  is  being  newly  irrigated  with  the  Periyar 
water.  Here  and  there  cholam  is  grown  for  fodder,  being  sown 
very  thickly  so  as  to  produce  a  thin  stalk,  and  round  Vedasandur 
in  Dindigul  grass  is  cultivated  on  dry  fields  ;  but  otherwise  no 
special  steps  are  taken  to  provide  cattle  food.  Einderpest  is  not 
uncommon  and  caused  great  loss  in  Periyakulam  taluk  in  1899. 

The  Kappiliyans  of  Kambam  above  alluded  to  are  immigrants 
from  the  Canarese  country  and  speak  that  language.  They 
possess  a  herd  of  about  150  cattle  of  a  distinctive  breed  (small, 
active,  round-barrelled  animals,  well  known  for  their  trotting 
powers)  which  they  say  are  the  descendants  of  some  cattle  they 
brought  with  them  when  they  first  came  to  these  parts.  These 
deserve  a  note.  They  are  called  the  devaru  dvn  in  Canarese  or  in 
Tamil  the  iambirdn  mddu,  both  of  which  phrases  mean  '  the  sacred 

^  Bulletin  No.  44,  Vol.  II,  of  the  Madras  Department  of  Land  Eecords 
and    Agriculture. 


PHYSICAL    DESCBIPTION.  2l 

herd.'     The  cows  are  never  milked  and  are  only  used  for  breed-      CHAP.  I. 

ing.     Members  of  the  herd  which   die  are  buried,  and  are  not        Fauna. 

(as  elsewhere)  allowed  to  bo  desecrated  by  the  chuckler's  skin- 

ning-knife.     The   leader  of  the  herd   is  called  '  the  king-  bull ' 

(patfadu  dvu),  and  when  lio  dies  a  successor  is  selected  in  a  quaint 

manner    with    elaborate    and    expensive    ceremonial.      On    the 

auspicious  day  fixed  for  the  election  the  whole  herd  is  assembled 

and  camphor,  plantains,  betel  and  nut  and  so  forth  are  solemnly 

offered  to  it.     A  bundle  of  sugar-cane  is  then  placed  before  it, 

and  the  attendant  Kdppiliyans  watch  eagerly  to  see  which  of  the 

bulls  of  the  herd  will  approach  and  eat  this.     The  animal  which 

first  does  so  is  acclaimed  as  the  new  '  king  bull '  and  is  formally 

installed  in  his  office  by  being  daubed  with  saffron  and  kunku- 

mam  and  garlanded  with  flowers.     Thereafter  he  is  treated  by 

the  whole  caste  as  a  god,  is  given  the  holy  name  of  Nandagopala- 

svami,  and  is  allotted,  to  watch  over  and  worship  him,  a  special 

attendant  who  enjoys  the  inams  which  stand    in  his  name  and 

is  the  custodian  of  the  jewels  and  the  copper  grants  which  were 

presented  in  days  gone  by  to  his  predecessors.     There  are  now 

nine  of  these  grants,  but  they  do  not  state  the  Sakha  year  in 

which  they  were    drawn  out  and  the    names  of   the    rulers    who 

conferred  them  are  not  identifiable.     The  king  bulls  are  credited 

with  having  performed  many  miracles,  stories  of  which  are  stUl 

eagerly  related,  and  their  opinion  is  still  solicited  on  matters  of 

importance.     The  herd,  for  example,  is  not  taken  to  the  hills  for 

the  hot  weather  until   its   king  has    signified  his    approval   by 

accepting  some  sugar  and  milk  placed  near  him.     His  attendant 

always    belongs  to   a   particular   sub-division    of  the   caste    and 

when  he  dies  his  successor  is  selected  in  as  haphazard  a  fashion 

as    the    king  bull  himself.     Before  t]:e    assembled  Kdppiliyans, 

puja  is  offered  to  the  sacred  herd ;   and  then  a  }'oung  boy  is 

seized  with  divine  inspiration  and  points  out  the  man  who  is  to  be 

the  new  holder  of  the  ofPce. 

The  herd  receives  recruits  from  outside,  owing  to  the  Hindus 
round  about  dedicating  to  it  all  calves  whicli  are  born  on  the  first 
day  of  Tai,  but  these  are  not  treated  as  being  quite  of  the  elect. 
The  K^ppiliyans  have  recently  raised  Es.  11,000  by  taxing  all 
members  of  the  caste  in  the  Periyakulam  taluk  for  three  years, 
and  have  spent  this  sum  in  building  roomy  masonry  quarters  at 
Kambam  for  the  sacred  herd.  Tlieir  chief  grievance  at  present 
is  that  the  same  grazing  foes  are  levied  on  tlieir  animals  as  ou 
mere  ordinary  cattle,  which,  they  urge,  is  equivalent  to  treating 
gods  as  equals  of  men. 


22 


MADUKA. 


Sheep  and 
goats. 


CHAP.  I.  'A'lie  care  tliey  take  of  their  animals  suggests  the  possibility 

Fauna,        of  improving  the  breed  hj  giving  them  a  good  Government  bull. 

This  would  need  to  be  of  one  of  the  lighter  breeds,  as  the  cows 

are  all  small. 

In  1879  and  the  following  years  an  experiment  was  made  to 
see  how  Amrat  Mahal  cattle  would  do  on  the  Palnis.  A  small 
herd  of  twelve  animals  was  entrusted  by  Government  to  Mr. 
Verc  Levinge,  who  liad  retired  to  Kodaikanal  from  the^Collector- 
ship  of  Madura,  and  this  was  under  his  charge  until  his  deatli 
in  1885.  It  was  then  dispersed.  While  it  was  on  the  hills  it 
increased  to  twenty-six  head  and — except  for  one  attack  of  foot 
and  mouth  disease— flourished  well.  Mr.  Levinge  reported  that  a 
mixed  herd  of  his  own,  consisting  of  English,  Australian,  country- 
bred  and  Aden  cattle,  also  did  well  there  on  no  other  food  than 
tlie  natural  grass  of  the  hills. 

The  sheep  of  the  district  are  of  two  varieties  ;  namely,  the 
hairy,  long-legged,  red  kind  which  is  only  useful  as  a  manuring 
agent  and  to  be  turned  into  mutton,  and  the  black  sort  which 
carries  a  fleece  of  inferior,  wiry,  wool.  The  coarse  blankets  which 
are  woven  from  this  material  by  the  Canarese-.speaking  Kurubas 
are  referred  to  on  p.  145  below,  and  the  considerable  trade  which 
is  carried  on  in  sheep  and  goat  skins  is  mentioned  on  p.  151. 

The  goats  of  Madura  are  of   the  usual  kind  and,  as  elsewhere, 
their  numbers   constitute  one   of  the  difficult  problems  in  forest 
conservancy. 
Game.  Madura  is  a  poor  place  for  small  game.     Snipe  are  the  only 

game-birds  which  can  be  said  to  be  plentiful.  The  best  spots 
for  these  are  the  tanks  round  Solavandan  which  are  periodically 
filled  with  the  Periyar  water.  Their  foreshores  abound  with  the 
liorai  grass  which  is  the  bird's  favourite  cover.  Late  in  the 
season  the  Tirupparankunram  wet  land  is  also  a  likely  part. 

Duck  and  teal  are  most  easily  obtained  on  the  tanks  in  Tiru- 
mangalam,  which  are  smaller,  as  a  rule,  than  those  elsewhere. 
The  other  usual  game-birds  are  met  with  all  over  the  district, 
but  in  small  numbers.  Florican  are  occasionally  seen,  round 
Andipatti  are  some  sand-grouse,  and  on  the  Upper  Palnis  are 
woodcock. 

Large  game  is  confined  to  the  hill  ranges.  All  the  usual  south 
Indian  species,  from  elephant  and  bison  downwards,  occur. 

Elephants  vrere  formerly  very  numerous  all  over  the  Palui 
range  and  the  old  records  are  full  of  accounts  of  the  devastation 
they  caused,  even  as  far  east  as  Kannivadi  zamindari,  and  of  the 


PHYSICAL   DESCRIPTION.  23 

steps  taken  to  reduce  tlieir  numbers,  Tliey  are  seldom  seen  on  CHAP.  T. 
this  range  now,  even  on  the  upper  parts  of  it.  Lieutenant  Jervis;,  FArx*. 
in  his  Narrative  of  a  journey  to  the  Falls  of  the  Cauvery,  speaks  oi 
a  natural  pass  on  the  hills  near  Kamham,  which  those  familiar 
with  that  locality  may  be  able  to  identify,  where  these  animals 
were  regularly  caught  in  pits.  The  place  ended  in  a  narrow 
gorge  between  two  rocks  through  which  only  one  elephant  could 
pass  at  a  time,  and  ihe  herds  were  driven  through  this  into  a  net- 
work of  pits  dug  on  the  other  side  of  it  in  a  hollow  between  two 
hills.  He  speaks  of  63  elephants  being  trapped  or  shot  there 
on  one  occasion  in  four  hours.  Mr.  Robert  Fischer  of  Madura 
possesses  a  pair'  of  elephant  tusks,  obtained  in  the  d^Atrict,  of 
which  the  larger  is  72  inches  long,  18|  inches  in  greatest  cjirth 
and  weighs  72^  lb.  and  the  smaller  measures  GO  iuches  ii 
length,  18^  inches  in  girth  and  weighs  06  lb. 

Bison  are  fairly  plentiful,  and  two  small  herds  of  poor 
specimens  still  roam  the  Alagarmalais,  These  animals  used 
to  be  numerous  on  the  Sirumalais,  but  (with  every  other  sort  of 
large  game)  they  have  long  since  disappeared  from  there.  The 
Nilgiri  ibex  {Hemitrayus  I/ylocrius)  is  also  found  in  one  or  two 
spots  on  the  Upper  Palnis.  The  other  game  animals  present 
no  peculiarities. 

'Hie  monkeys  of  the  district  are  numerous  and  impudent. 
They  used  to  be  such  a  nuisance  in  Madura  town  that  people  had 
to  cover  the  roofs  of  their  houses  with  thorns  ;  and  at  length  they 
were  all  caught  and  deported.  An  almost  worse  pest  which  has 
taken  their  place  is  the  notorious  Madura  mosquito — a  venomous 
and  vindictive  breed. 


24  MADUBA. 

CHAPTER  11. 

POLITICAL  HISTORY. 


Prehistoric  Pbotles — Palieolithic  man — Kistvaens,  etc.  Earlt  Histort — The 
Pandya  dynasty — Its  anticjuity — Appears  in  early  Tamil  literature — Its  first 
mention  in  inscriptions — Its  struggles  with  the  Pallavas,  7th  century- 
Decline  of  the  latter — The  Ganga-Pallavas,  9th  century — Pandya  as- 
cendancy— The  Chola  revival.  10th  to  12tb  centuries— Pandya  rebellions — 
Pdndya  renaissance,  12th  century — Struggle  for  the  throne— Decline  of  the 
Cholas,  13th  century — Pandya  rule  thenceforth— Maravarman  Sundura. 
Pandya  I,  1216-35 — Arrival  of  the  Hoysalas — Jatavarman  Sundara-Pandya 
I,  1251-(il — End  of  the  Hoysala  and  Clidla  power — Maravarman  Kulas6khara 
I  (1268-1308)  and  his  successor — Splendour  of  the  Pandya  realm.  Musai,- 
MAN  Invasion,  1310— Musalman  dynasty  at  Madura.  Vi.jayanagar  Dominion, 
1365— Its  effects — King  Achyuta's  campaign,  1532.  XXvakkan  DyNA.sTY, 
1559-1736 — Its  origin — Visvauatha  Nayakkan,  1559-63 — His  immediate 
successors — Fall  of  Vijayanagar  kingdom,  1565 — Tirumala  Nayakkan,  1623- 
59 — He  defies  Vijayanagar — Calls  the  Muhammadans  to  his  aid — And 
becomes  their  feudatory — His  wars  with  Mysore — His  death — Eebellions 
among  his  vassals — -A  curious  rumour — Tirnmala's  capital — His  public  build- 
ings—Muttu  Alakadri,  1659-62— Chokkanatha  (1662--82)— His  troubles  with 
his  neighbours — His  conquest  and  loss  of  Taaj<n-e — Attacked  by  Mysore  and 
the  Marathas — The  latter  seize  his  country— Ranga  Krishna  Muttu  Yirappa 
(1682-89)— Matters  improve— Mangammal  (1689-1704)— Her  charities— Her 
wars — Her  tragic  death — Yijaya  Ranga  Chokkanatha  (170-J-3])— His  feeble 
rnle — Minakshi  (1731-36) — Musalman  interference — End  of  Kayakkan 
dynasty — Character  of  its  rule.  Musalman  Dominion- Chanda  Sahib  (1730- 
40) — A  Maratha  interlude  (1740-i3) — Musalman  authority  re-established, 
1743 — The  rival  Musalman  parties.  English  Period— Siege  of  Madura, 
1751 — Col.  Hei'on's  expedition,  1755  — Mahfui  Khan  rents  the  country — 
Muhammad  Yusuf  sent  to  quiet  it — Mahfuz  Khan  rebels — Capt.  Calliaud's 
attacks  on  Madm-a,  1757 — Anarchy  again  prevails — Yusuf  Khan  again 
despatched — He  rebels  and  is  hanged,  1764 — His  character — Haidar  Ali's 
invasion,  1780 — Assignment  of  the  revenue  to  the  Company,  1781 — Col. 
FuUarton's  expedition,  1783 — Assignment  of  the  revenue  cancelled,  1785 — 
Assumption  of  the  revenue,  1790 — The  Company  collects  the  peshkash, 
1792 — Story  of  the  Dindigul  country — Its  cession  in  1792  — Cession  of  the 
rest  of  Madura,  1801. 

CHAP.  II.     Of  palseolithic  or  neolithic  man,  practically  no  traces  have  as  yet 
Prehistoeic    "been  found  in  the  Madura  district.     Mr.  Bruce  Foote  says  ^  that 

Peoplfs 

"       associated  with  the  shingle  which  is  mixed  with  the  ferruginous 

Palaeolithic  gravel  to  the  north  of  the  tank  of  Tallakulam  village  (opposite 
Madura  town,  across  the  Vaigai  river)  occur  occasional  flakes  of 
different  coloured  cherts  of  foreign  origin,  some  of  which  seem 

*  Memoirs,  Geol.  Surv.  India,  xx,  pt.  1,  4.9  and  Records,  xii,  pfc.  3,  154. 


POLITICAL   HISTORY.  25 

certainly  to  liave  been  trimmed  for  use  as  scrapers  or  knives.     He     CHAP.  II. 
thinks    further    search    would    probably    reveal   unquestionably    PR«niaTOBic 

recognizable  specimens  of  chipped  stone  instruments,  but  as  yet         * 

none  seem  to  have  been  discovered. 

Of  the  existence  of  those  prehistoric  peoples  who  buried  their  Kistvaena, 
dead  in  stone  kistvaens  and  dolmens  there  is,  however,  abundant 
evidence.  Instances  of  these  erections  are  reported  from  places 
as  widely  separated  as  Kaittiyankottai  and  its  next  neiglibour 
Kalvarpatti  in  the  north  of  the  Dindigul  taluk ;  Eagalapuram 
and  Yiralippatti,  not  far  from  one  another  to  tlie  south-east  of 
Dindigul  town  ;  Mullipallam  in  Nilakkottai  taluk  ;  Karungalakudi 
inMelur;  Kalayamuttur,  Chinnakalayamutttir  (those  at  the  two 
latter  places  are  regularly  worshipped  by  the  villagers !  )  and 
Palni  in  Palni  taluk ;  and  Kambam  and  Margaiyankottai  in 
Periyakulam.  Pyriform  earthen  tombs  have  also  been  found  near 
Kulasekharankottai  in  Nilakkottai  taluk,  Paravaiand  Anuppanadi 
in  Madura,  and  Senkulam  in  Tirumangalam.  Some  of  these 
many  remains  are  referred  to  again  in  Chapter  XV  below,  and  in 
the  same  place  (pp.  247-8)  are  mentioned  the  most  striking  of  all 
the  prehistoric  antiquities  of  the  district,  the  kistvaens  and  dolmens 
of  the  Palni  Hills. 

When  times  which  may  be  styled  historical  are  first  reached,        Easlt 
the   greater  part  of  the  Madura  country  is  found  to  be  in  the      i^'^ioRv.^ 
possession  of  the  Pandya  dynasty,  and  the  early  chronicles  of  the 
district  are  to  a  large  extent  the  history  of  that  line. 

These  Piindyas  were  the  rulers  of  one  of  three  great  kingdoms  The  Pandj-a 
which  in  the  earliest  times  held  sway  over  the  land  of  the  Tamils.  <iy°a,3ty. 
Tradition,  inscriptions  and  ancient  literature  all  agree  in  beginning 
the  history  of  south  India  witli  the  story  of  tlie  three  dynasties  of 
the  Cheras,  the  Cholas  and  the  Pandyas,  whose  eponymous  ances- 
tors are  fabled  to  have  been  three  brothers  who  resided  together 
at  Korkai,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Tambraparni  river  in  the 
Tinnevelly  countr) \  They  are  said  to  have  eventually  separated, 
Pandyan  remaining  at  home,  while  Cheran  and  Claolan  went  forth 
to  seek  their  fortunes  and  founded  kingdoms  in  the  north  and  the 
west  respectively.  TVadition,  which  is  supported  by  such  history 
as  exists,  states  that  the  Cholas  ruled  in  the  country  which  now 
forms  tlie  Tanjore  and  Trichinopoly  districts,  the  Cheras  in 
Travancore,  Malabar  and  Coimbatore,  and  the  Pandyas  in  Madura 
and  Tinnevelly. 

^  For  assistance  with  tliis  section  of  khis  Chapter  I  am  very  greatly  indebted  to 
Rai  Bahadur  V.  Venkayya,  m.a.,  Government  Epigraphist.  Mr.  F.  R.  Hemingfway, 
Assistant  Superintendent  of  Gaietteer  RoviKion,  compiled  most  of  the  original 
draf t  np  to  tke  end  of  the  Nayakkan  dynasty. 

4 


26  MADUBA. 

OHAP.  II.  Tlie  Pandya  kiDgdom  can  "boast  a  respectable  antiquity  and 

Eaely        is    referred  to    by  the  classical  writers  of  Greece  and  Rome.^ 

History.       Megasthenes  (who  was  sent  as  ambassador  by  Seleucus  Nicator, 

Its  antiquitj.  one  of  Alexander  the  Great's  successors,  to  the  court  of  Chandra 
Gupta,  king  of  Pataliputra  near  Patna,  about  302  B.C.)  speaks 
of  a  country  called  Pandaia  after  the  name  of  the  only  daughter 
of  '  the  Indian  Hercules,'  or  Krishna.  To  this  only  daughter 
Pandaia,  says  Megasthenes,  Krishna  '  assigned  that  portion  of 
India  which  lies  to  the  southward  and  extends  to  the  sea.'  Pliny 
(A.D.  77)  mentions  the  Pandae,  king  Pandion,  and  the  hitter's 
'  mediterranean  emporium  of  Modoura.'  That  the  Pandyas  at 
this  period  occupied  no  mean  political  position  is  to  be  inferred 
from  Dr.  Caldwell's  belief  that  it  was  they  who  sent  to  the  Eoman 
emperor  Augustus  the  Indian  embassy  mentioned  by  Strabo  (A.U. 
20).  Ptolemy  (A.D.  140)  mentions  '  Modoura  the  kingdom  of  the 
Pandion.'  So  many  Roman  coins  have  been  found  in  and  around 
Madura  that  it  has  been  suggested  ^  that  a  Eoman  colony  must 
once  have  existed  there. 

An  interesting  reference  to  the  Pandyas  is  also  found  in  an 
inscription  of  Asoka,^  the  emperor  and  militant  evangelist  of 
the  great  Buddhist  Mauryan  empire  of  the  north,  who  came  to 
the  throne  in  269  B.C.  and  prosecuted  extensive  conquests  in 
central  India.  This  contains  the  boast  that  '  the  conquest 
through  the  sacred  law  extended  in  the  south  where  the  Chodas 
(Cholas)  and  the  Panidas  (Pandyas)  dwell,  as  far  as  Tamba- 
panini'  (the  Tambraparni).  This  'conquest'  was  clearly  not 
a  subjugation  by  force  of  arms,  and  the  phrase  probably  means 
little  more  than  that  the  Pandyas  and  Cholas  permitted  tlie 
preaching  of  the  Buddhist  religion.  Indeed,  imtil  the  fourteenth 
century  of  the  present  era  the  Pdndyas,  the  Cheras,  and  perhaps 
the  Cholas  seem  to  have  remained  unmolested  by  the  armies  of 
the  great  empires  of  the  north  which  from  time  to  time  overran 
the  neighbouring  country,  and  their  political  horizon  seems  to 
have  been  largely  limited  by  their  wars  among  themselves,  and 
their  conflicts  with  neighbouring-  savage  or  jungle  ^tribes  and 
with  the  Singhalese. 

Appears  in  Early  Tamil  literature  contains  many  references  to  the  Pandya 

early  Tamil      dynasty  and  country.     The  late   Mr.  V.  Kanakasabhai  Pillai  in 
literatnre.  j  j 

^  See  Bishop  Caldwell's  History  of  Tinnevelly  (Madras,  1881),  15,  16. 

^  Sewell's  Lists  of  Antiquities,  i,  291  and  Tufnell's  Hints  to  Coirt'CgUectois 
(Madras  Government  Press,  1889),  27-9.  A  solidus  of  Zeno  was  found  in  1839  in 
the  Tirnmangalam  taluk  (M.J.L.S.,  xiii,  215)  and  63  gold  coins  of  Augustus  and 
other  emperors  in  a  small  pot  in  Kalayamuttiir  (Palni  taluk)  in  185G  (M.J.L.S.. 
xvii,  114)* 

'  Episraphia  Indien,  ii,  4-71  aad   Indian  Antiquary ^  xx,  240  ff. 


POLITICAL    HISTORY. 


27 


his  recent  work  The  Tamils  eighteen  hundred  years  ago  ^  gives  a 
series  of  extracts  from  such  poems  as  the  Purandnnru,  Pathipditu , 
Silappadigdrani  and  Manimcyalai  which  not  only  present  a  unique 
and  remarkably  interesting-  picture  of  the  state  of  art,  agriculture, 
commerce,  society  and  politics  during  the  period  when  they  were 
written,  which  Mr.  Kanakasabhai  places  in  the  first  and  second 
centuries  of  the  present  era,  but  also  contain  a  number  of 
historical  facts.  The  value  of  these  latter  is  discounted  by  the 
uncertainty  which  must  be  considered  to  exist  as  to  the  dates  of 
the  poems",  and  consequently  of  the  events  with  which  they 
deal,  but  Mr.  Kanakasabhai  Pillai  has  deduced  from  them  the 
following  sequence  of  five  Pandya  kings,  to  whom  he  assigns  the 
dates  affixed  below  to  each  : — (1)  Nedun-che%an  I  (A.D.  50-75), 
(2)  Verri-ver-cheliyan  (75-90),  (3)  Nedun-cheliyan  11  (90-128), 
(4)  Ugra-peru-valuti  (128-140)  and  (5)  Nan-maran  (140-150). 

Of  the  first  of  these  rulers  the  poems  relate  that  he  bore  a  title 
which  may  be  taken  to  imply  that  he  defeated  an  Aryan  army 
and  say  that  he  died  suddenly,  wliile  sitting  on  his  throne,  in  the 
fojiOuing  dramatic  circumstances  :  He  had  ordered  his  guards, 
r.ays  the  tale,  to  behead  a  man  on  suspicion  that  he  had  stolen 
one  of  the  queen's  anklets.  The  man's  wife  appeared  before  him, 
proved  her  husband's  innocence,  and  taunted  the  king-  with  his 
hastiness.  In  her  country,  the  land  of  the  Cholas,  she  exclaimed, 
the  kings  were  of  different  stuff  :  one  had  saved  a  dove  's  life  by 
offering  his  own  liesh  to  an  eagle  which  pursued  the  bird,  and 
another  had  executed  his  own  son  for  driving  his  chariot  over  a 
calf.  Stung  with  shame  at  the  woman's  taunts  and  filled  with 
remorse  for  his  injustice,  the  king  fell  fainting  from  his  throne 
and  expired  shortly  afterwards. 

Tlie  second  of  the  five  kings  ruled  only  a  short  time  and  was 
followed  by  his  son.  This  latter,  Nedun-cheliyan  II,  was  a 
soldier  of  much  prowess.  He  repelled  a  Chola  invasion  of  his 
kingdom  and  afterwards  carried  the  war  into  the  enemy's  country 
and  annexed  one  of  their  provinces.  He  was  then  confronted  by 
a  confederacy  of  the  Cholas,  the  Cheras  and  five  minor  chieftains, 
but  defeated  them  in  a  great  battle  which  raged  all  day  and  in 
which  the  flower  of  all  the  troops  of  the  Tamil  country  were 
engaged. 

The  fourth  king,  Ugra-pefu-valuti,  was  the  monarcli  at  whose 
court  the  Kural,  the  famous  sacred  poem  of  Tiruvalluvar,  was 
published  in  the  presence  of  a  brilliant  assembly  of  48  poets  ;  and 

1  Higginbotliam  &  Co.,  Madras,  1904. 

^  For  the  discussion  on  this  point  and  Dr.  Ilultisch's  opinion  regarding  it  see 
South  Indian  Inscriptioits,  ii,  pt.  3,  378. 


CHAP.  II. 

Eaelt 
History. 


History. 


28  MADURA. 

CHAP,  ri .    the  well-known  Tamil  poetess  Auvaiyar  composed  stanzas  in  Ms 
Early         honour.     The  poems  say  that  he  was  friendly  with  the  Chera  and 
Chola  kings,  having  been  present  at  a  sacrifice  performed  by  one 
of  the  latter,  and  that  lie  took  a  great  fortress  believed  to  be 
impregnable  and  called  Kanapper,  '  whose  high  walls  seem  to 
reach  the  sky,  whose  battlements  gleam  like  the  stars,  the  ditch 
surrounding  which  is  deep  and  unfathomable  as  the  sea,  and  the 
jungle  beyond  it  so  dense  that  the  sun's  rays  never  penetrate  it.* 
According  to  these  ancient  poems,  the  capital  of  the  Pandyas 
was  Nan-madak-kudal,  '  the  cluster  of  four  towers,'  which  is  the 
modern  Madura.     It  was  called  '  the  Northern  Madura  '  to  dis- 
tinguish   it  from  a  previous  capital    of  the  same  name,  in  the 
extreme  south  of  the  Peninsula,  which  had  been  submerged,  by 
the  sea.^     Another  chief  town  which  had  shared  the  same  fate  was 
also  on  the  coast  and  was  called  Kapadapuram.     Even  modern 
Madura   was   not   always   in  exactly  its  present   position.     The 
original  city  seems  to  have  been  about  six  miles  to  the  south-east. 
No  vestige  of  it  remains,  but  the  tradition  of  its  existence  is 
strong  and  the  poet  Nakkiran  speaks  of  it  as  being  east  of  Tirup- 
parankunram.     It    possessed   four    gates    surmounted    by    high 
towers,    outside  its   massive  stone  walls  was  a   deep   moat,   and 
surrounding   this  was  a  thick   jungle  of  thorny   trees.     Two  of 
the  '  Ten  Tamil  Idylls  '  (the  Nedunal-vadai  by  Nakkiran  and  the 
Madurai-kanji  of  Mamkudi  jMarutanar,  abstracts  of   which  are 
given  in  the  CIn-istian  College  Magazine,  viii,  661  ff.)  give  most 
vivid  descriptions  of  the  city  and  its  inhabitants  in  these  early 
days.     Korkai   in   Tinnevelly,    which  was   well    known   to   the 
writer  of  the  Periphis  Marts  'Erythrcei  (about   A.D.  80j    and  to 
Ptolemy,  was  another  important  town,  and  the   Pandya  king  is 
often  referred  to  in  ancient  Tamil  literature  (as  well  as  in  inscrip- 
tions) as  Korkaiyali,  or  '  the  Lord  of  Korkai.' 

The  Pandya  royal  emblem  was  a  fish  (that  of  the  Cheras 
was  a  bow  and  of  the  Ch61as  a  tiger)  and  it  appears  on  their  coins. ^ 

^  Qleanings  fro<n  ancient  Tamil  literature,  by  the  Hon.  V,  Coomaraswami  of 
Ceylon. 

*  Captain  Tufnell,  in  his  Hints  to  Coin'col lectors  in  South  India,  points  out 
that  Madura  is  a  most  prolific  centre  for  ancient  coins  and  especially  for  those 
of  the  rand3'a8  and  Ch61as.  The  best  local  collections  have  been  those  of  the 
late  Mr.  T.  M.  Scott,  barrister  at  Madura  (the  pick  of  which  was  presented  by  him 
to  the  Madras  Museum)  and  of  the  Rev.  J.  E.  Tracy  of  the  American  Mission. 
Papers  by  the  latter  gentleman  on  Pandya  and  S^tupati  coins  will  be  found  in 
M.J.L.S.  for  1887-88  and  1889-90  respectively,  and  coins  in  his  possession  have 
thrown  much  light  on  the  chronology  of  the  Mnsalman  rulers  of  '  Ma'bar  '  (the 
country  facing  Ceylou,  of  which  Madura  was  the  capital)  between  Hijra  737  and 
779,  who  are  otherwise  only  known  to  us  from  the  narrative  of  Ibn  Batdta  (see 
J.A.B.B.,  Ixiv,  pt.  1,  No.  1,  1895). 


POLITICAL    HISTORY.  ^9 

Their  warriors  wore   garlands  of  margosa  when  they    went  to     CHAP.  If. 
battle,  in  contradistinction  to  the  chaplets  of  '  ar  '  of  the  Cholas        Early 
and  the  palmyra  leaves  of  the  Cheras.  History. 

Tlic  prevailing  religion  in  early  times  in  their  kingdom  was 
the  Jain  creed.  The  PeriyaPurdyiam,  a  Tamil  work  dealing  with 
the  lives  of  the  63  devotees  of  Siva  the  veracity  of  which  has  been 
established  in  several  instances,  says  that  the  Pandya  king 
Nedumaran  was  converted  to  Saivism  from  the  Jain  faith  by  the 
famous  Saiva  saint  Tirugnana  Sambandhar,  who  cured  him 
of  a  fever  upon  wliich  none  of  his  own  priests  could  make  any 
impression. 

Thus  far  does  Tamil  literature  enligliten  the  darkness  of  the  Its  first 
early  days  of  the  Pandyas.     A  wide  unbridged  gap  follows,  and  ,™*'°*^'°^ '° 
it  is  not  until  the  end  of  the  sixth  century  of  tlie  present  era  that 
any  continuous  history  of  the  line  can  be  said  to  begin.     Inscrip- 
tions then  take  up  the  tale. 

About  that  time  the  dynasty  of  the  Pallavas  (whose  capital  Its  struggles 
was  at  Kanchi,  the  modern  Conieeveram)  tried  to  extend  their  i^^!,  ^^^ 
conquests  southwards  and  fell  foul  of  tlie  Pandyas.     Two  of  their  seventh 
kings,  Simhavishnu  and  his  grandson  Narasimhavarman  I,  boast  <^'"^°^J' 
in  their  inscriptions  that  they  conquered  the  Pandya  kingdom. 

Almost  at  once,  however,  pressure  fi'om  this  quarter  was  Decline  of 
relieved  by  the  sudden  appearance  of  a  new  line  of  rulers  wlio  gave  ^^^  latter, 
the  Pallavas  sufficient  employment  in  the  north  to  divert  their 
attention  from  their  southern  neighbours .  These  wore  the  Cha- 
lukyas  of  Badami,  in  the  Bombay  Presidency.  By  615  A.D. 
they  had  driven  the  Pallavas  back  to  the  walls  of  Conjeeveram, 
and  they  even  assert  that  they  conquered  the  Cholas,'  crossed  the 
Cauvery,  and  invaded  the  country  of  the  Pandyas  and  Cheras.^ 
The  latter  boast  is  probably  an  empty  one,  since  there  are  no 
traces  of  Chalukyan  conquest  in  the  Chola  or  Pandya  country  at 
this  period  ;  but  a  claim  which  is  much  more  likely  to  liave  a 
foundation  in  fact,  and  which  is  of  greater  interest  for  our  present 
purposes,  is  the  statement  of  the  Chalukyan  king  Pulakesin  II 
(A.D.  GlO-34)  that  ho  induced  the  Pandyas,  Cholas  and  Cheras 
to  combine  and  overcome  the  Pallavas.^  He  had  nothing  to  gain 
by  recording  false  statements  about  the  success  of  this  combina- 
tion, as  it  was  due  to  no  merit  of  his  own. 

For  the  next  liundred  years  nothing  certain  is  known  of 
the  doings  of  the  Pandyas,  but  they  apparently  retained  their 

^  Sewell's  Lists  of  Antiquities,  ii,  155. 

*  Bombay  Gazetteer  (Bombay,  189G),  i,  pt.  2,  188. 

»  Ind.  Ant.,  riii,  245. 


30 


MADUKA. 


CHAP.  II. 

Early 
History. 


The  Ganga- 
riiUavas, 
niuth 
century. 


Pan-^ya 

ascendancy, 


Chola 

revival,  tenth 
to  twelfth 
centuries. 


independence.  About  750  A.D.  they  again  came  into  conflict 
witli  the  Pallavas,for  an  inscription  of  Nandivarnian  Pallavamalla, 
wlio  was  probably  about  the  last  of  the  latter  dynasty  who  held 
any  real  power,  states  that  his  general,  Udayachandra,  gained  a 
victory  over  the  Pandyas  at  '  Mannaiklcudi.'  ^  But  as  tliis  place 
has  not  been  identified  it  is  not  possible  to  say  whicli  of  the  two 
combatants  was  the  aggressor. 

Shortly  after  this  the  power  of  the  Pallavas  declined,  and 
their  place  was  taken,  though  perhaps  not  immediately,  by  the 
Granga-Pallavas.  These  latter  seem,  like  their  predecessors,  to 
have  had  their  capital  at  Conjeeveram  ;  and  towards  the  end  of  the 
ninth  century  they  extended  their  rule  for  a  few  years  into  the 
north  of  the  Chola  country." 

They  do  not,  as  far  as  is  yet  known,  make  any  claims  to 
victories  over  the  Pandyas  ;  and  apparently  these  latter  were  not 
only  independent,  but  powerful  enough  to  control  the  Chola 
country  as  well  as  their  own  for  a  considerable  part  of  the  ninth 
century.  For  there  are  inscriptions  near  Taujore,^  in  the  heart 
of  the  Chola  realms,  assignable  to  that  century  on  paleeographic 
grounds,  which  relate  the  acts  of  Piindya  kings  ;  a  record  in 
North  Arcot  mentions  a  victory  of  the  Pandyas  over  the  Gangas 
(a  Mysore  dynasty  who  seem  at  this  time  to  have  been  feuda- 
tories of  the  Ganga-Pallavas)  which  occurred  about  the  middle 
of  the  same  century  in  the  very  north  of  the  Chola  country, 
at  Tiruppirambiyam  near  Kumbakonam  ;  *  and  the  Mahavamsa, 
the  Ceylon  chronicle,  says  that  the  Pandyas  made  an  entirely 
unprovoked  invasion  of  Ceylon  in  the  time  of  king  Sena  I,  who 
reigned  from  846  to  866. 

Towards  the  latter  part  of  this  ninth  century,  however,  the 
Pandyas  must  haA^e  been  forced  to  retire  from  at  any  rate  the 
north  of  the  Chola  dominions  before  the  advance  of  the  Granga- 
Pallavas  ;  and  by  the  end  of  it  the  Cholas,  who  had  been  under  a 
temporary  eclipse,  again  rose  to  power  and  began  to  lay  the 
foundations  of  an  empire  which  continued  supreme  in  south  India, 
with  slight  interruptions,  for  nearly  three  centuries. 

It  would  seem  to  have  been  m  the  reign  of  the  Chola  king 
Parautaka  I  (about  906-46)  that  the  Pandyas  for  the  first  time 
fell  definitely  under  the  Chola  yokc.^     That    monarch  assumed 

1  S.  Ind.  Inscr.,  ii,  364. 

*  Government  Epigraphist's  Annual  Report  for  1903-Oi,  para.  12. 

'  Nos.  51  and  10  of  the  Government  Epigraphist's  collections  for  1895  and 
1899  respectively. 

*  S.  Ind.,  Inscr.  ii,  381. 

^  Ep.  Ind.,  V,  i2  and  S.  Ind.  Inscr.,  ii,  379. 


POLITICAL   HISTORY. 


31 


Early 

HlSTOEY. 


the  title  of  '  conqueror  of  Madura/   his  inscriptions    range    from     CHAP.  II. 
Suchindrain  near  Cape  Comorin  to  Kdlaliasti  in  Nortli  Arcot,  and 
he  also  invaded  Cejlon. 

A  chance  of  a  bid  for  freedom  was  afforded  the  Pandyas 
in  949  hj  the  crushing  defeat  of  the  Cholas  in  tliat  year  near 
Arkonam  Ly  the  Rashtrakutas  of  Malkhed  ^in  what  is  now  the 
Nizam's  Dominions)  who  now  occupied  the  country  formerly  held 
i3y  the  Chalukyas  of  Badami.  The  Pandyas  seem  to  have  rebelled 
successfully,  and  their  ruler  Vira-Pandya  defeated  the  Chola  king 
Aditya  Karikala  and  assumed  the  title  of  '  he  who  took  the  head 
of  the  Chola.'  But  later  they  again  succumbed,  for  the  Chola 
king  Rajaraja  I  (985-1013)  claims  to  have  'taken  away  their 
splendour,'  and  the  substantial  foundation  which  existed  for  his 
boast  and  the  complete  subjection  of  the  Pandya  country  are 
evidenced  by  the  immense  number  of  Chola  inscriptions  which 
occur  in  the  Madura  and  Tinnevelly  districts,  by  the  very 
large  number  of  copper  coins  of  Eajaraja  which  are  even  now 
found  in  the  former  of  these/  and  by  the  fact  that  the  name  of 
the  old  Pandya  capital  of  Korkai  was  changed  to  the  Chola  term 
Cholendrasimha-chaturvedimangalam  and  that  of  the  Pdndya 
country  itself  to  Eajaraja-Pandi-nadu.-  The  Pandya  realms 
became,  in  fact,  a  province  of  the  Chola  empire. 

The  position  of  this  empire  at  this  period  is  a  matter  which 
belongs  rather  to  the  history  of  Tanjore  and  Trichinopoly  ^  than 
to  that  of  Madura,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  refer  to  it  here  in 
any  detail.  Edjaraja  extended  his  rule  throughout  the  Madras 
Presidency  and  in  some  directions  even  beyond  it :  on  the  west  his 
sway  reached  as  far  as  Quilon  and  Coorg  ;  on  the  north-east 
to  the  borders  of  Orissa ;  and  his  conquests  included  Ceylon  and 
the  '  twelve  thousand  ancient  islands  of  the  sea.'  Parts  of 
Burma  and  the  Malay  Archipelago  were  added  to  these  domini- 
ons by  his  immediate  successors.  Their  conquests  were  least 
secure  in  the  north-west,  and  their  most  formidable  rivals  at  this 
period  were  the  Western  Chalukyas,  a  branch  of  the  Chalukyas 
of  Badami  above  referred  to,  who  had  ousted  the  Eash- 
trak{itas  of  Malkhed  and  returned  to  power  with  their  capital  at 
Kalyani,  in  what  is  now  Haidarabad  territory. 

At  first,  in  the  reigns  of  Rajaraja  (985-1013)  and  his  succes-  pandya 
sor  Rcijendra  Chola  I  (1011-33),  the  Pdndyas  appear  to  have  lebcllions 
borne  the  Chola  yoke  quietly  enough. 

'  Capt.  Tufnell's  Hi  ids  to  Goin-eollectors,  11. 

*  Government  Ei^igriiphist'e  Annual  Report  for  1D03-0-4,  para.  20. 

^  See  Chapter  11  in  the  Gateiteers  of  these  districts. 


32 


MADURA. 


IIlSTORT. 


CHAP.  II.  During    the    rule    of    E^j^dliir^ja    I    (1018-53),   however, 

^Early  trouble  began,  the  Pandyas,  the  Cheras  and  the  Singhalese 
uniting  to  throw  off  the  Ch61a  yoke.  The  revolt  was  sternly 
suppressed.  The  Singhalese  king  was  killed  in  battle,  the  Chora 
ruler  captured  and  put  to  death,  and  the  Pandya  chief  driven  to 
headlong  iSight.  The  victor's  inscription  commemorating  his 
triumph'  says  that— 

'  Of  the  three  allied  kings  of  the  south  he  cut  off  on  the  battle-fiel4 
the  beautiful  head  of  I^Ianabharauan  adorned  witli  great  gems  and 
a  golden  crown;  captured  in  fight  Yira-Keralan  of  the  wide  ankle- 
rings,  and  was  pleased  to  have  him  trampled  to  death  by  his  furious 
elephant  Attivarana  ;  and  drove  to  the  ancient  river  Mullaiyar  ^  Sundara 
Pandya  of  great  and  undying  fame,  who  lost  in  the  stress  of  battle  his 
royal  white  parasol,  his  fly-whisks  of  white  yak's  hair  and  his  throne, 
and  fled,  leaving  his  crown  behind  him,  with  dishevelled  locks  and 
weary  feet.' 

The  records  of  the  next  Chola  king,  E^jendra-Deva  (1052- 
63),  do  not  refer  to  any  trouble  with  the  Pandyas,  but  his 
successor,  Vira-Eajendra  I  (1062-70)  had  to  put  down  a  fresh 
rebelKon  of  theirs.  He  captured  the  Pandya  chief  and  caused 
him  to  be  '  trampled  to  death  by  a  furious  77iast  elephant,^'  and 
he  gave  the  Pandya  country  to  his  son  Gangai-konda-Chola, 
who  took  the  title  of  Ch61a-Pandya.* 

The  death  of  this  Yira-Eajendra  was  followed  by  a  fierce 
domestic  contest  for  the  Chola  crowu,*  and  it  was  not  apparently 
till  about  1074  that  the  next  king,  the  great  Kulottunga  I,  who 
reigned  till  1119,  succeeded  in  establishing  himself  firmly  on  the 
throne.  His  hands  must  have  been  too  full  during  these  four 
years  to  allow  him  to  keep  a  proper  hold  upon  the  outlying  por- 
tions of  his  empire,  and  a  great  part  of  them  fell  into  disorder. 
Ceylon  appears  to  have  cut  itself  adrift  and  the  Pandyas  and  the 
Cheras  again  united  in  rebellion.  They  were  again  suppressed. 
An  inscription  of  the  fourteenth^year  of  Kulottunga  records  that 
he  put  the  '  five  Pandyas'  to  flight  and  subdued  the  Gulf  of 
Manaar,  '  the  Podiyil  mountain  '  (Agastyamalai  in  Tinnevelly), 
Cape  Comorin  and  Kottaru  (now  in  Travancore),  the  last  of 
which  places  he  took  by  storm.  He  limited  the  boundaries  of 
the  Pandya  country  and  placed  garrisons  at  Kottaru  and  other 
strategically  important  places  within  it.^ 

1  S.  Ind.  Inser.,  iii,  56. 
'  Not  identified, 
s  S.  Ind.  Inner.,  iii,  37. 

*  There  is,  however,  evidence  to  show  that  the  title  is  earlier  than  this, 
and  its  origin  is  not  wholly  clear. 

»  See  Chapter  II  of  the  Tanjore  and  Trichinopoly'Gazeifeers. 

«  See  the  Government  Epigraphist's  Annual  Report  for  1900-01,  p.  9. 


POLITICAL    HISTORY.  33 

Kings  of  tlie  Cli61a-I*andya  line  above  mentioned  seem  to     CHAP.  11. 
have  gone  on  ruling  the  Pandya  country  till  someVhere   about         Early 

1136,  but  the  history  of  both  the  Cholas  and  the  Pandyas  in  the         

next  35   years  is   at  present  obscure.     During  that  period  the  Pandya 
dominions   of   the   former  seem   to  have  been  considerably  cur-  t^^ift^^     ' 
tailed,  but  it  is  not  possible  to   say  exactly  what  was   their  posi-  century, 
tion  iu  the   Pandya   country.     When  at  length   (in  the  reign  of 
the  Chola  king  Rajadhiraja  II,  about  1171-72)  inscriptions  again 
begin  to  throw  light  upon  the   relations  of  the   two  peoples,  a 
struggle    for    the    Pandya    throne    is    found   to    be    proceeding 
between  two   Pandya  princes  who  seem  to  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  Chola-Pandya  line,  and  the  kings  of  the  Ch61as  and  of 
Ceylon    are   taking'  opposite   sides  in   the   quarrel,     What   had 
happened  in  the  meantime  to  the  Chola-Pandya  dynasty  it  is 
impossible  to  say. 

The  two  rival  claimants  to  the  Pandya   crown  were  Par^k-   Struggle  for 
rama-Pandya     and     Kulasekhara-Pandya.       How     they     were  tlie  t^^^'o^ie- 
related,  or  how  the  strife  arose,  is  not  clear.     Chapters  76  and  77 
of  the  Singhalese  chronicle  Mahavamsa  give,  however,  a  fairly 
detailed,  though  doubtless  one-sided,  account  of  the  campaign.^ 

Parakrama  was  besieged  by  Kulasekhara  in  his  capital 
(Madura)  and  appealed  for  help  to  the  king  of  Ceylon.  The 
latter  despatched  his  general  Lankapura-Dandandtha  with  orders 
to  suppress  Kulasekhara  and  establish  Parakrama  on  the  throne ; 
but  before  the  Singhalese  ai-my  could  embark,  Kulasekhara  had 
captured  Madura  and  put  his  rival,  with  his  queen  and  some  of 
his  children,  to  death.  Lankapura  was  ordered  by  his  master 
to  proceed  noue  the  less,  to  recover  the  Pandya  reabns,  and  to 
hand  them  over  to  some  relative  of  the  murdered  king.  Ho 
landed  in  India  accordingly,  and  for  some  time  his  troops  carried 
everything  before  them.  He  sent  for  Yira-Pandya,  the  youngest 
son  of  the  dead  Parakrama  (who  had  escaped  when  Madura  fell), 
and  set  him  up  as  claimant  for  the  throne.  Subsequently,  with 
the  aid  of  reinforcements  from  Ceylon,  he  inflicted  such  crush- 
ing defeats  upon  Kulasekhara  that  the  latter  fled  to  '  Tondamana,' 
which  is  perhaps  the  Padukkottai  country,  and  the  Singhalese 
troops  occupied  Madura  town. 

It  was  at  this  stage  that  the  Cholas  seem  to  have  first  given 
Kulasekhara  their  support.  With  their  help  a  stand  was  made 
at  '  Pon-Amaravati,'  a  place  not  yet  identified,  but  the  Singhalese 

^  Government  Epigraphiat's  Report  for  1898-99,  paras.  23  ff. 

5 


34 


MADUEA. 


CHAP.  II. 
Early 

HUTORY. 


Deoline  of 
the  Chdlas, 
thirteenth 
century. 


Pandya  rule 
thenceforth. 


•were  onco  more  victorious  and  a  space  of  three  leagues  was 
covered  with  the  corpses  of  the  vanquished.  Lankdpura  returned 
in  triumph  to  Madura,  placed  Vira-Pandya  on  the  throne  and 
celebrated  the  event  with  a  great  festival. 

Supported  by  the  ruler  of  Tondamana  and  certain  other 
Chola  chiefs,  Kulasekhara  again  took  the  field,  but  was  again 
defeated,  this  time  at  Palamcottah,  and  fled  for  refuge  to  the 
Ch61a  country.  The  Chola  king  then  assisted  him  with  a  large 
army,  but  he  was  yet  again  vanquished,  and  the  Ceylon  troops 
advanced  northwards  and  even  burnt  some  villages  in  the 
Tanjore  country.  After  one  more  victory  over  the  Pandya  and 
Chola  troops  the  Singhalese  returned  to  Ceylon,  leaving  Yira- 
Pandya  in  possession  of  his  kingdom. 

The  war  did  not  end  there,  however.  Inscriptions  of  the 
Chola  king  Kul6ttunga  III  show  that  that  ruler  subsequently  sup- 
ported Kulasekhara's  successor  Vikrama-Pandya  in  an  effort 
against  Vira-Pandya  and  his  son,  defeated  the  Marava  army,  drove 
the  Simhala  (Singhalese)  forces  into  the  sea,  captured  Madura, 
made  over  the  Pandya  crown  to  his  protege  Vikrama,  and 
assumed  the  title  of  'conqueror  of  Madura  and  Ceylon.^ 

These  stirring  events  occurred  somewhere  about  the  end  of  the 
twelfth  century.  Early  in  the  thirteenth,  the  power  of  the  Cholas 
began  to  decline.  It  was  during  the  reign  of  Kajaraja  III  of  that 
dynasty  (1216  to  about  1239)  that  the  first  fatal  blows  were 
received.  This  king's  feudatories  revolted  on  all  sides,  and  one  of 
them,  K6pperunjinga,  a  prince  of  some  power  in  Tondaimanda- 
1am,  the  present  South  Arcot,  actually  had  the  impudence  to 
kidnap  his  suzerain  (1230-31)  and  refuse  to  release  him.^  The 
unfortunate  Rajaraja  was  only  rescued  by  the  intervention  of  the 
Hoysala  Ballalas,  a  newly-risen  dynasty  which  had  recently  sub- 
verted the  Western  Ch^lukyas  of  'Kstlyini  and  established  their 
capital  at  Halebid  in  Mysore. 

The  Chola  demoralisation  was  the  Pandyas'  opportunity,  and 
they  were  not  slow  to  avail  themselves  of  it.  Prom  this  time 
forth  they  occupied  the  throne  of  Madura  in  a  regular  succession, 
and  from  astronomical  details  appearing  in  inscriptions  and 
supplied  by  the  Government  Epigraphist,  Professor  Kielhorn  has 
fixed  the  dates  of  the  following  of  their  rulers — the  latter  year 
in  each  case  being,  not  necessarily  the  last  of  the  king's  reign, 


^  For  details  of  this  exploit,  see  South  Arcot  Gazetteer,  33. 


POLITICAL    HISTORY. 


35 


Snndara- 
Pand^-a  I, 
1216-35. 


but  the  latest   date   as   yet   discovered   which   contains   details     CHAP,  il. 
admitting-  of  verification  : —  Earlt 

Distort 

1.  Jatavarman  Kulas^khara,  1190-1214.  

2.  Maravarmau  Sundara-Pandya  I,  1216-35. 

3.  Maravarman  Sundara-Pandya  II,  1238-51. 

4.  Jatavarman  Sundara-Pandya  I,  1251-61. 

5.  Yira-Pandya,  1252-67. 

6.  Mdravarman  Kulasekhara  I,  1208-1308. 

7.  Jatavarman  Sundara-Pandya  II,  1275-90. 

8.  Maravarman  Kulasekhara  II,  1314-21. 

9.  Mdravarman  Parakrama-Pandya,  1334-52. 

10.  Jatavarman  Parakrama-Pandya,  1357-72. 

11.  Jatilavarmau  Parakrama-Pandya  Arikesarideva,    1422- 

61. 

12.  Jatilavarman  Parakrama-Pandya  Kulasekhara,  1479-99. 

13.  Jatilavarman  Srivallabha,  1534-37. 

14.  Maravarman  Sundara-P<4ndya  III,  1531-55. 

15.  Jatilavarman  Srivakabha  Ativirarama,  1562-67. 

The  second  of  these  rulers,  Maravarman  Sundara-Pandya  I,  Maravarman 
who  came  to  the  throne  in  1216,  invaded  the  country  of  the  old 
enemies  of  his  line  and  captured  Tanjore  and  Uraiyur,  a  suburb 
of  Trichinopoly  and  a  former  Chola  capital.  He  boasts  that 
he  made  himself  master  of  the  Chola  realms  and  in  the  end 
graciously  returned  them  as  a  gift  to  their  owner;  ^  and  that 
this  was  not  altogether  mere  bombast  is  shown  by  the  frequency 
of  his  inscriptions  in  the  Tanjore  and  Trichinopoly  districts  ^ 
and  by  the  fact  that  his  coins  bear  the  title  '  ho  who  conquered 
the  Chola  country/ 

But  the  collapse  of  the  Cholas  brought  the  Pandyas  into  toucli 
with  the  Hoysalas,  who  about  this  time  established  themselves 
near  Srirangam  in  the  Trichinopoly  district  in  a  new  town  which 
the  Hoysala  king  '  had  built  in  order  to  amuse  his  mind  in  the 
Chola  country,  which  he  had  conquered  by  the  power  of  his  arm.' 
As  early  as  1222  these  Hoysalas  were  stated  to  be  '  marcliing 
against  Eanga  (t.e.,  Srirangam)  in  the  south,'  and  to  have  '  cleft 
open  the  rock  that  was  the  Ptindya,'  and  their  king  assumed  the 
title  of  '  the  establisher  of  the  Chola  kingdom.'  Whether  he 
actually  came  into  conflict  with  the  I'andyas  it  is  impossible  to 
say ;  but  the  latter  seem  to  have  left  the  Chola  country,  and  do 
not  appear  to  have  again  interfered  with  it  for  some  thirty  years. 

^  Government  Epigrnphist'e  Annual  Report  for  1899-1900,  para.  12. 
«  Ef.  Ind.,  vi,  303  ff. 


Arrival  ol  tlio 
Hoysalas. 


36 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  II. 

Eahly 
History. 

Jatavarman 
Suudara- 
Pandya  I, 
1261-61. 


End  of  the 
Hoysala  and 
Chdla  power. 


Maravarman 
Kulas^klinra 
I  (1268-1308) 
and  his  sue- 


Of  the  third  of  the  Pandya  kings  in  the  above  list,  Maravar- 
man Sundara-Pandya  II  (1238-51),  very  little  is  known;  but 
his  successor,  Jatdvarman  Sundara-Pdndya  I  (1251-61),  was  a 
mighty  conqueror.  He  invaded  Ceylon,  carried  off  a  great  booty, 
including  the  celebrated  tooth-relic,  and  assumed  in  consequence 
the  titleof  '  a  second  Earaa  in  plundering  the  island  of  Lanka  ;  ^ ' 
he  covered  the  Srirangam  temple  with  gold ;  came  into  conBict 
with  the  rapidly  growing  power  of  the  Kakatiya  kings  of  Waran- 
gal  in  Haidarabad ;  extended  his  conquests  as  far  as  Nellore, 
where  he  had  himself  'anointed  as  a  hero;'  and  defeated  the 
Hoysala  king  Somesvara. 

The  Hoysalas  bad  also  been  previously  worsted  about  this 
time  by  the  Cholas  under  Eajendra-Ohola  III  (1246  to  about 
1267),  who  assumed  the  title  of  'the  hostile  rod  of  death  to 
his  uncle  Somesvara,'  but  they  appear  at  Srirangam  again  in 
1256,  and  their  inscriptions  and  those  of  the  Pandyas  overlap  and 
alternate  in  the  Trichinopoly  district  in  a  puzzling  manner  until 
the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century.  The  inference  is  that  they 
were  not  permanently  weakened  by  the  blows  dealt  them  by  the 
Cholas  and  the  Pandyas,  but  continued  for  some  years  as  the 
effective  rivals  of  the  latter  in  that  part  of  the  country. 

Nor,  apparently,  were  the  Ch61a3  at  once  reduced  to  an 
absolutely  subordinate  position.  Though  the  Pandyas  had  pene- 
trated into  their  territory  as  far  as  Nellore  before  1261,  Eaj^ndra- 
Chola  III  seems  to  have  retained  some  form  of  independence  till 
as  late  as  1267.  It  was  the  last  flicker  of  their  dying  power. 
After  1267  they  seem  to  have  dropped  out  of  the  race ;  and  that 
part  of  their  country  which  was  not  held  by  the  Hoysalas  was 
occupied  by  the  Pandyas. 

The  sixth  and  seventh  of  the  Pandya  rulers  in  the  list  above, 
Maravarman  Kulasekhara  I  and  Jatavarman  Sundara-Pandya  II, 
were  kings  of  considerable  power  and  are  both  known  to  history — 
the  former  as  the  '  Kales  Dewar  '  of  Muhammadan  historians  and 
the  latter  as  the  '  Sender  Bandi '  of  Marco  Polo. 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  overlapping  of  the  dates  of  the  reigns 
of  these  and  others  of  the  kings  in  the  list,  the  chief  power  in  the 
Pandya  realms  was  apparently  often  held  jointly  by  several 
members  of  the  ruling  family.  The  Mahavamsa  says  that  the 
expedition  against  Ceylon  above  mentioned  was  sent  by  '  the  five 
brethren  who  governed  the  Pandya  kingdom^  and  Marco  Polo 
also  alludes  to  the   '  five  brothers.'     More  than  one  reference, 


The  Mahavamsa,  however,  putB  this  invasion  at  a  later  date. 


POLITICAL    HISTOHY.  37 

however,  shows  that  one  member  of  ithe  five  was  always  held     CHAP.  II. 
superior  to  the  others.  Early 

Marco  Polo,  and  the  Muharamadan,  Chinese  and  Singhalese         

chronicles,  and  also  the  other  authorities  on  the  state  of  the  Splendour  of 
Pandya  realm  at  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  and  the  beginning  of  realm.  °  ^^ 
the  fourteenth  centuries  ^  all  agree  in  extolling  its  wealth  and  mag- 
nificence. It  stretched  along  the  coast  from  Quilon  to  Nellore  ; 
it  was  called  (according  to  Marco  Polo)  '  the  greater  India ;'  was 
the  best  of  all  the  Indies  and  indeed  '  the  finest  and  noblest 
province  in  the  world;'  its  rulers  sent  an  embassy,  which  is 
described  in  the  Chinese  annals,  to  the  Mongol  emperor  Kublai 
Khan  in  1286  ;  were  on  terms  of  friendliness  with  the  Muhamma- 
dans  who  now  begin  to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  southern  India ; 
and  employed  Muhammadan  ministers — who,  by  the  way,  rose  to 
great  influence  and  wealth.  Their  chief  city  was  stiU  Madura, 
but  Marco  Polo  describes  with  admiration,  as  a  place  of  great 
commercial  importance,  the  town  of  Old  Kayal,  about  a  mile  and 
a  half  from  the  mouth  of  the  Tambraparni  and  in  the  present 
Tinnevelly  district.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  centre  of  a  (for 
those  days)  very  largo  sea-borne  trade  which  the  Pandya  kings 
actively  encouraged  and  which  made  them  widely  known.  Marco 
Polo  says  that  all  the  ships  fromjthe  west  touched  at  Kayal,  and 
the  contemporary  Persian  historian  Wassaf  states  in  a  flowery 
passage  that  all  the  products  of  India  and  China  were  constantly 
arriving  there,  and  that  all  the  splendour  of  the  west  was  derived 
from  the  Pandya  realm  '  which  is  so  situated  as  to  be  the  key 
of  Hind.' 

Early  in  the  fourteenth  century  a  dispute  arose  about  the  Musalman 
succession  to  the  Pandya  throne  and  one  of  the  claimants  ^'^Toio'^' 
appealed  for  help  to  the  emperor  Alla-ud-din  of  Delhi.  Perhaps 
in  consequence,  followed  the  great  invasion  of  the  south  of  India 
by  Malik  Kaf ur,  tlie  famous  general  of  that  monarch,  which  took 
place  in  1310  and  caused  the  most  momentous  changes  in  the 
political  configuration  of  central  and  southern  India.  Having 
swept  away  the  power  of  tlie  rulers  oE  the  Deccan,  Malik  Kafur 
marched  on  triumphantly  into  the  Carnatic,  sacked  Madura,  and 
made  his  way,  it  is  said,  as  far  as  Eamesvaram,  where  he  founded 
a  mosque.^ 

Mr.  Nelson  ^  gives   a  description,  founded  on  native  manu- 
scripts, of  the  excesses  of  his  troops  in  Madura  to^Ti.     Life  and 

^  Sec  Caldwell's    History  of  Tinnevelly,  32  ff.  and  _hi8  Grammar  of  the  Dm- 
vidian  langriages  (London,  1S75),  535  ff. 

*  Elpliinstone's  Hinfory  of  India  (Londoia,  1857),  2-10. 
^  The  Madura  country,  pt.  3,  81, 


38 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  II. 

Mdsalman 
Invasion. 


Mnsalman 
djmasty  at 
Madura. 


VlJAYANAGAR 

Dominion, 
1365. 


propcrtj  were  unsafe,  trade  and  commerce  were  paralysed,  private 
liberty  was  so  much  at  an  end  tliat  one  Hindu  dared  not  even 
converse  witli  another  in  the  street,  public  worship  was  suppressed, 
and  the  great  temple  was  almost  razed  to  the  ground.  Its  outer 
wall,  with  its  fourteen  towers,  was  pulled  down ;  the  streets  and 
buildings  which  it  protected  were  destroyed  ;  and  nothing  was 
left  of  it  but  the  two  shrines  of  Sundaresvara  and  Minakshi  and 
the  buildings  which  immediately  surrounded  them.  Even  these 
apparently  owed  their  escape  less  to  any  reverence  for  them  in 
the  victor's  breasts  than  to  the  outbreak  of  private  dissensions 
among  these  Vandals. 

Malik  Kafur  returned  almost  at  once  to  his  own  country, 
but  the  Pandyas  seem  to  have  been  prostrated  by  the  in- 
vasion. Never  again,  indeed,  did  they  posifsess  any  considerable 
independent  power  ;  thougli  their  kings  continued  to  rule  in  a 
spasmodic  fashion,  with  varying  authority  and  over  dominions  of 
varying  size,  for  the  next  two  and  a  half  centuries.  It  is  eloquent 
evidence  of  the  completeness  of  their  collapse  that  a  king  of 
the  Cheras,  a  nation  long  sunk  out  of  all  importance  in  Indian 
politics,  was  able  to  march  right  across  the  peninsula,  defeat 
their  ruler,  have  himself  crowned  at  Madura,  and  make  his  way  in 
1313  to  Conjeeveram.^ 

This  Chera  occupation  of  the  country  must,  however,  have 
been  very  transitory,  for  a  Musalman  dynasty  was  very  shortly 
afterwards  established  at  Madura  which  existed  for  about  the 
next  48  years  and  ruled  that  district  (witli  Trichinopoly  and 
perhaps  South  Arcot)  first  as  feudatories  of  the  Delhi  emperor 
and  subsequently  as  independent  monarchs.  Mr.  Nelson  ^  gives  a 
traditional  list  of  its  kings,  eight  in  number. 

It  was  overthrown  about  1365  ^  by  the  power  of  the  new 
lEindu  kingdom  of  Vijayanagar,*  which  had  been  founded  at 
Hampe  in  the  Bellary  district  in  1335  and  for  the  next  two 
centuries  stemmed  the  tide  of  Muhammadan  invasion  from  the 
north.  Kampana  Udaiyar,  a  prince  of  this  line,  drove  the 
Musalmans  out  of  Madura  and  set  up  there  a  little  dynasty  of  his 
own  which  was  presumably  and  apparently  subordinate  to  the 
court  of  Vijayanagar. 

^  Ep.  Ind.,  iv,  146. 
5  Ft.  3,  81. 
3  Ep,  Ind.,  vi,  324. 

*  For  the  history  of  this  power,  see  A  Forgotten  Empire  {Vijayanagar),  bj 
Mr.  R.  SewoU,  late  I.C.S.,  Swan  Sonnengohein,  1900. 


POLITICAL    HISTORY.  39 

Mr.   Nelson's    autliorities  ^    give    a  vivid   description  of  the     CHAP.  II. 
instantaneous  effect  in  Madura  of  this  victory  : —  Vuayanagae 

'  Within  a  few  days  the  temples  of  Siva  and  Vishnu  had  been  

everywhere  re-opened ;  worship  was  performed  once  more  with 
extraordinary  solemnity  and  fervour  :  and  that  nothing  might  be 
wanting  to  restore  confidence  and  energy  to  all  classes  of  men,  the 
Brahman 8  contrived  a  great  miracle  significant  of  the  i)leasure  of  the 
god  and  of  his  perpetual  regard  for  his  faithful  worshippers.  Kampana 
was  taken  on  an  appointed  day  to  witness  the  re-opening  of  the  great 
Pagoda,  and  on  his  entering  and  approaching  the  shrine  for  the 
purpose  of  looking  upon  the  face  of  the  god,  lo  !  and  behold  !  every- 
thing was  in  precisely  the  same  condition  as  when  the  temple  was  first 
shut  up  just  forty-eight  years  previously.  The  lamp  that  was  lighted 
on  that  day  was  still  burning  ;  and  the  sandal-wood  powder,  the 
garland  of  flowers  and  the  ornaments  usually  placed  before  the  idol  on 
the  morning  of  a  festival  day  wore  now  found  to  be  exactly  as  it  is 
usual  to  find  them  on  the  evening  of  such  a  day.' 

The  list  of  the  Pandya  kings  already  given  shows  that  not  Its  effects, 
only  during  the  Musalman  occupation,  but  also  throughout  the 
rule  of  Kampana  Udaiydr  and  his  successors,  and  even,  see 
below,  through  the  time  of  the  later  Nayakkan  dynasty  and  down 
to  the  overthrow  of  the  Vijayanagar  kingdom  in  1565,  Pandya 
chiefs  remained  always  in  authority  in  Madura.  Dr.  Caldwell^ 
considers  that  they  probably  at  first  assisted  the  Vijayanagar 
forces  to  expel  the  Musalmans,  and  that  thereafter  they  continued 
in  subordination  to  the  power  of  Vijayanagar.     He  says  that — 

'  Throughout  the  greater  number  of  the  reigns  of  these  Pandya 
kings  of  the  later  line  (that  is,  those  who  nded  after  the  expulsion  of 
the  Musalmans),  the  kings  of  Vijayanagar  appear  to  have  exercised 
supreme  authorit}',  but  I  think  it  may  be  assumed  that  they  did 
not  interfere  much  in  the  internal  atfairs  of  the  country,  and  that 
they  contented  themselves  with  receiving  tribute  and  occasionally 
military  help.' 

Kampana  Udaiydr's  dynasty  only  lasted  (if  we  are  to  credit 
the  vernacular  manuscripts  on  which  Mr.  Nelson  has  based  his 
account  of  theui)  down  to  about  1404,  and  tliereafter  the  admin- 
istration of  the  country — subject,  no  douljt,  to  the  suzerainty 
of  the  kings  of  Vijayanagar — continued  for  many  years  in  the 
hands  of  a  number  of  chieftains,  of  whom  tlie  greater  number 
bore  Telugu  names  and  titles  (such  as  Nayakkan)  and  were 
apparently  the  nominees  of  the  suzerain.^ 

^  Pt.  3,  82. 

^  History  of  Ti7ineveUy,  52. 

^  Their  names  appear  in  Mr.  Nelson's  Madura  Country,  pt,  3,  88  ff.  and  Mr, 
Sowell's  Lists  af  Antiquities,  ii,  223. 


40 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  II. 

VlJAYAXAGAR 

Dominion. 


King 

Acliyuta's 
campaign, 
1532. 


NiYAKKAN 

Dynasty, 
1559-1736. 


The  earliest  Vijajanagar  inscription  (other  than  those  of 
Kampana  Udaiy^r)  as  yet  discovered  in  the  Pandya  country  is  one 
of  the  time  of  king-  Deva  Raya  II  of  that  line  and  is  dated  1438- 
39.  King  Krishna  Eaya  (1509-30),  the  greatest  of  the  dynasty, 
perhaps  exercised  a  closer  control  over  this  part  of  his  posses- 
sions. Little  of  note  appears,  however,  to  have  taken  place  there 
until  the  second  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

About  1532,  however,  stirring  events  occurred.  The  king 
of  Travancore  became  aggressive,  overran  a  large  part  of  the 
Pandya  country,  and  defied  the  authority  of  Vijayanagar.  To 
reduce  him  to  submission,  and  also  to  defend  the  Pandya  king 
from  the  encroachments  of  two  Telugu  chieftains  (perhaps  local 
governors  sent  from  Vijayanagar  who  had  endeavoured  to  assume 
independence)  Achyuta,  king  of  Vijayanagar  from  1530  to  1542, 
organised  a  great  expedition  into  the  extreme  south  of  India. 

If  we  are  to  trust  his  own  inscriptions,^  he  was  eminently 
successful  in  the  campaign.  He  planted  a  pillar  of  victory  in  the 
Tambraparni  river,  exacted  tribute  from  the  king  of  Travancore, 
suppressed  the  two  troublesome  chieftains  and  married  the 
daughter  of  the  Pandya  king.  Thenceforth  the  Pandya  country 
was  held  more  firmly  and  directly  by  the  representatives  of  the 
Vijayanagar  empire.  The  native  chronicles,  indeed,  continue  to 
confuse  the  authority  of  these  suzerains,  their  Telugu  governors, 
and  the  Pandya  rulers,  treating  each  in  turn  as  though  they  were 
supreme,  but  there  is  evidence  ^  to  show  that  between  1547  and 
1558  the  Madura  country  was  in  fact  ruled  by  one  Vitthala  Raja, 
who  was  a  prince  of  the  Vijayanagar  line  and  invaded  Travancore 
a  second  time  in  1543. 

lln  1559  was  founded  the  famous  Nayakkan  dynasty  of 
Madura,  which  held  the  country  for  nearly  two  centuries  until 
the  Musalmans  took  it  in  1736.  The  origin  and  early  doings  of 
this  line  are  recounted  neither  in  inscriptions  nor  in  really  reliable 
histories,  and  for  light  upon  both  we  are  driven  to  depend 
mainly  upon  the  vernacular  manuscripts  in  the  three  volumes 
of  the  Eev.  W.  Taylor's  Catalogue  Baisonne  of  Oriental  MSS. 
(Madras,  1857),  in  the  same  author's  Oriental  Hktorical  MSS. 
(Madras,  1835)  and  in  the  collections  of  manuscripts  by  Colonel 
Mackenzie  which  are  now  in  the  Oonnemara  Library.  These  (in 
the  judgment  of  so  eminent  an  authority  as  Bishop  Caldwell) 
are  of  very  doubtful  veracity,  but  happily  they  are  frequently 
illumined  by  the  letters   and  periodical  reports  of  the  priests  of 

'  See  Government  EpigrapList'e  Annual  Eeporfc  for  1899-1900,  paras.  70  £E. 
*  Ibid.,  para.  78,  and  Sewell's  Lists  of  Aiitiquitiee,  ii,  224. 


POLITICAL    HISTORY.  41 

the    well-known  Tesuit    Mission    at     Madura^,    which     (though     CHAP.  II. 
unfortunately   incomplete)   have   been   collected  and  published  in     N^yakkan 
four   volumes    under  the  title  of    La  Mission   da    Madure.     Mr.      Dynasty. 
Nelson    has  collated  all  these  authorities   with    much  care  in  his 
book,  aflid  the  ensuing-  narrative  follows  closely  (though,  owing  to 
the  exigencies  of  space,  very  briefly)  his  account  of  this  period. 

It  seems,  then,  that  at  about  the  close  of  Vitthala  Raja's  Its  origin, 
administration  the  then  Ohola  ruler  invaded  the  Madura  country 
and  dispossessed  the  Pandya  king.  AVhereupon  the  latter  appealed 
to  the  court  of  Vijayanagar  and  an  expedition  under  a  certain 
Nagama  Nayakkan  was  accordingly  sent  to  his  aid.  Nagama 
easily  suppressed  the  Chola  king  and  possessed  himself  of  Madura, 
but  he  then  suddenly  threw  off  his  allegiance  and,  declining 
to  help  the  Pandya,  assumed  the  position  of  an  independent 
ruler.  The  Vijayanagar  emperor  was  furious  at  his  defection, 
summoned  a  council,  laid  the  matter  before  his  most  faithful 
officers,  and  cried  out  to  the  assemblage  '  Where  amongst  you  all 
is  he  who  will  bring  me  that  rebel's  head? '  To  the  astonishment 
of  every  one  present,  Nagama's  own  son,  A^isvandtha,  volunteered 
to  do  so,  and  after  some  natural  hesitation  the  king  despatched 
him  with  a  large  force  against  the  rebel.  Visvanatha  defeated 
his  father  in  a  pitched  battle,  placed  him  in  confinement,  and  at 
length  procured  for  him  the  unconditional  pardon  wliich  had 
doubtless  been  from  the  first  the  object  of  his  action. 

He  so  far  obeyed  the  orders  of  the  Vijayanagar  king  as 
nominally  to  place  the  Pdndya  on  the  throne,  but  sound  policy 
and  his  own  interests  alike  deterred  him  from  handing  over  the 
entire  government  of  the  country  to  the  old  feeble  dynasty,  and 
he  set  out  to  rule  on  his  own  account.  This  was  in  1559.  Doubt- 
less he  held  a  wide  commission  as  governor  from  the  Vijayanagar 
court,  and  perhaps  there  was  little  difference  between  tlie  powers 
he  exercised  and  those  wielded,  for  example,  by  Vitthala  Raja. 
But  the  peculiar  characteristic  of  the  new  regime  was  that, 
whether  by  accident  or  design,  it  developed  first  into  a  governor- 
ship which  became  hereditary  and  then  into  what  was  practically 
an  hereditary  monarchy.  The  Nayakkans  never,  it  is  true, 
assumed  the  insignia  or  titles  of  royalty,  and  were  content  with 
the  position  of  lieutenants  under  Vijayanagar  even  after  they  had 
ceased  to  pay  tribute  to  that  pov/cr  ;  but  in  essentials  their  sway 
was  practically  absolute  and  the  Pandyas  disappear  in  effect 
henceforth  from  history. 

^  See  Chapter  III,  p.  75,  b«Iow. 


42 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  II. 

NXtakkan 
Dynastt. 

Visvanatha 
Nayakkant 
1559-63. 


Visvanatha,  tlien,  became  the  first  of  the  Nayakkan  dynasty. 

The  names   and  dates   of  its  rulers  may  be    conveniently  given  in 

tabular  form  here  at  once.     They  were  — 

Visvanatha  ..  ..  ..  ,.  ..  1559 

Kumara  Krishnappa       ..  ..  ..  .,         1563 

Krishnappa,  alias  Perij'a  Virappa         . .  . .  1       i  c7q 

Visvanatha  II       . .  . .  . .  . ,  . .  j 

Lingayya  alia»  Kumara  Krishnappa  Visvappa 

alias  Visvanatha  III    .  .  . .  . .  . .  1595 

Muttu  Krishnappa  ..  ..  .i  ..  1602 

Muttu  Virappa 1609 

Tirumala  .  ..  1623 

Muttu  Alakadri  alias  Muttu  Virappa   . .  . .  1659 

Chokkanatha  flfes  Chokkalinga  ..  ..  1662 

Ranga  Krishna  Muttu  Virappa  .  .  . .  1682 

Mangaramal  (Queen-Regent)  ..  ..  1689 

Vijaya  Ranga  Chokkanatha       ..  ..  ..  J  704 

Mmak^hi  (Queen-Regent)  ..  ..  ..1731—36 

Visvanatha  is  said  to  have  immediately  set  himself  to 
strengthen  his  capital  and  improve  the  administration  of  his 
dominions.  He  demolished  the  Pdndya  rampart  and  ditch 
which  at  that  time  surrounded  merely  the  walls  of  the  great 
temple,  and  erected  in  their  place  an  extensive  double-walled 
fortress  defended  by  72  bastions  ;^  and  he  led  channels  from 
the  upper  waters  of  the  Vaigai — perhaps  the  Peranai  and 
Chittanai  ^  dams  owe  their  origin  to  him—  to  water  the  country, 
founding  villages  in  the  tracts  commanded  by  them. 

In  his  administrative  improvements  he  was  ably  seconded  by 
his  prime  minister  Arya  Nayakka  Mudali  (  or,  as  he  is  still  com- 
monly called,  Arya  Natha  ,  a  man  born  of  peasant  Velldla  parents 
who  had  won  his  way  by  sheer  ability  to  a  high  position  in  the 
Vijayanagar  court.  This  officer  is  supposed  to  have  been  the 
founder  of  '  the  poligar  system, '  under  which  the  ATadura  country 
was  apportioned  among  72  chieftains — some  of  them  local  men  and 
others  Telugu  leaders  of  the  detachments  which  had  accompanied 
Visvanatha  from  Vijayanagar — who  were  each  placed  in  charge  of 
one  of  the  72  bastions  of  the  new  Madura  fortifications,  were 
responsible  for  the  immediate  control  of  their  estates,  paid  a  fixed 
tribute  to  the  Nayakkans,  and  kept  up  a  certain  quota  of  troops 
ready  for  immediate  service.  Unless  their  family  traditions  are 
uniformly  false,  these  men  did  much  for  the  country  in  those 
days,  founding  villages,  building  dams,  constructing  tanks    and 

^  See  p.  205  and  the  map  attached. 
3  Sm  pp.  124,  I9,h  And  128. 


POLITICAL    HISTOKY. 


43 


erecting   temples.     Many  of  them  bore  the  title   of  Nayakkan,      CHAP.  II. 
and  hence  the  commonaess  of  ' -nayakkanur  '  as  a  termination  to      NIyakkan 

the  names  of  places  in  this  district.     They  also  brought  with  them  J 

the  gods  of  the  Deccan,  and  thus  we  find  in  Madura  many  shrines 
to  Ahobilam  and  other  deities  wlio  are  rarely  worshipped  in  the 
Tamil  country.  Their  successors,  the  present  zamindars  of  the 
district,  still  look  upon  Arya  Natha  as  a  sort  of  patron  saint. 

This  man  is  also  credited  with  having  constructed  the  great 
thousand-pillared  mantapam  in  the  Madura  temple,  and  he  is 
still  kept  in  mind  by  the  equestrian  statue  of  him  which  Hanks 
one  side  of  the  entrance  of  this,  and  is  even  now  periodically 
crowned  with  garlands  by  the  hero-worshipjDers  of  to  day  He 
lived  till  1600  and  had  great  influence  upon  the  fate  of  the 
Nayakkan  dynasty  until  his  death. 

Visvanatha  also  added  the  fort  of  Trichinopoly  to  his  posses- 
sions. The  Vijayanagar  viceroy  who  governed  the  Tanjore 
country  had  failed  to  properly  police  the  pilgrim  roads  which  ran 
through  Trichinopoly  to  the  shrines  at  Srirangam  and  Eames- 
varam,  and  devotees  were  afraid  to  visit  those  holy  places.  Visva- 
natha accordingly  arranged  to  exchange  that  town  for  the  fort  of 
Vallam  (in  'J'anjore),  which  was  his  at  that  time,  lie  is  said  to 
have  then  vastly  improved  the  fortifications  and  town  of  Trichi- 
nopoly and  the  temple  of  Srirangam,  and  to  have  cleared  the 
banks  of  the  Cauvery  of  robbers. 

He  had  some  difficulty  with  'the  five  Pandyas,'  who  resisted 
the  introduction  of  his  authority  into  Tinnevelly,  but  he 
vanquished  them  at  length  (in  circumstances  set  out  with  much 
poetic  detail  in  the  manuscripts)  and  then  greatly  improved  the 
town  and  district  of  Tinnevelly.  He  is  also  credited  with  an 
expedition  to  subdue  a  local  chieftain  at  Kambam  (in  the  Teriya- 
kulam  taluk)  near  the  Travancore  border. 

Visvanatha  died  full  of  years  and  honour  in  1563.  His  name 
is  still  affectionately  remembered  as  that  of  a  great  benefactor  of 
his  country. 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Kumara  Krishnappa  (15o3-73),  His 
who  is  represented  as  a  brave  and  politic  ruler.  A  revolt  occurred  l?,!.°?!?!^*f 
among  the  poligars  daring  his  reign,  but  its  leadei-,  Tumbichi 
Nayakkan,  was  captured  while  holding  the  fort  of  Paramagudi 
in  the  Eamnad  zamindari,  and  was  beheaded  ;  and  the  trouble 
was  quenched.  Krishnappa  is  also  declared  to  have  conquered 
Ceylon — an  exploit  of  which  heroic  details  are  given  in  the  manu- 
scripts, but  of  which,  in  view  of  the  silence  of  the  usually  candid 
annals  of  that  island,  the  very  existence  may  well  be  doubted. 


44 


MADUBA. 


Fall  of 
Vijayanagar 
kingdom, 
1565. 


.en  A  P.  II.  He  was  succeeded  in  1573  by  his  two  sons,  who  ruled  jointly 

Nayakkan      and   uneventfully  till  1595 ;  and  they  by  their  two  sons,  one  of 

DYNASTY.  ^j^^^   ^^^^^  ^.^   jg^.^^ 

These  were  followed  by  Muttu  Krishnappa  (1602-09).  He 
is  credited  with  the  foundation  of  the  dynasty  of  the  Setupatis  of 
Eamnad,  the  ancestors  of  the  present  Rdja  of  that  place,  who 
were  given  a  considerable  slice  of  territory  in  the  Marava  country 
on  condition  that  they  suppressed  crime  and  protected  pilgrims 
journeying  to  Ramesvaram  through  that  wild  and  inhospitable 
region.  Mr.  Nelson's  book  (Pt.  3,  109-14  and  elsewhere)  deals 
at  length  with  this  transaction  and  other  events  in  the  history 
of  the  Setupatis,  but  these  relate  to  the  Ramnad  zamindari 
and  the  present  volume  is  not  concerned  with  them. 

Muttu  Krishnappa  was  succeeded  by  Muttu  Virappa 
(1609-23),  a  hardly  more  distinct  figure. 

Meanwhile,  in  ]  565,  the  power  of  the  rulers  of  Vijayanagar, 
the  suzerains  of  the  Nayakkans,had  been  dealt  an  irreparable  blow 
by  the  combined  Musalman  kings  of  the  Deccan  at  the  memo- 
rable battle  of  Talikota,  one  of  the  great  landmarks  in  the 
history  of  south  India.  They  were  forced  to  abandon  a  large 
part  of  the  districts  of  Bellary  and  Anantapur  to  the  victorious 
Muhammadans,  to  flee  hastily  from  Vijayanagar,  and  to  establish 
their  capital  successively  at  Penukonda  in  Anantapur  and  at 
Chandragiri  and  Vellore  in  North  Arcot.  Their  governors  at 
Madura  and  Tanjore  still  paid  them  the  usual  tribute  and  marks 
of  resppct,  but  in  the  years  which  now  follow  traces  begin  to  appear 
of  the  weakness  of  the  suzerain,  and  of  contempt  and  finally 
rebellion  on  the  part  of  his  feudatories. 

Muttu  Virappa  mentioned  above  was  succeeded  by  the  great 
Tirumala  Nayakkan,  the  most  powerful  and  the  best  known 
of  his  dynasty,  who  ruled  for  thirty-six  eventful  years.'  He 
was  called  upon  to  play  his  part  in  much  more  stirring  times 
than  his  predecessors.  The  peace  imposed  upon  the  south  by  the 
sway  of  Vijayanagar  had  beeu  dissolved  by  the  downfall  of  that 
power,  and  the  Pandya  country  was  torn  by  the  mutual  quar- 
rels of  the  once  feudatory  governors  ('  Najakkans  ')  of  Madura, 
Tanjore,  Gingee  and  Mysore ;  by  the  unavailing  attempts  of  the 
last  rulers  of  the  dying  empire  to  reassert  their  failing  authority ; 
and  finally  by  the  incursions  of  the  Muhammadan  kings  of  the 
Deccan,  who  now  began  to  press  southwards  to  reap  the  real 
fruits  of  their  victory  at  Talikota.     An  added  trouble  lay  in  the 


Tirumala 

Nayakkan, 

1623-59. 


For  an  inscription  giving  his  genealogy,  see  Ep.  Ind.,  iii,  2S9. 


FbLITIOAL'^HliTOKY.  4§ 

insubordination  of   the  Setupatis   of  Ramnad,   who  took  advan-     CHAP.  il. 
tage  of  the   embarra8sment3  of  the  rulers  of  Madura  to   disobey      Nayakkan 
their  commands  and  [finally'  to  assume  independence     Tlio  last-      ^^y^y- 
named  danger^  was  not  experienced   l)y   Tirumala   himself,   but 
was  reserved  to'perplex  his  successors. 

Almost  the  first  act  of  his  reign  was  to  witlihold  the  tribute  He  doUca 
due  to  the  king  of  Vijajanagar.  Tlie  letters  of  the  Jesuit  priests  ^''Jayanagar. 
already  mentioned  showi-'d  that  he  anticipated  troubh?  in  conse- 
quence, and  accordingly  massed  large  bodies  of  troops  in  Trichi- 
nopoly  and  strengthened  its  fortifications.  He  none  the  less  still 
sent_annual:complimentary  messages  and  presents  to  his  suzerain, 
and  this  sufficed  for  some  time  to  appease  the  resentment  of  tho 
incapable  representatives  of  that  ancient  line.  But  about  1 6HS 
king  Eanga,  a  more  resolute  prince,  succeeded  to  the  throne  of 
Chandragiri ;  and  he  soon  resolved  to  put  an  end  to  the  contumacy 
of  Tirumala  and  prepared  to  marcli  south  with  a  large  and  for- 
midable forcp.  Tirumala  had  meanwhile  persuaded  tlie  V^ijaya- 
nagar  governors  of  Tanjore  and  Gingee  (in  South  Arcot)  to  join 
him  in  his  defiance  of  their  mutual  suzerain,  and  thus  Eanga  was 
left  with  only  Mysore,  of  all  his  tributaries,  to  support  him.  He 
however  continued  his  preparations,  with  the  result  that  the 
governor  of  Tanjore  eventually  grew  alarmed,  sent  in  his  sub- 
mission, and  betrayed  the  designs  of  the  confederates. 

Ranga  advanced  upon  Gingee,   but  his   plans  were  frustrated  v&Uh  iho 
by  a  desperate  move  on  the  part  of  Tirumala,  who,  reckless  of  the  ^"ham- 
claims  of  a  larger  patriotism,   succeeded  in  inducing  the   Muham-  his  aid, 
madan  Sultan  of  Golconda  (one  of  the  confederacy  who  had  been 
victorious  at  Talikota  in  1 565)  to  invade  the  Vijayanagar  king- 
dom from  the  north. 

Eanga  was  obliged  to  retrace  his  steps  to  protect  his  posses- 
sions, was  defeated  by  Golconda,  and  was  forced  to  march  soutli 
again  to  implore  the  help  of  his  rebellious  governors  against  tlieir 
common  foe,  the  Musalman.  They  refused,  however,  to  aid  him; 
and  in  the  end  Eanga  Hcd,  powerless  and  almost  without  a 
friend,  to  the  protection  of  his  only  faithful  vassal,  the  viceroy 
of  Mysore. 

The  Sultan  of  Golconda  was  satisfied  for  some  time  to  consolidate 
his  conquests  in  the  north  of  the  Vijayanagar  country,  but  shortly 
afterwards  (perhaps  about  1044)  he  marched  south  to  subdue  its 
three  rebellious  governors  and  advanced  upon  the  great  fortress 
of  Gingee.  The  Ndyakkan  of  Tanjore  at  once  submitted  to  him, 
but  Tirumala  approached    a   rival  Muhammadan,  the  Sultan  of 


46 


MAonmA. 


CHAP.  II. 

NiYAKKAN 

Dyn'astt. 


And  becomes 

their 

feudatory. 


His  wars 

with 

Mysore. 


Bijdpur,  wlio  sent  a  force  to  his  assistance.  These  allies  marched 
to  the  relief  of  Gingee,  but  hardly  had  they  arrived  there  when  the 
Bijdpur  troops  went  over  to  the  enemy,  and  joined  in  the  siege  of 
the  fort  thej  had  been  sent  to  deliver.  The  Golconda  king, 
however,  was  soon  recalled  by  trouble  in  other  parts  of  his  new 
conquests,  and  Tirumala  threw  himself  into  the  Gringee  fortress. 
Owing  to  dissensions  between  his  troops  and  those  of  the  former 
garrison,  however,  the  gates  were  opened  not  long  afterwards  to 
the  troops  of  Bijapur  and  the  town  fell  into  the  possession  of  the 
Musalmans. 

Tirumala  retreated  in  dismay  to  Madura,  and  the  Muham- 
marlans  advanced  triumphantly  southwards,  exacted  submission 
from  the  governor  of  Tanjore,  and  proceeded  to  lay  waste  the 
Madura  country.  Tirumala  then  submitted,  apparently  without 
striking  a  blow,  paid  a  large  sum  to  the  invaders,  and  agreed  to 
send  an  annual  tribute  to  the  Sultan  of  Bijapur.  Thus,  after  an 
interval  of  nearly  300  years,  the  Muhammadans  were  once  again 
recognised  as  supreme  in  the  district. 

Tirumala's  next  conflict  was  with  Mysore.  In  the  early  years 
of  his  reign,  before  his  troubles  with  the  king  of  Vijayanagar 
and  the  Muhammadans,  he  had  been  involved  in  a  short  war  with 
that  kingdom.  His  territories  had  been  invaded  by  the  Mysore 
troops  and  Dindigul  had  been  besieged,  but  the  enemy  had  been 
eventually  driven  out  and  their  country  successfully  invaded  in 
revenge  by  a  general  of  Tirumala's.  Since  then,  as  already  noted, 
the  Vijayanagar  ruler  had  taken  refuge  with  the  king  of  Mysore, 
and  now  these  two  monarchs  combined  to  endeavour  to  recover 
those  portions  of  the  former's  territories  which  had  recently  been 
captured  by  Golconda.  They  were  at  first  successful;  but,  whether 
actuated  by  jealousy  or  fear,  Tirumala  intervened  and  invited  the 
I^Iuhammadans  to  attack  Mysore  from  the  south,  throwing  open 
the  passes  in  his  own  country  for  the  purpose. 

His  proposal  was  accepted,  Mysore  was  invaded,  and  a  gen- 
eral war  ensued  which  resulted  in  the  final  extinction  of  the  power 
of  Vijayanagar  and  the  humbling  of  Mysore.  Bat  when  return- 
ing in  triumph  from  that  country,  the  victorious  Muhammadans 
came  down  to  Madura  and  levied  an  enormous  tribute  from  their 
humble  friend  Tirumala  ;  and,  moving  on  to  Tanjore,  treated  its 
Nayakkan  in  a  like  manner.  So  Tirumala  profited  little  from 
this  new  treachery  to  the  cause  of  Hinduism. 

It  is  not  clear  exactly  when  these  events  happened,  but  they 
appear  to  constitute  the  last  interference  of  the  Muhammadans 
in  Madura  affairs.     Tirumala's  only  other  external  war  occurred 


POLITICAL    HISTORY. 


47 


NiYAKKA.N 

Dtsabtt. 


towards  the  close  of  Ins  reign  and  was  with  Mysore.     In  this  he     CHAP.  II 
is  represented  to  have  Leen  altogether  snccossful. 

The  campaign  "began  with,  an  invasion  of  Coimbatore  by  the 
Mysore  king — apparently  in  revenge  for  Tirumala's  contribution 
to  his  recent  humiliation  at  the  hands  of  the  Muhammadans. 
That  district  was  occupied  by  the  enemy  with  ease,  and  then 
Madura  itself  was  threatened.  The  Mysore  troops  were  however 
beaten  off  from  the  town  (chieliy  by  the  loyal  assistance  of  the 
Setupati  of  Eamnad)  defeated  again  iu  the  open,  and  driven  in 
disorder  up  the  ghdts  into  Mysore.  I'he  campaign  was  known  as 
the  '  hunt  for  noises  '  owing  to  the  fact  that  under  the  orders  of  the 
Mysore  king  the  invaders  cut  off  the  noses  of  all  their  prisoners 
(men,  women  and  children)  and  spnt  them  in  sacks  to  Seringa- 
patam  as  glorious  trophies. 

A  counter  invasion  of  Mysore  was  undertaken  ^ll')l•tly  after- 
wards under  the  command  of  Kumdra  Muttu,  the  younger 
brother  of  Tirumala,  and  was  crowned  with  complete  success. 
The  king  of  Mysore  was  captured  and  his  nose  was  cut  ofp  and 
sent  to  IMadura. 


Tirumala  died  before  his  victorious  brother's  return.  He  was 
between  sixty-five  and  seventy  years  of  age  at  the  time  and  had 
reigned  for  thirty-six  eventful  years. 

His  territories  at  his  death  comprised  the  present  districts  of 
Madura  (including  the  zamindaris  of  Eamnad  and  Sivagauga), 
Tinnevelly,  Coimbatore,  Salem  and  Trichinopoly,  with  Puduk- 
k6ttai  and  part  of  Travancore.  Native  tradition  is  persistent  in 
declaring  that  he  met  his  death  by  violence.  Several  stories  are 
current,  but  two  of  them  are  more  widely  repeated  than  the  others . 
The  first  of  these  says  that  he  so  nearly  became  converted  to 
Christianity  that  he  stopped  his  expenditure  on  the  temples  of  the 
Hindu  gods.  This  roused  the  Brahmans,  and  some  of  them, 
headed  by  a  Bhattan  (officiating  priest  of  the  great  temple), 
enticed  him  to  the  temple  under  the  pretence  that  they  had  found 
a  great  hidden  treasure  iij  a  vault  there,  induced  him  to  enter  the 
vault  and  then  shut  down  its  stone  trap-door  upon  hiin,  and  gave 
out  that  the  goddess  Minakshi  had  translated  her  favourite  to 
heaven.  The  second  story  avers  that  he  had  an  intrigue  with  the 
wife  of  a  Bhattan  and^that^  as  he  wasjreturning  from  visiting  her 
one  dark  night  he  fell  into  a  well  and  was  killed.  Tlic  Bhattan 
was  so  scared  when  he  found  what  had  happened  that  he  at  once 
filled  in  the  well,;  but  afterwards  told  the  Brahmans  what  he 
had  done. 


His  death. 


48 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  II. 

NiTAKKAN 

Dynasty. 


Ketellious 
among  his 
Tassais. 


A  carious 
riiinonr. 


Tinimala's  character  is  summed  up,  probably  with  justice,  in 
a  letter  written  by  one  of  the  Jesuit  priests  just  after  his  death 
and  dated  Trichinopoly,  1659 — 

*  It  is  impossible  to  refuse  him  credit  for  great  qualities,  but  he 
tarnished  his  glory  at  the  end  of  his  life  by  follies  and  vices  which 
nothing  could  j  ustify.  He  was  called  to  render  account  to  God  for 
the  evils  which  his  i)olitical  treachery  had  brought  upon  his  own 
people  and  the  neighbouring  kingdoms.  His  reign  was  rendered 
illustrious  by  works  of  really  royal  magnificence.  Among  these  are 
the  pagoda  of  Madura,  several  public  buildings,  and  above  all  the 
ro3'al  palace  the  colossal  proportions  and  a«tonishing  boldness  of 
which  recall  the  ancient  monuments  of  Thebes.  He  loved  and  pro- 
tected the  Christian  religion,  tho  excf-llence  of  which  he  recognised  ; 
but  he  never  had  the  courage  to  accept  the  consequences  of  his  con- 
viction. The  chief  obstacle  to  his  conversion  came  from  his  200  wives, 
of  whom  the  most  distinguished  were  burnt  on  his  pyre. ' 

During  his  reign,  two  rebellions  occurred  among  his  vassals. 
Tlie  first  was  raised  by  the  Setupati  ot  Kamnad.  It  was  due  to 
an  unjust  order  of  Tirumala's  regarding  the  succession  to  the 
C'hiefship  of  that  country  in  1035,  which  was  resisted  by  the 
rightful  claimant  and  by  the  Maravans  themselves.  Tirumala  was 
successful  in  placing  his  nominee  on  the  throne  and  in  imprison- 
ing the  rival  aspirant,  but  he  was  ultimately  compelled  to  allow 
the  latter  to  succeed.  He  was  rewarded  by  the  loyalty  of  Eamnad 
in  his  last  war  with  Mysore. 

The  other  rebellion  was  raised  by  a  confederacy  of  poligars 
headed  by  the  powerful  chief  of  Ettaiyapuram  in  the  Tinnevelly 
district.  Its  cause  is  not  clear.  The  Setupati  of  Btimnad,  as 
chief  of  all  the  poligars,  was  entrusted  with  the  duty  of  quelling 
it,  and  performed  this  undertaking  satisfactorily.  The  leader  was 
I'Ut  to  death  and  the  others  suitably  punished  ;  and  peace  was 
restored  in  a  few  months. 

The  letters  of  the  Jesuits  relate  a  carious  event  which  took 
jilace  in  the  Madura  country  about  1C53.  The  whole  territory 
was  thrown  into  a  state  of  great  nervous  excitement  by  the 
spreading  in  every  direction  of  one  of  those  mysterious  and  extra- 
ordinary rumours  which  spring  up  now  and  again  in  India,  no 
one  knows  where  or  how.  An  infant  emperor  of  divine  birth, 
it  was  declared,  would  sliortly  appear  from  the'north  and  usher  in 
a  millennium  of  peace  and  plenty.  The  story  obtained  universal 
credence,  and  large  sums  of  money  were  collected  for  the  use  of  the 
deliverer  when  he  should  arrive.  But  he  never  did  arrive.  A 
woman  and  child  were  brought  to  Bangalore  by  the  perpetrators 
of  the  rumour,  and  vast  multitudes  flocked   thither  to   pay   their 


J»OLITI0AL   HISTORY.  49 

respects  and  offer  presents  to   the  supposed   emperor;  bat   after     CHAP.  II. 
squeezing  all  that  was  possible  out  of  the  pi-etenders,  the  Musal-      NIyakkan 
man  rulers  of  that  town    cut    off  their  heads  and    ordered   their 
followers  to  disperse  immediately. 


Dynasty. 


Tirumala's  capital  was  Madura.  The  royal  residence  had  Tirumala's 
been  reuioved  thence  to  Trichinopoly  by  his  predecessor,  but  ^^P'**'- 
Tirumala  moved  it  back  again,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
Trichinopoly,  with  its  almost  impregnable  rock,  its  never- 
failing  Cauvery  river  and  its  healthy  climate,  was  by  nature 
far  superior  to  Aiadura,  where  the  fort  was  on  level  ground,  the 
Yaigai  was  usually  dry  and  fever  was  almost  endemic.  The 
reason  given  in  the  old  manuscripts  for  the  change  is  that 
Tirumala  was  afflicted  with  a  grievous  long-standing  catarrh 
wliicli  none  of  the  V^aishnavite  gods  of  Trichinopoly  could  (or 
would)  cure.  One  day  when  he  was  halting  at  Dindigul  on  his 
way  to  Madura,  Sundaresvara  and  Minakshi,  the  Saivite  deities  of 
the  latter  place,  appeared  to  him  in  a  dream  and  promised  him 
that  if  he  would  reside  permanently  in  their  town  they  would  cure 
him.  He  vowed  that  he  would  do  so  and  would  spend  five  lakhs 
of  pons  on  sacred  works.  Immediately  afterwards,  as  he  was 
cleaning  his  teeth  in  the  early  morning,  the  disease  left  him  ; 
and  thenceforth  he  devoted  himself  to  the  cult  of  Saivism  and 
the  improvement  of  Madura.  None  the  less,  he  resided  a  good 
deal  at  Trichinopoly,  and  his  successors  (though  they  went  to 
Madura  to  be  crowned)  generally  dwelt  there  permanently. 

It  is,  however,  by  his  many  splendid  public  buildings  in  His  jiublio 
Madura  that  he  is  best  remembered  at  the  present  time.  They  """""'e'- 
are  referred  to  in  some  detail  in  the  account  of  the  place  on  pp. 
257-78  below.  The  largest  and  most  magnificent  of  them  was  the 
great  palace  which  still  goes  by  his  name.  Much  of  this  was 
removed  to  Trichino})oly  in  later  years  by  his  grandson  Chokka- 
ndtha,  but  none  the  less  the  portions  of  it  which  survive  were 
thouglit  by  Bishop  Caldwell  to  constitute  the  grandest  building 
of  its  kind  in  southern  India.' 

The  beautiful  Teppakulam  at  Madura,  the  Fudu  maniapam 
and  the  unfinished  tower  called  the  Rdya  (jopuram  belonging  to 
the  great  temple  there  (and  doubtless  other  additions  to  that 
building),  and  (perhaps)  the  Tamakam,  the  curious  building  in 
which  the  Collector  now  resides,  were  also  due  to  his  taste  for  the 
magnificent. 

'  History  of  TiHnevully,  01. 


50 


MADUBA. 


CHAP.  II. 

NiYAKKAN 

Dynasty. 

Mnttu  Alaka- 
dii,  lGoy-62. 


Chokkan^tha 
(1G62-82). 
His  troubles 
wit.h  his 
neighbours. 


Tirumala  was  succeeded  "by  his  son  Muttu  Alak^dri.  It  is 
perhaps  surprising  that  Tirumala's  brother — who,  as  has  been  seen, 
had  just  returned  to  Madura  from  Mysore  at  the  head  of  a 
victorious  army — should  not  have  attempted  to  seize  the  crown; 
but  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  accept  the  governorship  of  Sivakasi 
in  Tinnevelly  district. 

Almost  the  first  act  of  the  new  king  was  an  attempt  to 
shake  off  the  liated  Muhammadan  yoke.  He  tried  to  induce 
the  Nayakkan  of  Tanjore  to  join  the  enterprise,  but  only  succeed- 
ed in  involving  him  in  the  punishment  which  the  Musalmana 
meted  out  when  his  efforts  ended  in  failure.  For  though  the 
Tanjore  ruler  disclaimed  all  connection  with  his  neighbour's 
aspirations  and  attempted  to  conciliate  the  Musalmans,  the 
latter  none  the  less  marched  into  his  country,  took  Tanjore 
and  Vallam  and  drove  the  Nayakkan  to  fly  into  tlie  jungle.  The 
invaders  then  moved  against  Trichinopoly  and  Madura,  spreading 
havoc  far  and  wide,  while  Muttu  Alakadri  remained  inactive 
behind  the  walls  of  the  former  of  these  forts.  Fortunately  for 
him,  the  enemy  soon  had  to  retire,  for  their  cruel  devastations 
produced  a  local  famine  and  pestilence  from  which  they  themselves 
suffered  terribly.  They  accordingly  made  a  half-hearted  attempt 
on  Trichinopoly  and  then  permitted  tliemselves  to  be  bought  off 
for  a  very  moderate  sum.  Muttu  Alakadri  did  not  long  survive 
their  departure,  but  gave  himself  up  to  debauchery  with  an 
abandon  which  soon  brought  him  to  a  dishonoured  grave. 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Chokkan^tha  (1662-82),  a 
promising  boy  of  sixteen.  This  young  ruler  began  his  reign  with 
a  second  ill-considered  attempt  to  drive  out  the  Musalman  troops, 
despatching  a  large  army  against  the  Gingee  fortress.  His 
general,  however,  sold  himself  to  the  enemy  and  wasted  time  and 
money  in  a  long  and  unprofitable  campaign  which  was  little  but 
pretence.  Chokkanatha  was  also  harassed  by  a  domestic  con- 
spiracy (in  which  the  same  unfaithful  general  took  a  prominent 
part)  and  though  he  detected  and  quashed  this,  the  general  went 
over  openly  to  the  Muhammadans  and  induced  them  to  join  in  an 
assault  upon  Trichinopoly  in  which  they  had  the  countenance  (if 
not  the  practical  assistance)  of  the  Nayakkan  of  Tanjore.  The 
officers  whom  Chokkanatha  entrusted  with  the  duty  of  repelling 
the  attack  were  again  disloyal,  and  it  was  not  until  he  himself  at 
length  took  command  of  the  army  that  the  invaders  were  driven 
back  to  Tanjore  and  eventually  to  Gingee. 

So  far  things  had  not  gone  so  badly,  but  in  tlie  next  or  the 
following  year  (1663  or  1664)  Chokkanatha  paid  a  heavy  price  for 


POLITICAL   HISTOBY.  51 

his   temporary    success.     The    Muliainmadans    burst    into    the     CHAP.  ll. 
Trichinopoly  and   Madura   districts   and  devastated  tlie   country     NXyakkan 
with   almost  incredible  cruelty.     They   again  besieged  Tricliino-      Dy-^'^sty. 
poly,   and  this  time   Chokkanatha   had  to    buy  them  off  with  a 
large  sum.     He  consoled  himself  by   punisliing  the  Nayakkan  of 
Tanjore  for  assisting  them,  and  he   attempted  similar  reprisals  on 
the  Setupati  of  Eamnad,  who  had  failed  to  help  him  in  repelling 
them.     This    latter    enterprise    was    unsuccessful,    for    though 
Chokkanatha  succeeded   in  taking  several  forts   in  the  Marava 
country,  he  was  baffled  by  the  guerilla  tactics  of  his  adversary, 
and  had  to  retire  without  obtaining  that  cliief's  submission.     The 
campaign   marks   a   new   epoch   in  the   relations  of  Ramnad  and 
Madura  :  from  thenceforth  the  Setupati  aspired  to  an  independent 
kingdom. 

Chokkanatha's  next  war  was  with  Tanjore,  and  it  resulted  in  His  oonqneat 
the  capture  of  that  ancient  city  and  the  extinction  of  its  Nayakkan  xanio^r^e  ° 
dynasty.  Unluckily  the  Jesuit  letters  of  the  years  1666  to  1673 
have  been  lost,  and  the  only  authority  upon  these  exciting  events 
is  a  vernacular  manuscript.  This  has  been  abstracted  at  length 
by  Mr.  Nelson,  but  space  forbids  more  than  the  merest  summary 
of  its  contents. 

The  casus  J>elH,  says  this  authority,  was  tlie  refusal  of  the 
Tanjore  Nayakkan  to  give  his  beautiful  and  gifted  daughter  in 
marriage  to  Chokkanatha.  The  latter  determined  to  fetch  the 
maiden  by  force.  His  troops  invaded  the  Tanjore  country,  drove 
its  forces  back  into  their  capital,  and  successfully  stormed  tliat 
place.  But  they  did  not  get  the  p)rincess  :  her  father  placed  her 
and  all  the  other  ladies  of  the  palace  in  one  room,  blew  this  up 
with  gunpowder  and  then,  with  his  son  and  his  body-guard, 
charged  furiously  into  the  thickest  of  the  enemy,  was  captured 
after  a  desperate  resistance,  and  was  beheaded. 

Chokkanatha  placed  his  foster-brother  Alagiri  in  cliarge  of 
the  government  of  Tanjore,  but  within  a  year  the  latter  threw  off 
his  allegiance,  and  Chokkanatha  was  now  so  given  up  to  self- 
indulgence  and  so  ill  served  by  his  disloyal  officers  that,  after  an 
outburst  of  indignation  which  ended  in  notliing,  he  was  forced  to 
acquiesce  in  the  independence  of  Tanjore. 

Alagiri,  however,  was  not  long  permitted  to  enjoy  his  ill- 
gotten  kingdom.  A  sou  or  grandson  of  the  last  Tanjore  Nayakkan 
had  escaped  to  the  Mus.ilman  court  of  Bijapur  and  had  induced 
that  power  to  help  to  place  him  on  the  throne  of  his  fathers.  In 
1674  the  Sultan  of  Bijapur  sent  a  force  commanded  by  the 
Mar^tha  general  Venkaji  {alias   Ekoji)  to  turn  out  the  Madura 


52 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  II. 

NiiYJKKAN 

Dynastt. 


Attacked  by 
Mysore  and 
the  Marathas. 


usurper  and  reinstate  the  scion  of  the  old  line.  Yenk^ji  ventured 
little  until  the  occurrence  of  the  rupture  between  Chokkandtha 
and  Alagiri;  but  he  then  defeated  the  latter  with  ease,  and 
occupied  Tanjore.  He  did  not,  however,  place  his  protege  on 
the  throne,  though  he  treated  him  kindly  enough,  but  seized 
the  kingdom  for  himself.  So  the  outcome  of  CJhokkanatha's 
feebleness  was  that  a  Maratha,  instead  of  a  Nayakkan,  sat  upon 
tlie  throne  of  Tanjore. 

Vonkaji  shortly  afterwards  became  embroiled  with  his  famous 
half-brother  Sivaji,  and  Chokkanatha  attempted  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  circumstance  to  regain  his  hold  on  Tanjore.  But  he 
was  dilatory  in  the  field  and  in  his  negotiations,  and  Venk^ji 
succeeded  in  buying  off  the  hostility  of  Santoji  (the  son  of  Sivaji, 
whom  tlie  latter  had  despatched  against  him)  before  Chokkanatha 
could  effect  anything.     This  was  in  lb'77-78. 

Soon  afterwards,  Chokkanatha  was  forced  to  turn  from  aggres- 
sion to  the  defence  of  his  own  kingdom.  The  famous  Chikka 
Deva  Eaya,  king  of  Mysore  from  1672  to  1704,  had  for  some  time 
been  massing  troops  on  his  frontier,  and  now  burst  upon  Coim- 
batore  and  spread  havoc  far  and  wide.  Chokkanatha  did  little 
to  repel  him,  the  country  was  moreover  visited  with  famine  and 
pestilence,  and  in  despair  the  ministers  of  the  state  deposed  their 
incompetent  I'uler  in  favour  of  his  brother. 

The  change  was  not  for  the  better,  and  the  parlous  state 
of  Madura  and  its  territories  in  1678  may  be  gathered  from 
the  following  passage  iu  a  letter  written  by  one  of  the  Jesuit 
missionaries  in  that  year  : — 

'  The  capital,  formerly  bo  flonrishing,  is  no  longer  recognizable. 
Its  palaces,  onre  so  gorgeous  and  majestic,  are  deserted  and  falling 
to  ruin.  Madura  resembles  less  a  town  than  a  brigand's  haunt.  The 
new  Nayakkan  is  essentially  a  do-;  otliing  king.  He  sleeps-  all  niglit, 
he  sleeps  all  day  ;  and  his  neighbours,  who  do  not  sleep,  snatch  from 
him  each  moment  some  fragment  of  his  territories.  Nations  who 
would  profit  from  a  change  of  rulers  do  not  trouble  to  repel  invaders, 
and  everything  foretells  that  this  kingdom,  60  powerful  twenty  years 
back,  will  soon  be  the  prey  of  its  enemies,  or  rather  the  victim  of  the 
insane  policy  of  its  own  government.' 

Chokkanatha  was  replaced  on  his  tottering  throne  about  1678 
by  a  Muhammadan  adventurer  who  during  the  next  two  years 
usurped  the  whole  of  his  authority  (and  even  the  ladies  of  his  and 
his  fallen  brother's  harems)  and  at  last  was  slain  by  Chokkanatha 
himself  and  a  few  of  his  friends.  But  the  Nayakkan^s  position 
was  still  far  from  enviable.  In  1682  his  capital  was  besieged  by 
MyBore ;  was  shadowed   by   forces    belonging  to  the  Marathas, 


POLITICAL    HISTORY.  53 

who,  while  pretending  to  be  on  his  side,  were  only  waiting  for     CHAP.  IT. 
a  chance  to  seize  his  territory  for  themselves  ;  and  was  threatened     N^yakkan 
by  a    body   of    Maravans   who  noniin'-iUy   had  hurried    to    his         ^^nast^. 
assistance,  but  in   reality  had  only  come  to   share  in  the  booty 
which  the  sack  of  Trichinopoly  was  expected  to  yield. 

While  Chokkanatha  thus  sat  helpless  behind  his  defences,  Tho  latter 
matters  were  taken  out  of  his  hands  by  the  more  virile  actors  upon  ^^^^^  ^^"^ 
this  curious  scene.  The  Marathas,  who  were  now  established  in 
Gingee  as  well  as  in  Tanjure,  inflicted  a  crushing  defeat  on  the 
Mysore  troops  and  drove  them  out  of  almost  every  corner  of  the 
Madura  and  Trichinopoly  districts.  Madura  itself  they  were 
unable  to  capture,  for  the  Maravans,  regarding  the  men  of 
Mysore  as  on  the  whole  more  eligible  neighbours  than  the 
Marathas,  helped  the  former  to  hold  that  fortress.  The  latter 
then  turned  against  Chokkandtha,  whose  friends  they  had 
pretended  to  be,  and  laid  siege  to  Trichinopoly  itself.  In  despair 
at  their  treachery,  Chokkandtha   died  of  a  broken  heart  in  lb82. 

His  successor  was  his  son  Eanga  Krishna  Muttu  Yirappa,  a   Raiiga 
boy  of  fifteen,  who  ruled  for  seven  years.     Little  enough  of  his  ^r'^'fJ^^*^ 
territories  remained  to  him  to  rule.     The  greater  part  of  them  ViVappa 
was    held   by   Mysore,    some    by   the    Maravans,    some   by   the  (l*'^2-89). 
Marathas  of  Gingee  and  some  by  the  Marathas  of  ^J'anjore.     The 
country  was  a   prey  to   complete   anarchy   and  universal   pillage, 
foreign  enemies  occupying  all  the  forts  and  robber-chiefs   being 
masters  of  the  rural  areas  and  carrying  on  their  brigandage  with 
impunity. 

Matters,  however,  slowly  improved.  Mysore  was  soon  dis-  Matters 
tracted  by  a  war  with  the  Marathas  of  Gingee,  and  both  the  '™l'*°^'*'- 
Setupatis  of  Eamnad  and  the  Marathas  of  Tanjore  were  occupied 
by  domestic  outbreaks  in  their  own  countries.  A  new  disturb- 
ing factor  in  south  Indian  politics  had  also  appeared  on  the  scene 
in  the  person  of  the  Mughal  emperor  Aurangzeb,  who  in  1686-87 
conquered  the  kingdoms  of  Madura's  old  enemies,  Golconda  and 
Bijdpur,  and  was  for  many  years  engaged  in  a  war  with  its  foes 
the  Marathas  which  was  most  exhausting  to  both  parties.  More- 
over the  young  Nayakkan  of  Madura,  though  imbued  witli  a 
boyish  love  of  fun  and  adventure  which  endeared  him  to  his 
courtiers,  had  also  a  stock  of  sound  ability  and  spirit  which 
moved  the  admiration  of  his  ministers,  and  he  took  advantage 
of  his  improving  prospects.  He  recovered  his  capital  about  1685, 
and  though  he  failed  in  an  attempt  to  reduce  the  Setupati  in 
1 686,  he  gradually  reconquered  large  parts  of  the  uncient  kingdom 
of  his  forefatheits  and  succeeded  in  restoring  the  power  of  the 


54 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  ir. 

NiYAKKAN 

Dtnasty. 


Mangrammal 
(1689-1704). 


Her  charities. 


Her  ware. 


N^yakkans  of  Madura  to  a  position  which,  though  not  to  be 
compared  with  that  held  by  it  at  the  beginning  of  his  father's 
reign,  was  still  far  above  that  which  it  occupied  at  the  end  of  that 
period.  He  unfortunately  died  of  small-pox  ia  1689  at  the  early 
age  of  22.  The  story  goes  that  his  young  widow  Muttammdl 
(the  only  woman,  strange  to  say,  whom  he  had  married)  was 
inconsolable  at  his  loss  and,  though  she  was  far  advanced  in 
pregnancy,  insisted  upon  committing  sati  on  his  funeral  pyre. 
Her  husband's  mother,  Mangammdl,  with  great  difficulty  per- 
suaded her  to  wait  until  her  child  should  have  been  born,  solemnly 
swearing  that  she  should  then  have  her  way.  When  at  length 
the  cLild  (a  son)  arrived,  she  was  put  off  day  after  day  with 
various  excuses  until,  despairing  of  being  allowed  her  desire,  she 
put  an  end  to  her  life. 

Mangammal,  the  mother  of  the  late  Nayakkan,  acted 
for  the  next  fifteen  years  as  Queen- Regent  on  behalf  of  his 
posthumous  son. 

She  was  a  popular  administrator  and  is  still  widely  remembered 
by  Hindus  as  a  maker  of  roads  and  avenues,  and  a  builder  of 
temples,  tanks  and  choultries.  Popular  belief  unhesitatingly 
ascribes  to  her  every  fine  old  avenue  in  Madura  and  Tinnevelly. 
Native  writers  assign  a  curious  reason  for  her  passion  for 
charitable  acts.  One  day,  th(^y  say,  she  inadvertently  put  betel 
into  her  mouth  with  her  left  (instead  of  her  right)  hand,  and 
was  warned  by  the  Brahmans  that  this  offence  against  manners 
must  be  expiated  by  expenditure  of  this  kind.  Mr.  Taylor  has 
suggested  that  this  story  hides  her  repentance  for  some  amorous 
escapade. 

She  was  an  able  woman  as  well  as  a  charitable,  and  under  her 
firm  guidance  Madura  apparently  all  but  regained  the  proud 
position  it  had  held  in  the  days  of  Tirumala  Nayakkan. 
Unluckily,  the  Jesuit  letters  from  1687  to  169M,  both  inclusive, 
have  again  been  lost  and  the  events  of  her  regency  cannot  be 
given  with  any  fullness. 

She  was  less  frequently  engaged  in  war  than  her  predecessors, 
but  she  did  not  escape  the  usual  conflicts  with  her  neighbours. 
In  her  reign  the  kingdom  of  Madura  first  came  into  direct  touch 
with  the  Mughal  empire  of  Delhi,  since  Zulfikar  Khan,  the 
general  who  was  sent  by  Auraugzeb  to  attack  the  Maratha 
stronghold  of  Gingee,  exacted  tribute  both  from  Trichinopoly  and 
Tanjore  in  1693,  though  he  did  not  succeed  in  taking  Gingee  till 
five  years  later.     Trichinopoly  was  besieged  (according  to  Wilks) 


POLITICAL    HISTORY. 


55 


by   Mysore    in    1695,    but   relieved    owing    to    pressure    on    the      CHAP.  II. 

invader's  country  from  tlie  north.  NXyakkan 

Dynasty. 

In  1698  Mangammdl  had  to  subdue  a  rebellion  in  Travancore. 
The  ruler  of  that  country  had  of  recent  years  been  very  remiss  in 
sending  his  tribute  to  Madura,  and  it  had  been  necessary  on 
several  occasions  to  send  an  army  to  collect  the  arrears.  In  1697 
a  force  despatched  for  this  purpose  was  taken  oil'  its  guard  and 
almost  cut  to  pieces.  A  punitive  expedition  was  organized  in  the 
following  year,  and  after  hard  fighting  Travancore  was  subdued 
and  an  immense  booty  was  brought  home.  Part  uf  this  consisted 
of  many  cannon,  and  these  were  mounted,  says  one  of  the  ver- 
nacular manuscripts,  on  the  ramparts  of  Trichinopoly  and  Madura. 
Mr.  Nelson  made  many  enquiries  about  these  latter,  but  failed  to 
unearth  any  tradition  regarding  their  ultimate  fate. 

In  1700  a  desultory  war,  the  origin  and  course  of  whicli  are 
alike  obscure,  was  carried  on  between  Madura  and  the  Marathas 
of  Tanjore.  In  the  following  year  the  latter  were  crushingly 
defeated  near  their  capital,  and  were  glad  enough  to  buy  oif  the 
invading  army  with  an  enormous  bribe. 

In  170<J  Tanjore  and  Madura  united  to  reduce  Ramnad. 
Strange  to  relate,  they  were  quite  unsuccessful,  and  the  ablest 
general  of  the  Madura  army  was  killed  in  battle. 

In  1704-05  Mangammal's  grandson  came  of  age.  Tradition  Hertraijio 
says  that  she  refused  to  make  way  for  him  and  that  she  was  <*®at.h. 
supported  in  her  intention  by  her  chief  minister,  a  man  with  whom 
she  was  on  terms  of  undue  intimacy.  A  strong  party  formed 
against  her,  seized  her  and  confined  her  in  the  building  in  Madura 
which  is  still  called  '  Mangammal's  palace,'  was  once  the  District 
Jail  and  is  now  occupied  by  the  taluk  cutcherry  and  other  public 
offices.  There,  goes  the  story,  she  was  slowly  starved  to  death, 
her  sufferings  being  aggravated,  with  horrible  cruelty,  by  the 
periodical  placing  cf  food  outside  her  prison  bars  in  such  a  position 
that  she  could  see  and  smell,  but  not  reach,  it.  Some  slight 
confirmation  of  the  tradition  is  derived  from  the  facts  that  in  tlie 
little  chapel  built  by  Mangammal  on  the  west  side  of  '  the  folden 
lily  tank '  in  the  Madura  temple  is  a  statue  of  a  young  man  who 
is  declared  to  be  her  minister  and  paramour,  and  that  in  a  picture 
on  the  ceiling  of  the  chapel  is  a  portrait  of  the  same  person 
opposite  to  one  of  the  queen,  who  (be  it  noted)  is  dressed,  not  as 
an  orthodox  Hindu  widow  should  be,  but  in  jewels  and  finery 
appropriate  only  to  a  married  woman. 


66 


MADURA . 


His  feeble 
rule. 


CHAP.  II.  Uer  grandson  Vijaya  Eanga  Chokkanatha  (1704-31)  enjoyed 

NXyakkan      a  long"  but    apparently  dull  reign  of  26  years.     It  is  unfortunate 

Dynasty.       ^-^^^    ^^^^    Jesuit    letters    wbicli    so    greatly    illumine    previous 

Vijaya  fianga  periods  of  Madura  history  now  cease  altogether,  and  from  this 

^1^04-31^    *    time   forth   we  are   driven  to  rely   almost  entirely  upon  native 

manuscripts    and    the  secondary   evidence  afforded    by  English 

historians.     And,  curiously  enough,  the  nearer  we  approach  the 

period  of  the  beginning  of    Hritish  ascendancy  in  the  south,  the 

more  meagre  and  unsatisfactory  does  our  information  become. 

Judging  from  such  material  as  is  available,  it  seems  that  the 
new  ruler  of  Madura  was  vain  and  weak-minded,  and  unfit  to 
govern  either  himself  or  others.  His  reign  was  distinguished  by 
the  ill-regulated  and  extraordinary  munificence  of  his  gifts  to 
Brahmans  and  religious  institutions.  Every  other  year  he  used, 
it  is  said,  to  travel  to  one  or  other  of  the  famous  shrines  within 
his  territories,  and  on  these  occasions  he  lavished  gifts  on  all  who 
could  gain  access  to  him.  The  injustice  of  his  rule  caused  a 
serious  riot  in  Madura,  the  mutiny  of  the  whole  of  his  troops,  and 
incessant  internal  commotions.  It  must  have  been  owing  solely 
to  their  own  embarrassments  that  his  neighbours  did  not  attempt 
to  despoil  his  kingdom. 

The  only  warfare  in  which  he  seems  to  have  been  engaged 
was  connected  with  the  succession  to  the  throne  of  Bamnad  in 
1725.  Of  the  two  claimants  to  that  position,  one  was  supported 
by  Tanjore  and  the  other  by  Madura  and  the  Tondaman  of 
Tudukkottai.  The  Tanjore  troops  won  a  decisive  victory  and 
placed  their  protege  on  the  throne,  A  year  or  two  later,  however, 
the  Tanjore  king  himself  deposed  this  very  piotege,  and  divided 
the  Eamnad  kingdom  into  the  two  separate  divisions  of  Eamnad 
and  Sivaganga,  which  henceforth  remained  iudependent  Marava 
powers. 

Yijaya  Ranga  Chokkanatha  died  in  1731,  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  widow  Minakslii,  who  acted  as  Queen-Eegent  on  behalf  of 
a  young  boy  she  had  adopted  as  the  heir  of  her  dead  husband. 
She  had  only  ruled  a  year  or  two  when  an  insurrection  was  raised 
against  her  by  Vangaru  Tirumala,  the  father  of  her  adopted  son, 
who  pretended  to  have  claims  of  his  own  to  the  throne  of  Madura. 
At  this  juncture  the  representatives  of  the  Mughals  appeared  on 
the  scene  and  took  an  important  part  in  the  struggle. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  ever  since  1693  Madura  had 
been  nominally  the  feudatory  of  the  emperor  of  Delhi,  and  that 
Binoe   1698  the  Carnatic  north  of  the  Coleroon  river  had  been 


Minakshi 
(1731-36). 


linaalman 
interference. 


POLITICAL   HISTORY.  57 

under  direct  MnhamiTiadan  rnle.  The  local  representative  of  CIIAf.  IT. 
the  Mughal  was  tlie  Nav.ah  of  Arcot,  and  an  intermediate  Nayakkan 
autlioritj  was  held   hy  the    Nizam  of  Ifaidarahad,  who  was  in  J_^ 

theory  the  subordinate  of  the  emperor,  and  the  suiierior  of  the 
Nawab. 

How  regidarly  the  kings  of  Tanjore  and  Madura  paid  their 
tribute  is  not  clear,  but  in  1734 — about  the  time,  in  fact,  that 
Minakshi  and  Vangaru  Tirumala  were  fighting  for  the  crown — 
an  expedition  was  sent  by  the  then  Xawab  of  Arcot  to  exact 
tribute  and  submission  from  the  kingdoms  of  the  south.  The 
leaders  of  tliis  were  the  Nawab's  son,  Safdar  Ali  Khan,  and  his 
nephew  and  confidential  adviser,  the  well-known  Chanda  Sahib, 

The  invaders  took  Tanjore  by  storm  and,  leaving  the  strong- 
hold of  Trichinopoly  unattemptcd,  swept  across  Madura  and 
Tinnevelly  and  into  Travancore,  carrying  all  before  them.  It 
was  apparently  on  their  return  from  this  expedition  that  they 
took  part  in  the  quarrel  between  Minakshi  and  Vangaru 
Tirumala.  The  latter  ♦approached  Safdar  Ali  Khan  with  an 
offer  of  three  million  rupees  if  he  would  oust  the  queen  in  favour 
of  himself.  Unwilling  to  attack  Trichinopoly,  the  ^lusalman 
prince  contented  himself  with  solemnly  declaring  \'angdru 
Tirumala  to  be  king  and  taking  a  bond  for  the  three  millions. 
He  then  marched  away,  leaving  Chanda  Sahib  to  enforce  his 
award  as  best  as  he  could.  The  queen,  alarmed  at  the  turn 
affairs  had  now  taken,  approached  Chanda  Sdhib  with  counter 
inducements  to  take  her  side ;  and  had  little  difficulty  in  persuad- 
ing that  facile  politician  to  accept  her  bond  for  a  crore  of  rupees 
and  to  declare  her  duly  entitled  to  the  throne,  ^linakshi,  says 
Wilks,  required  him  to  swear  on  the  Koran  that  he  would  adhere 
faithfully  to  his  engagement,  and  he  accordingly  took  an  oath  on 
a  brick  wrapped  up  in  the  splendid  covering  usually  reserved  for 
that  holy  book.  lie  was  admitted  into  the  Trichinopoly  fort  and 
Vangaru  Tirumala — apparently  with  the  goodwill  of  the  queen, 
who,  strangely  enough,  does  not  seem  to  have  wished  him 
any  harm — went  off  to  Madura,  to  rule  over  that  country  and 
Tinnevelly. 

Chanda  Sahib  accepted  an  earnest  of  the  payment  of  the 
crore  of  rupees  and  departed  to  Arcot.  Two  years  later  (1780) 
he  returned,  was  again  admitted  into  the  fort  and  proceeded  to 
make  himself  master  of  the  kingdom.  Mindkshi  was  soon  little 
but  a  puppet.  Orme,  indeed,  suggests  that  she  had  fallen  in 
love  with  Chanda  Sdhib  and  so  let  him  have  his  own  way 
unhindered, 

8 


58 


MADURA, 


CHAP.  II. 

NXyakkan 
Dynastv. 

End  of 
Kayakkan 
dynast  jr. 


Character  cf 

its  rule. 


musalman 
Dominion. 

Chanda  S.-ihib 
(173G-40). 


A  Maratiia 

intei-lude, 

17i0-43. 


The  latter  eventually  marched  against  Vang^ru  Tirumala,  who 
was  still  ruling  in  the  south,  defeated  him  at  Ammayanayakkanur 
and  Pindigul,  drove  him  to  take  refuge  in  ."^ivaganga,  and 
occupied  the  southern  provinces  of  the  Madura  kingdom,  leaving 
now  made  himself  master  of  all  of  the  unfortunate  Minakshi's 
realms  he  threw  off  the  mask,  ceased  to  treat  her  with  the 
consideration  he  had  hitherto  extended  to  her,  locked  her  up  in 
her  palace  and  proclaimed  himself  ruler  of  her  kingdom.  The 
hapless  lady  took  poison  shortly  afterwards. 

With  her  reign,  came  to  an  end  the  ancient  dynasty  of  the 
Nayakkans  of  Madura.  The  unprejudiced  evidence  of  the  Jesuit 
missionaries  already  several  times  referred  to  enables  us  to  form  a 
more  accurate  estimate  of  their  administration  than  is  usually 
possible  in  such  cases.  Bishop  Caldwell,  in  summing  this  up, 
sardonically  remarks  that  it  is  unfortunate  for  their  reputation 
that  so  much  more  is  known  about  them  and  their  proceedings 
than  about  their  Chola  and  Pandya  predecessors.  He  concludes 
by    saying^    that — 

*  Judged  not  merely  by  modern  European  standards  of  i  ight  and 
wrong,  but  even  by  the  standards  furnished  by  Hindu  and  Muham- 
madan  books  of  authority,  the  Nayakkans  must  be  decided  to  have 
fallen  far  short  of  their  duty  as  rulers.  Their  reigns  record  little  more 
than  a  disgraceful  catalogue  of  debaucheries,  treacheries,  plunderings, 
oppressions,  murders  and  civil  commotions,  relieved  only  by  the  facti- 
tious splendour  of  gifts  to  temples,  idols  and  priests,  by  mrans  of 
which  they  apparently  succeeded  in  getting  the  Brahmans  and  poets 
to  speak  well  of  them,  and  thus  in  keeping  ihe  mass  of  the  people 
patient  uuder  their  misrule.' 

For  a  time,  Chanda  Sahib  had  everything  his  own  way.  His 
success  was  indeed  regarded  with  suspicion  and  even  hostility  by 
the  Nawab  of  Arcot ;  but  family  reasons  prevented  a  rupture, 
and  Chanda  Sahib  was  left  undisturbed  while  he  strengthened 
the  fortifications  of  Trichinopoly  and  appointed  his  two  brothers 
as  go^ernors  of  the  strongholds  of  Dindigul  and  Madura.  It  was 
at  this  period  that  he  subjugated  the  king  o^'  T'anjore  (though  he 
did  not  annex  his  territory),  and  compelled  him  to  cede  Kctraikkal 
to  the  French. 

Unable  to  help  themselves,  the  king  of  Tanjore  and  Vangaru 
Tirumala  determined  to  call  in  the  assistance  of  the  Marathas 
of  Satara  in  Bombay.  These  people  had  their  own  grievance 
against  the  Muhammadans  of  Arcot  (with  whom  Chanda  Sahib 
was  still  identified)  because  the  latter  had  long  delayed  payment 


^  ffisiory  of  Tiw^evelly,  62. 


I'OLITICAL    HISTORY.  59 

of  the  chouth,  or   one- fourth  of  the  revenues,  which  tlicy  had  pro-     CHAP.  II. 
miseJ  iu   return  for    the  withdrawal  of  the  Marathas  from  the     Musalma.x 
country,  and  the  discontinuance  of  their  usual  predatory  incursions.        "___  " ' 
They  were  also  encouraged  to  attempt  reprisals  by  the   Nizam  of 
Haidarahad,  who,  jealous  of  the  increasing-  power  of  the  Nawdb 
and  careless  of  the  loyalty  due  to  co-religionists,  would   gladly 
have  seen  his  dangerous  subordinate  brought  to  the  ground. 

Early  in  1740,  therefore,  the  Marathas  appeared  with  avast 
array  in  the  south  and  defeated  and  killed  the  Nawab  of  A  root  in 
the  pass  of  Damalcheruvu  in  North  Arcot.  They  then  came  to  an 
understanding  wuth  his  son,  the  Safdar  Ali  mentioned  above, 
recognised  him  as  Nawab,  and  retired  for  a  time. 

Chanda  Sahib  had  made  a  faint  pretence  at  helping  the 
Nawab  to  resist  the  Marathas,  and  he  now  came  to  offer  his 
submission  to  Safdar  Ali.  The  princes  parted  with  apparent 
amity,  but  at  the  end  of  the  same  year  the  Marathas  (at  the 
secret  invitation  of  Safdar  Ali)  suddenly  reappeared  and  made 
straight  for  Trichinopoly.  Iheir  temporary  withdrawal  had  been 
designed  to  put  Chanda  Sahib  off  his  guard ;  and  it  so  far 
succeeded  that  Trichinopoly  was  very  poorly  provisioned.  They 
invested  the  town  closely,  defeated  and  killed  the  two  brothers 
of  Chanda  Sabib  above  mentioned  as  they  advanced  to  his  help 
from  their  provinces  of  Madura  and  Dindigul,  and,  after  a  siege 
of  three  months,  compelled  the  surrender  of  Trichinopoly.  Thoy 
took  Chanda  captive  to  Satara,  and,  disregarding  the  claims  of 
Vangaru  Tirumala,  appointed  a  Maratha,  the  well-known  Morari 
Rao  of  Gooty,  as  their  governor  of  the  conquered  kingdom. 

Morari  Eao  remained   there  fur  two  years   (it  is  not  clearly  Musalman 
known  what  he  did  or  how  far  his  authority  extended)  and  he  a^^honty  ro- 

„  .      ,.       -in^oin  •  T  r'i-i-».T.  established, 

nnaliy  retired  m   174o   beiore  the  invading  army  or  the  Nizam,    174.3. 

who  marched   south  in    that  year,  re-established  bis    weakened 

authority  in  the  Carnatic,  and  in  1 744  appointed  Anwar-ud-din  as 

Nawab  of  Arcot, 

Tne  whole  of  the  Madura  kingdom  now  fell  under  the  rule  of 

this  latter  potentate.     There  is  reason  to  believe  that  he  governed 

it  through  his  sons  Mahfuz  Khan  and  Muhammad  Ali,  both  soon 

to  play  an  important  part  in  the  history  of  these  districts.     It  is 

said  that  the  Nizam  ordered  that  Vangaru  Tirumala  should  to 

appointed  king  of  Madura;  but,  if  sucli  an  order  was  ever  made, 

it  was  disregarded;  and  that  feeble  individual  sotm  disappeared 

finally   from  the   scene,  poisoned,  some  say,   Ijy    Aiiwai--ud-(.liii. 

As   late  as    1820,  a  descendant  of  his,  bearing  tlie  same  name, 

was  in  Madras  endeavouring  to  obtain  pecuniary  assistance  from 


GO 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  IT. 

musalman 
Dominion. 


The  rival 

Miisalman 

parties. 


English 
Period. 

Siege  of 
Madura, 
1751. 


Government.  lie  and  Lis  family  lived  at  Yellaikr.riclii  in  ite 
K^ivaganga  zamin.lari  and  their  c'lildren  were  there  until  quite 
recently.  It  is  said  that  tlioy  still  kept  up  the  old  form  of  having 
recited,  o'.i  the  first  day  of  Chittrai  in  each  year,  a  long  account 
of  their  pedigree  and  the  boundaries  of  the  great  kingdom  of 
which  their  forebears  were  rulers. 

In  171-8,  however,  Chanda  Sahib  regained  his  liberty  and 
marched  south  in  company  with  a  pretender  to  the  position  of 
Nizam  of  Ilaidarabad.  Tbe  allies  were  successful,  Anwar-ud- 
din  wa3  slain  at  the  great  battle  of  Arablir  in  North  Arcot,  and 
Chanda  Sahib  succeeded  him.  One  of  his  sons,  Muhammad  Ali, 
fled  however  to  Trichinop  )ly  and  proclaimed  himself  Nawab  there, 
and  soon  most  of  the  south  of  India  was  involved  in  tbe  struggle 
between  these  rivals.  Tho  French  anl  the  English  (who  had 
recently  been  fighting  among  themselves,  were  now  nominally  at 
peace,  and  consequently  both  had  more  soldiers  than  they  knew 
wdiat  to  do  with)  took  sides  in  the  conflict  (tho  former  taking'  the 
part  of  Chanda  Sahib  and  the  latter  that  of  Muhammad  Ali)  and  the 
campaigns  which  followed  were  in  reality  a  disguised  struggle 
for  the  mastery  of  south  India  by  these  two  European  nations. 

It  is  not  in  any  way  necessary  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  the 
■war  ill  detail,  as  they  are  concerned  less  with  Madura  than  with 
other  districts  further  north,  and  we  may  confine  ourselves  to 
some  account  of  the  events  which  directly  affected  the  present 
Madura  country.  In  these  the  French  hal  little  share.  Their 
energies  were  chic-fly  confined  to  the  country  further  north. 
The  English,  however,  obtuiced  each  year  henceforth  a  more  and 
more  predominant  share  in  the  government  of  Madura  and 
Tinucveily,  and  the  history  of  these  tracts  becomes  a  chronicle  of 
the  East  India  Company's  dealings  v/ith  them. 

In  1751,  after  several  startling  turns  of  Fortune's  wheel, 
Chanda  Saliib  was  very  generally  recognised  as  Nawab  of  Arcot. 
Muhammad  Ali,  however,  had  many  adherents  in  Tinnevelly  and 
Madura. 

In  this  same  year  1751,  occurred  the  first  siege  of  tho  Madura 
fort  of  which  any  account  survives.  One  Alam  Khan,  a  soldier 
of  fortune  who  had  formerly  been  in  Chanda  Sahib's  employ  came, 
says  Ormo — 

'To  Madura,  where  his  roputatioii  .as  au  excellent  officer  soou 
gained  liini  iufiiieuce  and  respect,  which  he  oinplo3''ed  to  corrupt  the 
garrison,  and  sncceede  I  so  well,  lli:it  the  troops  created  him  governor, 
and  consented  to  maintain  the  ci*y  under  his  authority  for  Chanda 
SaheVi,  whom  he  ackf-iowledgod  as  his  sovereign     ....     The  lofls 


POLITICAL    HI8T0KY.  61 

of  tliis  place,  by  cutting  elf  the  commnnication  between  Tritcbinopoly  CIIAP.  II. 
jind  the  countries  of  Tinivellr,  deprived  Mahomed-ally  of  more  than  English 
one  half  of  the  dominions  which  at  this  time  remained  under  hig  Tkriod. 
jurisdiction.  On  receiving  the  news,  Captain  Cope  offered  his 
service  to  ret;il<e  it.  His  detachment  Mas  ill-eqni])ped  fur  a  siege, 
for  they  had  brocglit  no  battering  cannon  from  Fort  St.  David, 
and  there  were  but  two  serviceable  pieces  in  the  cit}' :  \\ith  one 
of  these,  three  fi^'ld  pieces,  two  cohorus,  and  150  Europeans,  he 
marched  away,  accompanied  by  tOO  of  the  Nabob's  [_t.e.,  Na^ab's] 
cavalry,  commanded  by  another  of  his  brothers  Abdul-wahab  Kiuin  ; 
and  on  the  day  that  they  arrived  in  sight  of  ^Madura,  they  were 
joined  by  the  army  retarniug  from  Tinivelly.  There  were  several 
large  brearihes  in  the  outward  wall ;  the  gun  fired  through  one  of 
them  on  the  inward  wall,  and  in  two  days  demolished  a  part  of  it, 
although  not  sufficient  to  make  the  breach  accessible  without  the 
help  of  fascines.  Difficult  as  it  was,  it  was  necessary  either  to  ttorm 
it  im.mediately,  or  to  relinquish  the  siege,  for  all  the  shot  of  tlie 
great  gun  were  expeuded.  The  sepoys,  encouraged  by  a  distribution 
of  some  money,  and  a  ju-omise  of  mucli  more  if  the  place  shotld  be 
taken,  went  to  the  attack  with  as  much  spirit  as  the  Europeans.  The 
first  wall  was  passed  without  resistance,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  breach 
in  the  second  appeared  three  champions,  one  of  them  a  very  bulky 
man  in  compleat  armour,  who  fought  manfully  with  their  swords,  and 
wounded  several  of  the  forlorn  hope,  but  were  at  last  witli  difHculty 
killed.  Whilst  the  troops  were  mounting  the  breach,  they  were 
severely  annoyed  by  arrows,  stones,  and  the  fire  of  matchlocks; 
notwithstanding  whicli  they  gained  the  parapet,  where  the  enemy  had 
on  each  side  of  the  entrance  raised  a  mouud  of  earih,  on  which  they  had 
laid  horizontally  some  palm  trees  sepai-ated  from  each  other,  and 
through  these  intervals  they  thrust  their  pilces.  At  the  bottom  of  the 
rampart  within  the  wall,  they  had  made  a  strong  retrenchment,  with 
a  ditch;  and  three  or  four  thousand  men  appeared  ready  to  defend 
this  work  with  all  kinds  of  arms.  The  troops,  wounded  by  the  pikes 
as  fast  as  they  mounted,  were  not  able  to  keep  possession  of  the  para- 
pet, and  after  fightiog  until  ninety  men  were  disabled,  relinquished 
the  attack.  Four  Europeans  were  killed  :  the  sepoys  suffered  more, 
and  four  of  their  captains  were  desperately  wounded.  The  next  day 
Captain  Cope  prepared  to  return  to  Tritchiuopoly,  and  blew  the 
cannon  to  pieces,  for  vr ant  of  means  to  carry  it  away.  The  troops  of 
Mahomed-ally,  encouraged  by  tliis  repulse,  no  longer,  concealed  their 
disaffection,  and  500  horse,  with  1,000  peons,  vrent  over  to  Allnm 
Khan  before  the  English  broke  up  their  camp,  and  two  or  three  days 
after,  near  '2,000  more  horsemen  deserted  likewise  to  the  enemy.' 

After  ruling-  Madura  for  a  year,  Alani  Kliau  went  to  Triclii- 
nopoly  to  take  part  in  the  fighting  which  was  going  on  there,  and 
was  killed  in  1752.  Before  leaving  Madura  lie  appointed  one 
Mayana;  a  relation,  to  be  governor  of  Madura,  and  one  Nabi  Khdn 


62 


MAi)UKA. 


CHAP.  II. 

English 
Period. 


Col.  Heron's 

expedition, 

1755. 


I/Iahfuz  Khan 
rents  the 
country. 


Muhammad 
YdsuflTsent 
to  quiet  it. 


to  command  Tinnevelly.  These  two  men  and  Muhammad  Barki, 
son-in-law  of  the  latter  of  them,  were  the  signatories  to  a  paper 
which  Muhammad  Ali  afterwards  produced  as  evidence  of  his 
title  to  the  sovereignty  of  Madura  and  Tinnevelly. 

At  the  beginning  of  l7o5  Muhammad  Ali  sent  another  expedi- 
tion to  reduce  these  two  districts  to  obedience.  It  consisted  of 
600  Europeans  and  2,000  sepoys  furnished  by  his  ally  the  English 
East  India  Company  and  commanded  by  Colonel  Heron,  and  of 
1,000  horse  led  by  Mahfuz  Kh;in,  Muhammad  All's  elder  brother. 
The  2,000  sepoys  were  in  charge  of  Muhammad  Yusuf  Khan, 
a  distinguished  native  officer  of  the  Company  whom  we  shall 
meet  again. 

This  force  took  Madura  without  any  opposition  (Mayana  had 
neglected  its  fortifications  and  depleted  its  garrison)  and  then 
seized  the  temple  of  Kovilkudi,  east  of  the  town,  where  Mayana 
had  taken  refuge.  From  this  building  the  English  soldiers  un- 
thinkingly carried  off  those  little  metal  images  of  the  gods  of  the 
Kalians  which  brought  them  so  much  trouble  in  the  Nattam  pass 
(see  the  account  of  this  place  on  p.  289)  on  their  way  back. 

Before  Colonel  Heron  left,  Mahfuz  Khdn — having,  according 
to  Orm.e,  '  contrived  every  means  to  make  the  state  of  the  province 
appear  less  advantageous  than  it  really  was  ' — obtained  from  him 
a  lease  of  the  Madura  and  Tinnevelly  districts  at  an  annual  rental 
of  15  lakhs  of  rupees.  Colonel  Heron's  consent  to  the  arrange- 
ment is  declared  to  have  been  hastened  by  the  offer  of  a  consider- 
able present. 

Mahfuz  Khan's  administration  was  a  total  failure,  and  in  1756 
the  Company  saw  that  the  time  for  more  decisive  action  had  come. 
Not  being  able  to  spare  any  Europeans,  they  despatched  to  the 
south  the  Muhammad  Yusuf  already  mentioned,  the  commandant 
of  all  their  sepoys.  He  was  sent  with  some  1,400  men  and  given 
orders  to  combine  them  with  the  troops  of  Mahfuz  Khan  and  the 
Nawdb  and  take  command  of  the  whole. 

He  passed  through  Madura,  on  his  way  to  the  Tinnevelly 
country,  in  April  1756,  and  the  following  passage  from  Orme 
aptly  illustrates  the  reasons  which  had  led  to  his  being  sent  to  the 
south  and  the  difficulties  with  which  he  had  to  contend  : — 

'  During  this  progress  Mahomed  Issoof  had  not  been  able  to 
collect  any  money  from  the  revenues,  for  the  maintenance  of  his  troops ; 
because  the  ravages  of  the  Polygars  had  ruined  most  of  the  villages 
and  cultivated  lands  of  the  country  through  which  he  passed;  and  the 
real  detriment  of  these  devastationa  was  increased  by  the  pretences 
they  furnished  the  land-holders  to  falsify  their  accounts,  and  plead 


POLITICAL    HISTORY. 


63 


exemptions  for  more  than  tlif-y  had  lost.     Up  found  Mapliuzo  Cawn     CHAP.  II. 
in  greater  distress  than  himself,  unahle  either  to  fulfil  the  stipulations        Knci.iph 
at  which  he  had  reut<".]  the  country  froni  Colonel  ITeron,  or  to  sii])]ilv        PKRion. 
the  pay  of  the  Company's  sepoys  left  with  him  under  the  eommand  of 
Jemaul  Saheb,  or   even  to  furnish  enough,  exclusive  of  long  arrears, 
for  the  daily  subsistence  of  his  own  troops.     This  distress  naturally 
deprived  him  of  the  necessary  authority  over  the  Jemmadars,  or  officers 
of  his  cavalry,  who  in  Indostan,   as  the  ancient  mercenary  captains  of 
Italy,    hire  out  their  hands,  and  gain  not  a  little  by  the  bargain. 
Every  kind  of  disorder  likewise  prevailed  in  all  the  other  departments 
of  his  administration,  at  the  same  time  that  the  indolence  and  irreso- 
lution of  his  own  character  confirmed  all  the  evils  which  had  been 
introduced  into  his  government.' 

T5y  July  of  the  same  year,  the  country  was  to  all  appearance  Mahfu«  Khfin 
tranquil,  and  the  two  leaders  separated — Muhammad  Yusuf  going- 
to  Tinnevelly  town  and  Mahfuz  Khan  to  Madura.     As  soon  as  the 
latter  had  arrived  'at  that  place,  his   cavalry  (2.000  picked  men)  * 

surrounded  liis  house,  headed  by  the  governor  of  the  town,  and 
declared  that  they  would  not  move  until  they  were  given  their 
arrears  of  pay — some  seven  lakhs  of  rupees.  At  the  same  time 
three  companies  of  Madras  sepoys  who  were  in  Madura  were  dis- 
armed and  turned  out ;  and  the  brother  of  the  Muliammad  Barki 
already  mentioned  above  entered  the  fort  with  2,000  Kalians 
whom  he  had  collected  in  the  Nattam  country.  Tlie  standard  of 
revolt  was  then  openly  raised  and  invitations  were  issued  to  all  tlie 
poligars  to  assist  in  re-establishing  tlie  government  of  Mahfuz 
Kh4n. 

These  steps  were  doubtless  taken  with  the  knowledge  and 
approval  of  Mahfuz  Khdn  and  were  inspired  by  the  fact  that  in 
July  the  Company  had  farmed  out  the  Tinnevelly  country  for 
eleven  lakhs  of  rupees  to  a  certain  Mudali,  tliis  man  being  granted 
plenary  civil  and  criminal  jorif-diction  within  it  and  being  bound 
to  maintain  not  less  than  1 ,000  of  the  Company's  sepoys. 

Hearing  what  had  liappened,  Muhammad  Yusuf  marched  at  Capfain 
once  on  Madura,  and  on  the  lOtli  August  camped  near  Tirur>]\^ran-   S".^^'!',"'^''^ 
kunram,   wjuch   was    strongly   held    by    tjie    rebels.     Jlis    whole   Madura, 
force  was  only  1,500  sepoys  and  six  field-pieces,  so,  seeing  that  it   ^'^'* 
would    be    useless    to  attempt    to   storm  the   place,  lie   sent  for 
instructions  to  Captain  Calliand,  who  was  at  Tricliinopoly.     Tliat 
officer  came  over  and  attempted  to  negotiate  with  the  rebels,     liis 
efforts  were   vain   and  a  desultory  war  began   whicli  ravaged  the 
whole  district. 

In  May  1757  Captain  Calliaud  made  a  gallant  endeavour  to 
carry  the  Madura  fortress  by  a  night  surprise,  but  was  repulsed 


rKKion. 


64  Madura . 

CHAP.  ir.  with  lo?s.  Onno  gives  the  following  account  of  the  affair,  which 
KsGi.isir  is  of  interest  as  containiricf  a  description  of  fortifications  which 
have  now  utterly  disappeared.  A  reference  to  tlio  map  of  the 
tosvn  in  1757  facing-  p.  'ZG')  will  make  tliis  clearer,  and  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  assault  was  delivered  near  where  the  present 
maternity  hospital  stands. 

'  The  inward  wall  of  Madara  is  22  feet  high,  including  the  parapet, 
which  rises  six  above  the  rampart :  at  the  distance  of  every  100  yards 
or  less  'for  exact  symmetry  has  not  been  observed)  are  square  towers. 
'J"he  fausse-bray  is  30  feet  broad,  above  which  the  outward  wall  rises 
only  five  feet,  but  descending  to  the  bottom  of  the  ditch  is  II  on  the 
outside.  Midway  between  every  two  towers  of  the  inward  wall,  is  a 
similar  projection  in  the  outward,  with  loop-holes  whivh  command  the 
ditch,  and  flank  the  intermediate  part  of  the  v/all,  in  which  are  none  : 
but  the  whole  parapet  of  the  inward  wall  has  loop-holes,  so  liave  some 
of  its  towers,  and  the  rest  embrasures  for  cannon.  The  spot  chosen  to 
be  attacked  was  the  first  tower  on  the  left  hand  of  the  western  gate- 
way, being  the  only  part  "where  the  fausse-bray  was  clear  of  the  thick 
thorny  bushes,  which  had  not  injudiciously  been  suffered  to  overrun 
it  in  every  other ;  but  the  garrison,  trusting  to  this  defence,  had 
entirely  neglected  the  ditch,  which,  by  continual  drifts  after  rain,  was 
almost  choke  1  up  to  the  level  of  the  plain.  The  party  allotted  to  the 
attack  were  100  Europeans,  and  200  sepoys;  the  rest  of  the  troops 
remained  in  the  watercourse  [see  the  map],  ready  to  support  the  event. 
Calliaud  led  the  party  himself,  to  whom  the  method  of  attack  was  care- 
fully explained,  and  strict  silence  enjoined.  The  foremost  men  carried 
the  sis  shorter  ladders  intended  for  the  outward  wall;  the  next,  the  six 
longer,  for  the  inward ;  as  soon  as  twenty  of  the  party  had  got  into 
the  fausse-bray,  it  was  intended  that  thej  should  immediately  take 
over  the  longer  ladders,  which  they  were  to  plant,  as  received,  against 
the  tower,  but  not  a  man  was  to  mount,  until  all  the  six  ladders  were 
fixed,  and  then  no  more  than  three  at  a  time  on  each  ladder. 

'  The  first  ladders  were  planted,  and  Calliaud,  with  the  first  20  men, 
had  got  ijito  the  fausse-bray.  had  taken  over  one  of  the  longer  ladders, 
and  had  planned  it  against  the  tower,  when  their  hopes  were  inter- 
jupted  by  one  of  those  accidents  which  from  their  tri\iality  escape 
the  most  attentive  precaution.  A  dog,  accustomed  to  get  his  mfals  at 
the  messes  of  some  of  the  soldiers,  had  accomjianied  theoi  all  the  way 
from  Secundermally  [Tirupparanknnram]  into  the  ditch,  and,  probably 
from  anxiety  at  not  being  able  to  follow  his  masters  into  the  fausse- 
bray,  began  to  bark;  which  was  soon  answered  by  the  barking  of 
another  dog  on  the  rampart,  and  the  yelps  of  both  awakened  the 
nearest  centinal,  who,  crying  out  "  The  enemy",  roused  the  guard  at 
the  gateway,  which  repaired  immediat'-dy  to  the  tower.  The  soldiers 
in  the  fausse-bray,  finding  the  alarm  taken,  instead  of  continuing  to 
get  over  the  rest  of  the  ladders,  endeavoured  to  mount  on  that  already 
planted,  but  crowded  on  it  60  many  together,   that  it  crushed  uuder 


POLITICAL   TTISTORT. 


65 


Pekioi). 


them.  This  communicated  the  confusion  to  those  in  the  ditch,  and  no  CHAP.  11. 
one  any  longer  did  what  he  ought.  In  tlio  meantime,  tlie  garri.son  English 
increasing  on  the  ram]vart  hung  out  Mue  liglits  of  enlnhur,  and  dis- 
covering the  \\hu\o.  |>arty  began  to  shower  on  them,  arrows,  Btones, 
lances,  and  the  shot  of  fire-arms.  On  which  Caliiaud  ordered  the 
retreat,  which  was  elfecteJ  with  httle  loss,  only  one  man  being  killed, 
and  another  wounded;   both  were  sepoys,  standing  on  the  glacis.' 

In  July  he  made  another  attempt  at  the  same  spot,  which  was 
again  unsuccessful.     Orrae  describes  it  as  under  :  — 

'  Tho  gabions,  fascines,  and  platforms,  werepreparcd  in  the  camp  ; 
and  as  soon  as  all  were  ready,  the  troops  allotted  marched  on  the  9th 
at  night  to  the  watercourse  which  runs  to  the  west  of  the  city,  and 
raised  the  battery  against  the  curtain  between  the  gateway  and  the 
tower  which  had  beou  attempted  bj^  escalade  of  the  1st  of  May.  It 
mounted  two  eighteen-po.mders,  with  four  field-pieces,  was  finished 
before  the  morning,  and  at  daj'-break  began  to  fire.  The  parajiet  of  the 
fausse-bray  was  soon  beaten  dov/n,  and  theiu's^ard  wall,  although 
strong,  was  by  noon  shaken  so  much,  that  the  parapet  of  this  likewise 
fell  entirely,  and  the  wall  itself  was  sufficiently  shattered,  to  permit  a 
a  man  to  clamber  to  the  top  :  but,  in  this  short  time,  the  garrison  had 
staked  the  rampart  behind  with  tho  trunks  of  Palmeira  trees  set  on 
end  :  a  few  shot  knocked  down  some,  nor  could  any  of  them  have  been 
firmly  fixeJ^  and  to  leave  the  enemy  no  more  time  to  prepare  farther 
defences,  Caliiaud  resolved  to  storm  immediately.  Of  the  Europeans, 
only  the  artiilery-men  were  left  at  the  battery  :  all  the  battalion-men, 
who  were  120,  marched,  followed  by  the  Company  of  Coffrecs  and 
they  by  -100  sepoys.  Caliiaud  led  the  Europeans,  and  ^Mahomed 
Issoof  the  sepoys.  The  garrison  had  disciplined  300  of  their  match- 
lockmen  as  sepoys  ;  who,  although  much  inferior  to  these  troops,  were 
improved  far  beyond  their  former  state;  these  were  posted  on  the 
western  gateway,  which  projecting  beyond  the  fausie-bray  into  the 
ditch,  flanked  the  tower  attacked ;  and  a  multitude  were  crowded  on 
the  ramparts  behind  and  on  each  side  of  the  breach.  The  troops, 
although  galled,  advanced  resolutely  through  the  ditch  and  fausse- 
bray,  and  four  of  the  most  active  scrambled  up  the  breach  to  the 
rampart,  but  w^ere  immediately  tumbled  down  dead,  or  mortally 
wounded.  This  repressed  the  ardour  of  those  who  were  following : 
an  officer  threw  out  imprudent  words,  and  the  infirmity  visibly  caught 
the  whole  line,  notwithstanding  tlie  exhortations  and  activity  of 
Caliiaud,  who  was  in  the  fausse-bray  directing  the  assault.  Whoso- 
ever mounted  afterwards  came  down  without  getting  to  tho  top, 
pretending  the  impossibility,  although  the  danger  was  as  great  in  the 
fausse-bray  below;  for,  besides  the  shower  of  other  annoyances, 
the  enemy  had  prepared  bags  and  pipkins  filled  with  mere  powder, 
to  which  they  set  fire  as  they  tossed  them  down  on  the  heads  of 
the  assailants,  and  the  scorch  of  the  explosion  was  inevitable  and 
intolerable.      Nevertheless,    Caliiaud   continued  the  assault  half  au 

9 


66 


Madura. 


CHAT.  II. 
English 
Period. 


Anarchy 
agaia 

prevails. 


Yusuf  Khin 

agaia 

despatched. 


He  rebels  and 
is  hanged, 
1704. 


hour;  when  finding  that  no  command  wa.s  any  longer  obeyed,  and  that 
niudi  loss  had  been  sustained,  he  ordered  the  retreat.  Four  of  the 
bravest  Serjeants  were  killed,  and  as  many  wounded,  and  20  other 
Euro2ioans  wore  either  killed  or  desperato'y  wounded  ;  of  the  Cof^'rccs 
10,  of  the  sepoys  100  were  disabled,  but  few  of  this  body  were  killed, 
and  fewer  died  afterwards  of  their  wounds.' 

Eventually  the  place  was  given  up  to  Captain  Calliaud  on  his 
paying  the  rebels  Rs.  1,70,000. 

The  results  were  small.  Disturbances  still  prevailed  every- 
where ;  the  Kalians  ravaged  the  country  in  every  direction  ;  the 
great  Haidar  Ali,  the  soldier  of  fortune  who  was  soon  to  usurp 
the  throne  of  Mysore,  invaded  the  country  round  Madura  and 
was  with  difficulty  beaten  off  ;  and  no  revenue  worth  mentioning 
could  be  collected.  The  Company  tried  in  vain  to  induce  the 
Nawab  of  Arcot  to  recall  his  brother,  Malifuz  Khan,  who  was 
undoubtedly  the  cavise  of  all  the  trouble,  and  soon  afterwards 
their  needs  elsewhere  compelled  them  to  withdraw  Muhammad 
Yusuf. 

His  departure  was  the  signal  for  wilder  anarchy  than  ever. 
The  Company's  garrison  in  Madura  could  only  just  collect,  from 
the  country  directly  under  its  walls,  enough  revenue  to  support 
themselves;  on  the  north  the  Kalians,  and  on  the  west  the 
poligars,  ravaged  unchecked  ;  and  in  the  south  Mahfuz  Khan  had 
thrown  himself  into  the  arms  of  the  principal  poligars  and  was 
beyond  the  reach  of  argument  or  reason. 

The  Company  accordingly  sent  back  Muhammad  Yusuf  to  the 
country,  renting  both  Madura  and  Tinnevelly  to  him  for  the  very 
moderate  sum  of  five  lakhs  annually.  He  returned  in  the  spring 
of  17'j9  and  began  by  teaching  the  Kalians  a  wholesome  lesson. 
Cutting  avenues  through  their  woods,  he  shot  them  down  without 
mercy  as  they  fled,  or  executed  as  malefactors  any  who  were 
taken  prisoners.  He  went  on  to  reduce  the  rest  of  the  country 
to  order,  and  soon  had  sobered  all  the  poligars  and  made  himself 
extremely  powerful.  He  even  had  the  audacity  to  make  war  on 
the  king  of  Travancore  without  the  knowledge  or  consent  of  the 
Company.  In  1761,  and  again  in  1762,  he  offered  to  lease  Tinne- 
velly and  Madura  for  four  years  more  at  seven  lakhs  per  annum. 
His  offer  was  refused,  and — whether  he  was  enraged  at  this,  oi 
whether  he  thought  himself  powerful  enough  to  defy  his  masters — 
he  shortly  afterwards  threw  off  his  allegiance  and  began  to 
collect  troops. 

In  1763,  therefore,  a  strong  force  was  sent  against  him  and 
he  was  besieged  in  Madura  in  September.  His  friends  nearly 
all  deserted  him,  but  he  held  out  until  October   1764  with  great 


rOLITICAL    HISTORY.  67 

energy  and  skill,  renovating-  and   strengthening  the  fort  at  great     CIIAI'.  ir. 
expense — he  is  said  to  have   '  entirely  repaired '   its  east  face  and       ENiii.isu 
constantly  employed  8,000  labourers   about  it — and  repelling  the        Pekiod. 
chief  assault  with  a  loss  of  120  Europeans  (including  nine  oflBcers) 
killed  and  wounded.     At  tlie  end  of  tliat  time  little   real  progress 
against  him  liad  been  made,   except   that    the   place    was    now 
rigorously  blockaded,  but   he    was  treacherously    seized  by  one 
Marchaud,  the  officer  in   charge   of  the  French  contingent,  and 
handed  over  to  Major  Charles   Campbell,   who   commanded  the 
English  among  the  besiegers.^      Ife  was   ignominiously  hanged 
near  the  camp,  about  two  miles  to   the  west   of  Madura,  and  his 
body  was  buried  at  the  spot.     A  small  square  mosque  was  after- 
wards erected  over  his  tomb.     It  is  still  in  existence — to   the  left 
of  the  road  toDindiLnil,  a  little  be}  ond  the  toll-gate — and  is  known 
as  '  Khdn  ^■^■dhih' s  pillmtscd.' 

Tradition  lias  many  stories  to  tell  oF  this  remarkable  man,  iiischaiacVr. 
who  is  commonly  known  in  Madura  as  Kluinsa,  an  abbreviation 
for  Xhcin  Saliib.  lie  was  born  in  the  Ramnad  country  and  was 
originally  a  Hindu  of  the  Vellala  caste.  He  ran  away  from  his 
home,  took  service  under  a  European  for  three  years  in  Pondi- 
cherry,  was  dismissed,  served  under  anotlier  European  (who 
educated  him) ,  went  to  the  Nawab's  court,  rose  rapidly  in  the 
army,  married  a  Parangi  woman  and  eventually,  as  lias  been  seen, 
became  Commandant  of  all  the  Company's  sepoys.  His  executive 
ability  is  sufficiently  indicated  in  the  report  (see  below)  from 
Colonel  Fullarton — dated  March,  1785  and  entitled  '  A  view  of 
the  English  interests  in  India' — which  was  republished  in 
Madras  in  18G7.  This  says  that  in  Tinnevelly  and  Madura 
*  his  whole  administration  denoted  vigour  and  effect.  His  justice 
was  unquestioned,  his  word  unalterable;  his  measures  were 
happily  combined  and  firmly  executed,  the  guilty  had  no  refuge 
from  punishment.'  It  concludes  by  saying  that  his  example 
shows  that  '  wisdom,  vigour  and  integrity  are  of  no  climate  or 
complexion.' 

After  Muhammad  Yusuf's  death,    the  revenue    administration   Tfaidar  Ali'a 
of  Madura  was  entrusted  to  one   Abiral   Kluin  Saliib,    who   con-   '1^!^'°"'- 
duoted  it   uneventfully    for  some   six  years.     He  had  no  military 
power,  and  the  country  was  commanded  by  British  officers.     The 
terms  of  office  of  his  numerous   successors  were  equally  devoid  of 

'  Vibart's  History  of  Madras  En jiiif ers  {W.  11.  AWi^u,  ISSl),  S'.K  This  work 
gives  a  detailed  account  of  the  operutions.  Caldwell  {History  of  Tinnevelly,  12;^) 
seems  to  giro  incorrectly  the  natnes  of  both  tho  Frencli  and  Knglish  commani- 
ing  officers. 


G8  MADUKA. 

CHAP.  II.     episode,  and   it   was  not  nntil  1780    tliat    any    cliange    of   note 

English       occurred.     In  that  year  Haidar  Ali  (wlio  had  by  now  made  hini- 

ff;^"'       self   king-  of  Mysore)  perpetrated    his   famous    invasion   of    the 

Carnatic — pillaging,  burning  and  slaying  until   the   country  was 

one  blackened  waste. 

Assignment  Ij^  the  next  year  the  Nawab  Muhammad  Ali^  assigned  to  the 

of  the  revenue  Company  1  the  revenues  of  the  Carnatic  to  defray  the  cost  of  the 

panj,  1781.      war  with  Haidar  Ali,  and  a    '  Committee  of  Assigned  Eevenue,' 

consisting  of  six  officials,    was    appointed   to    administer   them. 

Under   this   body,    in    each   of   the    districts    concerned,    was    a 

'  Receiver  of  Assigned  Kevenue.'     The  first  so  sent  to  Madura — 

virtually    its    first    Collector — was    Mr.    George    Proctor.     His 

administration    vfas    not    successful,    and   he    was    (apparently) 

followed  in  1783  by  Mr.  Eyles  Irwin.' 

Colonel    ^  But  the  country  required   quieting  before  it  could  be  success - 

expedition        f'^l^^J  administered,  and  in  the  same  year  the   Colonel  Fullarton 

1783,  who  has   already  been  mentioned  was   sent  into  it  with  a  strong 

force.     His   report   above   cited  affords   ample    evidence   of  the 

necessity  for  this  step.     It  says  that — 

'  Nearly  one  hnudred  thousand  Poligars  and  Colleries  [«>., Kalians] 
were  in  arms  throughout  the  southern  provinces,  and,  being  considered 
hostile  to  Government,  looked  to  public  confusion  as  their  safeguard 
against  punishment.  Your  southern  force  was  inadequate  to  repress 
these  outrages  and  to  retrieve  your  affairs.  The  treasury  was  drained, 
the  country  depopulated,  the  revenues  exacted  by  the  enemy,  the 
troops  undisciplined,  ill-paid,  poorly  fed  and  unsuccessfully  com- 
manded. During  the  course  of  these  proceedings,  your  southern 
provinces  remained  in  their  former  confusion.  The  Poligars, 
Colleries,  and  other  tributaries,  ever  since  the  commencement  of 
the  war  [with  Haidar  Ab]  had  thrown  off  all  appearance  of  alle- 
giance. No  civil  arrangement  could  be  attempted  without  a  military 
force,  and  nothing  less  than  the  whole  army  seemed  adequate  to  their 
reduction.  While  such  a  considerable  portion  o  £  the  southern  provinces 
remained  in  defiance  of  the  Company's  Government,  it  was  vain  to 
think  of  supporting  the  current  charges  of  the  establishment,  far 
less  could  we  hope  to  reduce  the  arrears,  and  to  2:»repare  for  important 
operations,  in  the  probable  event  of  a  recommencement  of  hostilities. 
It  became  indispensable,  therefore,  to  restore  the  tranquillity  of  those 
provinces  by  vigorous  military  measures  as  tlie  only  means  to 
render  them  protective  of  revenue.' 

Colonel  Fullarton  subdued  the  poligars  of  Melur  and  Siva- 
ganga  and  then  passed  southwards  ;  and  liis  principal  fighting 
was  in  Tinnevelly. 

^  See  Aitcliisou's  Trealies,  eic.  (1892),  viii,  Si. 
*  Eiahry  of  TinneveUu,  144,  146. 


POLITICAL    HISTORY.  69 

In  Jrine  1785,  in  consequonce  of  orders  f  lom  superior  authority.     cLl  \P   ]  I 
tlie  assignment  of  the  revenues  was  surrendered  to  the  Nawab  of       English 
Arcot,  the  Committee   of  Assigned  lievenue   was  dissolved,   and        Period. 
the   civil  administration  of  tlio  Company,    u'ith  all   its  numerous 
advantages,  ceased  for  seven  years. 

In  August  171  0  the  Madras  Government,  finding  it  impossible    Assumrtion 
to  induce  tlie  Nawab  either  to  contribute  his  share  of  the  expenses    °^  ^^^ 
of  the  alliance  with  tlie  Company  or  to   re-introduce  the  assign-    1790.     ' 
ment  of  the   revenues,  took   possession  of  the  country  by  procla- 
mation,   without  treaty.     A   Board  of  Assumed  Ecvenue,  M-hich 
was  a  department  of  the  Board  of  Revenue   established  in   178G, 
was  constituted  to  administer  the  territories,  and  Collectors  were 
appointed  to  the  vaiious  districts.     Mr.  Alexander  I^IcLeod  was 
sent  down  in  1790  as  Collector  of  Dindigul. 

In  July  1792  the  Nawab  and  the  Company  entered  into  a  new   tIio  Corn- 
treaty  '  by  wliich  the  latter  undertook   to  collect    at  their    own   V^^i'  collocia 
expense  and  risk  the  whole  of  the  pesh leash,  or  tribute,  due  from  kash  1792. 
the  poligars  and  with  the   exception  of  a  few  districts — among 
which  were  Madura  proper  and  Tinnevelly,  which  were  to  remain 
in  the   Company's   hands    till  the   revenue   equalled  the   arrears 
which  had  accrued — the  rest  of  the  country  was  to  be  restored  to 
the  management  of  the  Nawab  on  certain  conditions. 

In  the  same  }  ear  (1792)  the  province  of  Dindigul  came  formally  Story  of  the 
into  the  possession  of  the  Company.  The  fate  of  this  area  had  ^>°^^g"l 
differed  for  some  years  from  that  of  the  rest  of  the  Madura 
country.  It  has  been  seen  above  (p.  '!8)  that  when  Chanda 
Sahib  seized  the  latter,  he  placed  one  of  his  bi'others  in  command 
of  Dindigul.  About  1742,  Birld  Venkata  Eao,  the  officer  in 
command  of  the  forces  in  the  adjoining  territories  of  Mysore, 
invaded  the  province.  The  commandant  of  the  Dindigul  fort, 
Mir  Imam  Ulla,  handed  it  over  to  him  without  resistance,  and 
the  king  of  Mysore  appointed  Birki  V^enkata  Eao  as  manager 
of  tjie  newly  acquired  province.  It  contained  a  number  of 
palaiyams,  or  feudal  estates,  and  its  history  for  the  next  few  years 
consists  largely  of  the  alternate  resumption  and  restoration  of 
these,  and  of  changes  in  its  managers.  In  1748  Madur,  one  of 
the  palaiyams,  was  sequestrated  for  arrears  ;  and  Venlcata  Eao 
was  recalled  and  followed  l.iy  one  Venkatappa.  He  in  liis  turn 
was  succeeded  in  1751  Ijy  one  Namagiri  lui  ja  ;  but  in  tlie  same 
year  Vcnkata[>pa  w^as  restored  and  given  charge  of  the  palaiyams, 
while  Srinivasa  Eao  (son  of  Birki  Venkata  Eao)  was  given 
control  of  the  Government  land.     In  1755  Venkatap}ia  reported 

'  For  lliy  text  of  it,  sec  Aiu-liisun'*  Trfiaii^it,  «tc.  (lyi^2),  Tiii,  17. 


Period. 


I!b  MADU  lU. 

CHAP,  II.  that  the  poiigars  were  very  contumacious,  and  Haidar  Ali  aceord- 
Englisii  ingly  made  a  memorable  incursion  into  the  country  and  brought 
these  chiefs  to  their  knees  one  after  the  other  with  extraordinary 
rapidity,  although  lie  had  only  1,700  men  against  the  30,000 
whom  they  might,  if  they  had  united,  have  put  into  the  field  to 
meet  him.  When  he  entered  the  country,  only  two  of  the 
poligars'  estates  were  under  resumption  ;  namely,  l\Iadur  and 
Vadakarai ;  by  the  time  he  left  it  he  had  resumed  all  the  others 
except  five  ;  namely,  Ammayanayakkanur,  Idaiyankottai,  Kombai 
Nilakkottai  and  Mambarai. 

Srinivasa     Eao   was   now     removed    for   incompetence,    and 

^  .  Venkatappa  appointed  to  the  charge 

Emakkaiapuram.  of  both  the  estates  and  the  Govern- 

Erasakkanayakkanur.  ment  land.     He  was  shortly  afterwards 

Gantamanayakkan6r.  succeeded     by    one    Surya   Narayana 

^  ""^    ^'  .  Mudali,  who  for  some  reason  restored 

six  *    of    the     disj^ossessed     poligars. 

In    1772   the  country    was   granted  to    Mir   Sahib,   husband   of 

Haidar's    wife's    sister    and   a  well-remembered     individual,    ou 

military  tenure.     In  1773   and  1774   he  resumed  seven  t  of   the 

palaiyams    and    restored     two    more 
+  Ambaturai.         ^  (Tevaram    and  Sandaiyiir  M    to    their 

Ei-asakkaTmyakkannr.  ^  t        at  ttcq      j       •  xi 

Gantamanayakkaimr.  owners.     In    May    17bc!,    durmg    the 

Kombai.  First  Mysore    War,  Dindigul   surren- 

Maruu^ttu.  dered  to   the   division  under  Colonel 

la    o   ai.  Lang  and  all  the  dispossessed  poligars 

Tavasimadai.  *="  -A  • 

were    reinstated.     But   the    province 

was  restored  in  the  next  year  by  the  treaty  of  Mangalore '  to  Tipu 

Sultan,  Haidar  All's  son  and  successor,  and  he  granted  it  to  Saiyad 

Sahib,  who  is  said  to  have  been  a  nephew  of  Mir  Sahib,  on  much 

the  same  terms  as  those  the  latter  had  enjoyed.     In  1785  and 

1786  Saiyad  Sahib  resumed  five  t  of  the  palaiyams,  and  in  1788 

Tipu  himself  came  to  Dindigul   and 

X  Eriyodn.  sequestrated  fourteen  others  for  arrears, 

^^*^^^'-  leaving  only  three   of  them   (Idaiyan- 

„'^  ^^'.   .  kottai,   Kombai   and    Mambarai)    not 

Sandaiyur.  ^  p        , 

Sakkampatti.  under    attachment.       Ihese    fourteen 

were  taken  away  from  the   Dindigul 

country  and  attached  to  the  province   of  Sankaridrug  in  Salem. 

In  1790  Sandaiyur  was  given  back  to  its  owner. 

1  In  the  present  Nilakkottai  taluk  ;  not  the  existing  zauiindaii  of  tbc  same 
name  in  Tirumaugalam. 

*   Aitoliisou's  Trmties,  stc,  viii,  4^o. 


POLITTOAL   HISTORY.  71 

In  August  1790,  during  the  Second  Mysore  "War  against  Tipu,     CHAP.  IT. 
Colonp]  .Tames  Stuart  took  the  Diiidigul  fort  and  dislrict  in  the       Exgluh 
manner    doscriltod  on    ]).    257    helow,    and    all  t]ie  dispossessed        1'^•RI0D. 
poligars   wore   onee   more   restored    to    tlioir   estates.     In     1792,   Itscossirn 
by  the  treaty  w]iio]i  concluded  that  war.'    tlio  province   was  ced^d    '"  ^'^^^' 
to  the  Company,     Tlie    disturLances    in   it     wliich   the    various 
poligars' raised  in  the  years  immediately  following  are  referred  to 
in  Chapter  XI  helow. 

The  rest  of  Madura  came  finally  into  the  hands  of  tlie  Eno-Hsh  CcBsion  of 
in  1801,  under  the  following  circumstances  :     When,  in  1790   tjie  ^^^  '^^''^  °^ 
Third  Mysore  War   ended  with  the  fall  of  Seringapatam  and  the  I80l!^'^' 
death  of  Tipu  Sultan^  papers   found  in  the  fallen  city  showed  that 
tlie  tlien   Nawah    of    Arcot   and  his   fatlier  (the    Muhammad  Ali 
already   several  times   mentioned   above)    had    been    engaged    in 
treasonable  correspondence  with  Tipu.     An  enquiry  was  held,  but 
while  it  was  progressing   the  Nawab  died.     His  heir  declined  to 
give  the  security  w^iich  in  the  circumstances  the  Government  con- 
sidered necessary,  and  the  Naw^abship  was  consequently  conferred 
on  a  junior  member  of  the  family,  with  whom  in  1801  ^  an   agree- 
ment was  concluded  by  which  he  handed  over  to  the  Company  in 
perpetuity  '  the  sole  and  exclusive   administration  of  the  civil  and 
military  governments  of  all  the  territories  and  dependencies  of  the 
Carnatic' 

Madura  thus  passed,  with  the  rest  of  the  Carnatic,  under  tlie 
British,  and  tasted  for  the  first  time  for  very  many  years  the 
blessings  of  settled  peace. 

'  Aitchison's  Treaties,  etc.,  viii,  400. 
'  Ibia.,  56. 


72 


MADUBA. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  PEOPLE. 


CRAP.  III. 

General 
Character- 
istics. 

Density  of 
the  popula- 
tion. 


Its  growth. 


Gen'Kral  Characteristics — Density  of  the  population— Its  growth— Parent- 
tongue — Education— Occupations —Eeligiona.  The  Jaixs.  The  Christians 
— Eoman  Catholic  Blis^ion — American  Mission — Leipzig  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Mission.  The  Musat.mans — Ravntans  — Relations  with  Hindus. 
The  Hindus — Villages — Houses — Dress — Food — Amusements — Religious 
life — 'Brahman  influence  small — Popular  deities  :  Karu^ipan — Aiyan/ir — 
Madurai  Viran— Others — Vows — Devils.  Principal  Castes— Kalians — 
Idaiyans — Valaiyans— Kammalans — Nattnkottai  Chettis — Vannans — Kusa- 
vans — Parivarams — Kunnuvans — Pulaiyans-Paliyans — Tottiyaus — Kappili- 
yans — Annppans — Patnulkarans. 

The  district  is  not  thickly  peopled.  Except  in  the  head-quarter 
taluk,  where  the  population  of  Madura  town  raises  the  figure,  the 
density  of  the  inhabitants  is  nowhere  as  much  as  400  to  the  square 
mile.  Details  will  "be  found  in  the  separate  Appendix  to  this 
volume.  Excluding  Madura  again,  the  density  is  highest  in  Palni 
taluk,  and  l)indigul  comes  next.  It  is  lowest  in  Periyakulam, 
but  the  apparent  sparseness  of  the  population  in  that  talak  is 
largely  due  to  the  existence  within  it  of  large  areas  of  uninhabitable 
hill  and  jungle.  Where  the  land  is  culturable,  the  density  is 
probably  well  up  to  the  average. 

In  the  district  as  a  whole,  the  increase  in  the  population  in  the 
thirty  years  ending  with  1901  was  29  per  cent,,  that  is,  consider- 
ably more  than  the  averages  for  the  southern  districts  (21  "2  per 
cent.)  or  the  Presidency  generally  (22' 1  per  cent.).  In  the  decade 
1871-81,  owing  to  the  great  famine  of  1876-78,  a  decline  of 
5  per  cent,  occurred  ;  in  the  next  ten  years  the  rebound  usual  after 
scarcity  took  place  and  the  advance  was  as  much  as  22  per  cent. ; 
while  in  the  period  1891-1901  the  growth  was  11  per  cent.,  or 
again  considerably  more  than  the  Presidency  average  (7 "2  per 
cent.).  It  would  have  been  larger  but  for 'the  emigration  which 
took  place  to  Ceylon.  Statistics  show  that  in  tliis  decade  the  net 
result  of  emigration  to,  and  immigration  from,  that  island  was  a 
loss  to  the  district  of  nearly  80,000  persons  On  the  other  hand, 
the  balance  of  the  movement  of  the  population  between  Madura 
and  the  other  districts'in  the  Presidency  is  slightly  in  its  favour,  a 
certain  amount  of  immigration  having  taken  place  to  the  land 
newly  brought  under  wet  cultivation  with  the  water  of  the  Periyar 
irrigation  project. 


THE   PEOPLE.  73 

Tlie  increase  in  tlio  decade  1891-1001  was  highest  (21-G  per     CHAP.  IIT. 
cent.)  in  Periyalculam  taliilc,  wliicli  lias  benefited  considerably  from      Ginkrat. 
the  Periyar  water  and  the  opening;-  up  to  the  cultivation  of  toa  and        istics 

coffee  of  the  Kannan  Devan  hills  in  Travancore  to  the  west  of  it.  

It  was  next  highest  in  Madura  and  in  Palni  and  Dindigul.  The 
advance  was  smallest  in  Meliir  and  Tirumangalam.  The  former 
of  these  two  taluks  will  prohably  do  better  in  f  ature,  as  soon  as 
the  effect  of  the  Periyar  water  begins  to  be  felt  in  earnest ;  but 
Tirumangalam  has  hardly  any  irrigation  tanks  or  channels  and  but 
few  wells,  is  more  at  the  mercy  of  adverse  seasons  than  any  other 
part  of  the  district,  and  is  not  likely  to  exhibit  any  marked 
advance.  The  population  there  has  increased  by  only  10  per  cent, 
in  the  last  30  years,  against  47  per  cent,  in  Perijakulam  and  33 
per  cent,  in  both  Madura  and  Dindigul. 

The  parent-tongue  of  four-fifths  of  the  people  is  Tamil.  The  Parent. 
language  is  spoken  with  less  purity  than  in  Tanjore,  but  without  ^^^S^^- 
that  frequent  admixture  of  foreig:n  words  which  is  met  with  in 
Chingleput  and  North  Arcot.  The  Madura  people  pronounce  it 
with  a  peculiar  jerkiness  and  a  nasal  twang  which  makes  it  difficult 
for  a  man  from  farther  north  to  understand  them.  They  also 
have  a  curious  trick  of  inverting  consonants,  saying,  for  example, 
huridai  for  kudirai,  Marudai  for  Madurai,  and  so  on.  Fourteen 
per  cent,  of  the  Madura  people  speak  Telugu,  and  this  language 
is  the  home-speech  of  at  least  a  fifth  of  the  population  of  four 
taluks — Dindigul,  Kodaikanal,  Palpi  and  Periyakulam.  These 
areas  are  largely  peopled  by  the  descendants  of  the  followers  of 
the  poligar  chiefs  who  migrated  to  Madura  from  the  Deccan,  in 
the  train  of  the  armies  from  Vijayanagar  which  overran  the 
country  in  the  sixteenth  century  in  the  circumstances  set  out  in 
the  last  chapter. 

As  many  as  four  per  cent,  of  the  people  speak  Canarese. 
These  are  chiefly  the  weaver  communities  called  Sedans  and 
Seniyans  and  the  cattle-breeding  and  shepherd  castes  of  the 
Anuppans,  Kappiliyans  and  Kurubas,  all  of  whom  are  commonest 
in  the  west  of  the  district.  No  tradition  seems  to  survive  regard- 
ing the  inducements  which  led  these  people  to  immigrate  hither 
from  their  own  distant  country,  but  since  authenticated  instances 
are  on  record  of  rulers  of  other  parts  having,  by  offers  of  special 
privileges,  persuaded  bodies  of  artisans  and  craftsmen  to  come 
and  settle  in  their  dominions,  it  is  perhaps  legitimate  to  conjecture 
that  the  Nayakkan  dynasty,  finding  among  the  Tamils  neither 
weavers  nor  herdsmen  of  talent,  induced  bodies  of  these  people  to 
come  and  settle  under  their  protection. 

10 


74 


MADUBA. 


LTTAP.  III. 
General 

CllARACTKR- 
I8TICS. 


Education, 


Occupation?, 


Religions. 


The  jAiKg, 


Fifteen  in  every  thousand  of  tlie  population  (a  liig'Taer 
proportion  t]ian  in  any  other  district)  speak  Patnuli  or  Khatri,  a 
dialect  of  Gujarati.  T]iese  are  the  Patnulkaran  silk-weavers, 
referred  to  later  on  in  this  ehajjtcr,  who  are  so  numei-ous  in 
Madura  and  Dindig-ul  towns. 

The  education  of  the  people  is  dealt  with  more  particularly  in 
Chapter  X  below,  from  which  it  will  be  seen  that  in  this  matter 
they  are  rather  below  the  average  of  the  southern  districts  as 
a  whole.  The  inhabitants  of  Madura  and  Periyakulam  taluks 
are  the  most  advanced  and  tliose  of  TiruDiangalam  the  most 
backward. 

The  means  of  subsistence  of  the  population  are  discussed  in 
Chapter  VI,  where  it  is  sliown  that  the  proportion  of  them  who 
live  by  agriculture  and  the  tending  of  flocks  and  herds  is  even 
higher  than  usual. 

By  religion,  9<1  in  every  hundred  of  the  inhabitants  are  Hindus, 
four  are  Musalmans  and  three  are  Christians. 

At  the  census  of  1901,  not  a  single  Jain  was  found  in  the 
whole  of  the  district,  but  ample  evidence  exists  to  show  that  in 
days  gone  by  the  followers  of  this  faith  were  an  influential 
community  in  Madura.  Legends  preserved  in  the  slhala  purdna 
of  the  great  temple  at  Madura  say  that  the  town  had  three  narrow 
escapes  from  destruction  by  a  huge  elephant,  a  vast  cow  and  an 
enormous  snake,  which  were  created  by  the  magic  arts  of  the  Jains 
and  sent  against  it,  but  by  the  grace  of  Siva  were  converted  into 
the  three  hills  in  the  neighbourhood  now  known  as  the  Anaimalai, 
Pasumalai  and  Nagamalai.  These  stories,  though  wildly  apocry- 
phal in  details,  seem  clearly  to  enshrine  the  fact  that  the  Jains 
were  once  powerful  enough  to  cause  the  Saivites  considerable 
uneasiuess,  if  not  to  place  their  existence  in  peril.  In  the  account 
of  the  village  of  Tiruvedagam  on  p.  297  below,  is  given  the 
traditional  embroidered  version  of  a  contest  between  the  Jains  and 
the  Saivite  saint  Tirugnana  Sambandhar  which  also  is  almost 
certainly  an  historical  fact.  Tlie  persecutions  which  the  Jains 
underwent  are  moreover  still  referred  to  in  local  chronicles,  and 
it  is  stated  that  at  one  of  the  festivals  connected  with  the 
Madui-a  temple  an  image  representing  a  Jain  impaled  on  a  stak3 
is  carried  in  the  procession.  Finally  the  district  contains  a 
number  of  sculptures  and  inscriptions  which  are  certainly  of  Jain 
origin.  References  to  some  of  these  will  be  found  in  the  accounts 
in  Chapter  XV  of  Anaimalai  and  Tirupparankunram  in  Madura 
taluk,  Aivarraalai  in  Palni,  Uttamapalaiyam  in  Periyakulam,  and 
56vil^nkulam  and  Kuppalanattam  in  Tirumangalara. 


THE    PEOPLE. 


75 


On  the  little  granite  hills  of  the  district  are  often  found  level, 
rectangular  spaces,  usually  six  or  sevea  feet  long  and  two  or  three 
feet  wide,  which  have  Leen  chipped  out  on  the  surface  of  some 
flat  piece  of  rock-  Thoj  look  as  though  the  granite  had  Leen 
smoothed  to  make  a  sleeping-place,  and  some  of  them  have  a  kind 
of  rock  pillow  at  one  end,  two  or  three  inches  higher  than  the  rest 
of  the  excavation.  The  ryots  call  them  Panc/ia  Pdnckva  paduJikat, 
or  '  beds  of  the  five  Pcindavas.'  They  are  sometimes  found  close 
to  images  of  undouLted  Jain  origin  cut  on  the  rocks,  and  they 
perhaps  mark  the  sites  of  tlie  dwellings  of  Jain  hermits. 

The  Christians  in  Madura  numbered  at  the  last  census  nearly 
three  per  cent,  of  its  inhabitants,  a  figure  somewhat  below  the 
average  for  the  southern  districts  as  a  whole.  Relatively  to  the 
total  population  they  were  most  numerous  in  the  taluks  of 
Dindigul  (7  per  cent.),  Kodaikanal  (5'8),  Periyakulam  (2*4)  and 
Madura  (2'1)  and  least  so  in  Tirumangalam  ('7  per  cent.),  Melur 
(•7)  and  Palni  ("G).  Nearly  the  whole  of  them,  as  usual,  were 
natives.  An  overwhelming  proportion  belonged  to  the  Koman 
Catholic  Church ;  next  in  numbers  came  the  nonconformist 
adherents  of  the  American  Mission  ;  and  a  few  were  followers  of 
the  Lutheran  sect. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Mission  is  by  far  the  oldest  in  the  district, 
and  dates  from  as  long  back  as  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  Considerations  of  space  prohibit  the  inclusion  here  of 
any  detailed  account  of  its  doings,  but  the  letters  of  its  priests 
to  their  ecclesiastical  superiors,  which  have  been  collected  and 
published  in  French  in  four  volumes  under  the  title  of  La  Mission 
du  Madwe,  depict  in  a  most  vivid  fashion  their  struggles  and 
achievements  and,  incidentally,  the  p^olitical  and  social  conditions 
of  the  country  at  the  time. 

The  earliest  missionary  to  visit  Madura  was  a  Portuguese 
named  Father  Fernandez,  and  his  congregation  consisted  largely 
of  Paravas  (fishermen)  whose  forefathers  had  been  converted  by 
Francis  Xavier.  The  first  Jesuit  was  Robert  d<d'  Nobili,  an  Italian 
of  good  birth  (related  to  two  popes  and  a  caidinal,  and  the  nephew 
of  auother  cardinal),  who  began  work  in  160G  under  the  control 
of  the  Archbishop  of  Cranganore.  Knowing  that  Fernandez 
was  hopelessly  handicapped  by  the  fact  that  he  was  one  of  the 
detested  '  Parangis  '  (^Portuguese") — a  race  whicli  was  known  to  all 
natives  to  eat  beef  and  consort  witli  the  lowest  of  Purai)  ans — de' 
Nobili  (with  tlie  concurrence  of  his  superiors)  ussumed  a  native 
name  {Tatva  Bodagar,  '  the  teacher  of  philosopliy  ')  presented 
himself  as  a  sanydai  from  Rome,  and  adopted  the  characteristic 
dress  and  meagre  diet  of  the  ascetic  class. 


CDAP,  III. 
The  Jains. 


Thr 
C'hi;istiaxs. 


Conian 

Catholio 

Mission. 


76 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  III. 

The 
Christians. 


His  fame  soon  spread  abroad,  and  tliose  wlioni  he  admitted  to 
an  interview  (lie  discouraged  visitors  at  first)  wore  charmed  with 
his  polished  manners,  astonished  at  the  purity  of  his  Tamil  and 
captivated  by  his  oriental  learning  and  versatile  intellect.  Later, 
he  built  a  church  and  presbytery  and  took  to  the  active  preaching 
of  the  Gospel,  and  at  the  beginning  scores  of  persons,  including 
members  of  all  the  upper  classes,  were  converted  with  marvellous 
rapidity.  But  the  Hindu  gurus  and  priests  soon  succeeded  in 
stemming  the  tide,  and  persecutions  followed.  Moreover  Father 
Fernandez  complained  to  the  authorities  of  his  methods — and 
especially  of  his  practice  of  permitting  his  converts  to  retain 
Hindu  customs,  such  as  the  wearing  of  the  kudumi  (top-knot)  and 
the  thread,  and  the  use  of  sandal-paste  on  their  foreheads — and  in 
1G13  he  v.-as  censured  and  eventually  recalled  to  Groa.  It  was  not 
until  ten  years  later  that  the  controversy  which  thus  arose  was 
decided  in  a  manner  which  permitted  him  to  resume  his  work  on 
the  old  methods. 

In  Madura  itself  he  seems  never  again  to  have  been  as 
successful  as  he  was  at  the  beginning.  In  1623  he  set  out  on  a 
long  journey  through  the  Salem  district  and  to  Trichinopoly, 
where  the  converts  w^ere  chiefly  of  low  castes,  and  much  of  his 
energy  was  thereafter  devoted  to  the  work  in  this  latter  town. 
Persecution,  hardship  and  insults  were  his  daily  lot  there,  and  he 
was  even  imprisoned.  In  1648,  after  42  years  of  labour,  he  left 
Madura,  utterly  broken  in  constitution  and  all  but  blind,  and  not 
long  afterwards  he  died  at  Mylapore. 

Two  other  famous  men  who  belonged  to  the  '  Madura  Mission ' 
which  he  thus  started  were  de  Britto  and  Beschi.  The  former 
was  martyred  in  the  most  revolting  manner  in  the  Eamnad 
country  in  1693.  The  latter,  who  was  famous  for  his  Tamil 
poems,  which  rival  those  of  the  best  native  authors,  died  in  1746. 
Thereafter  the  Jesuit  Mission  appears  to  have  languished,  and 
in  1773  it  was  entirely  suppressed  by  the  Pope.  In  the  years 
which  followed  much  of  its  work  was  undone,  converts  relapsing 
to  Hinduism.  The  authorities  at  Pome  accordingly  appealed  to 
the  Society  of  Foreign  Missions,  which  iu  1783  had  succeeded  the 
Jesuits  in  tlie  '  Carnatic  (or  Pondicherry)  Mission,'  and  in  1795 
Monsignor  Champenois,  Vicar  Apostolic  of  that  body,  visited  the 
Madura  Chri^stians.^  But  difficulties  occurred  with  the  priests 
of  the  Goanese  church,  and  it  was  not  until  1830  that  the  then 
Yicac   Apostolic    was   able     to    send    into    the   country    a   first 

'  For  the  account  of  the  fortunes  of  the  mission  after  1773,  I  am  indebted  to 
the  courtesy  of  the  Key.  J.  Pages,  s..i.,  now  in  charge  at  Madura. 


TUK    PEOPLE.  77 

detacliment  of  tliree  missionaries,   Fathers  Meliay,  James  and    cllAr.  ill. 
Mousset.     In  July  1836  Pope  Gregory  XVI  created  the  Vicariate         Tiik 
Apostolic   of  the  Coromandel  Coast,  which  included  the  Madura    <^"»^^tiaxs. 
country,  and  in  December  of  tlie  same  year  the  Madura   Mission 
was  detached   therefrom  and  formed  into  a  separate  organization 
under  the  Jesuits. 

Four  missionaries  from  the  Society  of  Jesus   reached   Madura    ' 
in  1838.     In  1842  one  of  them,  Father  Gamier,  built  the   church 
there  near  Tirumala  Nayakkan's  palace.     He  died   in  the  town 
the  next  year. 

In  1838,  the  year  these  four  arrived,  Pope  Gregory  XVI,  by 
his  Bull  Multa  prceclare,  had  put  an  end  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Goa  over  the  mission,  but  many  of  the  Christians 
refused  to  accept  the  new  state  of  things.  Up  to  1847,  the  mission 
was  permitted  to  remain  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Pondicherry, 
but  in  that  year  its  first  Vicar  Apostolic,  Bishop  A.  Canoz,  was 
appointed.  In  1857  a  Concordat  was  signed  between  Home  and 
Portugal  whereby  the  Archbishop  of  Goa  was  granted  authority 
over  the  Goanese  Christians  in  the  mission's  field,  and  thence 
arose  a  double  jurisdiction  within  it.  This  continued  until  1886 
when,  by  another  Concordat,  the  difficulty  was  ended  by  the 
re-establishment  of  the  Bishopric  of  Mylapore  and  the  grant  to  it 
of  that  part  of  the  Madara  Vicariate  Apostolic  which  lay  within 
the  Tanjore  district.  By  a  subsequent  agreement  tlie  cliurch  of 
Our  Lady  of  Dolours  at  Dindigul  (built  in  1729)  and  of  Our  Lady 
of  the  Eosary  facing  the  Perumal  Teppakulam  at  Madura  (erected 
]770)  were  left  in  the  hands  of  the  authorities  of  Goa,  who  still 
possess  a  few  adherents  in  the  district.  In  this  same  year  1886, 
by  the  Bull  Humance  Salutis,  Pope  Leo  XIII  established  the 
Catholic  hierarchy  in  India  and  the  Madura  Vicariate  Apostolic 
was  formed  into  the  Bishopric  of  Trichinopoly,  under  the  juris- 
diction of  which  its  missions  are  at  present  conducted. 

Tlie  largest  Eoman  Catholic  congregations  are  now  those  in 
Madura  and  Dindigul,  but  there  are  36  churches  in  other  places 
in  the  district,  the  mission  employs  sixteen  European  priests, 
keeps  up  orphanages  for  boys  and  for  girls  at  Madura,  and  is 
about  to  establish  a  nunnery  of  Europeans  in  tliat  town  to  take 
charge  of  its  girls'  schools  and  dispensaries.  Its  funds  arc 
received  principally  from  France, 

Tlie  American  Madura  Mission  was  established  in  1834  as  an   American 
off-shoot  of  the  Jaffna  Mission  in  Ceylon.^     The  first  workers   to   **iss'°'' 

^  Fur  the  materials  lor  tho  uccount  which  follows,  I  urn  indobied  lo  the 
ller.  J.  S.  Chandler  of  the  American  Mission, 


78 


MADUKA. 


CHAP.  III. 

The 
Christians. 


arrive  in  Madura  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Todd  and  Mr.  Hoisington. 
Stations  were  subsequently  established  in  Dindigul  (1835), 
Tirumang-alam  (1838),  Pasumalai  (1845),  Periyakulam  (1848), 
Vattilagundu  (1857),  Melur  (1857)  and  Palni  (1862).  Tlie  East 
Gate  Church  at  Madura  was  begun  on  part  of  the  glacis  of  the  old 
fort  (see  p.  266)  in  1843  and  finished  in  1845. 

For  several  years  the  policy  of  the  mission  was  to  endeavour 
to  introduce  a  knowledge  of  Christianity  among  the  people  by 
means  of  free  schools  for  native  boys,  with  Hindus  as  teachers, 
and  boarding-schools  with  Christian  teachers,  and  its  educational 
institutions  were  a  very  prominent  part  of  its  work.  In  1847, 
however,  great  defections  were  caused  by  efforts  to  abolish  caste 
distinctions  among  the  converts,  and  in  1855  the  visit  to  Madura 
of  a  deputation  of  two  members  of  the  American  Board  resulted 
in  a  considerable  reversal  of  the  original  policy.  English  education 
was  abandoned,  changes  were  made  in  the  seminary  which  had 
been  established  at  Pasumalai  (p.  176),  the  large  English  school  at 
Madura  was  closed,  and  nearly  all  the  boarding-schools  except 
that  for  girls  at  Madura  were  abolished. 

Gradually,  however,  it  was  realised  that  this  change  had 
not  been  for  the  better^  and  little  by  little  the  schools  were  re- 
established. The  more  important  of  those  which  the  mission  now 
maintains  are  referred  to  below  in  Chapter  X. 

Another  noticeable  feature  in  the  policy  of  the  mission  has 
been  the  combination  of  medical  aid  to  the  natives  with  its 
evangelistic  work,  several  of  its  members  being  trained  medical 
men.  The  leader  of  this  branch  of  its  operations  was  the  late 
Eev.  E.  Chester,  for  many  years  resident  in  Dindigul.  The  first 
lady  physician,  Miss  Root,  m.d.j  arrived  in  1885  and  her 
efforts  eventually  resulted  in  the  erection  of  the  mission  hospital 
for  women  in  Madura.  This  and  the  other  medical  institutions 
kept  up  by  the  mission  are  referred  to  in  Chapter  IX  below.  The 
share  which  the  mission  took  in  the  foundation  of  the  sanitarium 
of  Kodaikanal  on  the  Palni  Hills  is  mentioned  in  the  account  of 
that  place  on  p.  250. 

Its  members  now  include  twelve  ordained  Europeans  and  a 
number  of  missionary  ladies,  and  it  possesses  27  churches.  Among 
the  best-remembered  of  its  ministers  are  the  Rev.  W.  Tracy, 
D.D.,  for  25  years  in  charge  of  the  Pasumalai  seminary  (whose 
son,  the  Eev.  J.  E.  Tracy,  is  still  with  the  mission)  and  the  Rev. 
J.  E.  Chandler,  whose  son  is  also  still  working  at  Madura.  The 
expenditure  of  the  mission  is  some  Rs.  80,000  annually,  almost 
all  of  which  comes  from  America. 


THE   PEOPLE. 


79 


CHAP.  III. 
Christians, 


Evangelical 
Lutherau 


The 

MrSALMANS, 


The  Liitlieran  cliureli  first  began  work  in  the  district  in  tlie 
second  lialf  of  tlie  eighteenth  century,  in  the  time  of  tlie  flourisli- 
ing  Danish  Lutheran  Missions  at  Tranqnehar  anrl  Tanjore. 
Catechists  wore  sent  to  Dindigiil  and  otlier  places  and  succeeded 
in  establishing  congregations.  The  care  of  all  tliese  was  eventu- 
ally, however,  transferred  to  tlie  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Gospel  and  nothing  more  was  done  for  many  years. 

It  was  not  until  1875  that  the  Leipzig  Lutheran  Mission  began 
its  work  in  the  district.  In  that  year  it  sent  its  first  European 
missionary  to  Madura.'  In  1882  a  second  was  despatched,  and 
since  1889  he  has  been  living  at  Dindigul.  Three  years  after- 
wards another  was  sent  to  Madura,  but  in  1903  he  was  transferred 
to  Yirudupatti  in  the  Tinnevelly  district.  Two  missionary  ladies 
are  now  working  at  Madura.  The  mission  possesses  eight 
churches  and  two  more  are  under  construction.  It  also  maintains 
a  number  of  schools,  but  none  of  these  are  above  the  primary 
grade. 

The  Musalmans  in  the  district  number  four  per  cent,  of  the 
population,  a  figure  about  equal  to  the  average  of  the  southern 
districts.  They  are  proportionately  most  numerous  in  the  Mel6r 
and  Palni  taluks,  and  least  so  in  Tirumangalam. 

The  very  great  majority  of  them  belong  to  the  community  E^vutans, 
locally  known  as  Ravutans,  who  are  probably  the  descendants 
either  of  Hindus  of  this  part  of  the  world  who  in  former  times 
were  forcibly  converted  to  Islam,  or  of  Musalman  fathers  by  the 
women  of  this  country.  They  are  a  pushing  and  frugal  (not  to 
say  parsimonious)  class.  Far  from  following  others  of  their 
co-religionist?  in  thinking  much  of  the  past,  less  of  the  present  and 
least  of  the  future,  they  conduct  the  important  trade  in  leather 
which  the  district  possesses,  grow  much  betel  and  do  a  great  deal 
of  the  commerce  of  the  country,  both  wholesale  and  retail.  They 
seldom  marry  with  the  Musalmans  of  pure  descent,  although  there 
is  no  religious  bar  to  such  alliances,  and  they  often  (as  in  Dindigul 
town)  live  in  separate  streets  away  from  them.  They  speak  Tamil, 
and  not  Hindustani  like  the  Musalmans  proper.  They  also 
observe,  at  weddings  and  similar  ceremonies,  several  customs 
which  are  clearly  Hindu  in  origin,  such  as  the  use  of  music  and 
the  tying  of  a  tali.  1'he  dress  and  ornaments  of  both  men  and 
women  strongly  resemble  those  of  Hindus,  the  men  being  often 
only  distinguishable  by  the  tartan  patterns  of  their  waist-cloths, 
their  beards  and  their  shaven  heads,  and  the  w^omen  only  by  tlieir 
having  a  loose  jacket  (instead  of  a  tight  bodice)  and  wearing  a 

^  The  particulars  wliicli  follow  wcro  kiudly  furnished  by  the  Rev.  Tjtl, 
Bloomstraud,  in  charge  of  the  inisBion's  affairs  at  Madura. 


80 


MABURA. 


CHAP.  IIT. 
Thh 

MirSALMAXs. 


Relations 
with  Hindus. 


series  of  small  rings  on  the  outer  edge  of  the  ear.  At  deaths, 
they  often  divide  property  in  accordance  with  Hindu,  and  not 
Mnhammadan,  law. 

They  are  grouped  into  a  nuuihcr  of  sub-divisions  which  are 
endogamous  in  character  and  usually  territorial  in  origin. 
Instances  of  these  ai'e  the  Puliyankudiyar,  the  men  of  PuliyankucU 
in  Tinnevelly ;  the  Elaiyankudiyar,  the  men  of  Elaiyankudi  in 
Ramnad  zamindari ;  the  Musiriyar,  the  men  of  Musiri  in  Trichi- 
nopoly  ;  the  Vaigakaraiyar,  the  men  of  the  Yaigai  banks  ;  and 
the  Eruttuk^rar,  '  buUock-men/  tliose  who  used  to  trade  with 
pack-bullocks. 

The  Musalmans  live  on  amicable  terms  with  their  Hindu 
neighbours.  They  are  permitted  (see  p.  o07)  to  go  to  the  great 
Hindu  temple  of  Subrahmanya  at  Palni  to  make  their  offerings 
there,  and  Hindus  flock  to  the  famous  tomb  of  the  Musalman 
fakir  on  the  top  of  the  hill  at  Tiruj^parankunram.  The  followers 
of  the  two  faiths  join  in  the  celebration  of  the  fire-walking 
which  in  this  district  very  often  follows  the  Mohurrum. 
The  Hindus.  It  remains  to  refer   to  the  Hindus,  the  most  numerous  of  the 

religious  communities  of  the  district.     A  few  words  may  be  said 
about  their  social  and  religious  ways,  and  then  some  account  will 
be  given  of  the  castes  among  them  which  are  found  in  particular 
strength  in  this  part  of  the  country. 
Villages.  The  villages  of  the  district  are  built  in  the  scattered  fashion 

common  in  the  south.  The  three  polluting  castes,  the  Pallans, 
Paraiyans  and  Telugu  Cliakkiliyans,  always  live  in  separate  cheris^ 
or  hamlets,  outside  them.  'The  other  communities  are  more 
particular  about  residing  together  than  is  usually  the  case.  Even 
if  the  Brahman  houses  number  only  two  or  three,  they  will 
generally  be  found  side  by  side,  and  the  other  castes  similarly  try 
to  collect  together,  each  in  their  own  street.  There  are  usually 
three  wells,  one  for  Brdhmans,  one  for  Sudras  and  Musalmans, 
and  the  third  for  the  polluting  castes. 

Old  records  show  that  in  the  troubled  period  before  the 
Company  acquired  the  country  almost  every  village  was  fortified 
in  some  fashion.  A  mud  rampart  was  the  usual  defence,  and 
where  this  was  beyond  the  means  of  the  community  a  strong  live 
hedge  of  thorny  plants  and  trees  was  planted  round  the  village  site 
and  provided  with  a  single  entrance  which  was  closed  at  night  w^ith 
a  strong  gate.  In  many  villages  the  stone  posts  which  formerly 
flanked  these  gateways  may  still  be  seen.  They  are  called 
vddivdsal  and  when  the  village  deities  are  worshipped  they  often 
come  in  for  some  share  of  the  oblations  and  offerings  which  are 
going.     Almost   every  village  has  a  mandai,   or  piece  of  open 


THI    PEOPLB.  8f 

ground,  in  the  middle  of  it  and  in  this  is  nearly  always  a  chdvadi,    CHAP.  III. 

half  clul)  and  half  court-house,  which  is   kept  up  at  the  common   The  Hinduu. 

expense  and  is  used  as  a  meeting--place  for  gossip  in  the  mornings 

and  evenings,  as  a  spot  in  which  to  loaf  away  the  long  days  in 

the  hot  weather  when  cultivation  is   at  a   standstill,  or  as   a  court 

for  the  hearing  of   disputes  or  caste  questions.     In  the   Mellir 

taluk    these    chavadis   are    often   intimately    connected   with   the 

worship  of  Karuppan,  the  favourite  deity  of  the  Kalians.     In  big 

villages  there  are  often  several  of  them  for  the  use  of  the  different 

castes.     If  the  villagers  cannot  afford  a  regular   building   for  a 

chdvadi  they  will  at  least  put   up  a  masonry  platform  under  some 

shady  tree  to  serve  the  same  purposes. 

The  strong  corporate  feeling  which  enables  these  places  to  be 
built  and  kept  up  also  exhibits  itself  in  the  common  {s/imuddz/aoi) 
funds  which  exist  in  so  many  villages.  These  are  formed  from 
the  proceeds  of  land  and  fruit  trees  held  on  common  patta,  or 
from  the  sum  paid  for  the  right  to  collect  a  tax  imposed  by 
common  consent  on  articles  of  certain  classes  bought  or  sold  in 
the  bazaars.  The  funds  are  spent  for  the  common  benefit  on  such 
objects  as  repairs  to  drinking-water  sources,  ceremonies  at  the 
temples,  dramatic  performances  and  so  on.  In  Bcklindyakkanur, 
a  school  is  maintained.  Sometimes  the  members  of  a  particular 
caste  in  a  village  organize  similar  funds  by  taxing  themselves  for 
the  benefit  of  their  community  'I'he  Shandns  and  the  Patntilkarans 
are  especially  fond  of  doing  this. 

Houses  are  much  the  same  as  elsewhere.  AVhere  the  Kalians  Houses. 
are  most  numerous,  the  fear  of  incendiarism  induces  people  to  try 
to  afford  a  tiled  or  terraced  roof  instead  of  being  content  with 
thatch.  But  as  a  rule  the  ryots  seem  to  believe  in  the  poetess 
Auvaiyar's  saying  '  Build  small  and  prosper  greatly,'  and  outside 
the  towns  the  stranger  is  struck  with  the  meanness  of  the  average 
type  of  house.  The  cattle  are  always  tied  up  in  the  houses  at 
night.  Fear  of  the  Kalians  prevents  them  from  beiug  left  in  the 
fields,  and  they  may  be  seen  coming  into  the  villages  every  even- 
ing in  scores,  choking  every  one  with  the  dust  they  kick  up,  and 
polluting  the  village  site  (instead  oE  manuring  the  land)  for  twelve 
hours  out  of  every  twenty-four.  Buffaloes  are  tied  up  outside  the 
houses.  Kalians  do  not  care  to  steal  tliem,  as  they  are  of  little 
value,  are  very  troublesome  when  a  stranger  tries  to  handle  them, 
and  cannot  travel  fast  or  far  enough  to  be  out  of  reach  of  detection 
by  daybreak. 

In  the  Palni  taluk  there  are  fewer  Kalians  and  the  ryots  are 
much  keener  farmers  than  elsewliere  in  the  district,  and  there  the 
cattle  are  very  usually  penned  in  the  fields  at  night.     People  who 

U 


S2 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  III.    have  a  well  generally  have  a  house  next  it,   in  addition  to  tlieir 
Thb  Hindub.  ordinary  dwelling  in  the  village   site,  and  thus  they  can   stay  out 

on  their  land  at  night  to  watch  over  the  cattle  penned  on  it. 
^rean.  The  dress  of  the  people  does  not  differ  greatly  from  that  in 

other  southern  districts.  The  prevailing  colour  of  the  garrmmts 
of  the  women  of  the  poorer  classes  is  red.  Three  becoming  items 
in  their  attire  which  are  less  common  further  north  are  the  heavy 
silver  bracelets  (iol  kdppu)  worn  just  above  the  elbow  ;  the  fashion 
of  tying  a  bunch  of  white  flowers  to  the  centre  of  the  tali  necklet, 
just  under  the  chin  ;  and  the  trick  of  allowing  the  embroidered 
end  of  their  cloths  to  hang  squarely  down  behind  from  their 
waists,  like  a  sort  of  dress-improver.  The  lowest  classes  spend 
more  on  their  dress  than  is  usual  in  the  south — the  fine,  handsome 
Pallan  women  of  the  Palni  taluk  being  conspicuous  in  this  respect. 
The  ravikhat,  or  tight-fitting  bodice,  is  seldom  worn  by  non- 
Brahmans.  Indeed  the  women  of  the  Kalians  work  in  the  fields 
with  their  bodies  above  the  waist  quite  bare,  and  in  the  west  of 
Tirumangnlam  taluk  they  never  cover  theiv  breasts  at  all  excej)t 
when  going  into  a  town.  The  Kalians  say  that  an  unmarrie(i 
girl  of  their  castu  once  used  her  upper  cloth  to  conceal  the  fact 
that  she  was  with  child,  and  that  the  garment  was  accordingly 
tabooed  in  consequence.  The  women  among  the  Patuulkarans 
of  Madura  are  taking  to  tying  their  cloths  in  the  fashion  followed 
by  Br^hmans,  bunching  them  up  in  front  and  passing  one  end 
between  their  legs  and  tucking  it  into  the  waist  behind. 

The  women  of  practically  alt  non-Brahman  castes  except  those 
of  Telugu  origin  practise  the  fashion  of  stretching  the  lobes  of  their 
ears.  The  Kalian  girls  are  especially  noticeable  in  this  respect, 
their  lobes  sometimes  reaching  even  to  their  shoulders.  In 
quarrels  between  women  of  the  lower  castes  these  long  ears  form 
a  favourite  object  of  attack,  and  '  lf)bo-tearing  cases  '  figure 
frequently  in  police  records.  The  boring  of  the  ear  is  done  by 
Kuravan  women  as  early  as  tlie  eighth  day  after  birth,  and 
thereafter  the  stretching  is  continued  by  hanging  leaden  rings 
from  the  hole.  The  ear  becomes  finally  the  most  bejewelled 
part  of  a  woman's  person.  No  account  of  the  various  ornaments 
suspended  from  it  by  the  different  castes  would  be  intelligible 
without  illustrations.  Some  description  of  the  prevalent  fasliious 
will  be  found  in  Mr.  TTavell's  paper  in  the  Journal  of  Indian  Art, 
V.  32  ff.  . 

Tattooing  is  as  common  as  elsewhere.  Kuravan  andDomban 
women  do  it.  Roman  Catholics  frequently  have  a  cross  done 
between  the  eye-brows,  on  the  spot  where  the  sect-mark  of  the 
Hindu  is  usually  put. 


THB    PEOPLE.  88 

TLe  footl  of  t.lie  mass  of   the   jioople  consists  of   cholam,  ragi    CHAP.  III. 
and    cambn,    wbicb    rank    in    public    estimation    in    tins    order.    The  Hindus. 
Varag'u  and  Siimai  are  considered  inferior.     Kiee  is  eaten  only  by   p  ^ 
the    wealthier    classes.     Chntneys   and   vegetables  of  the   usual 
kinds  are  employed  to  render  more  p;ilatabl.)  the  various  pre- 
parations made  from  these  grains. 

The  people  have  fewer  amusements  than  usual.  In  the  di-y  Amusements. 
weather,  when  cultivation  is  at  a  standstill  and  every  one  has 
plenty  of  leisure,  Dombans,  Kuravans  and  (to  a  les-:!  extent) 
•"allans  are  invited  to  the  villages  to  act  some  of  the  usual  plays, 
but  except  those  professional  com})anies  no  one  ge^s  up  dramatic 
lierformances.  Cock-fighting  is  common,  especially  on  *he  Melur 
side,  and  is  practised  by  many  different  castes. 

A  game  which  is  peculiar  to  this  district  and  the  country  immed 
lately  to  the  north  of  it,  and  is  one  of  the  very  few  manly  sports 
which  survive  in  southern  India,  is  the  jallikat  or  jellicut.  The 
word  jn/Ukatiu  literally  means  '  tying  of  ornaments.'  On  a  day 
fixed  and  advertised  by  bent  of  drum  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-tomniing 
and  loud  shouts  from  the  crowd  of  assembled  spectators.  The 
animals  have  first  to  run  the  gauntlet  down  along  lane  formed  of 
country  carts,  and  then  gallop  off  wildly  iu  every  direction  ;  the 
game  consists  in  endeavouring  to  capture  the  cloths  tied  to  their 
horns.  To  do  this  requires  lleetness  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  onlookers  and  send 
a  few  of  them  flying.  The  sport  has  in  consequence  been  prohi- 
bited 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- 
Imnting.  The  keenness  of  the  more  virile  sections  of  the  com- 
munity (especially  tlie  Kalians)  in  this  game  is  extraordinary,  and 
in  many  villages  cattle  are  bred  and  reared  specially  for  it.  The 
best  jallikats  arc  to  be  seen  in  the  Kalian  country  in  Tiruman- 
galam,  and  next  come  those  in  Melur  and  Madura  taluks. 

The  sport  can  boast  a  very  respectable  antiquity.  A  j^oet  of 
the  early  years  of  the  present  era  quoted  by  Mr.  Kanakasabhai 
Filial  in  The  Tamils  eighteen  hundred  years  ago  describes  in  vivid 
fashion  the  jallikat  practised  by  tlu^  shepherd  caste  in  those  days. 


84 


MADURA. 


Religious 

life: 

Bralimau 

influence 

■mall. 


CHAF.  III.  The  bulls  had  sharpened  horns  and  the  competitors  were  required 
The  Hindus,  to  actually  capture  and  hold  them.  Serious  wounds  were  the 
order  of  the  day  and  the  young  men  who  most  distinguished  them- 
selves were  awarded  the  hands  of  the  fairest  of  the  girls  of  the 
caste,  who  watched  the  game  from  a  kind  of  elevated  grand  stand. 
It  is  said  that  even  nowadays  the  swain  who  would  win  the  favour 
of  a  Kalian  maiden  must  first  prove  himself  worthy  of  her  choice 
by  prowess  at  the  jallikat. 

Though  Madura  town  itself  is  a  well-known  centre  of  Brah- 
manism,  the  district  as  a  whole  is  as  purely  Dravidian  in  religious 
sentiment  as  any  in  the  south.  Brahmans  number  only  18  in 
every  1 ,000  of  the  population  (or  fewer  than  anywhere  in  the 
south  except  Coimbatore,  South  Arcot  and  Salem)  and  their 
influence  upon  the  religious  and  social  life  of  the  community  is 
small.  The  famous  Brahmanical  temples  at  Madura,  Tirupparan- 
kunram,  Palni,  Alagarkovil  and  one  or  two  other  places  attract 
attention  and  create  the  impression  that  the  people  must  be 
generally  devoted  to  the  worship  of  the  orthodox  gods,  but  a  closer 
examination  shows  that  there  are  large  areas  devoid  of  any  large 
shrine  in  the  honour  of  these  deities  and  given  over  to  the  cult  of 
the  lesser  Dravidian  godlings.  In  Dindigul  taluk,  for  example, 
the  Vaishnavite  temples  at  Tadikkombu  and  Vadamadura  are 
almost  the  only  orthodox  institutions  to  be  found. 

Saivism  is  the  prevalent  form  of  belief.  The  rulers  of  Yijaya- 
nagar  were  of  Vaishnavite  sympathies,  and  the  poligars  who  fol- 
lowed their  armies  into  the  district  brought  their  own  Vaishnavite 
deities  with  them  and  established  frequent  shrines  to  them  which 
are  still  in  existence.  But  the  Nayakkan  kings  were  catholic- 
minded  rulers,  and  their  gifts  and  additions  to  the  Saivite  shrines 
in  and  around  Madura  town  show  how  free  they  were  from  all 
narrow  bigotry. 

One  reason  why  the  Brahmans  have  been  unable  to  impose 
their  rites  to  any  large  extent  upon  the  people  of  the  district  is 
the  fact  that  large  sections  of  the  community  regard  it  as  in  no 
way  necessary  that  their  marriages  should  be  performed,  or  their 
funerals  attended,  by  any  kind  of  professional  priest.  In  the 
accounts  of  the  castes  which  follow  below,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
tali  is  frequently  tied,  not  by  a  priest,  but  by  the  bridegroom's 
sister.  Where  custom  requires  that  a  priest  should  do  it,  this 
man  very  usually  belongs  to  the  caste  himself,  and  is  rather  a 
social,  than  a  religious,  leader.  Thus  the  Brahmans  have  not  the 
opportunities  of  impressing  their  beliefs  and  rites  upon  the 
people  which  are  in  some  districts  afforded  by  the  in  dispensability 
of  their  presence  at  domestic  ceremonies. 


THB    PEOPLE.  85 

The  non-Brahmanical  deities,  as  elsewhere,  are  legion,  and  CHAF.  ill. 
space  onl^  permits  of  a  reference  to  one  or  two  of  tliem  which  arc  Thk  Hindus. 
especially  characteristic  of  the  district. 

Of  all  of  them,  Karuppan  is  the  most  prominent,  lie  is  essen-  popuim- 
tially  the  god  of  the  Kalians,  especially  of  the  Kalians  of  the  il^^ities: 
Meliir  side.  In  those  parts  his  shrine  is  usually  the  Kalians'  ^*  PP^**^' 
chdvndi.  Ho  is  said  to  liave  been  brought  '■  from  the  nortli '  and 
worship  to  hini  is  done  with  the  face  turned  in  tliat  direction. 
One  of  his  most  famous  shrines  is  that  at  Manaparai  inthc  Trichi- 
nopoly  district.  Tie  delights  in  the  sacrifice  of  goats  "'and  sheep. 
His  priests  are  usually  Kalians  or  Kusavans.  He  has  many  differ- 
ent names  :  if  his  image  be  large,  he  will  be  called  Periya  (big) 
Karuppan;  if  small,  Chinna  Karuppan;  if  his  dwelling  is  in  the 
piece  of  open  ground  belonging  to  the  village,  he  will  be  known 
as  Mandai  Karuppan.  In  the  Melur  taluk  his  shrine  may  usually 
be  known  by  the  hundreds  of  iron  chains  hung  outside  it  which  have 
been  presented  to  the  god  in  performance  of  vows.  The  deity  is 
said  to  be  fond  of  bedecking  himself  witli  chains,  and  these  offerings 
are  usually  suspended  from  a  kind  of  '  horizontal  bar,'  made  of 
two  tall  stone  uprights  supporting  a  slah  of  stone  placed  horizon- 
tally upon  the  top  of  them.  Ho  is  also  fond  jf  presents  of  clubs 
and  swords.  The  curious  collection  of  these  weapons  at  liis  shrine 
at  the  main  door  of  the  Alagarkovil  is  mentioned  in  the  account  of 
that  temple  on  p  284  below.  Bells  are  also  welcome,  and  in  Tiru- 
mangalam  taluk  these  are  often  hung  in  numbers  to  the  trees 
round  his  abode.  On  the  Palni  side,  Karuppan's  shrine  is  often 
furnished  with  little  swings  for  the  delectation  of  tlie  god,  and  with 
terracotta  elephants,  horses  and  other  animals  so  that  he  may  be 
able  to  perambulate  the  village  at  night  to  see  that  all  is  well. 

Elsewhere,  these  images  are  the  sign  of  a  temple  to  Aiyanar.  .  • 
The  biggest  examples  of  them  in  the  whole  district  are  perhaps 
the  brick  and  mortar  erections  outside  the  shrine  to  that  god  at 
Madakkulam  near  Madura.  Some  account  of  tliis  deity  has  been 
given  in  tlie  Gazetteer  of  South  Arcot,  in  which  district  he  is  even 
more  popular,  and  the  description  there  is  generally  applicable  to 
Madura  and  need  not  be  repeated. 

Anotlier  god  (or  demon)  who  is  common  to  both  districts  is  Maduiai 
Madurai  Viran.  Curiously  enougli,  this  personage,  wliose  lustory  ^'I'^i"- 
is  also  given  in  that  Gaztftccr,  is  held  in  much  less  honour  in  this, 
his  own,  country  than  in  South  Arcot.  His  little  shrine  just  soutli 
of  the  eastern  entrance  to  the  great  temple  at  Madura  is  Jield  in 
considerable  repute  and  children  are  often  named  after  him  and 
nis  famous  wife  Bommi,  but  in  the  villages  lie  is  less  known. 


8« 


MADUKA.. 


CHAP.  III. 
Thf  Hindis 

Other*. 


Voffn. 


Aiiotlier  male  deity  is  Saltan,  who  is  said  to  reside  iu  trees. 
Bits  of  rags  are  liung"  on  the  branches  of  his  dwelling.  Several 
trees  covered  in  this  mannej*  may  be  seen  by  the  road  through  the 
Andipatti  pass. 

Tlie  other  minor  deities  are  all  of  the  other  sex.  The  com- 
monest is  Mariamman,!the  well-known  goddess  of  sraall-pox.  The 
personalities,  attributes  and  likes  and  dislikes  of  the  others  are  ill- 
defined.  They  go  by  various  flattering  names,  such  as  Ponnam- 
mal  ('  golden  lady  ").  Muttammal  {'  pearl  lady  ')  and  so  forth,  and 
are  propitiated  at  irregular  intervals  and  in  varying  methods. 
Several  of  them  require  buffaloes  to  be  offered  up.  ^Tho  sacrifice  of 
these  animals  at  the  festival  to  Yandikaliamma  at  Attur  is  referred 
to  in  the  account  of  that  place  on  p.  230  below,  and  similar 
rites  on  a  smaller  scale  are  performed  at  numerous  other 
goddess'  shrines — those,  for  example,  at  Paraipatti  in  the  Kanni- 
vadi  zamindari,  at  Padiyur  in  Dindigul  taluk,  at  JDindigul  itself 
and  at  tlip  two  shrines  to  Alagia-nachiamma  in  Palni  town.  The 
Sapta  Kannimar,  or  seven  virgins,  are  common  objects  of  adora- 
tion and  their  images  are  very  often  to  be  seen  in  the  shrines  of 
the  other  village  goddesses. 

Tows  to  these  deities  are  unusually  common,  and  sometimes 
take  unusual  forms.  In  the  north  of  Melur  taluk,  it  is  credibly- 
stated,  women  who  are  anxious  for  offspring  vow  that  if  they 
attain  their  wish  they  will  go  and  have  a  cocoanut  broken  on  their 
lieads  by  the  pujari  of  the  temple  at  vSendurai.  In  many  shrines 
hang  ex  voto  cradles  and  small  painted  clay  babies  placed  there  by 
women  who  have  at  length  been  blessed  with  children.  Silvered' 
voto  images  of  parts  of  the  body  which  have  recovered  from  disease 
are  often  presented  to  the  larger  temples,  such  as  those  at  Palni, 
Tirupparankunram  and  Alagarkovil.  The  mouth-lock  vows  which 
are  performed  at  Palni  are  referred  to  in  the  account  of  that 
])lace  on  p.  307  below.  Alagarkovil  is  such  a  favourite  place 
for  carrying  out  the  first  shaving  of  the  heads  of  children  that  the 
right  to  the  locks  presented  to  the  shrine  is  annually  sold  by 
auction !  When  cattle  or  sheep  are  sick,  people  vow  that  if  they 
recover  they  will  go  and  do  puja  on  the  top  of  one  or  other  of 
several  little  hills  which  are  thought  to  be  very  efficacious  in  such 
cases.  Gopinathasvami  hill  in  Kannivadi  zamindari  is  one  of 
these,  and  others  are  those  at  Vadipatti  in  Nilakkottai  taluk  and 
Settinayakkanpatti  near  Dindigul.  Fire-walking  is  often  per- 
formed at  Draupadi  shrines.  In  Palni  there  is  an  annual  feast 
at  the  Mariamman  temple  at  which  people  carry  in  their  bare 
hands,  in  performance  of  vows,  earthen  pots  with  a  bright  fire 


THE    PEOPLE.  87 

blazing  inside  thera.     Thoy  are  said  to  escape  bnrng  by  the  favour    CHAP.  m. 
of  the  goddess,  but  it  is  whispered  that  immunitj  is  sometimes   The  Hindis. 
rendered  doubly  sure  by  putting-  sand  or  paddy  husk  at  the  bottom 
of  the  pot. 

Devils  are  unusually  numerous.  Sometimes  they  haunt  land  Devils. 
and  render  it  unlucky,  and  such  fields  (pisdsu  pidiclicha,  ni'lam,  as 
the}''  are  called)  are  unsaleable.  Generally,  however,  they  take  up 
their  abode  in  a  woman.  Women  thus  possessed  may  be  seen  at 
tlie  great  temple  at  Madura  every  Navaratri,  waiting  for  release. 
There  are  many  professional  exorcists,  who  are  often  the  pujaris 
at  the  local  goddess'  shrine.  Their  methods  have  a  family  resem- 
blance. At  dead  of  night  they  question  the  evil  spirit  and  ask  him 
who  he  is,  w^hy  he  lias  conu^  there  and  what  he  wants  to  induce  him 
to  go  away.  He  answers  through  the  mouth  of  the  u'oman,  who 
works  herself  up  into  a  frenzy  and  throws  herst-lf  about  wildly. 
If  he  will  not  answer,  the  woman  is  whipped  with  the  rattan  which 
the  exorcist  carries,  or  with  a  bunch  of  margosa  twigs.  W'jien  he 
replies,  his  requests  for  offerings  of  certain  kinds  ai-e  complied 
with.  When  lie  is  satisfied  and  agrees  to  leave,  a  stone  is  placed 
on  the  woman's  head  and  she  is  let  go  and  dashes  off  into  the 
darkness.  The  place  at  which  the  stone  drops  to  the  ground  is 
supposed  to  be  the  place  where  the  evil  spirit  is  content  to  remain, 
and  to  keep  him  there  a  lock  of  the  woman's  hair  is  nailed  with  an 
iron  nail  (Madura  devils,  like  those  of  other  parts,  dislike  iron) 
to  the  nearest  tree. 

Short  accounts  v.ull  now  be  given  of  certain  castes  which  occur  rRi.xnpAL 
in  greater  strength  in  this  district  than  in  others.  These  notes  will  t'Asrrs. 
clearly  show  how  slight  is  the  influence  of  the  Bra'hmans  in  social 
matters.  Neither  at  weddings  nor  at  funerals  is  their  presence 
usually  required.  'I  lie  various  castes  employ  either  priests  of  tlicic 
own  community  or  none  at  all.  Certain  oth^r  resemblances  run 
through  the  customs  of  all  these  communities.  Kntloganious 
subdivisions  are  usual  and  exogarnous  septs  common  ;  the  easte 
organization  is  generally  complete  and  powerful ;  the  ceremonies 
performed  when  a  girl  artains  maturity  are  elaljorate  ;  at  weddin<J-s 
a  bride-price  is  paid  and  the  tali  is  tied  Ity  the  bridegroom's 
sister  ;  and  the  rule  ti:at  a  man  can  claim  the  hand  of  his  paternal 
aunt's  daughter  in  marriage  is  enforced  with  a  rigour  which 
sometimes  leads  to  curious  complications. 

The  idea  underlying  tliis  last  custom  appears  to  be  the  feeling 
that  a  woman  is  bound  to  i-ej^lace  the  loss  to  her  fatlior's  family 
occasioned  by  her  marrying  out  of  it,  by  returning  one  of  her 
daughters   to   that   family.      The    simplest    way   oi'    making   th« 


Castes. 


Kalians. 


88  ifAsnxA. 

CHAP.  III.  restoration  is  to  marry  her  daughter  to  her  "brother's  son.  But 
Prinxipal  if  the  brother  ]ias  no  son  he  can  still  demand  that  the  girl  be 
restored  to  his  side  of  the  family  and  can  require  that  she  shall 
marry  some  other  boy  belonging  thereto.  This  latter  alternative 
is  adopted  in  some  castes  where  the  age  of  the  girl  is  much 
greater  than  that  of  the  mother's  brother's  son  ;  but  in  others 
custom  requires  that  the  latter  shall  marry  her  however  old  she 
may  be,  and  the  result  is  naturally  the  subversion  of  all  the 
(n-dinary  rules  of  morality. 

Though  slightly  inferior  in  numbers  to  the  Velldlans  and 
Pallana,  the  Kalians  are  quite  the  most  prominent  of  all  the  caste.s 
of  the  district.  They  number  218,000  and  are  in  greater  strength 
in  Madura  (especially  in  the  MeKir  and  Tirutcangalam  taluks)  than 
in  any  other  Collectorate. 

They  are  the  '  fierce  Colleries '  of  Orme's  history  and  have 
always  borne  a  reputation  for  independence-  —not  to  say  truculenco. 
In  the  time  of  the  Ndyakkan  dynasty  of  ]\Iaduia  they  steadily 
refused  to  pay  any  tribute  ^,  arguing  always  that  tlie  heavens 
supplied  the  necessary  rain,  their  own  cattle  did  the  ploughing 
and  they  themselves  carried  out  the  rest  of  the  cultivation  oper- 
ations, so  there  was  no  possible  reason  why  they  should  be  charged 
anything.  Their  conduct  at  this  period  was  generally  so  aggres- 
sive that  bodies  of  troops  marching  between  Trichinopoly  and 
Madnra  found  it  advisable  to  avoid  the  Melur  country  and  proceed 
by  circuitous  routes. 

When  Vijaya  Raghundtha  was  Setupati  of  Ramnad  (1710-20) 
the  Kalians  raided  his  territory  and  carried  off  2,000  head  of 
cattle.  He  forthwith  established  nine  fortresses  in  their  country, 
lulled  them  into  secarity  by  various  promises,  and  then  massacred 
a  number  of  them.  They  thei-eafter  pnid  him  their  respects 
annually,  but  they  continued  to  flout  the  authorities  at  Madura 
until  1772.  In  1755  they  cut  up  Colonel  Heron's  expedition  in 
the  Nattaui  pass  (see  the  account  of  that  affair  on  p.  289  below) 
and  Orme  is  always  referring  to  their  lawlessness. 

When  Muhammad  Yusuf  Khan  was  in  charge  of  the  Madura 
country  (17.56-64)  he  established  forts  at  Melur  and  V^ellalapatti 
(about  midway  between  Melur  and  A lagarkovil)  to  overawe  them, 
but  be  never  attempted  to  collect  tribute  from  them  and  kept 
them  quiet  chiefly  by  fomenting  jealousies  among  their  leaders. 
He  liowever  made  one  attack  against  the  Nattam  Kalians  which, 

*  This  and  one  or  two  other  passages  below  aie  taken  from  Mr.  Tnrnbnll's 
notice  of  the  caste,  dated  1817,  which  is  prefixed  to  Vol.  Ill  of  Captain  Ward's 
Account  (1821)  of  the  Survey  of  Madnra  and  Dindignh  This  was  printed  at  the 
Madura  CoUeotorate  Prftss  in  1895, 


THE    PEOPLE. 


89 


says  Orme,  '  appeared  more  like  one  of  the  g-eneral  huntings 
peculiar  to  Asia,  than  a  military  expedition.  Avenues  were  out 
into  the  forest  and  the  inhabitants  shot  as  they  fled.' 

After  Yusuf  Khan  was  hanged,  as  a  rebel  in  1764  the  Melur 
Kalians  gave  so  much  trouble  that  the  Company  sent  against  them 
five  battalions  of  sepoys  and  1,500  cavalry  under  (^aptain  Rumley. 
The  force  encamped  at  Melur  and  summoned  the  Kalian  headmen 
to  attend.  But  they  *  would  not  appear  and  continued  to  manifest 
their  licentious  character  and  contemptuously  slighted  the  Detach- 
ment.' Captain  Rumley  accordingly  surrounded  Velldlapatti  and 
called  on  its  leaders  to  surrender.  Instead  of  obeying, '  the  whole 
of  the  CoUeries  persevered  and  were  preparing  for  hostility,  using 
insulting  language  and  brandishing  their  weapons  within  the 
hedge  that  surrounded  the  village.'  Captain  Rumley  then  fired 
the  hedge,  the  village  was  soon  in  flames  also,  and  as  the  people 
ruslied  away  from  the  conflagration  his  troops  set  upon  them  and 
slew,  it  is  said,  about  3,000  of  them.  The  other  villages  then 
'  submissively  made  homage  '  and  formally  agreed  to  pay  tribute. 
The  Kalians  greatly  respected  the  man  who  had  thus  brought 
them  to  their  knees  and  called  him  *  Rumleysvdmi.'  Renewed 
instances  of  contumacy  however  occurred — ten  survey  peons,  for 
example,  being  murdered — and  Rumley  had  to  put  2,000  more 
Kalians  to  the  sword.  The  country  was  then  surveyed  without 
further  opposition. 

The  war  with  Haidar  AH  in  1781,  however,  gave  the  Kalians 
another  chance  and  tliey  once  more  got  completely  out  of  hand, 
raiding  up  to  the  very  walls  of  Madura  and  slaying,  in  an  affray 
outside  the  fortifications,  the  officer  commanding  the  town,  one 
Mallari  Rao.  In  1784  Captain  Oliver  arrived  at  Melur  with 
another  detachment  and  collected  the  arrears  of  tribute  by  force. 
A  battalion  of  native  infantry  continued  to  be  stationed  in  that 
town  for  some  years  thereafter. 

Open  rebellion  has  long  since  ceased,  but  the  Kalians'  invete- 
rate addiction  to  dacoity  and  theft  ('  Kalian  '  means  '  thief  '  in 
Tamil)  renders  the  caste  to  this  day  a  thorn  in  the  flesh  of  the 
authorities.  A  very  large  proportion  of  the  thefts  committed  in 
the  district  are  attributable  to  them.  Nor  are  they  ashamed  of 
the  fact.  One  of  them  defended  his  clan  by  urging  that  every 
other  class  stole — the  official  by  taking  bribes,  the  vakil  by  fostering 
animosities  and  so  pocketing  fees,  the  merchant  by  watering  the 
arrack  and  sanding  the  sugar,  and  so  on  and  so  forth — and  that 
the  Kalians  differed  from  these  only  in  the  directness  of  their 
methods. 

18 


CHAP.  III. 

Principal 

Castks. 


90 


MADURA. 


CHAP.    III. 

Principal 

Castes. 


Dacoity  of  travellers  at  night  used  to  be  their  favourite  pastime, 
and  their  favourite  haunts  the  various  roads  leading"  out  of  Madura 
and  that  from  Auimayandyakkanur  to  I'eriyakulam.  The  method 
adopted  consisted  in  threatening-  the  driver  of  the  cart  and  then 
turning  the  vehicle  into  the  ditch  so  that  it  upset.  The  unfortu- 
nate travellers  were  then  forced  by  some  of  the  gang  to  sit  at  the 
side  of  the  road  with  their  backs  to  the  cart  and  their  faces  to 
the  ground  wliile  their  baggage  was  searched  for  valuables  by  the 
remainder.  The  gangs  which  frequented  these  roads  have  been 
now  broken  up  and  the  caste  has  practically  quitted  road  dacoity 
— which  was  not  always  profitable  and  conviction  for  which  meant 
a  long  sentence— for  the  simpler,  more  paying  and  less  risky 
business  of  stealing  oiRcials'  office-boxes  and  ryots'  cattle.  The 
Kalians  have  not  the  courage  of  such  races  as  the  Maravans,  and 
prefer  an  occupation  which  needs  only  slinking  cunning  to  one 
which  requires  dash  and  boldness. 

Cattle-theft  is  now  the  most  popular  calling  among  them. 
They  are  clever  at  handling  animals,  and  probably  the  popularity 
of  the  jallikats  already  mentioned  has  its  origin  in  the  demands 
of  a  life  which  always  included  much  cattle-lifting.  The  stolen 
animals  are  driven  great  distances  (as  much  as  20  or  30  miles) 
on  the  night  of  the  theft  and  are  then  hidden  for  the  day  either  in 
a  friend's  house  or  among  hills  and  jungles.  The  next  night  they 
are  taken  still  further  and  again  hidden.  Pursuit  is  by  this  time 
hopeless,  as  the  owner  has  no  idea  even  in  which  direction  to 
search.  He  therefore  proceeds  to  the  nearest  Kalian  go-between 
(these  individuals  are  well-known  to  every  one)  and  offers  him  a 
reward  if  ht  will  bring  back  the  cattle.  This  rewai'd  is  called 
tu/)pu-knlt,  or  '  payment  for  clues,'  and  is  very  usually  as  much  as 
half  the  value  of  the  animals  stolen.  The  Kalian  undertakes  to 
search  for  the  lost  bullocks,  returns  soon  and  states  that  he  has 
found  them,  receives  his  tuppu-kiili,  and  then  tells  the  owner  of 
the  property  that  if  he  will  go  to  a  spot  named,  which  is  usually 
in  some  lonely  neighbourhood,  he  will  find  his  cattle  tied  up 
there.  This  information  is  always  correct.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  owner 'reports  the  theft  to  the  police,  no  Kalian  will  help  him 
recover  his  animals,  and  these  are  eventually  sold  in  other  districts 
or  Travancore,  or  even  sent  across  from  Tuticorin  to  Ceylon. 
Consequently  hardly  any  cattle-thefts  are  ever  reported  to  the 
police. 

The  Kallaii  is  also  an  adept  at  the  more  ordinary  forms  of 
house-breaking  and  theft.  In  pursuit  of  this  calling  he  travels 
great  distances,  even  as  far  as  Chingleput  and  Mysore.     He  does 


THE    rEOPLB.  91 

not  take  Lis  womenkmd  with  Lim  on  these  expeditions,  but  is  CHAP.  III. 
usually  accompanied  by  a  JCaaimdlan  (goldsmith)  to  melt  down  J'rincipal 
and  sell  the  loot.  C^'- 

In  the  month  of  Adi  (July-Aogust)  it  is  the  custom  for  the 
Kalians'  married  daughters  (especially  newly-wedded  girls)  to 
go  with  their  husbands  to  stay  a  few  days  with  their  parents. 
The  extra  hov.se-keeping  expenses  thus  incurred  by  the  latter"* 
necessitate  extra  efforts  in  the  way  of  theft,  and  the  Kalians 
playfully  call  the-e  the  Adi-vettai  or  '  Adi  hunting.' 

Another  important  source  of  income  to  the  Kalian  is  the  kudi- 
kdval  fees  which  he  levies  on  other  castes.  To  almost  every  village 
or  group  of  villages  the  Kalians  have  appointed  a  kdvalgdr,  or 
watchman,  who  is  remunerated  by  the  villagers  in  various  ways, 
sucli  as  by  fees  on  each  plou;^h,  proportions  of  the  crop  at  harvest 
and  so  on.  In  big  villages  and  towns  fees  of  this  kind  are  also 
paid  by  each  householder  of  importance,  whether  he  owns  land  or 
not.  In  Madura  town,  for  example,  fees  are  paid  to  the  Kalians 
of  the  adjacent  village  of  Kilkudi.  In  return  for  these  emolu- 
ments the  Kalians  undertake  to  protect  the  village  or  person  from 
thefts  by  their  fellow  castemen  and  to  get  back  any  property 
which  may  be  stolen.  In  some  cases  they  have  even  executed  a 
written  agreement  to  do  this,  and  suits  have  actually  been  filed 
for  non-performance  of  the  contract ! 

The  fees  thus  demanded  are  undisguised  blackmail.  If  any 
one  hesitates  or  refuses  to  pay  them,  lie  is  warned  by  ihe  Kalian 
that  he  must  take  th--  consequences  and  in  due  course  finds  his 
standing  crops  taken  from  his  field,  his  straw-stack  or  his  house 
on  fire,  or  his  best  pair  of  bullocks  missing.  The  terrorism  thu.s 
organised  is  also  used  wlien  necessary  to  obtain  meals  gratis  or  to 
induce  jurors  and  witne^^ses  to  help  to  acquit  an  accused  Kalian. 

This  state  of  things  has  naturally  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  authorities  and  many  and  various  methods  of  suppressing  it 
have  been  suggested.  It  was  at  one  time  hoped  tliat  the 
reorganization  of  the  village  establishments  would  give  a  death- 
blow to  the  .system  by  providing  in  each  village  a  paid'watchman 
who  might  be  substituted  for  the  Kalian  kdvaJgdr.  It  has  since 
been  suggested,  among  other  remedies,  that  Uovernment  should 
recognise  and  projierly  organize  the  system ;  sliould  provide  the 
Kalians  with  an  honest  livelihood  by  presenting  them  with  land  ; 
should  enlist  them  in  Kalian  regiments ;  fine  them  all  when 
crime  occurred  in  their  neighbourhood;  send  them  all  to  school ; 
register  a,ll  cattle  and  all  Kalians  and  prevent  either  from  niovmg 


Castks, 


92  MADUBA. 

CHAP.  III.    out  of  their  villages  without  passports ;  bind  over  the  chief  men 
Principal     of  tho  caste  to  be  of  good  behaviour  ;  hold  midnight  roll-calls  at 
unexpected  intervals  in  their  villages  to  see  who  was  away  ;  and 
treat  the  whole  caste  under  the  Criminal  Tribes  Act. 

In  1896  the  r}ots  of  Dindigul  took  the  case  into  their  own 
hands  and  struck  against  the  Kalians'  exactions.  The  wide-spread 
movement  which  followed  was  known  as  the  '  anti-Kallar  agita- 
tion.' It  actually  originated  in  the  anger  of  certain  of  the 
Idaiyans  with  a  Kalian  Lothario  who  enticed  away  a  woman  of 
their  caste  and  afterwards  her  daughter,  and  kept  both  women 
simultaneously  under  his  protection.  But  it  soon  grew  into  a 
movement  the  avowed  object  of  which  was  to  drive  the  Kalians 
out  of  the  Dindigul  taluk.  The  leader  of  it  was  an  Idaiyan  called 
Amayappa  Kone.  The  villagers  held  meetings  at  which  thousands 
attended,  took  solemn  oaths  to  do  without  the  Kalian  kdvalgdrs  ] 
appointed  watchmen  of  their  own ;  boycotted  all  the  Kalians, 
refusing  them  even  food  and  drink ;  formed  a  fund  to  compensate 
those  whose  cattle  were  stolen  or  houses  burnt ;  provided  every 
village  with  a  horn  which  was  to  be  blown  in  case  of  theft ; 
required  every  one  hearing  the  horn  to  hurry  to  the  rescue  ;  and 
laid  down  a  scale  of  fines  to  be  paid  by  those  who  did  not  adhere 
to  these  rules. 

At  first  the  movement  was  thoroughly  successful.  It  extended 
to  Palni,  Periyakulam  and  the  borders  of  Coimbatore,  the  Kalians 
were  outnumbered  and  overpowered,  and  many  of  them  sold  their 
fields  for  what  they  would  fetch  and  fled  from  the  taluk.  For 
about  six  months  crime  ceased  absolutely.  As  one  deponent  put 
it,  '  People  even  left  the  buckets  at  the  wells  !  '  Some  of  the 
Kalians,  however,  showed  fight,  and  in  1896  and  1897  riots 
occurred  in  which  lives  were  lost  and  villages  were  burnt.  The 
anti-Kallar  people  lacked  efficient  leadership,  overstepped  the 
limits  allowed  by  law  and  were  prosecuted  accordingly.  This 
encouraged  the  Kalians  to  renewed  efforts,  they  were  often 
assisted  by  the  existence  of  factions  in  the  villages,  and  in  the  end 
the  greater  part  of  the  kdvalgdrs  returned  once  more  to  their  former 
offices  and  almost  all  the  good  which  the  agitation  had  effected 
was  undone  again.  It  was  an  almost  unique  instance  of  the  ryots 
combining  to  help  themselves,  and  deserved  a  less  melancholy 
ending. 

Hope  for  the  reformation  of  the  Kalian  has  now  recently  arisen 
in  quite  another  quarter.  Bound  about  Melur  the  people  of  the 
caste  are  taking  energetically  to  wet  cultivation,  to  the  exclusion 
of  cattle-lifting,  with  the  Periyar  water  which   has    lately   been 


Castks. 


THE   F£0PLE.  9S 

brought  there.     In  some  of  the  villages  to  the  south-east  of  that    CHAP.  ill. 

town  they  have  drawn  up  a  formal  agronmint   (wliich   has   been      Principal 

solemnly  registered  and  is  most  rigorousl)   enforced  by  t]ie  liead- 

men)  forbidding  theft,  recalling  all  the  women  who  have  emigrated 

to  Ceylon  and  elsewhere  and  — with  an  enlightenment  which  puts 

other  communities  to    shame — })rohibiting  several  other   unwise 

practices  which  are  only  too   common,  such  as  the  removal  from 

the  fields  of  cowdung  for  fuel  and  the  pollution  of  drinking-water 

tanks  by  stepping  into  tliem.     The  department  of  Public  Works 

may  soon  be  able  to  claim  that  it  has  succeeded  where  the  army, 

the  police  and  the  magistracy  have  failed,  and  made  an  lionest  man 

of  the  notorious  Kalian. 

So  much  for  the  caste's  unfortunate  weakness.  Its  organization 
and  customs  may  next  be  considered.  It  is  divided  into  tliree 
endogamous  sections  :  the  Terhundd  ('  south  country  ')  Kalians  of 
Tanjore,  with  whom  we  are  not  now  concerned  ;  the  Kilndd  ('  east 
country  ')  or  Melurnad  Kalians  of  the  Melur  taluk  ;  and  the 
Melndd  ('  west  country  ')  or  Piramalaindd  ('  be}ond  the  hills  ') 
Kalians  who  live  in  the  north-west  of  Tirumangalam  taluk  to  tlie 
west  of  the  Nagamalai.  These  last  are  often  called  in  the  old 
records  '  the  Anaiytir  Kalians  '  from  the  village  of  that  name  (see 
p.  325)  2>}^  miles  east  of  Usilampatti.  '1  laese  main  sections  are  again 
sub-divided  into  smaller  ndds  calJed  after  certain  villages  which  it 
would  be  tedious  to  name  in  detail.  At  Sivaratri  Kalians  go  and 
do  pdja  at  the  tem})le  in  the  village  which  gives  its  name  to  tlieir 
ndd.  Tradition  says  that  the  caste  came  originally  '  from  the 
north  ' ;  the  dead  are  buried  with  their  faces  laid  in  that  direction  ; 
and  when  pdja  is  done  to  Karuppanasvami,  the  caste  god  already 
r^'ferred  to,  the  worshippers  turn  to  the  north.  The  Kilnad 
Kalians  were  thus  the  first  to  reach  the  district.  They  came 
south,  say  the  legends,  on  a  hunting  excursion  with  their  dogs 
and  their  caste  weapon,  the  valldrUadi  or  boomerang,  and 
observing  a  peacock  turn  and  show  fight  to  one  of  their  hounds 
saw  that  the  country  mast  be  favourable  to  the  development  of 
the  manly  virtues  and  decided  to  settle  in  it.  The  Vellalans  wore 
then  the  chief  cultivators  round  Melur,  and  the  Kalians  took  service 
under  them.  The  masters,  however,  so  bullied  the  servants  tliat 
the  latter  eventually  struck  and  drew  up  a  schedule  of  money 
penalties  to  be  exacted  for  every  variety  of  bodily  injury  inflicted 
on  them,  from  the  knocking  out  of  a  tooth  to  the  causing  of  deatli. 
Later  on  they  grew  strong  enough  to  turn  the  Vellalans  altogether 
out  of  the  taluk,  which  they  then  named  tan-aranu-ndd  or  '  tlie 
country  governed  by  themselves.'    A  section  of  them  then  travelled 


94  MADURA. 

CHAP. HI.  westward  heyond  tlie  Nagamalai,  drove  out  the  Vedans  who 
rKiNciPAi,  peopled  that  country  and  settled  there.  Branches  from  this 
Castes.  division  travelled  to  Dindigul  and  Palni.  Jt  is  said  that 
the  poligar  of  Virupakshi  (p.  310)  invited  some  of  them  to  serve 
under  him  as  l)order  guards  and  tliat  Ottaiyur  ('  single  village  ')  in 
Palni,  which  is  now  entirely  peopled  by  Kalians,  was  founded  by 
the  descendants  of  these  people. 

The  organization  of  the  Kilntid  Kalians  differs  from  that  of 
their  biethren  beyond  the  hills.  Among  the  former  an  hereditary 
headman,  called  the  ambahkdran,  rules  in  almost  every  village. 
He  receives  small  fees  at  domestic  ceremonies,  is  entitled  to  the 
iirst  betel  and  nut  and  settles  caste  disputes.  Pines  indicted 
are  credited  to  the  caste  fund.  The  western  Kalians  are  under  a 
more  monarchical  rule,  an  hereditary  headman  called  Tirumala 
Pinnai  Tevan  deciding  most  caste  matters.  He  is  said  to  get  this 
hereditary  name  from  the  fact  that  his  ancestor  was  appointed 
(with  three  co-adjutors)  by  king  Tirumala  Nayakkan  and  given 
many  insignia  of  office,  including  a  state  palanquin.  If  any  one 
declines  to  abide  by  his  decision,  excommunication  is  prooounced 
by  the  ceremony  of  '  placing  the  thorn ,^  which  consists  in  laying 
a  thorny  branch  across  ihe  threshold  of  the  recalcitrant  party's 
house  to  signify  that  for  his  contumacy  his  property  will  go  to 
ruin  and  be  overrun  with  jungle.  The  removal  of  the  thorn  and 
the  restitution  of  the  sinner  to  Kalian  society  can  only  be  procured 
by  abject  apologies  to  Pinnai  Tevan. 

Every  Kalian  boy  has  a  right  to  claim  the  hand  of  his  paternal 
aunt's  daughter  in  marriage.  This  aunt  bears  the  expenses 
connected  with  his  circumcision.  Similarly  the  maternal  uncle 
pays  the  cost  of  the  rites  which  are  observed  when  a  girl  attains 
maturity,  for  he  has  a  claim  on  the  girl  as  a  bride  for  his  son. 
These  two  ceremonies  are  performed  at  one  time  for  large  batches 
of  boys  and  girls.  On  an  auspicious  day  the  young  -people  are  all 
feasted  and  dressed  in  their  best  and  repair  to  a  river  or  tank. 
The  mothers  of  the  girls  make  lamps  of  plantain  leaves  and  float 
them  on  the  water  and  the  boys  are  operated  on  by  the  local 
barber,  who  gets  a  fee  of  from  one  to  live  fanams  fa  fanam  is  3  as. 
4  ps.)  for  each.  This  practice  of  circumcision,  which  is  not 
common  among  Hindu  castes,  has  often  been  supposed  to  have 
been  borrowed  from,  or  enforced  by,  the  Musalmans,  but  argu- 
ments in  favour  of  its  indigenous  origin  are  the  facts  that  it  has 
a  Tamil  name  and  that,  as  has  been  said,  the  maternal  aunt  pays 
the  expenses. 


Castks. 


THE    PEOPLE.  95 

Polyandry  is  stated^  to  have   prevailed  among   the    -western    cUAP.  III. 
Kalians  at  one  time,  but  no  traces  of  the  practice  now  survive.  Priscipai. 

When  a  girl  has  attained  maturitj  she  puts  away  the  necklace 
of  coloured  beads  she  wore  as  a  child  and  dons  the  horse-hair 
necklet  which  is  characteristic  of  the  Kalian  woman.  This  she 
retains  till  death,  even  if  she  become  a  widow.  The  richer  Kalians 
substitute  for  the  horse-hair  a  necklace  of  many  strands  of  fine 
silver  wire.  In  Tirumangalam  the  women  often  hang  round  tlieir 
necks  a  most  curious  brass  and  silver  pendant,  six  or  eight  inclies 
long  and  elaborately  worked. 

Marriage  is  either  infant  or  adult.  Rrahmans  have  no  hand  in 
it.  A  boomerang  should  figure  among  the  presents  to  the  bride. 
The  tali  is  tied  by  the  bridegroom's  sister,  who  then  hurries  off 
the  bride,  weeping  pitfously,  to  her  brother's  house.  Widows 
may  re-marr)'  and,  if  childless,  almost  invariably  do  so  The 
correct  match  is  with  the  late  husband's  brother  Divorce  is  a 
mutual  right  and  is  permitted  on  slight  grounds  so  long  as  the 
petitioner  pays  the  usual  fines,  which  are  graduated  in  a  compli- 
cated manner  to  meet  different  c;ises  A  man  who  divorces  his 
wife  for  unfaithfulness  does  so  by  sending  for  her  brothers  and 
formally  giving  them  a  piece  of  straw,  the  idea  being  that  this  is 
all  the  fine  the  lady's  value  demands.  The  childreu  of  a  divorcee 
conceived  after  the  divorce  may  be  legitimised  by  the  waist- 
string  of  the  father  being  cut  off  at  a  caste  meeting  and  tied 
round  the  woman's  neck. 

The  Kiluad  Kalians  usually  bury  their  dead.  Lamps  are 
periodically  lighted  on  the  tomb  and  it  is  whitewashed  annually. 
The  Piramalainad  division  usually  burn  the  dead.  If  a  woman 
dies  when  witli  child,  the  baby  is  taken  out  and  placed  alongside 
her  on  the  pyre.  This,  it  may  liere  bo  noted,  is  the  rule  with 
most  castes  in  this  district,  and  in  some  communities  the  relations 
afterwards  put  up  a  stone  burden-rest  b)'  the  side  of  a  road,  the 
idea  being  that  the  woman  died  with  her  burden  and  so  her  spirit 
rejoices  to  see  others  lightened  of  theirs. 

It  has  been  stated  ^  that  in  the  eighteenth  century  custom 
required  either  ])arty  to  a  Kalian  quarrel  to  pprform  on  his  own 
family  whatever  cruelties  the  other  chose  to  inflict  on  his,  and 
that  accordingly  one  of  two  disputants  had  been  known  to  kill  his 
owu  child  so  as  to  have  the  fiendish  delight  of  forcing  his  adver- 
sary to  do  likewise.     This  idea  is  now  apparently  quite  extinct. 

'  Turnbuir*  notice  of  the  caHti>  already  cited. 
'  Orme's  history,  i,  382,  and  Turnbull's  account. 


96  MADURA. 

CHAP.  III.  The    fondness    of    the    Kalians    for   jallikats,    their    women's 

Principal     fashions  of  stretchino-  their  ear-lobes  and  dispensing'  with  an  upper 

1  '        cloth,  and  their  devotion  to   Karuppanasvami  have  been  referred 

to  already  in  this  chapter.  Hard  things  have  been  said  about  the 
Kalians,  but  points  to  their  credit  are  the  chastity  of  their  women, 
the  cleanliness  they  observe  in  and  around  their  villages  and  their 
marked  sobriety.  A  toddy-shop  in  a  Kalian  villag-e  is  seldom  a 
financial  success. 


Idaiyans. 


After  the  Kalians,  the  Idaiyans  are  the  next  most  numerous 
Tamil  caste  in  the  district.  They  number  about  154,000.  They 
are  the  shepherds  and  cowherds  of  the  community  and  their 
title  is  Konan.  They  have  an  imposing  math  at  Palni,  near  the 
Tiruvavinangudi  temple. 

The  caste  is  grouped  into  numerous  sub-divisions  which  are 
endogamous  but  will  dine  together.  Those  most  commonly  met 
with  in  this  district  are  the  Podunattu,  who  mostly  live  to  the 
south  and  west  of  Madura  town  ;  the  Pancharamkatti,  who  are  in 
great  strength  in  the  same  place  ;  the  Eajendra  and  Kalkatti, 
both  common  round  Kambam  and  Gudalur  in  Periyakulam  taluk  ; 
and  the  Valasu  and  Pendukkumekki,  on  the  borders  of  the 
Bamnad  zamindari. 

The  Podunattu  Idaiyans  have  a  tradition  that  they  originally 
belonged  to  Tinnevelly,  but  fled  to  this  district  secretly  one  night 
in  a  body  in  the  time  of  Tirumala  Nayakkan  because  the  local 
chief  oppressed  them.  Tirumala  welcomed  them  and  put  them 
under  the  care  of  the  Kalian  headman  Pinnai  Tevan  already  men- 
tioned, decreeing  that,  to  ensure  that  this  gentleman  and  his 
successors  faithfully  observed  the  charge,  they  should  be  always 
appointed  by  an  Idaiyan.     That  condition  is  observed  to  this  day. 

In  this  sub -division  a  man  has  the  same  right  to  marry  his 
paternal  aunt's  daughter  as  is  possessed  by  the  Kalians.  But  if 
the  woman's  age  is  much  greater  than  the  boy's,  she  is  usually 
married  instead  to  his  cousin  or  some  one  else  on  that  side  of  the 
family. 

A  Brdhman  priest  officiates  at  weddings  and  the  sacred  fire  is 
used,  but  the  bridegroom's  sister  ties  the  tali.  Divorce  and  the 
re-marriage  of  widows  is  prohibited.  The  dead,  except  infants, 
are  burnt.  Caste  affairs  are  settled  by  a  headman  called  the 
Nattanmaikaran,  who  is  assisted  by  an  accountant  and  a  peon. 
All  three  are  elected.  The  headman  has  the  management  of  the 
caste  fund,  which  is  utilised  in  the  celebration  of  festivals  on 
pertain  dayB  in  some  of  the  larger  temples  of  the  district. 


THE    PEOPLE. 


97 


Among  these  Podandttus  an   uncommon  rule  of  inheritance  is    CHAP.  III. 
in  force.     A  woman  who   has  no   male   issue  at  the  time   of   her     Pbincipal 

husband's  death  has  to  return  his  property  to  his   brother,  father,  * 

or  maternal  uncle,  but  is  allotted  maintenance,  the  amount  of 
whicli  is  fixed  by  a  caste  panchayat.  Among-  the  Yalasu  and 
Pendukkumekki  sub-divisions  another  0(id  form  of  inheritance 
subsists.  A  man's  propei-t-y  descends  to  his  sons-in-law,  who  live 
with  him,  and  not  to  his  sons.  The  sons  merely  get  maintenance 
until  they  are  married. 

The  Pancharamkatti  sub-division  consists  of  two  sections,  one 
of  whicli  has  a  number  of  exogamous  septs  called  kilais  (branches) 
and  the  other  has  none.  Its  customs  generally  resemble  those  of 
the  Podunattu  Idaiyans,  but  widows  are  allowed  to  marry  again. 
In  the  first  of  the  two  sections  above  mentioned  a  widow  may 
re-marry  once  ;  in  the  second  there  is  no  restriction.  As  soon  as 
a  widow's  tali  is  removed  it  is  replaced  by  a  gold  pendant  shaped 
like  a  many-rayed  sun  and  having  three  dots  on  it.  This  is  called 
Pancharam  and  gives  the  sub-division  its  name.  The  story  goes 
that  the  god  Krishna  used  to  tie  a  similar  ornament  round  the 
necks  of  Idaiyan  widows  of  whom  he  was  enamoured  as  a  sio-n 
that  pleasure  was  not  forbidden  them.  The  dead  of  the  Pancha- 
ramkatti sub-division  are  usually  buried,  and  annually  at  the 
Pongal  feast  lights  are  placed  on  their  tombs. 

The  Valaiyans  are  nearly  as  numerous  as  the  Idaiyans.  Their  Valaiyans, 
name  is  derived  from  valui,  a  net,  and  they '  formerly  lived  chiefly 
by  snaring  birds  and  small  animals.  Nowadays  many  of  them  are 
cultivators  and  some  of  them  are  thieves.  They  have  a  comical 
fairy  tale  of  the  origin  of  the  war  which  still  goes  on  between 
them  and  the  rat-tribe.  It  relates  how  the  chiefs  of  the  rats  met 
in  conclave  and  devised  the  various  means  for  annoying  and 
harassing  the  enemy  which  they  stiLl  practise  with  sucli  effect. 
The  Valaiyans  are  grouped  into  four  endogamous  sub-divisions  ; 
namely  Vahni,  Valattu,  Karadi  and  Kangu.  The  last  of  these  is 
again  divided  into  Pasi-katti,  those  who  use  a  bead  necklet  instead 
of  a  tali,  and  Karai-katti,  those  whose  women  wear  horse-hair  neck- 
laces like  the  Kalians.  The  caste  title  is  M6ppan.  Caste  matters 
are  settled  by  a  headman  called  the  Kambliyan  ('  blanket  man  '), 
who  lives  at  Aruppukottai  and  comes  round  in  state  to  any  villao-e 
which  requires  his  services,  seated  on  a  horse  and  accompanied  by 
servants  who  hold  an  umbrella  over  his  head  and  fan  him.  He 
holds  his  court  seated  on  a  blanket.  The  fines  imposed  go  in 
equal  shares  to  the  aramanai  (literally,  '  palace,'  i.e.,  to  the  head- 
man himself)  and  the  oramanai,  that  is,  the  caste  people. 

13 


98 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  III. 

Principal 
Castes. 


A  Yalaiyan  lias  tlie  right  to  claim  his  maternal  uncle's 
daughter  as  a  wife.  At  weddings  the  bridegroooi's  sister  ties  the 
tali  and  then  hurries  the  bride  off  to  her  brother's  house,  where 
he  is  waiting.  When  a  girl  attains  maturity  she  is  made  to  live 
for  a  fortnight  in  a  temporary  hut,  which  she  afterwards  burns 
down.  While  she  is  there,  the  little  girls  of  the  caste  meet  outside 
it  and  sing  a  song  illustrative  of  the  charms  of  womanliood  and 
its  power  of  alleviating  the  unhappy  lot  of  the  bachelor.  Two  of 
the  verses  say  : — 

What  of  the  hair  of  a  man  ? 

It  is  twisted  and  matted,  and  a  burden. 
What  of  the  tresses  of  a  woman  ? 

They  are  as  flowers  in  a  garland,  and  a  glory. 
What  of  the  life  of  a  man  ? 

It  is  that  of  the  dog  at  the  palace  gate. 
What  of  the  days  of  a  woinan  ? 

They  are  like  the  gently- waving  leaves  in  a  festoon. 

Divorce  is  readily  permitted  on  the  usual  payments  and 
divorcees  and  widows  may  re-marry.  A  married  woman  who  goes 
astray  is  brought  before  the  Kambliyan,  who  delivers  a  homily 
and  then  orders  the  man's  waist-string  to  be  tied  round  her  neck. 
This  legitimises  any  children  they  may  have. 

Certain  of  the  Valaiyans  who  live  at  Ammayanayakkanur  are 
the  hereditary  pt/jdris  to  the  gods  of  the  Sirumalai  hills.  Some 
of  these  deities  are  uncommon,  and  one  of  them,  Papparayan,  is 
said  to  be  the  spirit  of  a  Brahman  astrologer  whose  monsoon 
forecast  was  falsified  by  events  and  who,  filled  with  a  shame  rare 
in  unsuccessful  weather-prophets,  threw  himself  accordingly  off  a 
high  point  on  the  range. 

The  ceremonies  at  a  Valaiyan  funeral  are  elaborate.     At  the 
end  of  them  the  relations  go  three  times  round  a  basket  of  grain 
placed  under  a  pandal,  beating  their  breasts  and  singing — 
For  us  the  kanj'i :  Kailasam  for  thee  ; 
Eice  for  us  :  for  thee  Svargalokam, 
and  then  wind  turbans  round  the  head  of  the   deceased's  heir  in 
recognition  of  his  new  position  as  chief  of  the  family. 

When  a  woman  loses  her  husband,  she  goes  three  times  round 
the  village  mandai  with  a  pot  of  water  on  her  shoulder.  After 
each  of  the  firs^i  two  journeys  the  barber  makes  a  hole  in  the  pot 
and  at  the  end  of  the  third  he  hurls  down  the  vessel  and  cries 
out  an  adjuration  to  the  departed  spirit  to  leave  the  widow  and 
children  in  peace. 


TflE    tEOPLE. 


KamTTialan  is  a  generic  term  applied  to  the  artisans  of  tlie  CHAP.  Ill, 
Tamil  countrj.  The  Kammalan  caste  is  divided  into  five  sec-  Principal 
tions ;  namely,  Tattans  or  goldsmiths,  KoUans  or  blacksmiths,  CxbiEa. 
Kannans  or  brass-smiths,  Tachchans  or  carpenters,  and  Kal  Kammalam. 
Tachchans  or  stone  masons.  These  all  intermarry  and  dine 
together.  The  caste  title  is  Asari.  The  Kanimalans  claim  to  be 
of  divine  origin  and  say  that  they  are  descended  from  Visva- 
karma,  the  architect  of  the  gods.  They  consequently  assume 
airs  of  superiority  over  the  Brahmans,  wear  the  sacred  thread  and 
copy  many  of  the  Brahmanical  customs.  These  pretensions  are 
of  long  standing,  but  none  the  less  the  caste  has  not  yet  shaken 
itself  free  from  several  of  its  Dravidian  customs  and  these  reveal 
its  descent.  The  Kammalans  talk,  for  example,  of  their  gott^as, 
but  these,  unlike  real  gotras,  form  no  guide  to  the  marriages 
which  are  permissible,  and  the  caste  follows  tlie  Dravidian  rule 
that  a  man  is  entitled  to  the  hand  of  his  paternal  aunt's  daughter. 
Again,  though  marriage  is  often  performed  between  infants  after 
the  Brahmanical  fasliion,  yet  the  Dravidian  bride-price  is  always 
paid.  Widows  may  not  re-marry,  but  they  are  allowed  to  wear 
jewellery  and  chew  betel  and  nut  and  are  not  required  to  observe 
the  fasts  which  Brahman  widows  keep.  The  dead,  again,  are 
usually  buried  and  not  burnt,  and  the  pollution  lasts  for  the 
period  common  among  non-Brahman  castes — sixteen  days. 
Vegetarianism  is  commonly  practised  and  yet  animal  sacrifices 
are  made  to  village  goddesses. 

The  caste-goddess  is  Kamakshiamman,  and  she  has  lier  own 
temple  wherever  Kammalans  are  numerous.  In  this  all  caste 
disputes  and  affairs  are  settled.  No  tradition  of  this  deity's 
origin  appears  to  survive.  The  caste-organization  is  very  com- 
plete. Each  of  the  five  divisions  elects  its  own  ndttdninaihdran, 
or  headman,  and  his  hnryaslan,  or  executive  officer.  From  the 
five  ndttdmnaikdrans  a  headman  of  the  whole  caste,  called  the 
anjuvidn  ndUdnniaikdran  is  selected  by  lot,  a  little  child  being  made 
to  draw  the  lots  in  Kamakshiararaan's  temple.  These  officials 
all  serve  for  life.  Local  headmen,  subordinate  to  them,  are  often 
appointed  in  big  villages  where  the  community  is  numerous. 
The  caste  guru  lives  in  Tinnevelly.  He  is  a  householder,  and  not 
a  sanydsi,  and  his  authority  is  limited. 

After  the  Kammalans  in  numerical  strengtli  come  the  Chettis.   Nattak^f^si 
Of  tlvis  great  community  the  only  sub-division  which  is  especially  ^•^^•^tis. 
prominent  in    Madura   is  the  Nattukottai,  or  wealthy  banking, 
section.     The  traditions  of  these  people  say  that  they  fled  to  this 
district  from  Kaveripattanam,  formerly  the  chief  port  of  Tanjoro 


100  MADUEA. 

CHAP.  III.  "because  tlie  Cliola  king  oppressed  tliem  ;  and  that  they  first  settled 
Pkixcipal     at  Nfittarasatikottai  near  Sivaganga,  whence  their  name.     'J'hey 

*       are  devout  Saivites  and  are  usuallj  plentifully  marked  with  holy 

ash  and  wear  a  rudrdkshmn  seed  hung  round  their  necks.  They 
shave  their  heads  completely,  not  leaving  the  usual  kudutm,  and 
their  women  stretch  the  lobes  of  their  ears.  Consequently  ingeni- 
ous native  genealogists  have  pronounced  them  to  be  the  offspring 
of  Kalian  women  by  Musalraan  fathers.  The  fact  that  their 
unmarried  girls  wear  necklaces  of  cowries  has  similarly  given 
rise  to  the  story  that  the  caste  is  descended  from  unions  between 
Kalians  and  Kuravans. 

The  Nattukottai  Chettis  have  two  territorial  endogamous 
sub-divisions,  Ilaiyattakudi  and  Ariviyur,  called  after  two  villages 
in  the  Sivaganga  zamindari ;  the  necklets  of  the  married  women 
of  the  former  of  these  have  two  strings,  while  those  of  the 
matrons  of  the  latter  have  only  one.  The  Ilaiyattakudi  section 
is  further  divided  into  seven  exogamous  septs  called  kovils,  or 
temples,  which  derive  their  names  from  seven  favourite  temples 
in  the  seven  villages  of  Ilaiyattakudi,  Mattur,  Iluppaikudi, 
Surakkudi,  Yairavankovil,  Pillaiyarpatti  and  \'^elangudi. 

At  weddings,  garlands  are  brought  from  the  temple  to  which 
the  bridegroom's  family  belongs,  A  man  has  a  right  to  the  hand 
of  his  paternal  aunt's  daughter  and  the  usual  bride-price  is  paid. 
The  tali  is  tied  by  a  man  of  the  caste,  for  choice  one  who  has  had 
many  children.  Vegetarian  families  intermarry  with  those  which 
eat  meat.  Widows  may  not  re-marry  and  divorce  is  forbidden. 
The  dead  are  burnt.  I'ollution  lasts  for  fifteen  days  and  is 
removed  by  the  gurus.  There  are  two  of  these,  the  heads  of  the 
maths  at  Piranmalai  and  at  Padarakudi  near  Tiruppattur, 

The  Nattukottai  Chettis  are  bankers,  money-lenders  and 
wholesale  merchants,  and  do  business  all  over  south  India  and  in 
Burma,  Ceylon,  the  Straits  Settlements  and  Natal.  The  foreign 
business  is  transacted  by  local  agents  belonging  to  the  caste, 
who  receive  a  salary  proportioned  to  the  distance  of  the  place  from 
Madura,  and  also,  usually,  a  percentage  on  the  profits.  'I'hey 
generally  serve  for  three-year  terms  and  then  return  -and  give  an 
account  of  their  stewardship.  In  time  they  amass  enough  to  start 
business  on  their  own  account.  The  caste  has  a  high  reputation  in 
the  commercial  world  for  integrity  and  businesslike  habits.  These 
latter  they  carry  even  into  their  domestic  affairs.  As  long  as  the 
father  is  alive,  all  the  sons  live  together  under  the  same  roof  with 
him.  Hence  the  huge  houses  for  which  the  Nattukottai  Chettis 
in  the  Sivaganga  zamindari  are  known.     But  though  the  various 


THE    PBOPLB.  101 

component  parts  of  a  family   reside  under  one  roof,  they   do  not    CHAP.  III. 
mess  in   common;    but  eacli  oie   is  given  a  carefully-calculated     Principal 
annual  budget  allotment  of  rice,  condiments  and  other  necessaries        Castis. 
and  required  to  cook  his  meals  by  himself. 

Of  the  profits  of  their  commercial  transactions  a  fixed  per- 
centage f 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  restora- 
tion of  the  temples  of  tlie  south,  especial  attention  being  paid 
to  those  shrines  {pd-Jal  petta  sUiahincjaL  as  they  are  called)  which 
were  hymned  by  the  four  great  Saivite  poet-saints,  Manikya- 
Yachakar,  Appar,  Tirugnana  Sambandhar  and  Sundaramurti. 
Lakhs  have  Ijcen  laid  ont  on  these  buildings,  but  unluckily  the 
money  has  not  alwa^'s  been  expended  with  taste,  or  with  a  fitting 
reverence  for  the  older  work. 

Vannans  are  the  washermen  of  the  community.  The  name  is  Vannins 
rather  an  occupational  term  than  a  caste  title  and,  besides  the 
Pandya  Tanniins  or  Vannans  proper,  includes  the  Vaduga  Vannans, 
'  northern  washermen  '  or  Tsakalas  of  theTelugu  country,  and  the 
Palla,  Pudara  and  Tulukka  Vannans,  who  wash  for  the  Pallans, 
Paraiyans  and  Musalmans  respectively.  The  Pandya  Vannans 
have  a  headman  called  the  Periya  manislian  ('big  man  ')  who  has 
the  usual  powers  and  privileges.  A  man  can  claim  the  hand  of  his 
paternal  aunt^s  daughter.  At  weddings  a  bride-price  of  Es.  10|- 
is  paid  and  the  bridegroom's  sister  ties  the  tali.  Nambis  officiate, 
and  receive  a  fee  of  five  fanams.  Divorce  is  freely  allowed  to 
either  party  on  payment  of  twice  the  bride-price,  and  divorcees 
may  marry  again.  The  caste-god  is  Grurunathan,  in  whose  temples 
the  pujari  is  usually  a  Vannan.  The  dead  are  generally  burnt, 
and  on  the  sixteenth  day  the  liouse  is  purified  from  pollution  by  a 
Nambi. 

The  Kusavans  are  the  potters.  They  have  no  caste  headmen  Knsavans. 
and  their  only  sub-divisions  are  tlie  territorial  sections  Pandya, 
Chola  and  Cliera.  They  say  these  are  descended  fi-om  the  tliree 
sons  of  their  orij^imil  ancestor  Kulalan,  who  was  t]ic  son  of 
Brahma.  He  }>rayed  to  Bralima  to  be  allowed,  like  liim,  to 
create  and  destroy  tilings  daily  ;  so  Bralima  made  liim  a  potter. 
A  Kusavan  can  claim  the  hand  of  his  paternal  aunt's  daughter. 
Marriage  occurs  before  puberty.  The  tali  is  tied  by  the  bride- 
groom's sister  and  the  usual  bride-price  is  paid.  The  ceremonies 
last  three  days.  One  of  them  consists  in  the  bridegroom's  sister 
sowing  seeds  in  a  pot,  and  on  the  last  day  of  the  wedding  the 
seedlings  which  have  sprouted  are  taken  with  music  to  a  river  or 


102 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  HI. 

Principal 

Castks. 


Parivaiam.s. 


tank  and  thrown  into  it.  When  the  Ijride  attains  maturity  a  cere- 
mocy  is  conducted  by  the  caste-priest  and  consummation  follows 
on  the  next  auspicious  day, 

Botli  divorce  and  tlie  re-rnarriag-e  of  widows  are  forbidden. 
The  dead,  except  infants,  are  burnt.  The  special  deity  of  the 
caste  is  Aiyanar.  Kusavans  are  generally  the  pujaris  in  his 
temples,  and  they  make  the  earthenware  horses  and  images  which 
are  placed  before  these  buildings. 

The  Parivaram  caste  are  the  domestic  servants  of  the  Tottiyan 
(Kambalattcir)  zamindars.  The  word  means  a  retinue,  and  was  no 
doubt  originally  merely  an  occupational  term.  The  community 
speaks  both  Tamil  and  Telugu.  It  is  divided  into  two  endoga- 
mous  sections;  the  Chinna  IJliyam  ('  little  services  '),  who  are 
])alanquin-bearers  and  have  the  title  Tevan  ;  and  the  Periya 
Uliyam  ('big  services '),  who  are  called  Maniyakaran  The 
Kombai  Parivarams,  who  are  the  servants  of  the  Kappiliyan 
iiamindars  of  Kombai  and  Tevaram  in  the  Periyakulam  taluk, 
are  a  sejiarate  community  and  do  not  intermarry  with  the  others. 
When  a  girl  attains  maturity  she  is  kept  for  sixteen  days  in  a 
temporary  hut  -^^hich  is  guarded  at  night  by  her  relations.  This 
is  afterwards  burnt  down  and  the  pots  she  used  are  broken  into  very 
small  pieces,  as  there  is  an  idea  that  if  rain- water  collects  in  any 
of  them  the  girl  will  be  childless.  Dujing  her  subsequent  periods 
the  girl  has  to  live  in  the  special  hut  which  is  provided  for  tJie 
purpose.  Some  of  the  ceremonies  at  weddings  are  unusual.  On 
the  first  day  a  man  takes  a  big  pot  of  water  with  a  smaller  empty 
pot  on  top  of  it  and  marches  three  times  round  tlie  open  space  in 
front  of  the  bride's  house.  With  him  march  the  happy  couple 
carrying  a  bamboo  to  which  are  tied,  in  a  saffron-coloured  cloth, 
the  nine  kinds  of  grain.  After  the  third  journey  round,  these 
things  are  put  down  at  the  north-east  corner,  and  the  marriage 
pandal  is  made  by  bringing  three  more  poles  of  the  same  size. 
Afterwards  the  wrists  of  the  couple  are  tied  together  and  the 
bridegroom's  brother  carries  the  pair  a  short  distance,  They 
plunge  their  hands  into  a  bowl  of  salt.  Next  the  husband  takes 
an  ordinary  stone  rolling-pin,  wraps  it  in  a  bit  of  cloth  and  gives 
it  to  his  wife,  saying  '  Take  the  child,  I  am  going  to  the  palace.' 
She  takes  it  replying  '  Yes,  give  me  the  child,  the  milk  is 
ready.'  This  has  to  be  repeated  three  times  in  a  set  formula. 
Several  other  odd  rites  are  observed.  Brahmans  officiate  and  the 
bridegroom's  sister,  as  usual,  ties  the  tali.  Divorce  is  allowed  to 
both  sides.  Adultery  within  the  caste  or  with  the  zamindar  is 
tolerated.     The  husbands  accept  as    their  own  any  children  their 


THE    PEOPLE.  103 

wives    may  bear   to    the   zamindar.     Such    children    are    called    CHAP.  III. 
Chinna     Kambalattar    and     may    marry    with    Tottiyans.       But      Principal 
adultery   outside    the  caste    is    most   rig-orously    prohibited    and  j^s- 

sternly  punished  with  excommunication.  A  mud  imag-e  of  the 
girl  who  so  offends  is  made,  two  thorns  are  poked  into  its  eyes  and 
it  is  thrown  away  outside  the  village. 

The  Kunnuvans  are  the  principal  culti\  ating  caste  on  the  Palni  TCnnnnvans. 
hills.  They  speak  Tamil.  Their  own  traditions  say  that  their 
ancestors  were  Vellalans  from  the  Dharaj'juram  and  Kangayam 
country  in  Coimbatore  who  went  u]^  the  Palnis  some  four  or  fiye 
centuries  ago  because  the  low  country  was  so  disturbed  by  war 
(other  accounts  say  devastated  by  famine),  and  they  call  them- 
selves Kunnuva  Vellalans  and  state  that  the  name  Kunnuva  is 
derived  from  Kunnur  village  in  Coimbatore.  Other  traditions 
add  that  the  Virupakshi  and  Ayakkudi  poligars  helped  them  to 
settle  on  their  land  in  the  hills,  which  up  to  then  had  only  been 
cultivated  by  indolent  Pulaiyans  The  Kunnuvans  ousted  these 
latter  and  eventually  turned  them  into  predial  serfs,  a  position 
from  which  they  have  liardly  yet  freed  themselves.  In  every 
village  is  a  headman,  called  the  manna cU,  who  has  the  usual 
powers  The  caste  is  divided  into  three  endogamous  sections, 
called  vaguppua  ;  namelj^,  Periya  (big)  Kunnuvar,  Kunnuvar, 
and  Chinna  (little)  Kunnuvar.  These  will  eat  together.  The 
dress  of  the  women  is  characteristic.  They  w;^ear  rough  metal 
necklets,  brass  bangles  and  anklets,  silver  bangles  on  their  u]iper 
arms  and  rings  in  their  noses ;  and  they  knot  their  upper  cloths 
in  front  across  their  breasts  and  bind  them  round  their  wai.'sts 
with  a  sort  of  bandage.  White  cloths  used  to  be  forbidden  then?, 
but  are  common  eno '^gh  nowadays. 

The  claim  of  a  man  to  his  paternal  aunt's  daughter  is  rigidly 
maintained,  and  the  evasions  of  the  rule  allowed  by  other  castes 
when  the  ages  of  the  parties  are  disproportionate  ai-e  not  per- 
mitted. Consequently  a  boy  sometimes  marries  more  than  one 
of  these  cousins  of  his,  and  until  he  reaches  manliood  those  of  them 
who  are  much  older  than  he  is  live  with  other  men  of  the  caste, 
the  boy  being  the  nominal  father  of  any  children  which  may  be 
born.  A  boy  of  nine  or  ten  may  thus  be  the  putative  father  of  a 
child  of  two  or  three.  The  marriage  ceremonies  are  the  same 
as  usual,  a  bride-price  being  demanded,  the  bridegroom's  si.ster 
tying  the  tali,  and  the  relations  being  feasted. 

When  a  man  has  no  children  except  a  girl,  and  his  family  is 
in  danger  of  coming  to  an  end,  a  curious  practice  called  '  keeping 
up    the  house  '  is  followed.     The  girl  cannot  be  claimed  by  her 


104  MADtlBA. 

CHAP.  III.    maternal  uncle's  son,    as  usual,  but  may  be  '  married  '  to  one  of 
Principal      the  doorposts  of  the   house.     A  silver  bangle    is  put  on  her  right 

.'  '       wrist  instead    of  a  tali    round  her  neck,  she  is  allowed  to  consort 

with  any  man  of  her  caste,  her  earnings  go  to  her  parents,  she 
becomes  their  heir,  and  if  she  has  a  son  the  boy  inherits  their 
property  through  her.  The  custom  is  a  close  parallel  to  the 
system  of  making  girls  Basavis  which  is  so  common  in  the 
western  part  of  Bellary  and  the  neighbouring  parts  of  Dharwar 
and  Mysore. 

Divorce  is  readily  obtained  on  the  petitioner  paying  the 
amount  of  the  bride-price,  but  the  children  all  go  to  the  father. 
Divorcees  and  widows  may  re-marry,  and  they  do  so  with  a  fre- 
quency which  has  made  the  caste  a  byword  among  its  neigh- 
bours. The  Kunnuvans  worship  the  usual  village  deities  of  the 
plains.     They  generally  burn  their  dead. 

Pulaiyans.  The  Pulaiyans  were  apparently  the  earliest    inhabitants  of  the 

Palni  hills  and  had  things  all  their  own  way  until  the  arrival 
of  the  Kunnuvans  just  referred  to.  They  seem,  however,  to  be 
merely  Tamils  from  the  low  country,  and  not  a  separate  race. 
They  speak  Tamil  and  their  customs  resemble,  generally,  those 
of  the  people  in  the  plains.  The  caste  has  a  headman  called  the 
Nattanmaikaran,  who  is  assisted  by  a  Servaikaran  and  a  toti,  or 
peon,  and  whose  powers  and  duties  are  much  the  same  as  elsewhere, 
'^l.^he  community  is  grouped  into  three  exogamous  sub-divisions, 
called  k/Htams,  which  are  known  respectively  as  Kolankuppan, 
Pichi,  and  Mandiyaman  after  their  supposed  original  ancestors. 
Marriages  take  place  after  puberty  and  are  arranged  by  the 
parents.  The  ceremonies  are  simple.  A  bride-price  of  Bs.  25 
is  paid  and  a  tali  of  white  beads  is  tied  round  the  girl's  neck. 
Divorce  can  be  obtained  by  either  party  on  payment  of  a  fine 
equal  to  the  bride-price,  and  divorcees  and  widows  may  re-marry 
any  one  they  choose.  Ihe  Pulaiyans'  favourite  deities  are 
Mayandi  (whose  shrine  is  generally  on  a  knoll  close  to  the 
village),  Karumalaiyan,  and  a  goddess  called  Puvadai.  Festivals 
in  their  honour  occur  in  (.'hittrai,  and  consist  largely  in  much 
dancing  by  twelve  men  who  have  sanctified  themselves  for  the  duty 
by  abstaining  from  eating  beef  for  the  twelve  months  preceding?. 
On  the  first  day  they  sacrifice  a  sheep  to  Mayandi.  On  the  next, 
they  take  a  ragi  pudding  in  a  pot  to  the  shrine  of  Karumalaiyan, 
dance  round  it  and  then  distribute  it.  On  the  third  day  they 
begin  an  eight-day  feast  to  Puvadai,  at  the  end  of  which  is  more 
.  dancing.  The  whole  caste  is  extremely  fond  of  dancing,  and  in 
Panguni  (March- April)  both  men  and  women  keep  it  up  to  all 


THE   PEOPLE.  105 

hours,  going-  round  and  round  with  great  energy  to  the  sound  of     CHAP.  ID. 
a  drum.     Pulaiyans  eat  beef  and  pork  and  even  rats.      Mr.  Turn-      Principai 
bull's  notice  of  them    embodied   in  Ward's   Purvey  Account  says        Castes. 
that  when  any  one  is   attacked  with   small-pox  his  friends   and 
relations  all  flee  and  leave  him  to  his  fate,  and  the  people  of  his 
village  are   prohibited  from  holding  intercourse  with  others  until 
the  epidemic  has  abated.     Much  the  same  thing  occurs  among  the 
Malaiy^lis  of  the  Kalrayan  hills. 

In  the  fifties  of  the  last  century  the  Society  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Gospel  sent  a  catechist  to  work  among  the  Pulaiyans. 
The  work  languished  afterwards,  but  has  now  been  revived  by 
the  American  Mission.  The  catechist's  letters  in  the  Madras 
Quarterly  Missionary  Journal  for  1850-52  give  a  few  details 
about  the  ways  of  the  caste.  They  used  to  assemble  for  regular 
hunting  excursions.  When  any  animal  was  killed,  its  skin  or 
some  other  part  of  it  was  sent  to  the  nearest  temple  so  that  the 
deity  might  give  them  more  good  sport  in  future.  Anyone  who 
was  killed  on  these  occasions  was  buried  in  tlie  jungle  and  his 
memory  treated  with  much  respect.  The  Pulaiyans  were  kept 
in  the  greatest  subjection  by  their  masters,  the  Kunnuvans,  who 
would  not  let  them  have  a  light  at  night  or  sleep  on  a  cot,  lent 
them  money  at  usurious  interest  and  turned  them  into  slaves  if 
they  were  unable  to  pay  it  back.  None  the  less,  the  Pulaiyans 
were  considered  indispensable  in  all  cases  of  sickness,  as  they 
alone  knew  the  j)owers  of  the  medicinal  herbs  of  the  hills  ;  and 
also  in  cases  of  demoniac  possession,  as  the  local  devils  could  only 
be  propitiated  through  their  intervention.  They  were  clever  at 
poisoning  tigers,  and  any  man  who  did  so  was  given  a  new  cloth 
by  public  subscription  and  chaired  round  the  village  with  dancing 
and  music. 

The  Paliyans  are  a  very  backward  caste  who  reside  in  small,  Pal^yai". 
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  civil- 
ized 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  and  heaping  wood  upon  them  and  light- 
ing it.  The  fire  is  usually  kept  burning  all  night  as  a  protection 
against  wild  beasts  and  it  is  often  the  only  sign  of  the  presence  of 
the  Paliyans  in  a  jungle,  for  they  are  shy  folk  who  avoid  other 

14 


106 


MADtJEA. 


CHAP.  III. 

Princip\i. 
Castes. 


Tdttiyans. 


people.  They  make  fire  witli  quartz  and  steel,  using  the  floss  of 
the  silk-cotton  tree  as  tinder.  Weddings  are  conducted  without 
ceremonies,  the  understanding  being  that  the  man  shall  collect 
food  and  the  woman  cook  it.  When  one  of  them  dies  the  rest 
leave  the  bodj  as  it  is  and  avoid  the  spot  for  some  months. 
Mr.  Thurston  has  published  an  account^,  with  illustrations  and 
measurements,  of  a  settlement  of  the  caste  in  the  Tinnevelly 
jungles.  There,  the  dead  are  buried  and  a  stone  is  placed  over  the 
grave,  which  is  never  visited  again. 

The  only  Telugu  caste  which  is  characteristic  of  the  district 
are  the  Tottiyans,  otherwise  known  as  Kambalattar  or  Kambalat- 
t^r  Nayaks.  To  this  community  belong  nearly  all  the  zamindars. 
Most  of  the  men  now  speak  Tamil,  but  Telugu  is  commonly  used 
by  the  women.  The  caste  title  is  Nayakkan.  The  usual  occupa- 
tion is  cultivation.  The  traditional  story  of  their  migration  to 
this  district  is  jiiven  in  several  of  the  Mackenzie  MSS.  and  is  still 
repeated  by  the  people  of  the  caste.  Centuries  ago,  says  this 
legend,  the  Tottiyans.  lived  to  the  north  of  the  Tungabhadra 
river.  The  Muhammadans  there  tried  to  marry  their  women  and 
make  them  eat  beef,  so  one  fine  night  they  fled  southwards  in  a 
body.  The  Muhammadans  pursued  them  and  their  path  was 
blocked  by  a  deep  and  rapid  river.  They  had  just  given  them- 
selves up  for  lost  when  a  ponga  ( Vongamia  glabra)  tree  on  either 
side  of  the  stream  leant  forward  and,  meeting  in  the  middle,  made 
a  bridge  across  it.  Over  this  they  hurried,  and,  as  soon  as  they 
had  passed,  the  trees  stood  erect  once  uiore  before  the  Musalmans 
could  similarly  cross  by  them.  The  Tottiyans  in  consequence 
still  reverence  the  pongu  tree  and  their  marriage-pandals  are 
always  made  from  its  wood.  They  travelled  on  until  they 
came  to  the  city  of  Vijayanagar,  under  whose  king  they  took 
service,  and  it  was  in  the  train  of  the  Vijayanagar  armies  that 
they  came  to  Madura,  Caste  matters  used  to  be  settled  by  the 
Mettu  Nayakkan,  or  headman,  and  the  Kodangi  Nayakkan,  or 
priest,  so  called  because  he  carried  a  drum.  Nowadays  they 
are  generally  decided  by  a  public  assembly  the  leaders  of  which 
seat  themselves  solemnly  on  a  blanket  on  which  it  placed  a  pot 
of  water  containing  margosa  leaves,  an  emblem  of  the  presence 
of  the  deity.  Persons  charged  with  offences  are  invited  to 
prove  their  innocence  by  undergoing  ordeals.  These  are  now 
harmless  enough,  such  as  attempting  to  cook  rice  in  a  pot  which 
has  not  been  fired,  but  Turnball  says  that  he  saw  the  boiling  oil 

^  Madras  Museurr,,  Bulletins,  Vol.  V,  No.  1.  Other  references  are  Indian 
Antiquary,  (1876),  v,  60,  aad  Madras  Quarterly  Missionary  Journal  for  October 
1851. 


Castes. 


THE    PEOPLE.  107 

ordeal  in    1813   in  Piiilukkottai   territory.      Perhaps    the    most     CHAP.  III. 
serious  caste  offeaoe   is  adalterj  with  a  man   of  another   com-      Principal 
raiinity".     Turnbull  sajs  that  women  convicted  of  this  used  to  be 
senten '.ed   to  he    killed   by   Ghakkiliyaas.    but    nowadays    rigid 
excommunication  is  the  penalty. 

The  caste  is  divided  into  eight  exogamous  septs,  which  seem 
.(the  information  is  incomplf^te)  to  be  totemiatic  in  origin  and 
each  of  which  intermarries  only  with  one  of  the  remaininpf 
eight.  When  a  girl  attains  maturity  she  is  kept  in  a  separate 
hub  which  is  watched  by  a  Chakkiliyan.  Marriage  is  either 
infant  or  adult.  A  man  has  the  usual  claim  to  his  paternal 
aunt's  daui:htyr  and  so  rigorously  is  this  rule  followed  that  boys 
of  tender  years  are  frequently  married  to  grown  womon.  These 
latter  are  allowed  to  consort  with  their  husband's  near  relntions 
and  the  boy  is  held  to  be  the  father  of  any  children  which  may 
be  born.  Weddings  last  tliree  days  and  involve  very  numerous 
ceremonies.  They  take  place  in  a  special  pandai  erected  in  the 
village,  on  either  side  of  which  are  smaller  pandals  for  the  bride 
and  bridegroom.  Two  uncommon  rites  aro  the  slaughtering  of  a 
red  ram  without  blemish  and  marking  the  foreheads  of  the  couple 
with  its  blood,  and  the  pursuit  by  the  bridegroom,  vsdtli  a  b<jw 
and  arrow,  of  a  man  who  pretends  to  flee  but  is  at  length  captured 
and  bound.  The  ram  is  first  sprinkled  with  water  and  if  it 
shivers  this,  as  usual,  is  held  to  bo  a  good  omen.  The  bride- 
price  is  seven  kalams  of  cambu,  and  the  couple  may  eat  only 
this  grain  and  horse-gram  until  the  wedding  is  over.  A  botfu  is 
tied  round  the  bride's  neck  by  the  bridegroom's  sister.  In  very 
rare  cases,  among  certain  sections  of  the  caste,  the  bridegroom 
sends  a  dagger  to  represent  him  and  does  not  appear  himself. 
This  form  is  apparently  only  adopted  when  the  bride  is  of  rather 
inferior  social  status  and  the  ceremonial  is  then  much  simpler. 
The  loading  judicial  decision  upon  this  form  is  I.L.R.,  XVIl 
Madras,  422.  After  marriage,  women  are  required  to  bestow 
their  favours  upon  their  husband's  nearest  relatives,  and  it  is 
believed  that  ill-luck  will  attend  any  refusal  to  do  so.  f>!afi  was 
formerly  very  common  in  the  caste,  and  the  two  caste-goddesses, 
Jakkamma  and  Bommajya,  are  deifications  of  women  who  thus 
sacrificed  themselves.  Every  four  years  a  ft-stival  is  held  in 
their  honour,  one  of  the  chief  events  in  which  is  a  bullock  race. 
The  owner  of  the  winning  auiaial  receives  a  prize  and  gets  the 
first  betel  and  nut  during  the  feast.  The  caste  god  is  Perumal, 
who  is  worsbipped  in  the  form  of  a  currv-griading  stone.  Tho 
story  goes  that  when  the  Tottiyans  were  fleeing  to  the  south  one 


108 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  III. 

Principal 

Caster. 


KippiJiyans. 


of  their  women  found  her  grinding-stone  so  intolerablj  heary 
that  she  threw  it  away.  It  however  reappeared  in  her  basket. 
Thrown  away  again,  it  once  more  reappeared  and  she  then 
realised  that  the  caste  god  must  be  accompanying  them.  The 
dead  are  either  buried  or  burnt.  In  the  hitter  case  a  tomb  is 
ere3ted  at  which  worship  is  done  for  40  <lays.  The  Tottiyans 
have  mausoleums  (mdlai,  see  p.  320)  in  which  a  stone  is  placed 
to  represent  each  deceased  member  of  the  family,  and  periodical 
ancestor-worship  is  performed  in  these. 

Of  the   Canarese-speaking   castes    of  the    district,    two,   the 
K£ppiliyans  and  Anuppans,  are  worth  a  note.     The  former  are 
moft  nuraeious    in  the   villages   near  the  head   of  the  Kambarn 
valley.     Some  of  the  polisfars  in  this  part  of  the  country  were 
Kappiliyans,  and  they  doubtless  brought  with  them  a  retinue  of 
their  own  castempii.      '  he  Kappiliyans'  tradition  regarding  their 
migration  to  this  district  is  similar  to  that  current  among  the 
Tottiyans  (whom  they  resemble  in  several  of  their  customs),  the 
story  beinu   that   tlie  caste  was  oppressed  by  the  Musalmans  of 
the  north,  fled  across  the  Tungabhadra  aad  was   saved  by  two 
pomju  trees    bridging  an  unfordable  stream  which   blocked  their 
escape.     They  trav^elled,   say  the   legen^ls,   through    Mysore  to 
Coiijeeveram,  theuce  to  Coimbatore  and  thence  to  this  district. 
The  stay  at  Conjeeveram  is  always  emphasised,  and  is  supported 
by    the   fact   that  the   caste   has   shrines    dedicated    to    Kanchi 
Varadaraja  Perumal. 

The  Kappiliyans  are  split  into  two  endogamous  sub-divisions ; 
namely,  the  Dharmakatta,  so  called  because,  out  of  charity,  they 
allow  widows  to  marry  one  more  husband,  and  the  Mtinukattu, 
who  permit  a  woman  three  husbands  in  succession.  The  former 
are  again  sub-divided  into  a  number  of  sections,  each  of  whom 
may  only  intermarry  with  certain  of  the  others. 

Caste  panchayats  hold  court  on  a  blankot  and  the  president 
is  a  headman  called  the  Jati  Kavundan.  Kavundan  is  the  caste 
title.  When  a  girl  attains  maturity  she  is  kept  in  a  temporary 
hut  in  the  village  mandai  (common  land)  for  15  days,  and  is 
waited  on,  and  guarded  at  night,  by  her  relatives.  She  is  then 
brought  into  the  village  with  music,  and  a  saffron-coloured  thread 
is  tied  round  her  neck  as  a  badge  of  her  condition.  The  hut  is 
burnt  down  and  the  pots  she  used  are  broken  to  atoms. 

A  man's  right  to  marry  his  paternal  aunt's  daughter  is  so 
rigorously  insisted  upon  that,  as  among  the  Tottiyans,  ill-assorted 
matches  are  common.  A  woman  whose  husband  is  too  young 
to  fulfil  the  duties  of  his  position  is  allowed  to  consort  with  his 


THl    PEOPLI.  109 

near  relations,  and  the  children  so  begotten  are  treated  as  his.     CHAP.  ill. 
At  weddings  no  t^li  is  tied,  but  the    binding    portions  of   the      Principal 

ceremony  are  the  donning  by  the  bride  of  a  saffron-coloured  cloth  t *' 

Bent  her  by  the  bridegroom  and  of  black  {^lass  bangles  (unmar- 
ried girls  may  only  wear  bangles  made  of  lac)  and  the  linking  of 
the  couple's  little  fingers.  A  dultery  outside  the  caste  is  punished 
by  expulsion  and,  to  show  that  the  woman  is  thenceforward  as 
good  as  dead,  funeral  ceremonies  are  solemnly  performed  to  some 
trinket  of  hers,  and  this  is  afterwards  burnt.  The  special  deities 
of  the  caste  are  many,  and  some  of  them  appertain  to  particular 
sections  and  even  particular  families.  In  several  instances  they 
are  women  who  committed  soti.  The  dead  are  usually  burnt,  but 
children,  people  who  have  died  of  cholera,  and  pregnant  women 
are  buried.  In  the  case  of  the  last^  as  usual,  the  child  is  first 
taken  out.  The  characteristic  occupation  of  the  K^ppiliyans  is 
cattle-grazing.  Their  '  sacred  herd  '  at  Kambam  has  been  already 
referred  to  on  p.  20. 

The  Anuppans  are  commonest  in  the  Kambam  valley.  They  Anupp«n». 
have  a  tradition  regarding  their  migration  thither  which  closely 
resembles  that  current  among  the  Kappiliyans  and  T6ttiyan8. 
Their  title  is  Kavundan.  They  are  divided  into  six  territorial 
groups  called  meduK  which  are  named  after  three  villages  in  this 
district  and  three  in  Tinnevelly.  Over  each  of  these  is  a  headman 
called  the  Periyadanakk^ran,  and  the  three  former  are  also  subject 
to  a  guru  who  lives  at  (Sirup^L^i  near  Madura.  These  three  are 
divided  again  into  eighteen  kilais,  oi  branches,  each  of  whom 
intermarries  only  with  certain  of  the  others.  Caste  panch^yats 
are  held  on  a  blanket  on  which  (compare  the  T6ttiyan  custom)  is 
placed  a  pot  of  water  containing  margosa  leaves  to  symbolise  the 
sacred  nature  of  the  meeting.  Women  who  go  astray  with  men  of 
other  castes  are  expelled  ;  and  various  ceremonies,  including  (it  is 
said)  the  burying  alive  of  a  goat,  are  enacted  to  show  that  they  are 
dead  to  the  community.  The  right  of  a  man  to  the  hand  of  his 
paternal  aunt's  daughter  is  as  rigorously  maintained  as  among  the 
Kdppiliyans  and  Tottiyans,  and  leads  to  the  same  curious  state 
of  affairs.  No  t^li  is  tied  at  weddings,  and  the  binding  part  of 
the  ceremonies  is  the  linking,  on  seven  separate  occasions,  of 
the  little  fingers  of  the  couple.  A  bride-price,  as  usual,  is  paid. 
Like  the  Kdppiliyans,  the  Anuppans  have  many  caste  and  family 
deities,  a  number  of  whom  are  women  who  committed  saii. 

Of  the  castes  who  speak  languages  foreign  to  this  Presidency  Patndl- 
the  only  one  which  calls  for  mention  is  the  Patnlilkdran  ('  silk-  ''^a""« 
thread-people ')   eonamunity  which   is   so    numerous   in    Madura 


110  MADFTIA. 

CHAP.  III.     and  Dindigul  towns.     Their  vernarular  is  Patnlili  or  Khatri,  a 
PBiNciPAt,      dialect  of  Gujarati,  and  they  came  originally  from  Grujardt.     An 
Castes.       inscription  dated  473-7  1   A.D.  at   Mandasor  in  western   Malwa 
relates  ^  how  the  Pattavayas,    as  the   caste  was  then  called,   were 
induced   to  migrate   thither  from  Lata,  ou  the  coast  of  Gujarat, 
by  king   Kumara  Gupta    (or  one   of  his   lieutenants)  to  practise 
there  their  art  of  silk-weaving.     The  inscription   eays  many  flat- 
tering ttiiugs  about  the  community,  and   poetically  compares  the 
city   to    a    beautiful    woman    and    the    immigrants    to    the    silk 
garments  in  which  she  decks  herself  when    she  goes  to  meet  her 
lover.     On  the  destruction  of   Mandasor  by  the    Musalmans,  the 
Pattavdyas  seem  to  have  travelled  south  to  Devagiri,  the  modern 
Daulatabad,  the  then  capital  of  the  Yadavas,  and  thence,  when 
the  Musalmans  again  appeared  on  the  scene  at  the  beginning  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  to  Vijayanagar  and  eventually  to  Madura. 
A  curious   ceremony  confirming  this  conjecture  is  performed  to 
this  day   at  Patnulkaran  weddings   in  south  India.     Before  the 
date  of  the  wedding  the  bridegroom's  party  go  to  the  bride's 
house  and  ask  formally  for  the  girl's  hand.     Her  relations  ask 
them  in  a  set  form  of  words  who  they  are  and  whence  they  come, 
and  they   reply  that  they  are  from  Sorath   (the  old  name  for 
Saurashtra  or  Kathiawar),  resided  iu  Devagiri,  travelled  south 
(owing  to  Musalmau  oppression)  to  Vijayanagar  and  thence  came 
to  Madura.     They  then  ask  the  bride's  party  the  same  question 
and  receive  the  same  reply.     A  Marathi  MS.   prepared   in   1822 
at  Salem  under  the    direction  of   the  then  Collector,    Mr.    M,  D. 
Cockburn,  contains  the  same  tradition  ;  Mr.  Sewell's  A  Forgotten 
Empire  sbows  how  common  silk  clothing  and  trappings   were   at 
Yiiayauagar  in  the  days  of  its  glory  ;    most  of  the  Patnulkarans 
can  still  speak  Telugu,  which  raises  the  inference  that  they  must 
have  resided  a  long  time  in  the  Telugu  country,   while  their 
Patnlili  contains   many   Oanarese  and  Telugu  words;  and  they 
observe  the  feast  oF  Basavanna    (or   Boskanna)    which  is  almost 
peculiar  to  the  Bellary  country.      After  the  downfall  of  Vijaya- 
nagar some  of  the  caste   seem  to  have   gone  to  Bangalore,  for  a 
weaving  community  called  Patvegars,  who  speak  a  dialect  similar 
to    Patauli,    still    reside    there.       Patvegdr    is    another    form  of 
Pattavaya  or  Pattavayaka,  and  Patnulkaran   is  the  Tamil  form 
of  the  same  word. 

The  members  of  the  caste  in  Madura  prefer  to  be  called 
Saurashtras.  They  say  that  they  are  Brahmans.  The  claim  is 
no  new  affair,  as  in  tlie  reign  of   Queen  Mangamm^l  (lfKS9-1704) 

1  Ind.  Ant.,  xv,  194-201. 


THE   PEOPLE.  Ill 

eighteen  of  the  members  of  the  community  were  arrested  by  the  CidAP.iil. 
governor  of  Madura  for  performing  the  Brahmanical  ceremony  Principal 
of  Mjoa'Ar/r/;/**,  or  renewal  of  the  sicred  thread.  The  queen  con- 
vened  a  meeting  of  those  learned  in  the  Sdstras  to  investigate  the 
Patnlilkarans'  right  to  perform  such  ceremonies.  This  declared 
in  favour  of  the  defendants ;  and  the  queen  gave  them  a  paliu-leaf 
award  accordingly,  which  is  still  preserved  in  Madura.  The 
caste  now  follows  many  of  the  customs  of  the  southern  Brahmans 
regarding  food,  dress,  forms  of  worship  and  names,  and  has 
recently  taken  to  the  adoption  of  Brahmanical  titles,  such  as 
Aiyar,";^Ach£iri  and  Bhagavatar. 

Tiie  affairs  of  the^Patuulkaraus  at  Madura  are  now  managed 
by  a  '  Saurashtra  sabha  '  which  was  started  in  1895.  This  body 
collects  a  mi'gamai,  a  sort  of  income-tax,  from  the  members  of  tlie 
caste  and  spends  the  proceeds  on  objects  calculated  to  benefit 
the  community/among  them  the  maintenance  of  a  high  school 
and  subordinate  institutions  to  feed  it,  and  the  upkeep  of  a  caste 
temple.  •.  The  Patnulkdrans  have  a  very  strong  esprit  de  corps  and 
this  has  stood  them  in  good  stead  in  their  weaving,  which  is 
more  scientifically  carried  on,  and  in  a  more  flourishing  condition, 
than  is  usual  elsewhere. 


U2 


MADU&A. 


CHAPTER   IV. 
AGEICULTURE  AND  IRRIGATION. 


CHAP.  IV. 

Agri- 
cultural 
Statistics. 


The  different 
taluks. 


AoRicuLTURAL  STATISTICS — The  different  taluks — The  various  crops.  Wbt 
Cultivation — Paddy — Its  cultivation — Its  varieties.  Dry  Cultivation— 
Methods — Cotton — Tobacco.  Irrigation — Area  protected — Wells — Tanks 
and  channels — The  Poriyd,r  project.    Economic  condition  of  agriculturists. 

The  figures  appended,  which  are  those   for  1903-04,  show  at  a 
glance  the  general  agricultural  position  in  Madura  : — 


Tftluk. 

1 

i 

Percentage  of  area  by              Percentage  of  area  in 
survey  which  is                      village  accounts  of 

1 
1 

a 

i-i 

o 
_g 

i 

a 

0 

's 

SI 

Forest  and  other  area 
not      available       for 
cultivation. 

1 
O 

3 
"S 

s> 

p 
O 

« 

o 

Dindigul         

Kodaikanal    ... 

Madura          

M6ldr             

Palni               

Periyakulam 
Tirumangalam 

District  Total     ... 

66-7 
1000 
722 
»30 
53-7 
48-9 
525 

30 

30 
3-8 
11 
0-5 
34 

1-0 

21-7 
32 
01 
0-2 
8-1 

29-3 

"3-1 

45-1 
50-4 
36-0 

24-6 
856 
305 
38-9 
11-2 
46-3 
18-2 

8-6 
4-9 
12-6 
9-1 
6-6 
8-0 
9-8 

14-3 
1-6 
7-0 
5-3 

23-5 
3-4 
4-7 

52-5 

7-9 
49-9 
46-7 
58-7 
42-3 
67-3 

64-5 

21 

3-7 

39-7 

360 

8-6 

8-4 

47-0 

It  will  be  seen  that  of  the  total  area,  30  per  cent,  is  made  up  of 
zamindaris,  and  that  in  Periyakulam  this  proportion  rises  to  one- 
half  of  the  whole.  These  tracts  and  the  whole  inam  villages  do 
not  appear  in  the  village  accounts.  Excluding  them,  of  every  100 
acres  for  which  particulars  are  on  record  in  the  accounts,  as  much 
as  36  are  forest  or  hill  or  otherwise  not  available  for  cultivation, 
47  are  cropped,  8  are  current  fallows  and  8^  are  other  culturable 
waste. 

The  proportion  of  land  not  available  for  cultivation  is  highest 
in  Kodaikanal  and  Periyakulam  taluks,  where  so  much  of  the 
country  consists  of  mouatain  and  jungle,  and  lowest  in  Palni  and 


ASEICULTUEE    AND    IRRIGATION. 


113 


Tirumangalam.  In  these  latter  two  taluks  there  are  hardlj  any 
forests  or  hills,  and  moreover  culturablo  land  is  seldom  loft  waste 
in  Palni  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  cultivation  under  wells,  or  in 
Tirumangalam  owing-  to  the  richness  of  the  soil.  Fallows  would 
appear  to  be  commonest  in  Palni  and  Dindigul,  but  the  reason  for 
this  is  partly  the  fact  that  the  year  (1903-04)  for  which  statistics 
are  given  was  unusually  dry  and  consequently  less  than  usual  of 
the  unirrigated  land  was  cropped. 

The  figures  below  give  for  the  same  year  1 903-04  the  percent- 
age of  the  total  area  cultivated,  both  in  the  district  as  a  whole  and 
in  each  of  the  taluks,  which  was  grown  with  certain  oF  the  more 
important  crops :  — 


. 

Crops. 

"a 
o 

o 

m 

'3 

a 
S 

03 

a 

'S 

c 

Madura. 

h 

2 
^ 

S 

'3 

i 

45 

bo 
C 

S 
3 

Cereals  and  pulses — 

Rice 

22-8 

9-1 

10-6 

62-2 

39-3 

10-2 

17-1 

12-9 

Cholatn 

20-3 

30-2 

0-9 

Il-O 

9-5 

30-0 

23-5 

15-0 

Cambu 

6-8 

13-6 

0-2 

1-G 

10-3 

10-8 

1-2 

2-1 

Eagi             

6-6 

4-5 

12-0 

3-8 

7-1 

9-3 

12-8 

3-6 

Varaga 

9-2 

90 

0-1 

8-5 

10-9 

0-6 

2-9 

21-2 

Samai 

7-G 

10-5 

121 

2-1 

1-2 

11-1 

16-7 

•2-0 

Horse-gram 

5-7 

G-7 

0-2 

1-4 

41 

12-6 

9-7 

0-9 

Others         

1-7 

0-9 

1-8 

0-4 

4.6 

5-0 

0-7 

0-6 

Condiments            and 

0-S 

1-5 

1-8 

0-5 

0-3 

0-3 

1-0 

0-4 

spices. 
Orchard    and  garden 

produce       

1-1 

0-7 

15-6 

2-1 

1-1 

0-3 

0-5 

0-4 

Oil-seeds  — 

Gingelly      

4-3 

5-3 

1-4 

4-5 

20 

6-8 

4-9 

Others         

2-2 

4-5 

o-i 

1-1 

5-2 

1-2 

0-1 

0-4 

Sngar.cane    ... 

0-1 

0-1 

0-2 

0-1 

0-1 

Cotton 

G-G 

1-7 

0-9 

4-0 

3-3 

28*4 

Drnga  and  narcotics — 

Tobacco 

0-5 

07 

O-I 

1-1 

1-1 

0-2 

Betel-vine 

O'l 

0-1 

0-3 

o-i 

0-2 

0-1 

Others            

3-6 

Cr9 

*44-6 

2-4 

]-9 

1-3 

2-3 

C-9 

*  Includes  coffee  (28-2  per  cent.)  ;  cardamoms  (129  per  cent.) ;  and  wheat 
(3-1  per  cent.). 

It  will  be  noticed  that  of  the  regularly  irrigated  crops  paddy 
is  the  only  one  which  occupies  any  considerable  extent,  the  areas 
grown  with  sugar-cane  and  betel-vine  being  very  small.  These 
two  latter,  however,  are  on  the  increase  now  that  the  advent  of  the 
Periydr  water  has  rendered  irrigation  more  certain.     Of  the  dry 

X5 


CHAP.  IV. 
Agri- 

Cl'LTOaAL 
ST4TJSTJCS. 


The  various 
rroijs. 


114 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  IV. 

Agri- 

ccltueal 
Statistics. 


Wet 

Cultivation. 


Paddv. 


crops,  cholam  (the  black  variety)  is  mucli  the  most  popular,  and 
then  vai-agu  ;  while  cambu,  ragi,  sdmai  and  horse-gi'am  each 
occupy  about  the  same  proportional  extent.  Gringelly  is  the  chief 
oil-seed ;  cotton  is  of  considerable  importance ;  and  tobacco, 
though  occupying  only  a  relatively  small  area,  is  of  much 
industrial  value. 

Paddy  is  most  important  in  the  Madura  and  Melur  taluks, 
which  are  irrigated  by  the  Periydr  channels.  It  occupies  the  next 
laigest  area  (relatively)  in  Periyakulam,  where  again  the  water  of 
the  Periy^r  is  much  utilised.  In  the  dry  taluks  of  Dindigul  and 
Palni  it  is  grown  on  only  a  tenth  of  the  total  cultivated  area. 
Sugar-cane  and  betel  are  also  most  raised  in  Madura  and  Melur. 
Cholam  occupies  '60  per  cent,  of  the  cropped  area  in  Dindigul 
and  Palni  and  a  large  acreage  in  Periyakulam.  Horse-gram  is 
similarly  more  grown  in  these  three  taluks  than  in  any  others.  It 
is  the  only  crop  which  does  well  in  the  red  sandy  land  which  is  so 
common  in  them.  Of  the  other  dry  grains,  cambu  is  most  popular 
in  Dindigul,  Palni  and  Melur;  ragi  in  Palni  and  Periyakulam; 
varagu  in  Dindigul,  Madura  and  Melur;  and  samai  in  Dindigul, 
Palni  and  Periyalsulam.  Cotton  is  cultivated  in  more  than  a 
fourth  of  Tirumangalam  and  on  small  areas  in  Palni  and  Periya- 
kulam, and  the  tobacco  of  the  district  is  mainly  raised  in  these 
last  two  taluks  and  Dindigul.  Coffee,  cardamoms  and  wheat  are 
cultivated  on  Govei-nment  land  only  in  the  Palni  hills  (Kodaikaiial 
taluk)  but  the  two  former  are  grown  on  small  extents  of  zamin- 
dari  land  on  the  Sirumalais.  The  area  under  '  condiments  and 
spices  '  in  Kodaikanal  is  that  cultivated  with  garlic.  Most  of  this 
is  raised  for  export.  The  '  orchard  and  garden  produce '  which 
occupies  so  considerable  a  relative  area  in  the  same  laluk  is  the 
special  plantain  for  which  the  Palnis  are  famous.  This  is  also 
largely  raised  on  the  Sirumalais, 

Such  is  the  general  agricultural  pociition,  and  it  remains  to 
refer  to  the  methods  of  the  Madura  ryots  in  the  cultivation  of  wet 
and  dry  crops. 

In  Madura  and  Melur,  under  the  Periydr  channels,  only  about 
one-third  of  the  irrigated  land  is  cropped  twice  with  paddy.  In 
time,  tv/o  crops  may  come  to  be  the  rale ;  but  at  present  the  area 
under  this  comparatively  new  project  is  only  partly  developed ; 
manure,  labour  and  cattle  are  less  plentiful  than  they  should  be ; 
and  the  ryots  still  adhere  to  the  customs  which  prevailed  before 
the  project  was  completed  and  there  was  usually  only  water 
enough  for  one  crop.     They  often  waste  so  much  time  by  putting 


AGRICULTURE    AND    IRRIGATION.  115 

off  the  preparation  of  the  seed-beds  and  leaving  the  fields  to  eoak    CHAP.  IV. 

before  beffinniuff  to  plouj^h,  that  the  period  loft  tliem  is  insufficient         Wet 

»      ii  1.-      -•  p  X  Cultivation. 

lor  the  cultivation  oi  two  crops.  

Where  two  crops  are  grown,  they  are  called  respectively  the  its  culti^a- 
kodai  and  the  Jcdlam  crops.  The  cultivation  of  the  former  is  bogun  ^''^"" 
about  the  middle  of  June,  at  which  time  the  Pcriydr  water  usually 
first  comes  down.  Sometimes,  however,  the  seed-beds  are  started 
before  this,  water  raised  from  tanks  or  wells  being  used  for  them. 
Transplantation  from  seed-beds  is  the  rule.  The  seed  is  usually 
soaked  before  being  sown.  Sowing  broadcast  is  not  uncommon, 
but  is  looked  upon  as  bad  farming. 

The  actual  processes  of  [jaddy  cultivation  are  much  the  same 
as  elsewhere.  The  land  is  first  manured.  Sheep  or  goats  are 
penned  thickly  upon  it  and  silt  from  tanks  or  channels,  village 
rubbish  and  farm-yard  manure  are  carted  on  to  it.  Cake  is  very 
seldom  employed.  Then  the  field  is  flooded  and  the  manure 
turned  in  with  the  usual  wooden  plough.  In  the  deep  black  soil 
common  in  Madura  taluk  the  cattle  sometimes  sink  so  deeply  that 
much  ploughing  is  impossible,  and  there  the  land  is  turned  over 
with  the  big  hoe  called  the  mamutti.  When  the  field  has  been 
reduced  to  a  state  of  slush,  green  leaf-manure  is  trodden  or 
ploughed  in.  No  special  manurial  crops  or  plants  are  grown  ; 
dvdram  (Gassia  auriculata),  virdli  {Dodoncea  vucosa,)  and  kultnji 
(wild  indigo)  are  the  leaves  usually  employed.  Tf  the  soil  is 
alkaline  (soudu)  more  leaves  and  tank  silt  are  used,  and  no  sweep- 
ings or  cattle  manure.  Finally  the  surface  of  the  field  is  levelled 
by  dragging  over  it  a  log  called  the  |j«ra,)n6u.  The  seedlings 
are  then  transplanted  by  hand.  A  month  afterwards,  the  crop  is 
weeded,  also  by  hand.  Harvesting  and  threshing  are  performed 
in  the  usual  manner. 

For  the  kodcti  crop  the  inferior  kinds  of  rice,  which  only  remain  its  varieties, 
on  the  ground  three  months  after  transplantation,  are  usually 
grown.  Perhaps  the  commonest  sorts  are  sen  kdr  (-red  kar ') 
and  vellai  kdr  ('  white  kar ')  and  a  two  months'  crop  known  as 
anwaddn  kodai.  When  these  have  been  harvested,  the  kdlam  crop, 
which  ought  to  have  been  (but  is  not  always)  sown  meanwhile  in 
the  seed-beds,  is  planted  out.  This  usually  consists  of  the  six 
months'  crops  known  as  sirumani{'  little  grain  '),  milagu  (so  called 
because  it  has  a  round  grain  like  a  pepper-corn),  and  vari  garudan 
samba  ('  striped  kite-coloured  rice  ')  ;  or  the  five  months'  varieties 
called  kambau  samba  (so  named  from  its  resemblance  to  cambu) 
and  tillaindyakam,  a  kind  which  has  boon  recently  imported  from 


1.16 


MADUEA. 


Wet 
Cultivation. 


CHAP.  IV.  other  districts.  Sirvmani  and  garudan  .samba  require  a  great  deal 
nioro  water  than  the  other  three,  but  yield  abundantl3\  Kamban 
samba  fetches  a  high  price,  hut  the  yield  is  less.  This  does  best 
on  red  soil,  while  sirumani  prefers  low-lying  black  land.  A  four 
months'  species  called  nan'yan  ('stunted'),  which  required  less 
water,  used  to  be  much  grown,  but  since  the  advent  of  the  Periyar 
water  it  has  given  way  to  the  choicer  kinds.  It  seems  probable 
that  now  that  there  is  an  ample  and  certain  supply  of  irrigation 
other  still  better  sorts  might  be  introduced  and  grown  with  success. 
This  matter  and  the  question  of  economising  water  would  prob- 
ably repay  investigation.  At  present  the  ryots  raise  the 
same  stereotyped  sorts  of  paddy  and  swamp  their  fields  in  the 
immemorial  manner  and  are  generally  casual  in  their  methods. 
Paddy  is  commonly  raised  year  after  year  on  the  same  land 
without  rotation,  though  recently  the  rjots  have  begun  to  culti- 
vate sugar-cane  or  plantains  every  third  or  fourth  year. 

The  methods  of  dry  cultivation  in  fashion  in  Madura  differ 
little  either  with  the  nature  of  the  soil  or  the  kind  of  crop.  It  has 
already  been  seen  (p.  12)  that  Tirumangalam  is  the  only  taluk 
in  which  any  considerable  area  is  covered  with  any  soil  except  the 
red  ferruginous  sorts.  The  following  statistics  of  the  assessments 
per  acre  of  the  dry  land  of  the  district  show  how  much  more 
fertile  the  black  land  is  than  the  red  : — 


Dry 

Cultivation. 


Taluk. 

Percentage  of  assessed  dry  land  which  is  assessed  at 

05 

CO 

1 
6 

d 
1 

1 

6 

6 

1—1 

06 

CO 

-I 

c£5 

Diadigul 
Madura 
M^liir    ... 

Palni 

Periyakulam    ... 
Tirumangalam 

District  Tot  .1     ... 

- 

"'  1 

1 

30 

1 

2 

"2 

4 

22 

20 
23 
21 
22 
25 
21 

53 

50 
71 
27 
36 
20 

17 
16 

7 
29 
20 

6 

8 
8 
1 
15 
11 
1 

1 
1 

4 
3 

5 

5 

22 

42 

17 

8 

1 

Methods.  Cultivation  methods  on  this  black  soil  differ  in  one  respect 

from  those  adopted  on  the  red.  The  former  requires  a  thorough 
soaking  before  it  will  raise  a  crop  and  thereafter  needs  no  further 
rain ;  whereas  the  latter  does  not  retain  moisture  well  and  so 
wants  frequent   showers.     Consequently   on   the   black  soils  the 


AGRICULTURE   AND    IRRIGATION.  ll"? 

sowing  season  may  be  deferred  to  as  late  as  October,  when  the     CHAP.  IV. 
land   has  received   the  heavy  showers  of   tlie  north-cast  rains ;  Dry 

whereas  on  the  red  land  it  must  be  begun  in  July  or  August  ^"^"^""^'''^^'^'- 
so  that  the  crops  may  receive  the  benefit  of  both  monsoons.^ 
With  this  exception,  cultivation  on  both  the  red  and  black  soils  is 
conducted  in  a  similar  manner.  Contrary  to  the  practice  in  the 
Deccan  districts,  the  black  soils  are  manured  and  irrigated  (even 
from  wells)  in  the  same  way  as  the  red. 

Except  in  the  fields  cultivated  under  wells  in  the  Palni  taluk 
by  the  hard-working  Vellalans  and  those  in  the  cotton  country  in 
south  Tirumangalam  tilled  by  the  Eeddis,  the  methods  of  culti- 
vating dry  crops  seem  careless  and  unenterprising.  First,  the 
stubble  of  the  last  crop  is  ploughed  in.  Then  such  manure  as  is 
available  is  spread.  Fields  at  a  distance  from  the  village  get 
practically  no  manuring  at  all,  being  merely  left  fallow  now  and 
again  to  recuperate.  Those  nearer  at  hand  are  given  village 
sweepings  and  farm- yard  refuse,  and  sheep  and  goats  are  penned 
upon  them  ;  but  this  only  occurs  once  in  every  two  or  three  years. 
Only  the  fields  next  the  habitations  are  manured  every  year. 
Land  under  wells  in  Falni  is  treated,  of  course,  with  more  care. 
The  cattle  are  very  usually  penned  at  night  on  these  fields  and 
manure  is  carted  to  them  from  long  distances. 

The  manure  having  been  applied,  the  land  is  ploughed  three 
or  fom-  times  with  the  usual  wooden  plough,  which  is  somewhat 
bigger  than  that  employed  on  wet  land,    Then,  as  soon  as  sufficient 
rain  has  fallen,  sowing  is  effected  by  scattering  the  seed  broadcast 
and  laboriously  ploughing  the  field  again  to  cover  it.     Mixed 
crops  are  common.     The  seeds  are  mixed  before  they  are  sown. 
The  larger  grains,  such  as  dholl,  castor  and  beaus,  are  dropped 
separately  one  by  one  in  a  furrow  made  by  the  plough  and   then 
ploughed  in  separately.     When  the  crop  is  about  a  foot  high  it  is 
weeded  by  hand,  a  small  hoe  being  used.     Cholam  and  cambu  are 
first  thinned  with  the  plough.     Neither  process  is  carefully  carried 
out  and  the  fields  are  often  choked  with  weeds.     The  adoption  of 
the  Deccan  methods  of  sowing  with  a  drill,  covering  the  seed  with 
a  scuffle  and  hoeiug  the  crop  by  bullock-power  would  seem  likely  to 
save  much  labour,  do  the  work  better,  and  have  the  additional 
advantage  of  allowing  larger  areas  to  be  sown  at  the  most  favour- 
able moment,  directly  after  a  heavy  shower. 

'  Elaborate  tables  of  the  dates  of  seed-time  and  harvest  for  the  vajioua 
crops  in  the  different  parts  of  the  district  will  bo  found  in  G.O,,  No,  78I,  Revcnno, 
dated  15th  September  1897. 


118 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  IV. 

Dry 

Cultivation. 


Cotton. 


Cholam  is  harvested  by  cutting  it  off  close  to  the  ground  and 
then  removing  the  ears.  The  straw  is  considered  the  best  cattle 
fodder  available.  Cambu  is  gathsred  by  cutting  off  the  ears  only. 
If  more  rain  falls  the  plants  will  then  send  out  another  crop  of 
ears.  The  straw  is  thought  to  be  bad  for  cattle  and  is  seldom 
given  them.  Eagi  is  harvested  in  the  same  way,  but  the  straw  of 
this  is  regarded  as  nutritious.  Samai  and  varagu  are  cut  off  flush 
with  the  ground.  The  straw  of  these  is  also  rarely  given  to  the 
cattle.  Two  crops  in  a  year  are  raised  on  some  of  the  best  dry 
land  by  growing  cambu  first  and  then  horse-gram  or  black  gram, 
and  round  Vedasandur  in  Dindigul  by  sowing  coriander  or  Bengal 
gram  as  the  second  crop  ;  but  the  practice  is  not  common. 

Cholam  is  said  to  be  an  exhausting  crop  and  is  not  sown  twice 
running  on  the  same  land.  It  is  usually  followed  by  varagu, 
samai  or  horse-gram.  Cambu  does  not  do  well  if  put  in  immedi- 
ately after  cholam,  but  otherwise  it  will  flourish  for  three  years  in 
succession  in  the  same  field.  Varagu  is  also  an  exhausting  crop, 
and  cannot  be  grown  successfully  two  years  running  on  the  same 
land  unless  manure  is  given  it. 

Of  the  cotton  of  the  district,  between  80   and    90   per  cent. 
is  grown  in  the  one  taluk   of  Tirumangalam.     The  methods  of 
cultivating   the   plant  in   the    neighbouring   taluk   of   Sattur  to 
the    south    are   described   in   much   detail   in  Bulletin   No.   19, 
Vol.  I,  of  the  Madras  Department  of  Land  Eecords  and  Agricul- 
ture, and  the  account   there  given  is  applicable  to  the  practice 
in  Tirumangalam.     The  crop  is  usually  raised  on  the  black  soils, 
but  the  more  clayey  kinds  of  red  land  suit  it  also.     The  black 
soils   are   locally   divided   into    four    varieties ;    namely,   karisal 
(superior   friable),  veppal  (inferior   friable),  kahkarai  (stiff)  and 
pottal   (alkaline).     Kakkarai  resembles  the  deep    regada   soils  of 
the   Deccan   districts,  cracking   greatly   in  the  dry  weather  and 
requiring  a  good  soaking  before  it  can  be  ploughed.     It  is  regarded 
as  inferior  to  ka7v'sal,  which  requires  little  moisture  to  render  it  fit 
for  ploughiug  and  is  so  friable  that  the  roots  of  the  cotton  penetrate 
it  easily.     A  local  proverb  says  '  Sell  even  wet  land  to  buy  karisal.' 
Manure  is  only  given  once  in  six  or  seven  years,  and  is  then 
generally  applied  to  the  crop  which  follows  the  cotton,  and  not  to 
the  cotton  itself.     This  is  said  to  make  the  cotton  crop  more  even, 
and  better  able  to  withstand  a  scarcity  of  rain.     The  tillage  begins 
after  the  showers  of  June.     Three  ploughings  are  enough  on  clean 
land,  but  they  are  carried  deeper  than  usual,  a  big  atone  being  put 
on  the  plough  to  keep  the  share  well  down.     The  seed  is  generally 
bought  from  the  dealers.     It  is  sown  broadcast  from  the  beginning 


AGRICULTURE    AND    IRRIGATION.  119 

of  August  onwards  and  is  ploughed  in  as   usual.     Before  being  CHAP.  IV. 
sown  it  is  rubbed  in  a  paste  of  cowduug  and   water  and  then  dried  ^»^' 

in  the   sun.     This    prevents   the   seeds   from   sticking   together.         '_ 

Cotton  is  usually  raised  every  other  season,  cambu  or  varagu  being 
grown  in  the  alternate  years. 

The  crop  is  weeded  once  with  a  pointed  stick  and  hoed  twice 
more  afterwards  with  hand  hoc*.  It  is  scarcely  ever  irrigated. 
The  first  bolls  begin  to  open  about  three  months  after  sowing  and 
the  first  picking  begins  throe  weeks  afterwards.  The  first  pickings 
give  an  inferior  sample,  as  they  are  mainly  bolls  which  havo 
opened  prematurely  owing  to  the  attacks  of  insects.  Similarly  the 
last  pickings  are  inferior  because  the  lint  is  leafy  and  spoiled  by 
insects.  Picking  goes  on  from  January  to  April  and  then  again, 
after  the  May  rains,  up  to  August.  The  cotton  is  carefully  stored 
in  places  where  it  will  be  free  from  damp,  either  in  rooms,  in  houses, 
in  circular  wattle  and  daub  granaries  called  pattarai  or  in  circular 
bins  made  of  mud  and  cambu  chaff  called  kulukkai.  It  is  usually 
sold  uncleaned  to  middle-men,  vho  either  get  it  ginned  by  women 
with  the  ordinary  wooden  roller-gin  or  sell  it  to  the  steam 
ginning-factories  in  the  Tinnevelly  district.  It  then  passes  to  the 
presses  at  Virudupatti  or  elsewhere  or  is  disposed  of  to  the  steam 
spinning-mill  at  Madura.  Two  varieties  are  recognised ;  the 
uppam,  which  is  grown  on  the  best  kartsal  lands  and  yields  the 
better  crop,  and  ndttu,  the  indigenous  variety,  which  is  cultivated 
on  the  inferior  soils.  But  the  two  are  very  often  found  mixed 
together.  In  the  market  the  Tirumangalam  cotton  is  known  as 
'  Tinnevellies.'  It  is  one  of  the  most  highly  prized  of  Indian 
cottons,  being  valued  for  its  colour,  which  is  very  white.  The 
staple  is  not  particularly  long,  but  the  fibre  is  strong. 

The  largest  area  under  tobacco  is  in  Dindigul  taluk.  Periya-  Tobacco, 
kulam  comes  next,  and  then  I  'alni.  The  plant  must  be  irrigated, 
and  thrives  best  in  red  soils  under  wells.  Either  the  soil  or  the 
well-water  or  both  must  be  alkaline,  and  if  they  are  not  so,  alkaline 
earth  is  often  carted  on  to  the  land.  The  experts  are  agreed  ^  that 
the  methods  of  cultivation  and  of  collecting  and  curing  tho  leaf 
leave  a  great  deal  to  be  desired.  The  seed  is  sown  in  a  specially 
prepared  plot  of  luu'i  and  the  seedlings  arc  afterwards  transplanted. 
The  seed-bed  is  often  so  carelessly  flooded  with  water  that  some 
of  the  seeds  aro  buried  too  deep  while  others  arc  washed  out 
of  the  ground,  and  tho  surface  of  the  bed  is  so  caked  all  over  that 

^  See  Bulletin  No.  .5-3,  vol.  iii  of  the  M^cUms  Department  of  Lands  Recoids 
and  Agriculture,  and  G.O.,  No.  1063,  Revenue,  dated  23rd  Septo.-nber  1904. 


120 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  IV. 

Dry 

Cultivation. 


germination  ia  checked.  The  seedling-s  are  transplanted  when  the 
leaves  are  three  or  four  inches  long-.  This  is  done  by  flooding  the 
seed-bed  in  the  early  morning,  pulling  up  the  plants,  putting 
them  in  a  covered  basket  in  the  shade  till  the  evening,  and  then 
dibbling  them  in.  The  land  is  often  made  so  wet  that  the 
seedlings  rot,  or  these  are  dibbled  in  so  loosely  that  they  do  not 
take  root  properly,  or  so  close  together  that  they  damage  one 
another. 

For  tobacco  growing  the  field  must  be  deeply  ploughed 
and  well  manured.  Cowdung  is  carted  on  to  it  and  sheep  and 
cattle  are  penned  on  it.  The  seedlings  are  watered -every  day  at 
first,  and  afterwards  at  longer  intervals.  The  crop  is  hoed  when 
it  has  been  about  three  weeks  in  the  field  and  after  five  or  six 
weeks  the  soil  is  broken  up  with  a  mamntti.  In  some  villages 
liquid  manure  is  applied  at  this  period  by  tlirowing  cowdimg  into 
the  irrigation  channels.  When  the  plants  are  nearly  three  feet 
high  they  are  topped,  and  this  makes  the  lower  leaves  increase  in 
size.  The  suckers  which  this  topping  starts  into  growth  are 
seldom  sufficiently  checked,  however,  and  they  weaken  the  plant 
greatly.  After  about  three  months  the  lowest  leaves  begin  to 
turn  spotted,  and  the  plant  is  then  considered  to  be  ripe  and  is  cut 
0&.  close  to  the  ground  in  tho  evening.  Half  the  leaves  are  still 
immature  and  it  would  probably  be  better  only  to  pick  the  ripe 
leaves  and  not  cut  the  whole  plant  down.  The  plants  are 
collected  early  next  morning  and  made  into  small  circular  heaps 
with  the  leaves  inwards  and  the  stalks  outside.  These  are  covered 
with  straw  and  are  left  untouched  for  three  days.  The  plants  are 
then  spread  out  on  the  ground  for  a  short  time  and  next  hung  up 
on  horizontal  poles.  Every  morning  they  are  moved  a  little  to  let 
the  air  pass  freely  through  them  and  at  the  end  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  days  they  are  considered  to  be  cured.  This  drying  process 
is  carelessly  managed  and  some  of  the  leaves  rot  and  the  others  are 
not  uniform  in  colour  or  dryness.  When  the  leaves  are  considered 
to  be  dry,  the  plants  are  taken  down  from  the  horizontal  poles 
and  made  into  square  heaps  about  two  feet  high,  the  stalks  being 
laid  cross-wise  over  each  other  in  alternate  rows.  Every  two  or 
three  days,  these  heaps  are  opened  and  re-made.  The  leaves 
ferment  and  change  colour,  and  when  a  certain  blackish  tint  is 
produced  the  fermentation  ia  considered  to  be  finished  and  the 
leaves  are  stripped  from  the  stalk  and  made  up  into  bundles  for 
sale.  This  process  really  requires  most  careful  watching,  to  see 
that  the  heat  reached  is  not  too  great  and  that  the  process  is  not 
stopped  too  soon  or  carried  too  far.  But  the  ryot  has  no  thermo- 
meter and  leaves  matters  largely  to  chance, 


AQRICULTUBE    AND    IRRIGATION. 


121 


The  whole  sabject  of  the  growth  and  curing  of  tobacco  is  now      CHAP.  iv. 
under  the  consideration  of  Government,  who  are  endeavouring  to  ^^^ 

procure  the  assistance  of  experts  to  advise  as  to  the  directions  in        ' 

whicli  improvements  might  bo  possible.     The  manufacture  of  the 
cured  leaves  into  cigars  at  Dindigul  is  referred  to  on  p.  149. 

The  proportion  of  the  cultivated  area  of  the  district  which  Irrigatiox. 
is  irrigated  is  higher  than  the  normal  for  the  Presidency.  The 
statistics  say  that  in  ordinary  seasons  27  per  cent,  of  it  is  protected 
from  famine  and  in  all  seasons  ne&rly  22  per  cent.  Details  for 
the  different  taluks,  and  figures  showing  the  percentage  of  the 
wet  area  in  each  of  these  which  is  irrigated  by  the  various  classes 
of  sources  are  appended  : — 


Area 
protected. 


Taluk. 

Percentage  of  wet  area 

which  is  irrigated 

respectively  by 

Perceiitage  of  total 

cultivated  area  whicli 

is  protected 

CD 

§ 

o 

>3 

o 

S 
a 

> 
o 

OD 

Other  sources. 

In  ordinary  seasons, 
lu  all  seasons. 

Dindiijul 

Kodaikanal 

Madura 

M^ldr           

Palni             

Poriyakulam           

Tirumang^alam 

District  Total     ... 

11 
10 
lC-7 
10-2 
1-6 
3-8 
01 

5-6 

"8'-5 
8-4 
30 

3-6 
7-9 

9-4 

0-5 
0-5 

9-8 
4-4 
2-4 

0-2 

i-0 

0-1 
0-1 
0-1 

18-5 
15-4 
49-6 
35-2 
41-5 
24-3 
13-7 

15-3 
15-3 

44-7 
270 
21-4 
21-6 
131 

34-5 

370 

27-0 

1-5 

27-2 

21-7 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  best  protectei  taluks  are  Madura  and 
Mellir,  which  are  served  by  the  great  Periydr  project  referred  to 
later.  Next  come  Palni,  which  is  chiefly  safe-guarded  by  its 
numerous  excellent  wells,  and  Perijaknlam,  which  also  benefits 
from  the  Periydr  water.  At  the  bottom  of  the  list  is  Tiruman- 
galam,  where  there  are  hardly  any  channels  and  very  few  wells. 

Though  a  large  proportion  of  i\T^lijr  is  now  safe  from  famine, 
the  quality  of  the  wet  land  in  it  is  the  poorest  in  the  district, 
being  mostly  sandy  red  soil.     This  is  clearly  shown  in  the  figiu'ea 

16 


122 


MADUEA. 


CHAP.  IV.    below,  whicli  give  the  percentage  of  the  assessed  wet  land  in  each 
Irrigation,    taluk  which  is  assessed  at  each  of  the  standard  rates  : — 


Wells. 


Taluk. 

Percentage  of  assessed  wet  land  which  is 
assessed  at 

d 
1 

1 
00 

IB 

03 

o 
1 

CO 

1 

o 

1 

CO 
1 

CO 
to 

M 

d 

00 

1 

w 

00 
CO 

d 
1 

CVS 
n 

Pi 

o 

00 

1 
cq 

00 

o 

1 
o 

1 

<N 

tB 

'A 

Dindigul 
Madura 

M616r               

Palni 

Periyakulam 
Tirumangalani 

District  Total     ... 

3 
1 

2 
4 

5 
2 

4 
13 

"lO 
4 
6 

13 

18 
1 
11 
22 
26 

14 

30 
18 
9 
17 
32 
38 

22 

37 

27 
60 
43 
24 
24 

3  2 
13 
27 
11 
11 
6 

2 

7 
3 

"4 

2 

G 

37 

16 

3 

It  will  be  seen  that  nine-tenths  of  the  Melur  wet  land  is 
assessed  as  lightly  as  Rs.  3-8-0  per  acre  and  less.  The  highly- 
rated  land  shown  in  this  table  as  situated  in  the  Palni  taluk  is 
mainly  that  under  the  Shanmuganadi,  one  of  the  best  sources  in 
the  district ;  that  in  Madura  is  under  the  Vaigai  channels  and 
that  in  Periyakulam  under  anicuts  on  the  Suruli.  It  will  be  seen, 
however,  that  less  than  a  quarter  of  all  the  wet  land  in  the  district 
is  charged  more  than  Rs.  4-8-0  per  acre.  This  low  figure  is  due 
to  the  generally  inferior  nature  of  the  irrigation  sources.  Exclud- 
ing the  Periydr  project,  the  best  of  these  are  those  depending  on 
tlie  Vaigai  aud  Suruli,  and  they  are  only  equal  to  the  second 
best  sources  in  the  neighbouring  districts  of  Coimbatore  and 
Tinnevelly. 

Wells  water  no  less  than  27  per  cent,  of  the  total  irrigated 
area  in  the  district.  The  figures  in  the  statement  above  show 
that  the  areas  so  irrigated  are  proportionally  highest  in  Palni, 
Dindigul  and  Periyakulam.  Madura  and  the  south  of  Melur 
require  few  of  these  S3urces,  as  they  are  so  bountifully  supplied 
with  channels,  but  the  north  of  Melur  contains  a  much  smaller 
number  of  them  than  its  circumstances  warrant.  Tlie  soil  there 
is  certainly  for  the  most  part  rocky,  but  the  sub-soil  water  is  said 
to  lie  at  no  great  depth. 

The  wells  in  Tirumangalam  are  usually  small  affairs,  the  chief 
expense  connected  with  which  is  1  he  necessity  of  revetting  their 
sides  to  prevent  the  loose  earth  of  that  part  of  the  district  from 
falling  into  ihem.    Elsewhere  the  wells  (except  the  '  supplementary' 


AGRICULTURE   AND   IRRIGATION. 


123 


kind  which  are  dug  in  wetlands  to  supplement  tank  irrigation) 
are  usually  deep  and  large  pits  sunk  at  great  cost  in  hard  soil  or 
through  rock.  The  only  water-lifts  in  use  are  the  ordinary 
picottah  and  double  mhote.  lu  the  case  of  the  latter  the  bullocks 
are  always  backed  up  the  ramp  after  drawing  up  the  bucket,  and 
never  detached  and  led  round  to  the  top  of  the  slope  in  the 
convenient  manner  so  common  in  the  Dcccan  districts.  The 
buckets  are  either  made  of  leather  throughout  or  consist  of  an  ii-on 
basin  with  a  leather  continuation. 

Except  the  Periyar  project  referred  to  later,  practically  the 
whole  of  the  irrigation  works  of  the  district,  other  than  the  wells, 
were  made  in  the  days  of  native  rule.  Old  manuscripts  say  that 
very  many  of  them  were  constructed  by  the  numerous  poligars 
among  whom  the  country  was  divided  up,  and  there  is  no  record 
of  the  central  government  at  Madura  'having  constructed  any  of 
them.  Perhaps  for  this  reason,  they  are  all  of  them  small  affairs. 
There  exist  none  of  the  bold  projects  seen  here  and  there  in  the 
Deccan  districts — the  Cumbuni  and  Daroji  tanks  for  instance — 
where  a  great  embankment  has  been  thrown  across  a  valley  and  a 
whole  river  dammed  back.  The  largest  scheme  was  the  Poranai 
anient  across  the  Vaigai  which  has  now  been  replaced  by  the 
regulator  which  controls  the  irrigation  from  the  Periyar.  Except 
this  Pcn-iyar  project,  there  is  not  a  single  work  in  all  Madura  which 
comes  under  any  of  the  first  three  of  the  four  main  classes  into 
which  irrigation  works  arc  divided;  and  though  the  numerous  small 
tanks  and  channels  which  irrigate  the  wet  land  of  the  district 
are  important  collectively,  they  are  individually  uninteresting. 
Statistics  of  the  Revenue  department  show  that  out  of  a  total  of 
4,580  minor  works,  no  less  than  2,846  irrigate  less  than  ten  acres, 
and  another  1,142  water  more  than  ten  but  less  than  50  acres. 
The  local  distribution  of  these  minor  works  is  as  vmdcr : — 


CHAP.  IV. 
Irrigation. 


Tanks  and 
channels. 


Talnk. 

Under  50 
acres. 

50  to  500 
acres. 

Above 

500 
acrea. 

Dindigul 
Madura 

M^!lur 

Kodaikanal       ...          ...          

Palni      

Periyakulam     ... 
Tirumangalain 

Total 

1,738 

217 

1,718 

.34 

28 

75 

178 

80 
91 
99 
19 
32 
S-l 
162 

1 

12 

1 

11 
9 

1 

.1,988 

557 

35 

124 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  IV.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  very  great  majority  of  tbem  lie  in  the 

Irrigation,    two  taluks  of  Diiidigul   and   M  elur.     Spring  channels,  which  in 

some  districts  are  such  important  sources,  are  in  Madura  dug  only 

in  the  hod  of  the  Vaigai.     The  other  rivers  are   little  more  than 

jungle-streams,  and  have  no  underflow  worth  mention. 

The  rivers  of  the  district  and  the  areas  which  they  respectively 
drain  have  been  mentioned  on  pp.  10-12  above.  The  distribution 
among  these  basins  (and  the  minor  basins  of  which  they  are  made 
up)  of  the  irrigation  works  which  are  supplied  from  rivers  and 
theii'  tributaries,  and  particulars  of  the  rivers  on  which  these  works 
severally  depend,  are  shown  in  the  following  statement  ^ :  — 


i- 

fl 

.s 

3    . 

IB 

+3 

fc  ■» 

>■      . 

^ 

o  ••- 

O    00 

u 

^  § 

O^ 

>, 

Basin. 

Minor  basin. 

Eiver. 

°1 

zi 

O    -tj 

CD   -t3 

3    m 

r^      rt 

cj    S 

1 1 
D  a 

a  % 

p  s 

.^J'^ 
t   § 

\^ 

\^ 

hH 

Upper 
Gundar. 

i 
Tirumangalam        ... 

Gundar     .. 

5 

198 

25,626 

Sivarakottai. 

Kavundanadi 
Varattar  ... 

9 
2 

97 
2 

]  7,374 

Lower 

Kritimanadi 

Vaigai       

38 

12,842 

Gundar. 

r 

r 
1 

Shanmuganadi  and 
its  tributaries.the 

31 

1 

1 

Palni              ...           -{ 

1 

1 
I 

Varadamanadi ... 

Palar       

Porandalar    and 
Facliaiyar 

2  1 
2j 

45 

13,738 

Amavavati-' 

! 

Nallataugi 

Nallatangi    and   a 
tributary. 

3 

5 

478 

Nanganji 

Nanganji! 

4 

18 

1,5.33 

Lower  Kodaviinar  ... 

Kodavanar  and  tri- 
butaries. 

3 

293 

2,466 

L 

Dindignl 

Do. 

18 

1,033 

13,965 

' 

Siu-uli 

Suruli 

14 

67 

12,100 

Periyakulam 

Varahanadi       and 
tributaries. 

13 

75 

8,132 

Uppei- 
Vaigai. 

Andipatti     

Vaigai    and  tribu- 
taries. 

3 

13 

1,146 

Vattilagundn 

M  an j alar    and  tri- 

10 

44 

4,471 

I. 

butaries. 

Mid  Vaigai. 

Solavandan  ... 

Vaigai 

223 

9,061 

Included  in  the  first  of  these  minor  basins,  that  of  Tiruman- 
galam, is  the  Nilaiyur  channeL  which  takes  off  from  the  Vaigai 
below  the  Chittanai  and  supplies  5,998  acres  directly  or  indirectly. 

^  Compiled  from  particulars  kindly  furnished  by  M.R.Ry.  A.  V.  Eama- 
Jinga  Aiyai,  b.a.,  b.c.e.,  Executive  Engineer  of  Madura  district. 


AGllICULTURE   aKD   IRKIGATION.  125 

The  land  under  this  is  tho  only  part  of  the  district  in  which  the     cilAP.  IV. 
Voluntary  Irrigation  Cess  is  levied.  Irrigation. 

Connected  with  the  Lower  Grundar  hasiu  arc  seven  channels 
from  the  Vaigai  which  are  supplied  by  koramlnix,  or  temporary 
dams  made  uf  brushwood  and  earth  which  are  renewed  every 
year. 

In  the  Palni  minor  hasin,  all  hut  two  of  the  channels  have  head 
sluices.  The  most  important  of  thom  are  the  Aiyampalle  anient 
across  the  t'alar,  which  irrigates  3,8GG  acres,  and  the  Kottai  dam 
on  the  Varadamauadi  or  Varattar,  which  supplies  2,175  acres.  It 
is  proposed  to  dam  up  tho  Poraudalar  river  in  this  basin  and 
its  tributary  the  Pachaiyar  and  to  form  a  reservoir  which  would 
incrcaso  the  supply  in  this  area.  The  scheme,  however,  is  a 
protective  rather  than  a  productive  project. 

In  the  Dindigul  minor  basin,  eight  of  the  anicuts  have  head 
sluices.  The  most  important  of  them  is  the  Attur  dam,  which 
waters  9  13  acres. 

In  the  Suruli  minor  basin  the  chief  anicuts  are  the  Uttamuttu, 
Palaiyamparavu  and  Chinuamaniir  dams,  which  irrigate  respec- 
tively 2,469,  2,451  and  1,GG6  acres.  All  but  two  of  the  anicuts  in 
this  area  have  head  sluices. 

In  the  Periyakulam  minor  basin,  on  tho  other  hand,  none 
of  the  anicuts  have  any  head  works.  The  best  of  them,  that  at 
Talattukovil,  supplies  2,131  acres. 

Irrigation  from  the  Varahauadi  in  this  tract  \\ill  shortly  be 
improved  by  the  Berijam  project  recently  sanctioned.  The  Berijam 
swamp  lies  on  the  top  of  the  Palnis  about  twelve  miles  south- west 
of  Kodaikanal  at  an  elevation  of  7,100  feet.  It  is  about  two 
miles  long,  runs  nearly  north  and  south,  and  is  situated  on  the 
water-parting  of  the  Falni  range,  so  that  the  southern  portion  of  it 
drains  into  the  Varahauadi  and  the  northern  into  the  Amaravati. 
The  project,  which  was  first  suggested  by  Col.  Pennycuick,  c.s.i., 
R.E.J  in  18?57,  consists  in  throwing  dams  across  both  ends  of  the 
swamp  and  forming  a  reservoir  with  a  capacity  of  77^  million 
cubic  feet  to  increase  the  supply  in  the  Varahauadi.  The  estimate 
amounts  to  Rs.  54,500. 

In  the  Andipatti  minor  basin  lies  the  uppermost  anient  on  the 
Vaigai,  that  at  Kunnur. 

Of  the  anicuts  in  the  Vattilagundu  batin  the  chief  is  that  at 
A^'yampaiaiyam  which  supplies  971  acres. 

In  the  Solavanddn  minor  basin  are  included  the  Tenkarrti 
channel  which  takes  of^  from  the  Chittanai  dam  across  the  Vaigai, 


126 


ilAbURA. 


CHAP.  IV. 
Irrigation. 


The  Periyar 
project. 


2^  miles  below  the  Peranai,  and  supplies  land  on  the  south  bank 
of  the  river,  and  also  several  spring  channels  which  are  excavated 
to  tap  the  underflow  in  the  same  river. 

Particulars  similar  to  those  in  the  above  statement  are  not 
available  for  the  small  area  included  in  the  basins  of  the  Tiru- 
mauimuttdr  and  Palar  in  Melur  taluk,  as  this  is  only  now  1)eing 
examined  by  the  Tank  Restoration  party.  Madura  was  the  first 
district  in  which  the  Tank  Restoration  Scheme  was  begun,  but  the 
Melur  taluk  was  not  finished  at  the  sime  time  as  the  rest  of  it 
because  it  was  not  then  clear  how  much  of  it  would  be  affected  by 
the  Periyar  project. 

Tiie  great  Periyar  project  already  several  times  referred  to 
consists,  to  state  the  matter  very  briefly,  in  damming  the  Pcriydr 
('big  river')  which  flows  down  the  western  slope  of  the  Grhats, 
through  country  possessing  a  superabundant  rainfall,  and  turning 
the  water  back,  by  a  tunnel  through  the  watershed,  down  the  dry 
eastern  slope  of  the  Ghats  to  irrigate  the  parched  up  plains  on  that 
side  of  the  range.  According  to  Captain  Ward's  Survey  Account 
of  1815,  the  first  person  to  suggest  this  schenre  was  Muttu  Arula 
Pillai,  prime  minister  of  the  Pamnad  liaja,  who  in  1798  sent 
'  twelve  intelligent  men  '  to  enquire  into  its  possibility.  They 
reported  in  favour  of  it,  but  funds  were  lacking.  In  1 808  Sir 
James  (then  Captain)  Caldwell,  the  District  Engineer,  reported, 
after  a  cui'sory  examination,  that  the  scheme  was  impracticable. 
The  matter,  however,  continued  to  be  discussed,  and  in  1867  it  was 
brought  forward  by  Major  EyveS;  R.E.,  in  a  practical  form.  He 
proposed  to  construct  an  earthen  dam  162  feet  high  across  the 
Periyar  and  turn  back  the  water  down  a  cutting  through  the 
watershed.  His  idea  was  merely  to  divert  the  river,  and  not  to 
store  its  waters.  He  estimated  the  cost  of  the  matter  at  17|  lakhs. 
From  1868  to  1870  Colonel  (then  Lieutenant)  Pennycuick,  R.E., 
and  afterwards  Mr.  R.  Smith,  investigated  the  scheme  and  a  com- 
plete project,  estimated  to  cost  54  lakhs,  was  drawn  up  which 
involved  important  modifications  of  Major  Ryves'  proposals, 
among  them  the  transfer  of  the  site  of  the  dam  to  a  point  seven 
miles  lower  down  the  river.  I  'oubts  arose  as  to  the  practicability 
of  constructing  so  huge  an  embankment  of  earth,  and  it  was  not 
until  l^SZ  that  Colonel  Pennycuick's  proposal  to  build  a  masonry 
dam  was  accepted,  and  he  was  directed  to  revise  the  plans  and 
estimates  for  the  whole  project.  The  scheme  he  drew  up  included 
a  great  masonry  dam  across  the  Periyar,  a  huge  lake,  and  a  tunnel 
through  the  watershed.  It  was  sanctioned  in  1884  and  work  was 
begun  late  in  1887.     The  estimate  for  direct  charges  was  62  lakhs. 


AGEICTTLTURE   AND    IRRIGATION.  127 

The  site  of  the  dam  and  lake  are  in  Travaneore  territory  and  it    CHAP.I7. 
was  agreed  that  the    British   Grovernment   should  pay   an  annual     Irrigation. 
rent  of  Rs.  40,000  for  a  certain  specified  area  and  certain   defined 
rights,  and  that  the  lease  sho'ild  run  lor  999  years  with  the  option 
of  renewal.     Sovereign  rights  over  the  tract  were  reserved  by  the 
'JVavancore  State. 

The  immense  difficulties  which  arose  and  were  overcome  during 
the  actual  construction  of  the  great  project  are  detailed  in  the 
History  of  the  Periijdr  Project  (Madras  Government  Press,  1899) 
by  Mr.  A.  T.  Mackenzie,  one  of  the  Engineers  who  helped  to 
carry  it  through.  The  site  of  the  works  was  an  unhealthy 
jungle  3,000  feet  in  elevation,  where  rain  and  malaria  rendered 
work  impossible  for  a  considerable  portion  of  the  year,  where  even 
unskilled  labour  was  unobtainable,  and  to  which  every  sort  of  plant 
and  nearly  all  material  had  to  be  transported  at  great  cost  from 
a  railway  76  miles  off  and  up  a  steep  ghat  road.  A  canal  was 
constructed  from  the  top  of  the  ghat  to  the  site  of  the  dam  to  meet 
this  latter  difficulty,  and  later  an  overhead  wire  ropeway,  driven  by 
a  turbine,  was  put  np  from  the  foot  of  the  ghat  to  the  head  of  the 
canal.  The  difficulty  of  laying  the  foundations  for  a  dam  in  a 
river  of  such  magnitude  (the  discharge  is  equal  to  half  the  average 
flow  of  Niagara)  and  liable  to  such  sudden  and  heavy  freshes  (one 
of  these  registered  120,000  cusecs)  was  immense,  and  at  first 
the  work  was  swept  away  again  and  again.  The  ope  ations  were 
described  by  the  Chief  Knginoer,  Col.  Pennycuiek,  as  the  most 
anxious,  difficult  and  exhausting  of  any  which  had  come  within  his 
experience.  After  the  foundations  were  all  in.  further  immense 
difilcvdty  occurred  in  passing  the  ordinary  flow  of  the  river  and  the 
constant  high  freshes  without  damage  to  the  masonry  of  the  dam. 
After  many  expedients  had  been  tried,  this  was  eventually 
effected  through  a  tunnel  or  culvert  in  the  body  of  the  dam  itself, 
which  was  afterwards  closed  and  plugged.  On  the  left  of  the  dam 
a  stnaller  extension  2"21  feet  long  was  built  to  close  a  di))  in  the 
ground,  and  an  escape  434  feet  in  length  was  made  on  the  right. 
The  main  dam  was  practically  finished  by  October  18i'5.  Includ- 
iug  the  parapets,  it  is  1 7o  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  river,  1,241 
feet  long,  144  feet  6  inches  wide  at  the  bottom  and  12  feet  wide 
at  the  top.  The  front  and  rear  walls  are  of  rubble  masonry  and 
the  interior  is  filled  with  concrete  in  surki  mortar.  The  lake 
impounded  by  it  covers  moro  than  8,000  acres  and  has  a  maxi- 
mum possible  depth  of  17G  feet. 

The  passage  through  the  watershed  consists  of  an  open  cutting 
or  approach  5,342  feet  long,  a  tunnel  5,704  feet  long',  and  another 


128  MADURA, 

CHAP.  IV  open  cutting  or  debouchure  500  feet  long-.  The  approach  is  21  feet 
Irrigation,  wide.  The  tunnel  is  1 2  feet  wide  by  7|-  feet  high  and  has  a 
gradient  of  I  in  75.  It  was  all  blasted  through  solid  rock, 
machine  drills  driven  by  compressed  air  supplied  by  a  turbine 
plant  being  employed.  A  sluice-gate  (Stoney's  patent)  at  the 
head  of  it  controls  the  outflow.  From  the  lower  end  of  it  the 
water  hurls  itself  down  the  face  of  the  hill  into  a  stream  called 
the  Vairavandr,  w  hence  it  flows  into  the  Suruli  and  thence  into 
the  Vaigai.  It  has  long  been  suggested  that  the  great  head 
obtainable  at  the  outfiill,  900  feet  in  a  length  of  6,800  feet,  might 
be  Titilised  for  driving  turbines  for  the  generation  of  electricity. 
One  difRculty  is  that  the  water  is  only  required  for  irrigation  for 
nine  or  ten  months  in  the  year,  whereas  for  any  scheme  for  the 
production  of  electrical  power  on  commercial  lines  it  would  need  to 
be  passed  through  the  tunnel  all  the  year  round.  The  waste  of 
water  which  this  would  involve  could,  however,  be  obviated  by  the 
construction  of  a  reservoir  on  the  plains,  below  the  outfall  and  the 
power-s<^ation,  and  the  feasibility  of  this  is  under  examination. 

On  the  Suruli  and  Vaigai  there  are  several  ancient  anicuts,  and 
the  supply  at  these  has  of  cours3  been  increased  since  the  Periyar 
water  was  passed  into  the  rivers,  but  the  mass  of  the  water  is  not 
utilised  until  it  reaches  the  Peranai  ('  big  dam  ')  anient  which 
crosses  the  Vaigai  about  5^  miles  due  south  of  Nilabkottai,  and  86 
miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,  where  the  river  changes  its 
course  to  the  south-east.  This  Peranai  is  an  old  native  work  which 
fed  a  channel  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river  called  the  Vadakarai 
channel.  A  groat  deal  of  silt  collected  above  it  and  choked  the 
river  bed  and  the  new  main  channel,  and  it  has  now  been  replaced 
by  a  regulator  constructed  on  modern  principles  and  possessing  ten 
vents  of  40  feet  each,  fitted  with  Colonel  Smart's  counterbalanced 
shutters  which  can  be  raised  to  allow  the  free  passage  of  dangerous 
floods  and  lowered  at  other  times  to  hold  up  water  to  the  height 
required.  From  this  regulator  leads  off  the  main  canal,  which 
passes  through  a  head  sluice  of  six  vents  of  twenty  feet  span. 
This  runs  nearly  due  eastwards  almost  as  far  east  as  the  town  of 
Melur,  is  nearly  38  miles  long,  is  six  feet  deep  and  has  a  carrying 
capacity  of  2,016  cusecs  at  the  head.  The  courses  of  the  twelve 
branches  which  take  off  from  it  are  shown  in  the  accompanying 
map  of  the  area  served  by  the  project.  Their  total  length  is 
nearly  68  miles. 

The  project  was  opened  in  October  1895  by  Lord  Wenlock, 
then  Governor  of  Madras.  The  construction  estimate  was  closed 
on  the  Slat  March  18'J7  and  the  direct  expenditure  up  to  then  had 


pillaitahnattamS 


PERIYAR   PROJECT 

MADURA   DISTRICT 

Showing  main  &  branch   channels. 


KURICHIPATTH    . 


\     D  anoadimanoalAM 


Photo-Print.  Survey  Wtice.  Madras, 
1906. 


AQRICULTUEE   AND   IRRIGATION. 


129 


amounted  to  81"30  lakhs,  made  up  of  42-26  lakhs  for  the  head 
works  (the  dam  and  tunnel),  18'43  lakhs  for  the  n)ain  canals, 
branches  and  distributaries,  and  20'ol  for  establishment  and  tools 
and  plant-  Other  works  remain  to  be  carried  out  which,  as  far  as 
can  at  present  bo  foreseen,  will  brint^  the  total  cost  to  nearly  100 
lakhs.  The  culturable  area  commanded  consists  of  100,000  acres 
of  first  crop  and  51,000  acres  of  second  crop  on  Government  land, 
and  130,000  and  9,000  acres  of  first  and  second  crop  respectively  on 
zamin  and  whole  inam  wet  land.  The  assessment  rates  on  the 
Government  land  commanded  were  raised,  in  accordance  with  an 
announcement  made  at  the  time  of  tbc  last  Settlement  (see  p.  202), 
to  those  payable  under  irrigation  sources  of  the  first  class  adopted 
for  the  disti'ict,  and  zamin  and  whole  inam  wet  lands  are  charged 
Bs.  4  per  acre  for  a  first  wet  crop  and  Rs.  3  for  a  second.  A 
Special  Deputy  Collector  is  in  chai'ge  of  the  supply  of  water  to 
these  latter,  of  the  collection  of  the  assessment  on  them,  the  dis- 
bursement of  loans  to  ryots,  and  other  special  ma.tters  connected 
with  the  project.  The  total  areas  actually  irrigated  since  the  first 
year  in  which  the  project  came  into  opei  ation  are  given  in  the 

margin.     The     net    profit    at 


CUAF.  17. 
Irrigation. 


Years. 


Area  actually  irrigated 


First 
crop. 


Second 
crop. 


Total. 


1896- 
1897- 
1898- 
1899- 
1900- 
1901- 
1902- 
1903- 
1904- 


1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 
1905 


ACS. 

ACS. 

48,623 

11,950 

06,328 

18,816 

77,710 

25,038 

88,721 

29,712 

100,158 

31,455 

106,933 

3i\-Mi7 

105,228 

35,167 

105,709 

36,240 

110,002 

36,788 

ACS. 

60,573 
85,144 
102,748 
118,133 
131,613 
143,170 
140,395 
141,949 
146,790 


present  on  the  existing  total 
capital  outlay  is  4- 08  per  cent. 
A  project  of  this  magnitude 
takes  some  time  to  attain  its 
utmost  extension.  Ryots  have 
emigrated  from  Coimbatore, 
Tinnevelly  and  Trichinopoly  to 
the  land  commanded  by  it,  but 
the  supply  of  labour  and  cattle 
is  still  unequal  to  the  demand  ; 
the  obliteration  of  the  former  cart-tracl?s  has  necessitated  the  design- 
ing of  a  system  of  new  cross-roads,  but  these  are  not  yet  finished  ; 
this  difficulty  of  transport  has  madf?  manure,  which  is  always 
scarce  in  this  area,  more  expensive  than  ever ;  drainage  channels 
are  required,  but  have  not  all  been  carried  out  yet ;  and  the  ryots, 
as  already  explained,  have  not  yet  adapted  themselves  to  the  now 
state  of  affairs  but  continue  to  grow  one  crop  where  they  might 
raise  two,  to  supersaturate  their  land  to  the  detriment  of  the  yield, 
and  to  avoid,  instead  of  reclaiming,  the  patches  of  alkaline  land 
which  exist.  When  the  whole  area  commanded  by  the  project 
has  been  taken  up  and  the  extension  of  second-crop  cultivation 
begins  in  earnest,  the   project   will   scarcely  be  able  to  supply 

17 


130 


MADtJRA. 


CHAP.  IV. 

Irrigation. 


Economic 
condition  of 

A8RIC0I.- 
TURISTS. 


sufficient  water  for  tlie  demand.  In  order  to  increase  the  storage 
capacity  of  the  lake  and  at  the  sane  time  render  the  dam  safe 
against  extraordinary  floods,  an  estimate  has  now  been  sanctioned 
for  lowering  the  escape  on  the  right,  wbich  is  at  present  14  feet 
below  the  crest  of  the  dam,  by  8  feet  and  erecting  across  it  a 
regulator  fitted  with  movable  shutters  IG  feet  high.  These  will  be 
raised  during  dangerous  floods  and  thus  increase  the  waterway 
on  the  escape,  and  lowered  at  other  times.  They  will  raise  the  full 
supply  level  of  the  lake  by  eight  feet  and  its  storage  capacity  by 
2,361  millions  of  cubic  feet. 

In  O.S.  No.  22  of  11)01  on  the  file  of  the  West  Sub-Court  of 
Madura,  Mr.  Eobert  Fischer  (as  proprietor  of  riparian  villages  on  the 
Vaigai  below  the  Peranai),  the  Lessees  of  the  Eamnad.  and  Siva- 
ganga  zamindaris  and  the  minor  Kaja  of  Eamnad  brought  a  suit 
against  the  Secretary  of  State  in  connection  with  the  buildmg 
of  the  new  regulator  at  the  Peranai  and  the  constraction  of  the  new 
main  channel.  They  claimed  that  their  rights  as  riparian  pro- 
prietors lower  down  the  \'  aigai  were  in j  uriously  affected  by  these 
works,  and  prayed  for  a  decree  declaring,  among  other  things,  that 
Government  had  no  right  to  erect  the  regulator  or  excavate  the 
channel  and  requiring  them  to  remove  the  one  and  either  close 
the  other  or  reduce  it  to  the  size  of  the  old  Vadakarai  channel. 
The  suit  was  dismissed  in  October  19j3,  but  an  appeal  has  been 
preferred  to  the  High  Court. 

It  remains  to  note  the  economic  condition  of  the  agriculturist 
of  the  district.  It  is  sufficient  to  take  his  case  by  itself  for  the 
reason  that  he  constitutes  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  total  popula- 
tion and  that  the  remaining  fourth  depend  for  their  welfare  directly 
upon  his  prosperity  and  spending  power.  Statistics  go  to  show 
that  the  Madura  ryot  is  usually  a  farmer  in  a  very  small  way. 
Of  the  pattas  of  the  district,  as  many  as  73  per  cent,  are  for  amounts 
as  small  as  Ks.  10  and  less,  and  another  20  per  cent,  for  sums 
between  Rs,  10  and  Hs.  30  ;  the  average  size  of  a  holding  is  under 
six  acres  ;  and  the  average  assessment  thereon  is  just  over  Rs.  10. 
But  these  figures  are  probably  largely  affected  by  the  large  number 
of  Kalians  who  reside  within  the  district.  These  people  seldom 
farm  in  earnest,  but  live  largely  by  blackmailing  and  theft.  They 
are  among  the  first  to  feel  the  pinch  of  a  bad  season,  and,  were 
they  not  accustomed  to  thieve  then  with  more  than  usual  energy 
and  to  emigrate  light-heartedly  with  all  their  belongings  to 
Eangoon  and  Ceylon,  they  would  constitute  a  cuust.-'nt  source  of 
anxiety.  Excluding  these  people,  the  Madura  ryot  appears  to  be 
comfortable  enough.     The  wealth  of  the  capital  of  the  district  has 


AGRICULTURE   AND    IRRIGATION.  131 

no  doubt  led  common  repute  to  assess  the  well-bcicg  of  the  rest  of  CHAP.  17 
the  country  at  a  hi<^her  standard  than  the  circumstances  warrant  ;  Economic 
but  the  fact  that  since  the  famine  of  1876-78  no  relief-works  agricul- 
or  gratuitous  relief  have  been  necessary  is  significant.  In  the  tlristb. 
quinquennium  1897-1901  the  average  area  cultivated  was  22  per 
cent,  greater  than  tho  average  for  the  five  years  1871-1875 
and  the  land  assessment  paid  was  24  per  cent,  greater.  During 
this  period  the  population  increased  by  29  per  cent.,  and  it  would 
therefore  appear  that  tho  people  are  multiplying  dangerously  faster 
than  the  means  of  subsistence.  But  during  this  same  period  the 
Periyar  irrigation  has  rendered  available  for  the  cultivation  of  rice 
much  land  which  formerly  bore  only  precarious  dry  crops,  and  has 
resulted  in  two  crops  being  raised  on  considerable  areas  where 
only  one  grew  before.  Wells  have  increased  enormously  and  have 
not  only  enabled  a  omp  to  be  grown  with  certainty  where  cultiva- 
tion was  formerly  a  gamble,  but  have  permitted  the  planting  of 
such  valuable  staples  as  tobacco  in  place  of  the  dry  crops  and  pulses 
with  which  the  ryots  were  formerly  content.  C-redit  is  sufficiently 
cheap.  The  Nattukottai  Cbettis  abound,  and  in  Madura  is  the 
Hindu  Permanent  Fund,  capital  Es.  2,99.964,  which  was  started 
on  1st  February  1894,  moved  in  1902  into  the  substantial  office 
near  the  west  gojmram  of  the  temple  which  was  opened  in  March 
of  that  year  by  Lord  Ampthill,  and  possesses  a  constantly  increas- 
ing clientele.  Ela-nidhis,  or  chit  associations,  are  also  numerous. 
The  members  of  these  agree  to  subscribe  a  fixed  sum  each  month  for 
a  fixed  period  and  lots  are  cast  monthly  to  decide  who  shall  take 
the  whole  of  it.  A  man  who  once  wins  tho  pool  is  debarred  from 
competing  for  it  again  but  is  obliged,  of  course,  to  go  on  with  his 
monthly  subscription  until  the  end  of  the  fixed  period  The  parts 
of  tho  district  which  stand  most  in  need  of  improvement  at  present 
are  the  Kalian  tracts  in  the  north  of  Melur,  the  adjoining  area  in 
Dindigxil  and  the  north-west  of  Tirumangalam  taluk.  In  the  two 
former  of  these  it  seems,  from  official  reports,  that  much  might  be 
done  by  increasing  tho  number  of  wells.  For  the  last  the  best 
hope  at  present  lies  in  the  chance  of  the  supply  in  the  Periydr  lake 
being  sufficiently  increased  to  a*^  "Tnit,  of  a  channel  being  led  to  it 
from  the  Peranai  regulator. 


132 


MADUEA. 


CHAPTER  V. 

FOEESTS. 


Beginnings  of  conservancy-  -The  Forest  Act  of  1882— The  existing  forests— Their 
position — Their  characteristics — In  the  east  and  south  of  the  district — On 
the  slopes  of  the  Falnis— On  the  Palni  plateaus— In  the  Kambam  valley-  • 
Plantations— Minor  produce — (rrazing-fees — Working  plans:  in  the  four 
eastern  taluks — In  the  Kambam  valley. 

CHAP,  V.     It  was  not  until  the  middle  of  tho  last  century  that  any  attempt 

Forests.      was  made  to  conserve  the  valuable  forests  of  the  district.     Up  till 

n    •     ~    „<■   1852,  any  one  was  allowed  to  fell  any  timber  he  chose,  anywhere, 
r>eginninf(s  oi  '        -*  -  . 

conservancy,  without  let  or  hindrance,  and  the  jangles  were  being  rapidly 
destroyed  and  stripped  of  all  their  choicf'st  trees.  In  that  year 
orders  were  issued  prohibiting  felling  without  a  license  from  the 
Eevenue  authorities,  but  no  foe  was  charged  for  this  permission 
and  it  was  freely  granted  even  to  the  timber-merchants  who  cut 
down  wood  wholesale  and  exported  it  to  Tanjore,  Tiichinopoly  and 
other  districts  w^hich  had  no  forests  of  their  own.  The  only 
revenue  derived  from  the  forests  was  the  proceeds  of  the  leases  cf 
jungle  produce,  and  in  1854  the  oppression  by  official  underlings 
of  the  hill  tribes  who  collected  these  products  led  to  the  abolition 
of  even  this  source  of  profit. 

In  1856  Mr.  Parker,  the  then  Collector,  brought  to  notice  the 
great  value  of  the  growth  in  the  Kambam  valley  and  the  futility 
of  the  existing  orders  for  its  protection,  and  two  years  later 
Government  made  a  first  beginning  in  conservation  by  forbidding 
the  destructive  methods  by  which  plantain  growing  was  carried 
on  in  tho  Palni  hills.  This  cwltivatiou  consisted  in  clearing  a 
space  in  the  forest  by  felling  and  burning  every  tree  within  it, 
roughly  ploughing  in  the  aslies,  and  patting  out  the  plantain 
CU' tings  in  the  rich  soil  thus  renlered  available  ;  after  a  few  years 
the  patch  tluis  cleared  was  abandoned  and  another  was  treated  in 
the  same  way ;  and  since  t'le  abandoned  clearings  hardly  ever 
produced  good  forest  again,  but  merely  relapsed  into  thorny  wastes, 
thousan'ls  of  acres  of  excellent  jungle  had  thas  been  mined. 

In  18 o7  Lieutenant  (afterwards  Oolonol)  Beddome,  one  of  the 
first  of  the  Assistant  Conservators  of  Forests,  visited  the  Palnis  and 
sent  in  a  report  on  the  rapid  denudation  of  their  forests  which 


FORESTS.  1^3 

was  proceeding  and  also  an  elaborate  list  of  tlioir  flora.'     Ho  said     CHAP.  v. 
that  almost  all  tho  bij^f^er  teak   and  blackwood  trees  had  already       Forests. 
been   fellod;   that   even   saplings  of   these    varieties   were    being 
carried  off    for   post^  ;  that  vengai  was  similarly  carted  away  in 
large  quantities  ;   and  that,  in  short,   hardly  any  of  the  forest  on 
any  part  of  the  range  had  not  been  rathlessly  ruined. 

In  1860  one  forest  overseer,  salary  Es.  80,  was  posted  to  tho 
Kambani  valley  and  in  1802  he  was  given  a  subordinate  establish- 
ment costing  Rs.  100  a  month.  .  The  meagre  scale  of  this  is 
sufficiently  indi^vitod  by  t'lo  f.i,;t  that  for  tho  whole  of  the  Palni 
hills  only  two  peons  on  Rs.  o  each  wore  proposed,  one  for  tho 
Upper  Range  and  one  for  the  Lower.  The  '  Forest  department ' 
thus  constituted  took  charge  of  the  more  important  woodlands  of 
tho  district  (including  th'se of  the  Palnis.  tho  Kainbam  vallov  and 
the  Karandamalais)  and  its  duties  were  defined  to  bo  the  accom- 
plishment of  strict  con^ervan'iv  and  the  satisfaction  of  the  timber 
requirements  of  the  Pablio  Works  depar;raent  Some  of  tho 
forests  were  ad  ninistore  i  entirely  l)y  t,  and  others  were  worked 
on  an  improve  1  edition  of  the  oil  license  system,  permission  to 
fell  being  granted  by  tho  Forest  Officer  on  payment  to  the  Revenue 
department  of  ff^es  varying  with  the  nature  of  tho  tree  ;  trees  of 
certain  varieties  reserved  for  their  special  value  leing  marked 
officially  before  being  cut  down  (so  as  to  protect  saplings) ;  and 
the  timber  felled  being  checked  at  certain  tannahs  by  'Forest 
taunah  police.'  Ryots  were  allowed  to  fell  umeserved  trees  within 
their  village  boundaries  free  of  chnrge  if  they  v.'anted  them  for 
agricultural  pui-posos.  Side  by  side  with  the  forests  jilaced  under 
the  newly  constituted  establishment  were  others  controlled  in  a 
Vague  way  by  the  Jungle  Conseivancy  cepartment,  tis  it  wps 
called,  under  the  Collector. 

None  of  those  three  systems  can  be  said  to  have  worked 
successfully.  Much  of  the  duty  of  conservation  was  left  to  the 
revenue  officers,  who  had  other  duties  which  already  engrossed  all 
their  attention  and  were  unable  adequately  to  check  frauds  by 
village  officers  and  others  or  unauthorised  felling  by  ryots;  and 
even  in  the  jungles  which  were  s[)ccially  under  tbo  Forest  depart- 
ment there  was  a  lack  of  systematic  working  and  intcdligent 
provision  for  the  future.  In  1871  the  Collector  (there  was  a  good 
deal  of  friction  in  those  earl}'  days  between  the  iveveune  and  tho 
Forest  authorities)  said  that  in  the  west  of  tho  district  tho  depart- 
ment's operations  '  apparently  consisted  of  purchasing  timber  at  a 

'  Both  these  were  published  liy  ord(>r  of  Goveiniiicnt  in  MJ.L.S.  (18.18),  xix, 
N.S.,  163  ff. 


134  MADURA. 

CHAP.  V.     fixod  rate  per  cubic  foot  from  the  woodcutters  and  selling  it  to  the 
Forests.      general  public  at  100  per  cent,  profit      There  was  not  the  slightest 
chock  on  the  woodcutters.^ 

In  the  years  which  immediately  followed,  the  expected  needs  of 
the  extension  of  the  Soutli  Indian  Railway  (or  '  Grreat  Southern 
India '  line  as  it  was  called  in  those  days)  led  to  increased  interest- 
in  the  Madura  forests,  but  the  reports  show  that  real  conbcrvation 
was  far  from  being  attained,  illicit  felling  and  the  clearing  of 
jungle  for  plantniii  gardens  on  the  Lower  Palnis  going  on  much  as 
before.  A  good  deal  of  land  was  also  cleared  on  this  range  and 
on  the  Sirumalais  for  coffee  gardens  of  an  ephemeral  kind  which 
wore  abandoned  soon  after  they  were  opened. 

In  1(S71  a  small  forest  establishment  was  specially  sanctioned 
for  the  Lower  Palnis,  and  much  debate  took  place  regarding  the 
possibility  of  taking  up  certain  tank-beds  in  Tirumangalam  for 
plantaHons  of  babul  {Acacia  arahica)  and  V'  Ivelam  (A.  leucophlcea)  ; 
of  renting  on  Government  behalf  the  forests  on  the  Palnis  which 
belonged  to  the  Kannivadi  and  Ayakkudi  zamindaris  and  those  on 
the  Sirumalais  which  were  included  in  the  Ammayanayakkanur 
estate ;  and  of  inducing  the  Travaneore  Darbar  to  bring  some  of 
its  timber  to  a  dep8t  to  be  established  at  Kambam.  Confidence  in 
the  Forest  department  was,  however,  still  so  small  that  the  Court  of 
Warils,  which  at  that  time  was  managing  the  jungles  in  the  Gan- 
tamanayakkantir  and  Bodin^yakkanur  zamindaris  during  the 
min  irity  of  their  proprietors,  declined  to  entrust  these  areas  to  the 
Forest  officials.  These  and  the  other  zamindafi  jungles  were  (as, 
indeed,  thoy  still  are)  a  continual  source  of  difficulty.  Their  exact 
boundaries  were  so  little  known  and  they  so  dovetailed  with  the 
Govei'umenfc  forests  that  fires  started  in  them  spread  to  the  latter ; 
they  rendered  smuggling  from  the  reserves  a  very  simple  affair ; 
and  they  undersold  the  Forest  department  by  reckless  felling  when- 
ever a  demand  for  timber  or  firewood  arose.  Their  boundaries 
were  subsequently  ascertained  and  marked  out  by  the  Survey 
department,  but  in  several  cases  appeals  and  suits  followed  which 
were  not  jfinally  settled  for  a  long  period. 

In  1880  a  Committee  composed  of  Mr  H.  J.  Stokes  (the 
Collector),  Major  Campbell  Walker  (Deputy  Conservator  on  special 
duty)  and  Mr.  Gass  (Deputy  Conservator  of  the  district)  definitely 
selected  21  areas  measuring  285  square  miles  (some  of  it  within 
zamindaris)  which  they  proposed  to  constitute  reserves  and  clearly 
demarcate  as  such.  No  very  definite  action  was  taken  on  this  body's 
proposals,  but  they  constituted  an  important  foundation  for  the 
proceedings  which  were  subsecjuently  initiated.     Grazing-fees  were 


fOKESTS. 


135 


instituted  for  tlio  first  time  in  accoi-dance  with  a  rccoinmondation      CHAP.  V. 
by  this  Committee.  Forests. 

In  1882  the  Madras  Forest  Act  was  passed  into  law,  the  ..liniglc  ,j.j^g  Forest 
Conservancy  department  came  to  an  end,  and  reservation  and  con-  Act  of  lh«2. 
servancy  were  at  last  put  on  a  regular  footing.  As  in  other 
districts,  the  first  step  taken  under  this  enactment  was  the  '  forest 
settlement,'  or  the  selection,  demarcation,  mapping  and  formal 
notification  of  all  areas  to  be  reserved,  including  the  enquiry  into 
and  adjudication  upon  all  claims  over  them  (such  as  rights  ol  way, 
cultivation  or  pasturage  and  the  like)  which  were  put  forward  by 
private  individuals. 

As  elsewhere,  it  was  originally  intended  to  divide  all  forests 
into  three  classes;  namely,  (1)  reserved  forests,  in  which  all  claims 
were  to  be  settled  under  the  Act ;  (2)  reserved  lands,  which  were 
t.o  be  reserved  subject  to  all  rights  that  might  le  asserted,  i.e  ,  the 
claims  to  rights  in  them  remained  unsettled ;  and  {6)  village 
forests,  which  were  intended  to  meet  the  requirements  of  villages  in 
localities  where  the  custom  of  free-grazing  and  the  tree  collection 
of  firewood  and  leaves  for  maunre  had  long  and  steadily  obtained. 
In  1890,  however,  a  further  step  in  advance  was  made,  and  it  was 
determined  that  all  land  which  was  to  be  protected  at  all  should  be 
formally  settled  under  the  Act  and  constituted  '  reserved  forest.^ 
The  proposed  scheme  of  village  forests  was  abandoned  as  impiac- 
ticable,  but  villagers  wi  re  allowed  their  old  privileges  over  unre- 
served lands,  except  that  they  might  not  cut  reserved  or  clast^ified 
trees  without  permission. 

The  figures  in  the  margin  show  the  cjctcnt  and  situation  of  the  The  existing 

reserved  forests  as  they  have  *'^'''^*^^- 
been  finally  notified  under  the 
Act.^  It  will  be  seen  that 
the  largest  areas  are  in  the 
taluks  of  Kodaikanal,  Periya- 
kulam  and  Melur,  and  the 
smallest  in  lirumaugalam  and 
Palni,  in  both  of  which  latter 
the  extent  is  quite  insignifi- 
cant. The  reserves  were 
nearly  all  surveyed  by  the 
Government  of  India  Survey 
between  i8!^8  and  1891  on  a 
scale  of  4  inches  to  the  mile. 


Taluks. 

Area  iu 
square  miles 
of  reserved 

forest. 

Percent- 
age to 
tutal 
area  of 
taluk. 

Dindigul 

Mailura 

M^liir 

Palni 

Kodaikanal  ... 

Periyakulaiu. 

Tirumangalam. 

District  Total 

88 

49 

105 

210*] 
152 
1:3 

8 
11 
22 

30 

10 
2 

620 

13 

*  Includes  9  square  miles  '  proiJOhcd 
for  reservation.' 


^  For  assistance  with  the  rest   cf    this  chapter  I   am  greatly    indebted   tc 
Mr.  H.  B.  Brjant,  District  Forest  0S5cer. 


130 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  V. 

F0REST8. 

Tlioir 
position. 


Their 
character- 
istic's. 


Tlio  Madura  forests  differ  widely  from  those  in  bome  places 
^ South  (  uimbatore  and  Tmnovelly,  for  example)  in  that  they  are 
not  situtited  all  in  one  block  but  are  scattered  about  all  c^ver  the 
dit^trict  with  cultivation  and  zamin  forests  everywhei-e  interveniug 
among  them.  Broadly  speaking,  they  m^ay  be  readily  and  con- 
veniently grouped  iiito  four  main  classes  :  First,  the  open  and 
deciduo\is  growth  on  the  plains  and  slopes  of  the  low  hills  in  the 
Madura,  Molur,  Dindigul  and  Tirumangalam  talaks  in  the  east 
and  south  of  the  district,  which  cannot  be  expected  to  yield 
anything  in  the  shape  of  timber  for  many  years  to  come,  but  are 
of  great  value  for  the  supply  of  grazing,  leaf  manure,  firewood, 
charcoal,  and  poles  and  other  small  building  material ;  secondly, 
the  deciduous  forest  on  the  north  and  south  slopes  of  the  Palnis, 
which  formerly  contained  large  quantities  of  valuable  timber  trees, 
especially  vengai,  but  has  been  very  exteusively  felled  and  damaged 
by  unrestricted  loppiug  and  grazing ;  thirdly,  the  evergreen  for- 
este  on  the  plateaus  of  the  Upper  and  Lower  Palnis  ;  and  fourthly 
(the  most  valuable,  as  forests,  of  the  whole)  the  Kambam  valley 
jungles,  yielding  teak,  tengai  and  t^lackwood  {Balbergia  iutifolia) 
and  numerous  other  timber  trees  only  second  to  them  in  value. 

A  very  large  proportion  of  these  woodlands,  however,  is  unfortu- 
nately included  in  zamindari  estates  and  is  not  under  the  control 
of  the  Forest  department.  The  plat(^au  and  the  western  slopes  of 
the  Sirutnalais  belong  to  the  Ammayanayakkantir  estate  ;  large 
areas  on  the  northern  slopes  of  the  Palnis  appertain  to  the 
Eettayambadi  and  Ayakkudi  zamindaris  ;  ail  the  eastern  end  of 
the  same  range  up  to  the  western  boundary  of  Dindigul  taluk  is 
the  property  of  the  zamindar  of  Kannivadi ;  a  great  slice  of  the 
forests  on  the  western  side  of  the  Kambam  valley  belongs  to 
Bodinayakkanur  and  Tevaram ;  and,  except  a  comparatively  small 
area  at  the  head  of  the  faame  valley  and  another'  just  east  of 
Andipafti,  the  whole  of  the  Varushanad  and  Andipatti  hills  are 
included  in  the  estates  of  Gantaraanayakkanur,  Erj.sakkanayakka- 
mir,  SapKir  and  Doddappanayakkanur.  The  hill  ranges  and  the 
boundaries  of  the  various  proprietary  estates  are  shjwn  in  the  map 
at  the  end  of  this  volume,  and  roughly  it  may  be  said  that  the 
Government  reserves  now  occupy  the  hills  of  the  district  less  the 
are  IS  on  them  which  are  zamindari  laud. 

A  short  account  msy  bo  given  of  the  chief  characteristics  of  the 
growth  iu  the  Government  forests  in  each  of  the  four  groups  into 
which  they  have  been  above  arranged.  'J'he  hills  on  which  they 
stand  have  already  been  briefly  described  above  on  pp.  3  to  9. 


FORESTS.  137 

The  chief  forests  iu  the  four  taluks  in  the  east  and  south  of  the     CHAP.  y. 
district  are  those  on  the  northern,  eastern  and  south-eastern  slopes      Forests. 
of  the  Sirumalais  (the  rest  of  this  range,  as  has  been  said,  belongs  j^  ,j~ — 
to  the  zamindar  of  Ammayanajakkanur),  on  the  Alagarmalais  to  andsDuthof 
the  east  of  them,  the  Perumalais  and  Manjamalais    connecting  '^^  district, 
these  two  ranges,  on  the  Karandamalais  to  the  north  of  them,  the 
scattered  Nattam  hills  to  the  east  of  these  last  and  the  hills  just 
south  of  the  Ailur  railway -station.     There  are  small  plateaus  on 
the  top  of  the  Sirumalais,  Perumalais  and  Karandamalais,  but  the 
other  hills  consist  of  narrow  ridges  with  steep,  stony  sides  on  which 
there  is  no  depth  of  soil  and  on  which,  in  consequence,   any  seed- 
lings which  may  come  up  are  quickly  scorched  to  death  in  the  hot 
weather.     On  all  these  hills  the  growth   (which  is  all  deciduous) 
was  cut  to  ribbons  in  the  days  before  conservation  began.     In 
1871  it  was  reported  that  almost  every  stick  had  been  cleared  as 
far  as  the  base  of,  and  for  a  considerable  distance  up,  the  slopes  of 
the  Sirumalais.     The  northern  side  of  the  Manjamalais  has  been 
largely  cleared  for  plantain-gardens  and  (judging  from  the  amount 
of   slag   still   lying   about   them)    the  Karandamalais  and  their 
immediate  neighboiirs  must  have  suffered  much  from  the  cutting 
of  timber  for  the  smelting^  in  former  years,  of  the  iron  ore  which 
is  found  iu  them. 

Almost  nine-tenths  of  the  growth  on  the  hills  in  these  eastern 
and  southern  taluks  is  now  Albizzia  amara,  which  is  said  to  owe 
its  escape  from  destruction  to  the  fact  that  goats  do  not  care  about 
it.  These  enemies  of  the  forests  are  very  numerous  in  this  part 
of  the  district,  as  until  recently  Dindigul  was  a  great  tanning 
centre,  and  under  recent  orders  they  have  been  admitted  to  the 
reserves  in  such  large  nimibers  that  the  grazing-fee  receipts  have 
bounded  up  fromEs.  15,000  in  1900-01  to  Es.  29,000  in  1904-05. 
Next  to  Albizzia^  the  prevailing  species  are  Acacias,  Wrightta, 
Cassia,  Randia  and  Carissa,  but  a  stunted  growth  of  certain  of  the 
more  valuable  timber  species  is  found  in  places.  Teak,  vengai, 
blackwood,  the  hard  and  heavy  Hardwickia  binata,  Tenninalia 
tomentosa,  satinwood  [Chloroxyhn  Swietenia)  and  other  varieties 
are  fairly  plentiful,  for  example,  in  the  'pole  areas,'  as  they  are 
called,  in  the  Alagarmalais  and  elsewhere,  and  many  gall-nut 
trees  {Tenninalia  chebula)  are  iomid  throughout  the  area.  About 
Aillir  the  striking-looking  '  umbrella  tree  '  {Acacia  jjlantfrom)  is 
conspicuous.  All  these  reserves  are  already  greatly  the  better  for 
the  conservation  accorded  them,  the  southern  slopes  of  the  Alagar- 
malai,  facing  Madura,  which  were  formerly  quite  bare,  showing  a 
specially  notable  improvement.     A  road  has  been  driven  through 

18 


13d 


MADUBA. 


CHAP.  V. 

Forests. 

Ou  the  slopes 
of  the  Palnis. 


On  the  Palni 
plateaus. 


the  reserves  on  tliis  hill,  eight  miles  in  length,  from  the  forest 
rest-house  at  Miin6r  on  the  south  to  that  at  Patnam  on  the  north. 

The  forests  in  the  second  of  the  above  four  groups,  those  on  the 
slopes  of  the  Palnis,  are  also  deciduous  and  have  also  been  greatly- 
damaged  in  past  years  by  indiscriminate  felling  and  burning,  so 
that  but  little  real  timber  now  remains  among  them.  The  two 
best  portions  of  them  are  probably  that  in  the  north-east  corner  of 
the  range,  between  the  Ayakkudi  and  Kannivadi  estates,  where 
the  soil  is  unusually  good,  and  that  at  the  north-west  corner,  in  the 
Manjapatti  valley,  an  inaccessible  and  very  feverish  tract  sloping 
down  from  the  great  Kukal  shola  to  the  Amaravati  river.  On  the 
prominent  Aggamalai  spur  immediately  west  of  Periyakulam  town 
is  a  beautiful  shola  called  the  Tambirakanal,  which  affords  an 
uncommon  example  of  a  tract  of  forest  which  has  been  able 
to  recover  from  the  felling  and  burning  which  accompanies  hill 
cultivation.  Land  so  treated  seldom  again  becomes  clad  with  real 
forest,  but  turns  into  a  rank,  thorny  wilderness  of  worthless 
impenetrable  scrub.  The  commonest  trees  on  these  Palni  slopes 
are  vengai  {Pterocarpus  Marsupium)  and  vekkali  {Anogeissus 
M'ifoUa),  but  the  white  and  red  cedars  and  some  teak  and 
blackwood  occur,  and  gall-nut  trees  are  numerous. 

The  third  of  the  three  groups,  the  forests  of  the  Lower  and 
Upper  Palni  plateaus,  are  more  valuable  and  contain  evergreen 
trees.  The  line  between  the  two  plateaus  is  roughly  that  drawn 
north  and  south  through  Neutral  Saddle.  The  woodlands  in  the 
Lower  Palnis,  as  has  already  been  seen,  have  been  greatly  cut 
about  for  plantain  and  coffee  cultivation.  Much  cardamom  grow- 
ing also  goes  on  among  them  ;  but  as  this  plant  flourishes  best 
under  heavy  shade,  the  larger  forest  trees  have  not  been  so  greatly 
interfered  with  in  the  areas  where  it  is  raised.  The  soil  in  this 
tract  is  a  dark  loam,  especially  rich  in  the  valleys,  and  in  this 
several  fine  sholas  of  large  extent  still  survive  undamaged  and  thrive 
well.  Among  the  more  important  trees  in  these  are  Vitex  altissma, 
the  so-called  '  red  cedar '  (Acrocarpus  fraxim/olius),  and  Cedrela 
ioona,  the  last  two  of  which  are  very  useful  for  planking  and 
box-making.     Gall-nut  trees  are  plentiful  everywhere. 

To  the  west,  where  the  ascent  to  the  Upper  Palni  plateau 
begins,  the  soil  gradually  deteriorates  and  becomes  shallower,  and 
after  the  low  hill  lying  between  the  village  of  Tdndikkudi  and 
its  neighbour  Pannaikadu  is  left  behind,  the  vegetation  gradually 
changes  and  the  heavier  forest  soon  entii-ely  disappears  and  is 
replaced  by  open,   grassy  downs  dotted  with  stunted  trees  and 


FORESTS. 


139 


shrubs  with  sholas  here  and  there  in  some  of  the  moister  and  more  CHAP.  V. 
sheltered  valleys.  Nearly  all  these  woods  arc  included  in  the  Forests, 
Upper  Palni  reserves,  but  scarcely  a  dozen  are  of  any  real  size. 
Among  the  best  known  of  them  are  Tiger  shola,  near  Neutral 
Saddle  ;  Pcrumdl  shola,  on  either  side  of  Law^s  ghat  there  (this 
is  full  of  gall-nut  trees) ;  Vanjankdnal,  further  down  the  same 
road ;  Kodaikanal,  in  the  hill-station  of  that  name ;  Gundan 
shola,  about  two  miles  west  of  this  ;  Doctor's  Delight,  four  miles 
west  of  Kodaikanal  and  a  favourite  place  for  picnics  ;  and  Kukal 
shola,  some  fifteen  miles  west  of  that  station.  None  of  these 
contain  any  great  store  of  timber  trees,  the  prevailing  species 
being  Eugenia  ArnotUana  and  JElceocarpus,  and  they  are  chiefly 
valuable  as  protectors  of  the  sources  of  a  series  of  useful  streams. 
Many  of  them  are  thought  to  show  signs  of  having  been  greatly 
damaged  by  fire  in  previous  years.  The  great  undulating  plateau 
on  the  top  of  the  Palnis,  which  stretches  from  the  outskirts  of 
Kodaikanal  right  away  to  the  Travancore  frontier  on  the  west  and 
Bodinayakkanur  limits  on  the  south,  has  recently,  after  consider- 
able discussion,^  been  reserved  under  the  Forest  Act  and  given 
the  name  of  the  '  Ampthill  Downs.'  It  is  over  53  square  miles 
in  extent  and  about  one-fourth  of  it  consists  of  sholas  and  three- 
fourths  of  open,  rolling,  grassy  downs.  It  is  diversified  with 
peaks  running  up  to  from  7,000  to  8,000  feet  and  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  tracts  in  all  the  Presidency. 

The  last  of  the  four  groups  into  which  the  IMadura  forests  may  ^^  the 
be  divided  (those  in  the  Kambam  valley)  contains  the  most  yjJIcj. 
interesting  and  valuable  evergreen  forests  in  the  district.  As  has 
been  said,  Grovernment  owns  only  a  comparatively  small  patch  of 
the  immense  area  of  jungle  which  lines  both  sides  of  this  valley 
and  clothes  the  whole  of  theVarushauad  valley,  its  next  neighbour 
to  the  east.  Travelling  southwards  from  Periyakulam  along  the 
west  side  of  the  Kambam  valley,  no  Government  forest  (excepting 
a  patch  on  the  Aggamalai  spur  just  west  of  Periyakulam)  is 
reached  until  one  gets  nearly  to  Kombai.  Even  then  the  growth 
from  this  point  to  the  head  of  the  valley  cannot  bo  said  to  be  of 
great  importance  to  the  streams  which  rise  in  it,  for  it  consists  of 
a  narrow  belt  on  hills  which  rise  suddenly  and  precipitously  to 
the  watershed,  the  other  slope  of  which  is  Travancore  territory. 
On  the  east  side  of  the  lower  end  of  the  valley,  the  only  Govern- 
ment reserves  of  any  size  are  two  which  lie  respectively  just  north 
and  south  of  the  road  from  Andipatti  to  Usilampatti.  The  most 
important  blocks  are  those  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  head  of  the 

^  See  B.P,,  Forest  No.  149,  dated  28th  May  1903,  and  connected  papers. 


140  MADURA, 

CHAP.  V.     Kanibam  valley— among  them  the  M^lag6dalur  reserve,  through 
yoRESTs.      which  runs  part  of  the   Periydr  tunnel,  and  the  Vannathiparai 
reserve,  some  24,600  acres  in  extent  and   (except  the  '  Ampthill 
Downs  ')  the  largest  in  the  district.     These  lie  on  the  top  and  sides 
of  the   '  High  Wavy  Mountain.'     The  upper  part  of   this  hill 
consists  of  an  undulating  plateau,  perhaps  fifteen  square  miles  in 
area,  which  is  covered  with  a  continuous,  dense,  evergreen  forest 
which  is  a  favourite  haunt  of  elephants  and  runs  down  in  long 
irregularly  shaped  masses  for  a  considerable  distance  through  the 
deep  valleys  on  either  side.     Below  it  is  a  zone  of  bare,  rocky, 
grass  land,   and  beneath  that  again  the  lower   slopes  are  well 
covered   with  deciduous   forest.     This  tract   all  drains  into  the 
Kambam  valley,  and  in  it  lie  the  sources  of  the  Suruli  river,  the 
beautiful  fall  of   which  is  a  well-known  land-mark  on  the  road 
to  the  Periyar  lake.     The  upper   parts  of   it  contain  blackwood 
{Balbergia   latifolia)^  Lager  sir  cemia  microcarpa  and  some  teak  of 
fair  size,  while  the  lower  forests  produce  Anogeissus  latifolia,  Adina 
cordifolia,  Dalhergia  paniculata,  Pterocarpus  Marsupium,  Schleichera 
irijuga  and  other  marketable  timber  trees,  and  also  the  rare  Aquilaria 
agallocha  (called  akil  in  the  vernacular)  the  '  scented  eagle-wood ' 
of  commerce.     But  almost  every  sound  tree  in  the  lower  levels 
was  carried  off  in  the  daj^s  before  conservation  began,  and  it  will 
be  many  years  before  the  growth  recovers  from  the  treatment  it 
then  underwent. 
Plantations.  The  artificial  plantations  in  the  district  are  four  in  number. 

In  1870  Colonel  (then  Captain)  Campbell  Walker  started  planta- 
tions of  teak  at  Velankombai,  at  the  northern  foot  of  the  Palnis 
not  far  from  Palni  town,  and  at  Yannathiparai,  near  the  foot  of 
the  ghat  to  the  Periydr  lake.  Each  of  them  now  contains  some 
4,500  trees.  The  sites  were  not  particularly  well  chosen,  as  neither 
of  them  receives  the  full  benefit  of  the  south-west  monsoon.  The 
former  is,  moreover,  liable  to  be  flooded  by  an  adjoining  channel, 
and  the  saturation  so  caused  has  at  different  times  killed  a  good 
many  of  the  trees  in  it. 

In  this  same  year  (1870)  a  plantation  of  blue  gum  and 
Australian  blackwood  {Acacia  melanoxylon)  was  begun  at  Kodai- 
kanal  in  order  to  provide  that  station  with  fii*ewood  and  so  save 
from  destruction  the  fine  Kodai  shola  after  which  it  is  named. 
Here  again  the  site  was  not  well  chosen,  and  the  growth  has  been 
indifferent.  The  firewood  supply  has  since  been  supplemented 
by  a  plantation  begun  in  1887-88  at  Gundan  shola,  about  two 
miles  west  of  the  station,  which  is  now  an  extensive  affair.  It 
was  partly  burnt  in  February  1895,  when  considerable  damage 
was  done  to  it,  and  again  in  1905. 


FOEESTS.  141 

The  minor  produce  of  the  forests  includes  numerous  items      CHAP.  v. 
of  which  the  chief  are,  perhaps,  gall-nuts  {kadukkdi/,  the  fruit  of      Forests. 
■Terminalia  chebula),  leaves  for  manure  and  cardamoms.  Minor 

The  pr.incipal  gall-nut  areas  arc  on  the  Lower  Palnis,  where  i"'^^"^®* 
the  tree  abounds  in  the  deciduous  forest  and  is  also  scattered  over 
the  open  grass  land.  In  former  days  the  methods  of  collecting 
its  produce  were  wasteful  in  the  extreme,  trees  being  lopped,  and 
even  felled,  to  save  trouble  in  picking  their  fruit.  The  privilege 
of  collection  and  sale  is  now  leased  out  to  contractors,  but  the 
spread  of  the  chrome  process  of  tanning  has  caused  a  great  decline 
in  the  value  of  gall-nuts  and  the  revenue  from  this  source  in  the 
Palnis  has  fallen  in  recent  years  from  Rs.  15,000  to  Rs.  2,000. 

Leaves  for  manure  are  especially  sought  after  in  the  areas 
recently  brought  under  wet  cultivation  with  the  Periyar  water,  and 
are  carted  great  distances  by  the  ryots.  In  those  tracts  Cassia 
(mriculata  shrubs  growing  on  unreserved  lands  have  recently 
been  allowed,  to  be  gathered  for  manure  free  of  charge,  and  this  has 
caused  a  further  decline  in  the  forest  revenue  from '  minor  produce.' 

Areas  gi-own  with  cardamoms  arc  let  out  on  leases,  which  us- 
ually run|for  thirty  years.  The  price  of  the  fruit  has  fallen  of  late 
years  and  the  competition  for  land  for  growing  it  has  declined.  A 
demand  for  lemon-grass  {Andropogon  citratum)  for  the  distillation 
of  oil  has  recently  arisen,  and  this  brings  in  a  small  income. 

The  revenue  from  grazing-f ees  is  inconsiderable  in  comparison  Grazlnf^-feea. 
with  the  extent  of  the  forests.  The  reserves  in  the  east  of  the 
district  contain  little  good  grass  and  many  of  those  in  the  west 
are  out  of  favour  with  the  herdsmen  because  they  contain  no 
places  suitable  for  the  penning  of  cattle  at  night  and  because 
water  is  scarce  there  in  the  hot  weather.  Few  cattle  are  ever 
driven  to  the  Upper  Palni  grass  lands  to  graze,  but  large  numbers 
go  to  the  Travancore  forests  up  the  pass  leading  to  the  Periydr 
lake. 

Working  plans  have  recently  been  drawn  up  and  sanctioned  Working 

for  the  forests   in   the   four   eastern   taluks   of  the  district   (the  F^^°^  '■  f  ^**® 
_  V  four  eastern 

Kanavaipatti  and  Palamedu  forest  ranges)  and  also  for  those  taluks, 
in  the  Kambam  valley  (the  Kambam  range).  For  the  remaining 
two  ranges,  namely,  Kodaikanal,  which  includes  the  reserves  on 
the  Upper  Palnis  and  their  slopes,  and  Tandikkudi,  in  which  are 
comprised  the  Lower  Palni  woodlands,  schemes  have  not  yet  been 
made  out. 

The   first  of  the  above  two   working  plans   includes  all  the 
Grovernment  reserves  in  the  taluks  of  Madura,  M^Kir,  Dindigul 


142  MADURA. 

CHAP.  V.     and  Tirumangalara.     It  was  prepared  in  1898-99  and  sanctioned 

Forests.       in  1900.^ 

Very  briefly  stated^  its  proposals  are  that  (with  the  exception 
of  certain  definite  tracts  containing  fair  timber  and  called  '  pole 
areas,'  and  a  few  others  in  which  the  poverty  of  the  stock  is  such 
that  there  is  no  probability  of  there  being  anything  in  them  worth 
felling  in  the  next  30  years)  the  whole  area  is  to  be  coppiced  in 
the  same  rotation  and  on  the  same  method.  The  large  preponder- 
ance of  he  crop  consists  of  Albizzia  amara,  which  coppices 
admirably,  and  reproduction  of  the  forest  by  sowing  is  not  thought 
likely  to  succeed,  for  the  reasons  that  almost  everywhere  the 
reserves  stand  on  steep  slopes  where  the  soil  is  shallow,  stony, 
scorched  up  in  the  hot  weather  aud  trodden  to  pieces  by  cattle 
in  the  rains.  The  period  of  rotation  is  to  be  30  years,  and  each 
block  will  be  sold  once  in  30  years,  as  it  stands,  by  auction,  to 
contractors  who  will  coppice  it.  It  will  then  have  ten  years 
complete  rest,  grazing  being  prohibited  in  it.  Thereafter  cattle 
will  be  allowed  to  graze  in  it  on  payment  of  the  usual  fees,  and 
at  the  end  of  five  years  more  (by  which  time  the  coppice  shoots 
will  be  fifteen  years  old)  goats  will  also  be  admitted  at  fairly  high 
rates,  the  area  in  which  they  are  allowed  being,  however,  changed, 
every  two  years  and  limited  in  extent. 

Provision  is  made  for  the  supply  to  ryots  of  manure  leaves, 
which  are  highly  valued  in  all  the  wet  land  under  the  Periyar 
channels,  by  allowing  people  to  collect  them  at  the  usual  rates  (in 
those  blocks  which  are  not  undergoing  a  complete  rest)  on  a  rota- 
tion of  three  years.  Three  tree:^ — satinwood  [Chloroxylon  Suietenia), 
Wrightia  tinctoria  and  Lrora  parvtffora — which  together  form  about 
five  per  cent,  of  the  crop  and  are  of  value  as  timber,  are  not  to  be 
lopped  for  manure  leaves. 

The  coppicing  is  expected  to  produce  about  five  tons  an  acre 
and  firewood  is  now  supplied,  not  only  to  the  smaller  villages,  but 
to  a  d^pSt  in  Madura,  to  the  Madura  spinning-mill  and  to  the 
South  Indian  Eailway.  The  annual  output  has  risen  rapidly 
in  the  last  few  years  and  is  now  20,000  tons.  The  revenue  from 
firewood  has  increased  from  less  than  Rs.  100  in  1900-01  to 
nearly  Rs.  68,000  in  1004-05. 
In  the  The  working  plan  for  the  Kambam  valley  forests,  which  was 

Kambam        sanctioned  in  1901,*  is  somewhat  more  complicated.    It  divides  the 

vallej.  ^ 

^  See  B.P.,  Forest  No.  385,  dated  18th  September  1900,  in  which  the  plan  is 
printed  in  extenso. 

'  See  B.P.,  Forest  No.  310,  dated  30th  September  1901,  in  which  it  ii  printed 
in  full. 


FOBESTS.  143 

total  area  into  six  classes  of  forest;  namely ,  areas  to  be  treated  as    CHAP.  V. 
(tt)  fuel  reserves,  (b)  ground  for  browsing  goats,  (c)  evergreen      Forests. 
forest,  (d)  timber  tracts,  (e)  land  for  grazing  cattle,  and  (f)  unpro- 
duotive  and  unworkable  portions. 

The  first  of  these,  the  fuel  reserves,  are  small  and  are  to  be 
worked  on  the  system  of  exploitation  known  as  '  coppice  with 
standards '  on  a  rotation  of  30  years,  browsing  and  grazing  being 
prohibited.  In  the  next  class  of  forest,  the  land  provided  for 
browsing  goats,  cattle  as  well  as  goats  are  to  be  admitted,  but  no 
felling  is  to  be  allowed.  The  third  class,  the  evergreen  forests, 
are  to  be  left  untouched  as  protectors  of  the  sources  of  streams. 
No  felling  is  to  be  allowed  in  them  nor  any  grazing  nor  browsing. 
As  they  contain  no  grass  and  'are  difficult  of  access,  goats  and 
cattle  are  as  a  matter  of  fact  never  driven  to  them  even  now. 

The  timber  tracts,  the  fourth  of  the  above  classes,  are  to  be 
rigidly  protected  from  fire  in  the  hope  that  in  time  seedlings  may 
spring  up  and  reclothe  the  many  open  spaces  left  by  former  reck- 
less felling,  and  eventually  selected  patches  are  to  be  planted  up. 
Previously,  fii-es  ran  every  year  through  the  shrubs  and  coarse 
grass  which  now  covers  these  gaps,  and  killed  all  seedlings  ;  and 
even  now  the  greatest  damage  is  caused  by  the  fires  which 
annually  burn  the  whole  of  the  Travaucore  jungles  along  the 
boundary  and  the  violence  of  which  is  so  great  that  no  ordinary 
fire-line  is  enough  to  stop  them.  Goats  are  to  be  excluded,  but 
cattle  are  to  be  admitted  to  help  in  keeping  down  the  grass  and  so 
minimising  the  spread  of  any  fires  which  occur.  There  is  at 
present  little  demand  for  timber  from  Gfovernment  reserves  in  this 
part  of  the  district,  as  large  quantities  are  imported  from  Travau- 
core State  down  the  ghat  from  the  Periyar  lake. 

The  last  of  the  workable  arpas,  the  land  for  cattle-grazing, 
includes  the  poorer  compartments  on  tbe  west  side  of  the  valley 
under  the  precipitous  cliffs  already  referred  to.  The  trees  here 
are  of  inferior  species,  few  in  number,  widely  scattered,  and  mostly 
hacked  to  pieces  by  the  villagers.  Even  if  the  damaged  stock 
could  be  cut  back  and  protected  for  a  long  period  it  is  thought 
doubtful  whether  it  would  bo  of  much  value,  and  therefore  this 
area  is  to  be  left  open  for  grazing  on  the  usual  terms. 


144 


MADUKA. 


CHAPTER  yi. 
OCCUPATIONS  AND  TRADE. 


CHAP.  VI. 

OCCUPATIOWB. 

Agriculture 

and 

pasture. 


Artb  and 
Industries. 


Occupations — Agriculture  and  pasture.  Arts  and  Industries— Blanket-makin 
— Cotton-weaving — Silk -weaving — Appliances — Dyeing — Gold  and  silver 
thread— Wax-printing —  Cottou-spinning  —  Cigar-making  —  Coffee-curing  — 
Oils  —Tanning — Wood-oarving — Metal-work — Bangles — Minor  industi'ies. 
Trade — Exports — Imports  —Mechanism  of  trade.  Weights  and  Measures 
— Tables  of  weight— Measures  for  grain — Liquids — Land — Distance— And 
time— Coinage. 

In  every  district  iu  this  Presidency  the  number  of  people 
who  subsist  bj  agriculture  and  the  tending  of  flocks  and  herds 
greatlj  exceeds  the  proportion  employed  in  all  other  callings  put 
together,  and  in  Madura  this  preponderance  is  more  marked  than 
usual,  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  people  living  directly  or  in- 
directly by  the  land.  The  census  figures  of  1901  showed  that  87 
per  cent,  of  the  agriculturists  were  cultivators  of  their  own  land 
and  that  less  than  2  per  cent,  owned  land  without  cultivating  it. 
Peasant  proprietorship  thus  greatly  predominates  over  all  other 
classes  of  tenure.  Of  those  who  lived  by  farm-labour  but  pos- 
sessed no  fields  of  their  own,  nine-tenths  were  day-labourers  and 
only  one-tenth  farm-servants  engaged  for  long  terms.  This  is  a 
very  different  state  of  things  from  that  prevailing  in  some  other 
districts,  Tanjore  for  example,  where  the  agricultural  cooly  is 
very  commonly  the  servant  of  the  big  land-holder  and  bound 
down  to  him  by  numerous  pecuniary  and  other  obligations. 

Agricultural  methods  have  been  referred  to  in  Chapter  IV 
above,  and  in  Chapter  I  will  be  found  some  account  of  the 
cattle,  sheep  and  goats  of  the  district.  It  remains  to  consider 
here  the  callings  which  are  connected  with  arts  and  industries  and 
with  trade.  The  ordinary  village  handicrafts  of  the  blacksmith, 
carpenter,  potter  and  the  rest  do  not  differ  from  the  normal,  and  it 
willsuffice.to  refer  briefly  to  the  methods  of  the  other  artisans. 

The  industry  which  employs  the  largest  number  of  hands  is 
weaving,  '^but  the  proportion  of  the  people  subsisting  by  it  is 
smaller  than  the  average  for  the  Presidency  as  a  whole.  The 
materials  employed  are  wool,  silk  and  cotton,  aud  it  will  be  found 
that  the"greater  part  of  the  work  is  done  by  people  of  foreign 
castes,  who  have  come  to  the  district  from  elsewhere. 


OCCUPATIONS    AND   TRADE. 


145 


Wool  is  only  used  for  making  coarse  blankets.  The  Kura- 
bas,  a  Canarese-speaking  community  who  immigrated  to  the 
district  iu  years  gone  by  from  the  Mysore  and  Deccan  country, 
weave  these  articles  from  the  wool  of  the  black  and  white  sheep. 
The  industry  is  practically  confined  to  the  Dindigul,  Palni  and 
Periyakulam  taluks  and  (except  the  actual  shearing  of  the  sheep) 
is  carried  out  by  the  women.  The  sheep  are  first  shorn  when 
they  are  six  months  old  and  thereafter  twice  annually,  in  January 
and  June,  until  their  death,  which  generally  occurs  in  their 
seventh  year.  The  black  wool  is  sorted  by  hand  from  the  white, 
and  the  blankets  are  either  black,  white,  a  mixture  of  the  two, 
black  with  white  borders,  or  vice  versa.  The  wool  is  never  dyed. 
It  is  spun  by  hand  and  woven  on  a  primitive  horizontal  loom 
fitted  with  clumsy  appliances.  The  warp  threads  are  first 
stiffened  with  a  paste  made  of  crushed  tamarind  seed  and  water. 
The  finished  article,  the  demand  for  which  is  entirely  local,  is 
usually  six  cubits  long  by  three  wide  and  is  sold  at  the  weekly 
markets  at  prices  varying  from  As.  12  to  Es.  2. 

Cotton  is  woven  into  fabrics  of  very  varying  quality.  The 
coarsest  of  these  are  the  thick  white  dupatis  iu  which  the  ryots 
are  wont  to  wrap  themselves  in  the  cold  season  and  which  cost 
from  Ke.  1-4  to  Rs.  '■^  apiece.  These  are  woven  from  machine- 
made  yarn  and  are  never  dyed.  Tbey  are  chiefly  made  by  a  few 
Kaikolans  in  Palni  and  Ayakkudi,  and  some  Eavutans  in  the 
latter  place;  by  Paraiyans  in  a  number  of  villages  in  the  Kanni- 
vddi  zamindari  and  the  "Vedasandur  division  of  Dindigul  taluk  • 
aud  by  Native  Christians  (originally  Ambattans  by  caste)  and 
Rdvutans  in  Sdttangudi  and  some  other  [)laces  in  Tiruraangalam. 
In  Timmarasanayakkantir,  Saliyans  weave  narrow  strips  of  a 
similar  coarse  fabric  which  are  sown  together  and  used  for 
making  native  tents  and  jardahs. 

The  cloths  commonly  worn  by  the  women  of  the  middle 
and  lower  classes  are  made  by  several  different  castes  in  many 
different  places  and  vary  greatly  in  quality.  In  Dindigul  taluk 
the  chief  centres  are  Dindigul  and  Ambaturai.  In  Dindigul, 
about  100  families  of  Seniyans  (who  speak  Canarese)  make  the 
coarser  varieties  from  English  yarn,  and  some  600  families  of  the 
Gujarati  Patnulkarans  (see  p.  109)  weave  the  better  kinds 
and  also  make  a  pecnliar  class  of  cloths  for  men  in  which  silk 
spun  with  special  fineness  and  silver  thread  imported  from  France 
are  used,  and  which  are  mostly  exported  to  Madras.  In  Amba- 
turai and  two  or  three  neighbouring  villages  Canarese-speakino- 
Sedans  make  the  ooramoner  kinds  of   women's  cloths.     They  buy 

19 


CHAP.  VI. 

Arts  and 
Indcstkiks 


Blanket- 
making. 


Cotton- 
weaving. 


146  MADURA. 

CHAP.  VI.     the  yarn  and  dye  it  themselves  with  imported  aniline  and  alizarine 
Arts  and       pigments,  and  export  the  finished  article  to  Tanjore  and  Burma. 
Industries,     j^  Tadikkombu,  Kaikolans  weave  similar  fabrics. 

In  Nilakk6ttai  taluk  the  chief  centres  are  Mullipallam, 
Tenkarai  (on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Vaigai)  and  Vattilagundu. 
At  the  first  of  these  the  weavers  are  Sedans,  some  300  looms  arc 
at  work  and  women's  cloths  are  woven  from  yam  imported  from 
Madura  and  dyed  locally  with  imported  colours.  They  are  sent 
in  considerable  quantities  to  Colombo  and  the  Tinnevelly  district. 
In  Tenkarai,  Kaikolans  working  at  piece-rates  for  Patnulkaran 
capitalists,  and  in  Yattilagundu,  Patnulkarans  and  Seniyans, 
carry  on  a  similar  industry  on  a  smaller  scale. 

In  Palni  taluk  the  weaving  is  mainly  done  in  the  head-quarter 
town.  There,  about  200  Sedan,  150  Seniyan,  and  50  Kaikolan 
families  make  like  stuifs  in  a  similar  manner.  The  Kaikolans 
usually  work  at  piece-rates  for  capitalists  belongipg  to  the  other 
two  communities.  Some  300  Patnulkaran  houses  are  also 
employed  in  making  cloths  with  silk  borders  for  men.  The  silk 
is  obtained  from  Coimbatore,  Kumbakonam  and  Madras,  and  the 
stuffs  are  exported  to  the  Tanjore,  Salem  and  Coimbatore  districts. 

In  Periyakulam  taluk  the  Saliyans  of  Timmarasanayakkanur, 
already  mentioned,  have  lately  taken  to  making  coarse  cloths  for 
women  ;  the  Sedans  and  Padmasales  of  Vadugapatti,  hamlet  of 
M^lamangalpm,  have  each  about  100  looms  working  at  similar 
fabrics  ;  and  the  Patnulkarans  of  Melaraangalam  and  Periyakulam 
turn  out  the  same  stuffs  and  also  handkerchiefs  with  silk  borders. 

But  the  most  important  cotton-weaving  centre  in  all  the 
district  is  Madura  itself,  where  the  industry  is  in  the  hands  o^ 
the  Patnulkarans.  The  fabrics  they  make  are  better  woven  and 
of  more  varied  designs  than  those  of  any  other  place  and  are 
exported  in  large  quantities  to  Madras  and  elsewhere.  Their 
white  cloths  made  from  European  yarn  and  ornamented  with 
borders  of  gold  or  silver  thread  are  especially  famous. 
Silk-weaving.  This  community  is  the  only  caste  in  the  district  which  manu- 
factures all-silk  goods  as  distinct  from  those  containing  merely 
an  admixture  of  silk  or  ornamented  with  silk  borders.  The 
industry  is  practically  confined  to  Madura  town,  but  there  it  is 
of  much  importance.  Both  cloths  and  turba^ls  are  made  and  the 
latter,  which  usually  have  borders  of  gold  or  silver  thread,  are  in 
great  demand.  The  raw  material  is  imported  from  Bombay  and, 
to  a  less  extent,  from  Calcutta,  Kollegal  and  Mysore  State. 


OCCUPATIONS   AND   TRADE. 


147 


Except  in   Madura,  tho  looms  and  otlier  appliances  used  by     UHA.P.  VI. 
the  weavers  are  of  the  kind  usual  elsewliere  and  call  for  no  special      Arts  and 

description.     The  women  and  children  of  the  weaver  castes  do      '    

much  of  the  preliminary  work,  such  as  preparing  the  warp. 

In  Madura  the  Patnulkarans  have  made  several  attempts  to  Appliances, 
introduce  improved  machinery.  A  few  fly-shuttle  looms  have 
been  tried,  but  they  are  not  popular  for  use  with  the  higher  couuts 
of  yarn,  as  thej  are  apt  to  break  the  warp  threads.  Warping 
is  not  usually  done  in  the  ordinary  method  (walking  up  and  . 
down  a  long  line  of  sticks  stuck  in  the  ground  and  winding  the 
thread  off  the  spindle  in  and  out  of  these)  but  the  thread  is 
wound  on  to  a  series  of  iron  pegs  arranged  on  a  square  wooden 
frame.  This  enables  the  work  to  be  done  indoors  and  in  all 
weathers.  A  patent  has  been  taken  out  for  a  modification  of  the 
country  loom  which  enables  it  to  weave  figures  on  the  borders  of 
cloths,  and  another  patent  for  an  entirely  new  kind  of  loom  has 
been  applied  for. 

Except  in  Madura,  again,  nothing  has  been  done  to  improve   Djeing. 
dyeing  processes  or  to  prevent  the  imported  aniline  and  alizarine 
compounds  from  ousting  the  native  vegetable  pigments. 

In  Madura  a  number  of  Patnulkaran  firms  are  carrying  on 
dyeing  operations  on  a  large  scale  and  on  improved  lines  and 
vegetable  products  are  generally  employed  for  their  silk  fabrics. 
Kamela  powder  (collected  from  the  surface  glands  of  the  capsules 
of  the  tree  Mallotus  Philippinensis)  is  used  for  yellow,  lac  for  red 
and  indigo  for  blue.  'I'he  dye  called  '  Madura  red '  used  once  to 
be  very  famous,  and  efforts  have  chiefly  been  directed  to  the 
production  of  this.  The  dye  is  generally  made  as  follows  :  The 
ashes  of  a  plant  called  Mww'i  (Salicorma  Tndica),  which  grows  wild 
in  certain  parts  of  tho  district,  are  stirred  with  cold  water  and 
the  solution  left  to  stand  till  the  evening.  Some  of  it  is  then 
mixed  with  ground-nut  oil  (or,  if  the  thread  to  be  dyed  is  of  the 
finer  varieties,  with  gingeliy  oil)  which  becomes  emulsified  and 
milky  in  appearance.  In  this  mordant  the  thread  is  soaked  all 
night,  and  next  day  it  is  dried  in  tho  sun.  This  alternate  soak- 
ing and  drying  is  repeated  for  ten  days,  and  on  the  eleventh 
the  thread  is  taken  to  the  Yaigai  (the  water  of  which  river  is 
said  to  be  especially  favourable  to  dyeing  operations)  and  left  to 
soak  there  in  running  water  for  some  hours.  Bj  that  time  it  is 
beautifully  white.  Next,  the  roots  of  OUenlanclia  umbellatd  (chay- 
root,  imhurdn  in  the  vernacular)  and  the  dried  leaves  of  the  shrub 
Memecyhn  edule  {Myam)  are  steeped  together  in  water  for  some 
time,  and  to  this  solution  is  added  some  of  a  Grer man  alizarine  dye, 


148  MADURA. 

CHAP.  VI.  The  thread  is  again  soaked  in  this  for  a  night,  and  next  boiled 
Arts  and  for  two  hours  ;  and  then  it  is  taken  to  the  river,  left  in  running 
iNDPSTRiKs.  .^y^^gj,  fQj  goj^e  time  and  finally  dried  in  the  sun.  It  is  now  the 
fine  red  colour  which  is  so  popular.  Deeper  shades  are  obtained 
by  giving  additional  steepings  in  tlie  dye-solution.  For  certain 
special  kinds  of  fabrics,  the  alizarine  dye  is  sometimes  replaced 
by  vegetable  pigments,  but  this  is  rarf. 

Gold  and  Madura  used  to  be  famous  for  the   manufacture  of  the  gold 

silver  thread,  j^^^j  silver  thread  (or  '  lace,'  as  it  is  sometimes  called)  which 
figures  so  largely  in  the  borders  of  the  more  expensive  kinds  of 
cloths  and  turbans.  The  local  weavers  now  use  the  cheaper 
French  and  English  thread  exclusively,  but  a  few  Musalmans 
stil]  carry  on  the  industry  to  supply  a  demand  which  survives  in 
Tinnevelly,  Trichinopoly  and  Travancore.  They  melt  silver  and 
lead  in  a  clay  crucible  and  cast  the  alloy  into  thin  bars.  These 
are  hammered  still  thinner  and  then  drawn  through  a  series  of 
holes  of  gradually  diminishing  size  until  they  are  transformed 
into  exceedingly  fine  wire.  The  women  then  hammer  this  flat  to 
make  the  thread.  Gold  thread  is  made  in  the  same  way,  the 
silver  bars  being  coated  with  gold  before  being  '  drawn  '  into 
wii*e.  Grold  is  so  ductile  that  it  continues  to  cover  the  silver  with 
a  fine  coating  right  through  to  the  end  of  the  process. 

Yf^^,  In  Madura  town  some  ten  or  twenty  persons  practise  the  art 

printing.  of  wax- printing  which  is  so  extensively  carried  on  at  Kumbako- 

nani,  Conjeeveram  and  Wallajahbad.  This  consists  in  printing 
designs  on  the  cloth  in  wax  with  metal  blocks,  or  drawing  them 
by  hand  with  a  kind  of  iron  pen  provided  with  a  ball  of  aloe 
fibre  to  act  (somewhat  on  the  principle  employed  in  a  fountain 
pen)  as  a  reservoir  for  the  wax.  When  the  designs  are  finished, 
the  fabric  is  immersed  in  the  dye-tub,  and  then,  while  the  body  of 
it  takes  the  dye,  the  design  (being  protected  by  the  wax)  remains 
unaffected  and  retains  its  original  colour.  The  wax  is  then  melted 
off  by  plunging  the  fabric  into  hot  water  and  the  design  appears 
in  white  on  a  coloured  ground.  If  required,  the  design  itself  can 
afterwards  be  separately  dyed  by  putting  the  whole  cloth,  into  a 
tub  of  some  other  pigment.  Cloths  for  both  men  and  women, 
and  also  handkerchiefs,  are  manufactured  in  this  manner. 

A  primitive  method  also  employed  for  producing  a  rude  pat- 
tern on  a  cloth  consists  in  knotting  small  portions  of  the  stuff  at 
regular  intervals  with  bits  of  string.  These  knotted  parts  are 
not  touched  by  the  dye  and  remain  white  while  all  the  rest  of  the 
oloth  is  coloured. 


OOOUPATIONB  AND    TKAll.  141 

Connected  with  the  weaving  industry  is  the  cotton-spinning     thap.  vi. 
which  is  done  at  Messrs.   Harvej's  steam  mill  near  the  Madura     Arts  and 

railway-station.     This  began  work  in  1892,  has  a  capital  of  ten      '   

lakhs,  of  which  eight  are  paid  up,  and  in  the  last  year  for  which  Cotton- 
figures  are  available  contained  36,000  spindles,  employed  daily  ^i'"^"^"^* 
1,600  men,  women  and  children  and  consumed  annually  over   2-j 
million  pounds  of  cotton. 

Of  the  industries  which  are  concerned  with  the  manufacture  of  Cigai- 
the  agricultural  products  of  tlie  district,  the  most  important  is  the  *"*  '"°" 
making  of  the  well-known  Dindigul  cheroots. 

Before  the  railway  reached  that  town,  most  of  the  Madura 
tobacco  was  sent  to  Trichiuopoly,  which  was  then  the  centre  of 
the  cheroot-trade.  The  first  firm  to  begin  work  on  any  consider- 
able scale  in  Dindigul  were  Messrs.  Kuppusvami  Nayudu,  who 
started  business  about  1850.  Their  cheroots  were  roughly  tied 
up  in  plantain  leaves,  packed  in  bamboo  baskets  and  exported  by 
cart.  Some  years  later,  Captain  E.  A,  Campbell  of  the  Indian 
Army,  who  had  been  growing  coffee  and  exotic  cotton  and  silk  on 
the  Sirumalais,  entered  the  trade.  He  copied  the  shapes  of  the 
Havana  and  Manila  cigars,  introduced  wooden  boxes  and  made 
other  improvements.  Mr.  Neuberg  of  Bombay  followed,  and 
eventually  transferred  his  business  to  his  nephew,  Mr.  J.  Heimpel. 
The  latter's  factory  was  in  the  extensive  compound  across  the  road 
opposite  the  Roman  Catholic  church  He  was  the  first  to  intro- 
duce the  '  wrappers  '  of  -Java,  Sumatra  and  other  foreign  tobaccos 
which  are  now  universally  used  and  to  substantially  raise  the  price 
of  the  cheroots,  lie  closed  his  business  about  1890.  His  agent, 
Mr.  Menge],  who  had  already  parted  from  him  and  established  a 
separate  concern,  now  developed  this  latter  and  eventually  formed 
it  into  a  Company  with  a  capital  of  two  lakhs.  He  died  in  1900 
and  the  Company  ceased  active  opei-ations  in  the  next  year. 
About  1890  Messrs.  Spencer  &  Co.  entered  the  field,  and  they 
now  have  practically  a  monopoly  of  tliis  trade  in  the  district.  In 
the  latest  year  for  which  figures  are  available  they  employed  at 
Dindigul  1,100  hands  daily  and  made  annually  16  million  cigars 
valued  at  Rs.  4,40,000.  The  process  of  manufacture  consists  iu 
boiling  the  selected  leaves  in  a  specially-prejjared  ^wash'-- 
boiling  has  superseded  soaking,  as  it  kills  the  tobacco  weevil — 
'stripping,'  or  removing  the  midrib  of  the  leaf,  and  '  rolling/ 
or  making  the  finished  cheroot.  Each  '  roller  '  works  with  two  or 
three  boys,  who  make  the  '  fillers,'  or  inside  part  of  the  cheroot, 
and  hand  them  to  him  to  roll  and  cover  with  the  '  wrapper.' 
The  cheroots  are  finally  cut  by  machinery  into  the  required 
lengths,  examined,  bundled  and  passed  to  the  boxing  department- 


150 


1TA.DURA. 


CHAP.  VI. 

Arts  and 
Industrikr. 

Oils. 


Tauning. 


Wood- 

carvingr. 


Jli'lal-wovk. 


Coffee  is  cured  at '  Vans  Agnew's  '  and  '  St.  Mary's'  estates 
on  the  Sirumalais,  and  at  two  otlier  properties  known  as  the 
Manalur  and  Pillaivali  estates  on  the  Lower  Palnis. 

The  cliief  oil  made  in  the  district  is  gingelly,  which  is  used  by 
all  castes  for  cooking  and  by  some  for  oil-baths.  It  is  expressed 
in  the  ordinary  country  mill  by  Vaniyans.  In  Nattam  the  peojDle 
of  this  caste  have  three  mills  of  European  pattern.  Castor-oil, 
used  for  lighting,  is  made  on  a  smaller  scale  by  first  roasting  the 
seed  and  then  boiling  it  witli  water  and  skimming  off  the  oil  as  it 
rises  to  the  surface.  Oil  from  the  seeds  of  the  nim  or  margosa 
tree  is  much  employed  medicinally,  and  is  used  by  some  few 
castes,  such  as  Kalians  and  Yalaiyans,  for  oil-baths.  On  the 
Sirumalais,  some  Labbais  from  Vdniyambadi  distil  oil  from  the 
lemon-grass  which  grows  there.  The  product  is  exported  to  other 
parts  of  India. 

Tanning  was  until  recently  a  flourishing  industry  in  the  Begam- 
par  suburb  of  Dindigul,  where  the  Edvutans  owned  about  25 
tanneries.  Only  seven  of  these  now  survive,  the  competition  of 
chrome  tanning  having  resulted  in  the  others  being  shut  up. 
The  workmen  inostly  come  from  Pondicherry,  and  formerly 
belonged  to  several  tanneries  there  which  were  afterwards  closed. 
Hides  and  skins  are  now  collected  at  Dindigul  and  merely 
dried  and  sent  to  Madras  for  export. 

The  wood-carving  of  Madura  town  has  more  than  a  local 
reputation.  Good  examples  of  it  may  be  seen  over  the  doorways 
of  some  of  the  better  houses,  iu  the  haJydna  mahdl  in  the 
Minakshi  temple,  and  on  the  great  cars  belonging  to  this  insti- 
tution which  were  made  about  a  dozen  years  ago. 

'  It  is  celebrated  for  its  boldness  of  form,  due  to  the  influence  of 
the  stone-carvers,  for  its  delicate  tracery  on  flat  siu-faces,  probably 
first  introduced  by  men  from  the  Bombay  side,  for  the  fine  carving 
of  panels  decorated  with  scenes  from  the  legend  of^the  Mahabharata, 
and  for  the  excellent  modelling  of  the  swamis,  which  suggests  the 
influence  of  sandalwood  carvers  from  Mysore  and  Western  India.  At 
the  present  day  the  best  work  is  done  in  the  Madura  Technical 
School,  an  institution  maintained  by  the  District  Board  which  has 
done  much  to  revive  decadeut  art  indostries,  and,  by  finding  new 
markets  for  the  productions  of  the  skilled  art  workmen,  has  encour- 
aged them  to  maintain  the  old  high  standard  of  work.'  ' 

The  only  work  in  metals  which  is  known  outside  the  district 
is  the  manufacture  at  Dindigul  of  locks  and  safes.  The  locks 
are  imitations   of    Chubb's   patents  and  are   purchased  in   con- 

^  Monograph  on  Wood'Carvinrj  in  foutliern  India,  hy  Mr.  E.  Thurston. 


OCCUPATIONS    AND    TRADE,  161 

siderable  quaDtities  hj  Goverument,     Tlie  firm  which  established     CHAP.  VI. 

the  industry  (Sankaraline-achari  Brothers)  is  not  now  llourishinff,      ^^"^^  ^^^ 

.                                              .                                .                                 Industries, 
and  many  of  its  workmen  have  left  it  for  younger  rivals,  '  _I 

Dindigul  also  takes  the  lead  in  the  district  in  the  manufacture 
of  the  usual  bell-metal  vessels.  At  Silaimalaipatti  also,  near 
Peraijur  in  the  Tirumangalam  taluk,  about  40  families  of 
Kannans  make  brass  platters,  water-pots,  drinking-bowls,  cattle- 
bells,  etc.  The  same  industry  is  carried  on  by  the  same  caste  at 
Kannapattinear  SandaijiH"  in  the  Siime  taluk,  and  at  Nilakkottai, 
Periyakulam,  Uttamapalaiyam  Jind  other  place.?.  At  Nilakkottai 
bell-metal  gongs  are  made. 

Bangles  are  manufactured  from  Jac  by  Gtizula  Balijas  in  Bangles. 
Tirumangalam,  Periyakulam,  Melamangalara  and  a  few  other 
villages.  The  process  consists  in  melting  lac  and  lirick  dust, 
pounding  the  result  in  a  mortar,  cutting  it  into  strips,  moulding 
these  into  bangles  over  a  fire,  and  finally  decorating  them,  while 
still  hot,  with  copper  foil,  etc. 

Minor  industries  include  the  making  of  combs  of  wood  and  Minor 
buffalo  horn  by  Dommaras  at  Palui ;  the  weaving  of  common 
mats  from  horai  grass  by  I'lavutans  and  Kuravaus  in  many 
villages  ;  the  making  of  baskets  from  split  bamboo  by  Medak- 
karans  in  Palni  and  the  neighbourhood ;  tJie  turning  and 
colouring  with  lac  (.f  wooden  toys  by  Tachchans  in  Airavadaualliir 
near  Madura;  and  saltpetre  manufacture  by  Tjipiliyans  in 
Periyakulam.  Palni,  Solavandan  and  other  villages. 

Statistics  of 'trade  are  not  compiled  for  each  district  separately,      Trade. 
and  the  figures  for  Madura  are  lumped  with  those  of  Tinnevelly. 
It  is  impossible,  therefore,  to  speak  with  exactness   of  the  course 
of  commerce. 

The  chief  exports  include  cheroots,  hides  and  skins,  locks  ^xpoi'ts. 
and  safes  from  Dindigul;  plantains,  coffee,  bamboos  and  forest, 
produce  (such  as  dyes,  tans,  honey,  etc.)  from  the  Sirumalais 
and  Palnis  ;  cardamoms  from  the  Palnis  and  from  tbe  Kannan 
Devan  Hills  Produce  Company's  property  on  the  ^rravancore 
range  ;  dry  grain  from  the  Palni  taluk  ;  cotton  from  Tirumanga- 
lam, which  goes  to  the  various  presses  in  Tinnevelly  district; 
garlic  from  the  Upper  Palnis  ;  paddy,  and  silk  and  cotton  fabrics 
from  Madura. 

The  chief  imports  are  articles  which  the  district  does  not  itself  I^ipoi'^s. 
produce,    such    as    European    piece-goods,   iron    and    kerosine 
from  Madras,  salt  from  Tinnevelly,  sugar  from  Nelliknppam  and 
■0  forth. 


152 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  VI. 

Trade. 

Meohanism 
of  trade. 


WlIGHTS 
AND 

Measures. 

Tables  of 
weight. 


Madura  is  tlie  chief  trade  centre  and  the  railway  receipts  there 
are  larger  than  at  any  other  station  on  the  South  Indian  line. 
Dindig-ul  follows  next,  and  then  the  head-quarters  of  the  various 
taluks  and  Bodinayakkanur,  through  which  last  all  the  produce 
of  tlie  Kannan  Devan  hills  travels  to  the  railway  at  Ammaya- 
nayakkanur. 

The  trading  castes  are  principally  Ravutans,  Shanans,  Chettis 
and  Lingayats.  Grain-brokers  are  often  Vell^las.  The  Ndttu- 
kottai  Chettis  are  the  financiers  of  the  district. 

The  weekly  markets  are  quite  a  feature  of  village  life,  and 
play  a  very  important  part  in  the  collection  of  goods  for  export 
and  in  the  distribution  of  imports.  '1  hoy  are  usually  controlled 
by  the  Local  Boards,  and  the  receipts  from  thein  are  larger 
than  in  any  other  district  except  Coimbatore.  Judged  by  the 
amount  paid  for  the  right  to  collect  the  usual  fees  at  them,  the 
biggest  are  those  at  Virupdkshi,  Usilampatti,  Nilakkottai  and 
Yedasand^r. 

The  ordinary  table  of  weights  is — 
6  tolas  (-4114  oz.)   .. 
20  palams 


Measures    for 
grain. 


6  visa 
8  vies 


=  1   palam  (nearly  2^  oz.). 

=  L  viss  (about  3  lb.). 

=  1   tulam  (about  18^  lb.). 

=:  1  maund  (about  26  lb.). 

In  addition,  there  are  certain  special  weights  used  for  cotton, 
and  the  number  of  viss  in  a  maund  differs  in  a  bewildering  way 
both  according  to  local  custom  and  to  the  substance  which  is 
being  weighed.  Thus  in  Madura  there  are  9  viss  in  a  maund 
of  tamarind,  8^^  in  one  of  jaggery,  8^  in  one  of  chillies,  and  so 
on  and  so  forth. 

The  usual  grain  measure  ia  — 
135  tolaa  of  rice  (heaped) 
4  measures  . . 
12  marakkals 

The  Board  of  Revenue  has  directed  the  stamping  department 
to  stamp  only  multiples  and  sub-multiples  of  the  Madras  measure 
of  132  tolas,  heaped,  but  the  order  appears  to  have  had  but 
little  effect  upon  local  practice.  This  varies  in  the  most  extra- 
ordinary manner,  as,  though  the  measure  is  constant  in  value, 
the  number  of  measures  in  a  kalam  may  be  anything,  according 
to  locality,  from  two  to  six.  It  is  reported  that  in  Palni  taluk 
the  usual  table  of  measures  is — 

3     measures         . .  . .  . .  . .      =     1  vallam. 


1  measure. 
1  marakkal. 
i   l<alam. 


16     vallams 
2^  modM 


=     1  moda. 
=     1  salagai. 


OCCUPATIONS  AND    TRADE.  163 

Arrack   is   sold   by   tlie    English   gallon  and    dram.     Other     CHAP.  Vl. 
liquids,  such  as  curds,  buttermilk  and  so  on,  are  sold  by  the      We'.ghts 
sub-multiples  of  the  ordinary  grain  measure.  Mkasuees. 

Acres  and  cents  are  now  always  used  officially  as  measures  of  l^^jJ 
land,  but  the  ryots  themselves  still  speak  of  the  guli  (a  square 
of  160  feet,  or  -5877  acre)  and  the  kdni,  or  1*32  acre. 

The    English   inch,  foot  and  yard   are  now   very   generally   Distance. 
used,  but  the  old  native  terms  are  still  met  with.     These  are — 
12  fingers' breadth        ..  ..  ..      =     1  sxmn  (jan). 

2  spans  ..  ..  ..  ..      =     1  cubit  (mulam). 

2  cubits  ..  ..  ..  ,.      =     1  yard  (gajam). 

4  cubits  . .  . .  .  .  . .      =      1  fathom  (marj. 

The  English  mile  is  also  used  in  describing  long  distances, 
though  the  native  measures  are — 

Distance  walked  in  a  naligai  ('i4  minutes)     =     H  miles. 

Do.  7^  naligais       . .  . .      =      1     kadam  = 

10  miles. 

Fov  time  also  the  English  style  is  common.  The  native  table  And  time, 
is  the  following — 

60     vinadis     ,  . .  . .  . .      =      1  naligai  = 

24  minutes, 

3|  naligais  . .  . .  . .      =     1  muhurtam. 

2     muhurtams        . .  . .  . .      =      1  jamam. 

8     jamams  ..  ..  .  .      =     1  day. 

Prior  to  the  conquest  of  Madura  by  the  Aluhammadaus,  the  Coinage. 
coin  of  highest  value  in  the  district  was  the  pon,  which  was 
equivalent  to  10  kali-panams  (lO^-  of  which  made  a  star  pagoda, 
or  Rs.  3^)  or  slightly  more  than  two  rupees.  This  coin  was 
subsequently  superseded  by  the  star  pagoda  or  pu-vardhan.  The 
table  was— - 

80  cash  ..  ..      =     1  panam  (Angliceyhwani). 

45  panams        ..  ..      =     1   star  pagoda  =  3*35  5/<?t'fl;  rupees 

=   3^  British  rupees. 

The  present  currency  is,  of  course,  the  same  as  in  other  parts 
of  the  country,  but  in  small  transactions  the  panam  aud  cluddu  are 
sometimes  used  instead  of  annas  and  pies.     The  table  is — 
2  pies     . .  . .  . .  . .  . ,      =■      1  dugani. 

4  pies     .  .  . .  . .  . .     =     1  duddu. 

10  duddus  . .  . .  . .  . .      =      1  panam. 

The  value  of  a  panam  varies,  however,  in  different  localities. 
In  Madura  it  is  3  annas  and  4  pies,  and  in  the  Dindigul  division 
4  annas. 

20 


154 


MADURA, 


CHAPTER  VII. 
MEANS  OF  COMMUNICA'lION. 


CHAP.  VII. 

EOADS. 

Their  former 
state 


Their 

ezistiug 

oonditioa. 


KoADs— Their  former  state — Their  existing  conditiou — The  chief  routes— The 
Kottakudi  ropeway  — Law's  ghat—The  Attur  ghat— Bridges  Travellers' 
bungalows  and  chattrams.     Railways— Existing  lines— Projected  routes. 

LiKF  those  of  most  other  districts,  the  metalled  roads  of 
Madura  are  practically  a  creatiou  of  the  last  forty  years.  No 
doubt  many  regular  lines  of  communication  existed  as  far  back 
as  the  times  of  the  Ndyakkan  dynasty,  for  both  Tirumala 
Ndyakkan  and  Queen  Mangammal  established  and  endowed 
frequent  choultries  for  travellers.  But  these  were  almost 
certainly  meiolj  unmetalled  tracks  very  ill-suited  to  cart  traffic 
in  any  but  the  finest  weather.  The  first  Collector  to  carry  out 
any  notable  improvements  in  the  roads  of  the  district  seems  to 
have  been  Mr.  Blackburne,  who  was  officially  complimented 
because  he  had  spent  Es.  1,23,000  on  them  in  the  nine  years 
between  1884  and  1842— a  sum  which  nowadays  would  be 
considered  ridiculously  inadequate.  Of  this  outlay,  Rs.  70,000 
were  expended  on  bridges  and  culverts,  and  only  Rs.  8,000  on 
gravelling.  In  1851  the  Collector  reported  that  only  ten  miles 
of  road  in  all  the  district  could  be  termed  metalled  ;  and  in  1868, 
though  some  500  miles  were  returned  as  '  maintained,'  the  only 
route „  in  fair  order  was  that  from  Trichinopolj,  via  Melur  and 
Madura,  to  Tirumangalam  and  Tionevelly.  Even  the  important 
road  from  Dindigul  to  Madura  was  '  for  the  most  part  in  a  very 
ruinous  state  '  and  the  lesser  lines  were  '  all  in  a  more  or  less 
unsatisfactory  condition.'  Want  of  money  was  the  reason  for 
this  state  of  things,  and  it  was  not  until  the  Madras  Local  Funds 
Act  of  1871  authorised  the  levy  of  a  substantial  road-cess  that 
any  real  progress  was  possible. 

Madura  now  possesses  800  miles  of  maintained  roads,  about 
half  of  which  are  metalled.  Except  the  Attur  ghdt  road  up  the 
Lower  Palnis  and  the  section  from  Bodinayakkanur  to  Kottakudi 
(both  referred  to  below),  which  are  in  the  charge  of  the  depart- 
ment of  Public  Works,  these  are  kept  up  by  the  Local  Boards. 

Considering  that  the  soil  through  which  these  pass  is  for  the 
most  part  hard  and  firm  and  that  metal  is  plentiful  almost  every- 
where, their  present  condition  compares  very  unfavourably  with 
that  of  the  communications  in  neighbouring  districts. 


Kottakudi 
ropeway. 


MEANS    OF    COMMr'NICATION.  155 

Most  of  them  are  lined  witli  fine  avenues.  Tlie  best  of  tliese  CHAP.  VII. 
are  always  popularly  attributed  to  Queen  Mangammal,  but  though  Road^s. 
she  planted  many  avenues  during  her  reign,  it  is  doubtful 
whether  the  age  of  any  considerable  proportion  of  those  now  in 
existence  can  be  as  great  (over  200  years)  as  this  belief  would 
imply.  The  receipts  from  the  produce  of  these  trees  is  higlier  in 
Madura  (including  the  Ramnad  and  Sivaganga  zamindaris)  than 
in  any  other  district  except  Salem  and  South  Arcot. 

The   chief  lines  are  (fl')  from   Trichinopoly   district   to  Tinne-    The  chief 
vellv,   through    Melur,    Madura    and    Tirnmangalam,    (b)    from    ^°"  *'^- 
Madura  to  Dindigul,  and  thence  to  Paini  and  (<?)  from  Dindigjul, 
through    Vattilagundu    and    Periyakulam,    to    the    head    of   tlie 
Kambam  valley  and  the  Periyar  lake. 

From  the  last  of  tliese  a  branch  road  has  recently  been  The 
constructed  to  Bodinayakkanur  and  thence  to  Kottakudi,  a  village 
at  the  foot  of  the  Travancore  hills  from  which  a  steep  track 
leads  to  the  top  of  that  range.  The  work  was  undertaken  at  the 
instance  of  the  Kannan  Devan  Hills  Produce  Co-  (the  owners  of 
a  large  area  of  coffee,  tea  and  cardamom  cultivation  on  the  range) 
who  have  constructed  an  aerial  ropeway  from  Kottakudi  to  their 
estates  on  the  hills  to  replace  the  track.  This  ropeway  rises  some 
4,000  feet,  is  worked  by  a  turbine  driven  by  a  small  stream  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  connects  at  its  upper  end  with  a  mono- 
rail tramway,  22  miles  in  length,  which  goes  to  Munaar,  the 
company's  head-quarters.  In  consideration  of  Government 
acquiring  and  handing  over  under  the  Land  A.cquisition  Act  the 
land  wanted  for  the  ropeway,  the  company  has  entered  into  au 
agreement  permitting  the  use  of  the  ropeway,  on  payment  of 
certain  fixed  charges,  by  the  general  public.  The  terms  of  the 
agreement  will  be  found  in  G.Os.,  Nos.  4,  W.,  dated  7th  January 
1901  and  'J31,  Rev.,  dated  11th  April  1005.  The  road  to 
Kottakudi  is  maintained  jointly  from  Provincial  and  local  funds. 

Another  route  of  interest  is  Law's  ghat,  so  called  from  Major  Law's  L'hat 
G.  V.  Law  of  the  Madras  Staff  Corps  who  carried  it  out,  which 
runs  for  about  eleven  miles  from  the  hill-station  of  Kodaikanal 
to  Neutral  Saddle,  the  natural  boundary  between  the  Upper  and 
Lower  Palnis.  It  was  originally  intended  to  continue  it  thence 
down  to  near  Ganguvarapatti,  but  this  lovver  section  was  never 
properly  completed,  has  not  been  maintained,  and  is  not  now 
practicable  for  anything  but  cattle. 

The  question  of  opening  up  roads  into  the  Palni  range  was 
first  definitely  raised  in  1875  by  the  Dindigul  taluk  board,  and 
Major  Law,  whose  health  required  a  change  from  the  plains,  was 


156  MADURA. 

CHAP.  VII.  selected  to  cut  tlie  necessary  preliminary  traces.  He  found  that 
EoADs,  tlie  only  work  whicli  had  been  done  up  to  then  was  the  cutting, 
by  a  native  surveyor  deputed  by  the  District  Engineer,  Colonel 
J  F.  Fischer,  R.E.,  of  a  trace  from  Shembaganur  down  the  Vilpatti 
valley,  north  of  Kodaikanal ,  which  ended  suddenly  in  an  impossi- 
ble precipice.  The  remains  of  this  are  still  visible.  He  soon 
saw  that  Neutral  Saddle  was  the  key  to  the  whole  position,  and 
in  the  same  year  carried  a  trace  to  that  point  from  Kodaikanal 
through  Shembaganur.  By  1878,  Ps  4;},00J  had  been  spent  on 
the  work,  and  the  upper  ten  miles  were  fit  for  wlieeled  traffic,  the 
next  thirteen  rideable  and  the  last  seven  partly  cleared.  In  that 
year  an  estimate  for  Rs.  3,20,000  was  sanctioned  for  completing 
the  road  down  to  the  plains  op]DOsite  Granguvarapatti.  On  1st 
July  1878  Major  (then  Colonel)  Law  retired,  and  in  the  same  year 
the  scarcity  of  funds  resulting  from  the  Afghan  War  prevented 
the  allotment  of  tl>e  money  sanctioned.  Nothing  luore  was  done 
in  the  matter  until  the  Attur  gh^t  was  begun. 

The  Attdr  This  IS  a  cart-road  now   under  construction   by  the   Public 

ghat.  Works  department.     It   will  run,  with  a  ruling  gradient  of  not 

more  than  one  in  nineteen,  from  Attur  in  Dindigul  taluk  up 
the  Lower  Palnis  to  Neutral  Saddle,  where  it  will  meet  Law's 
ghat  from  Kodaikanal.  A  branch  will  be  made  from  it  to 
Tdndikkudi.  It  was  originally  considered  that  a  bridle-path  up 
these  hills  would  be  sufficient,  and  in  1896  an  estimate  for  this 
was  drawn  out.  The  route  which  should  be  followed,  the  rival 
claims  of  Attur  and  A  yy ampdlaiyam  as  the  terminus,  and  the 
width  of  the  road  subsequently  underwent  much  discussion,  and 
eventually  the  present  scheme  was  sanctioned.  The  connecting 
link  between  the  foot  of  the  ghit  and  Sembatti  (on  the  Dindigul- 
Vattilagundu  road),  five  miles  in  length,  is  being  made  from  local 
funds,  and  it  is  proposed  to  continue  this  4|-  miles  further  to  the 
Ambdturai  railway-station.  If  this  is  done,  the  distance  from  the 
railway  to  Kodaikanal  will  be  about  50  miles  by  cart-road,  as 
against  33  by  road  and  twelve  up  a  steep  bridle-path  by  the 
existing  route  from  Ammayandyakkanur  through  Periyakulam.' 

Bridges.  The  Only  important  road-bridge  in  the  district  is  that  across 

the  Vaigai  at  Madura.  Floods  in  this  river  used  to  block  all 
communication  between  the  country  on  either  side  of  it  for 
days  together,  and  at  length  in  1889  this  work  was  completed 
and   was  opened    by    the  Collector  on   the    6th  December.     It 

'  An.  alternative  proposal  to  carry  the  Xttiir  ghat  no  further  than  Taadik- 
kudi  and  to  complete  Law's  ghat  down  to  Ganguvarapatti  is  now  under  consider- 
ation. The  new  railway  (p.  l.'iO)  will  pass  near  this  last  and  Kodaikanal  would 
then'^be  only  some  30  miles  from  the  line. 


MEANS   OF    COMMUNICATION.  157 

was  built  by  the  Piibbc  Works  Department  and  cost  R.s.  2,75,687  CHAP.  VII. 
against  the  estimate  of  Rs.  3,21,400.  Of  this  sara  Rs.  60,000  Roads. 
were  contributed  fi-ora  Provincial  Funds  and  Es.  10,0(»0  by  the 
municipality,  and  an  additional  Rs.  20,000  was  provided  from  the 
unexpended  balance  of  the  fund  collected  fur  tJie  reception  at 
Madura  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  in  1876.  It  had  bfcn  airancred 
that  when  Prince  Albert  Victor  was  in  south  India  he  should 
visit  the  town  and  open  the  bridge,  but  his  tour  was  altered  in 
consequence  of  the  prevalence  of  cholera  in  the  neighbourhood, 
and  the  Collector  performed  the  ceremony  instead. 

The  road  from  Palni  to  Udamalpet  in  Coimbatore  district 
formerly  crossed  the  Shanmuganadi  and  Amardvati  on  big  bridges 
built  at  some  date  before  1868,  but  both  of  these  have  been 
washed  away.  The  former  was  destioyed  by  the  inundations  of 
1877-78.  The  same  floods  swept  away  the  bridge  over  the 
Tirumanimuttdr  on  the  road  between  Melur  and  the  Trichinopoly 
frontier.  A  bridge  formerly  crossed  the  Pdldr  on  this  same  road 
at  the  point  where  there  is  now  only  a  causewaj-. 

The  great  increase  in  the  volume  of  the  Surnli  which  resulted 
when  the  Periyar  water  was  passed  into  it  necessitated  the  con- 
struction of  bridges  at  Uttamapdlaiyam  and  at  Yirapandi.  These 
were  completed  in  1893.  The  same  causes  rendered  the  crossing 
over  the  Vaigai  at  Kunnur  on  the  Andipatti-Teni  road,  where 
the  bed  of  the  river  is  narrow  and  deep,  a  dangerous  spot,  and 
a  ferry  (the  only  one  in  the  district)  has  now  been  established 
there.  The  boat  is  large  enough  to  take  laden  carts  and  travels 
backwards  and  forwards  by  means  of  a  block  attached  to  a  wire 
rope  slung  across  the  stream. 

A  list  of  the  travellers'  bungalows  in  Madura,  with  particulars  Travellers' 
of  the  accommodation  in  each,  will  be  found  in  the  separate  ^^"Salows 
Appendix  to  this  volume.  chattrams. 

All  the  main  routes  to  the  famous  temple  at  Eamesvaram  pass 
througli  the  district,  and  it  consequently  contains  a  large  number 
of  chattrams  founded  and  endowed  by  the  pious  for  the  use  of  the 
pilgrims  to  that  shrine.  Some  of  these  are  controlled  by  the 
Local  Boards  and  others  are  private  institutions.  Of  the  former, 
the  most  important  are  Queen  MangammaFs  chattrams  at  Sola- 
Vanddn  and  opposite  the  Madura  railway-station.  When  the 
English  first  acquired  the  district,  it  was  found  that  the  proceeds 
of  land  granted  free  of  rent  for  the  support  of  chattrams  had  in 
most  cases  been  appropriated  to  their  own  private  use  by  the 
grantees.     Mr.  Hurdis,  the  Collector,  wrote  in  1802  that — 

'  The  establishment  of  Choultries,  which  was  made  with  the  view 
of  accommodation][to  travellers,  has  since  the  time  of  Yusuf  Khan  been 


158 


MADURA.. 


CHAP.  VII. 

Roads. 


Railways. 

Existing 
lines. 


Projected 
rontes. 


appropriated  bj  the  present  incumltents,  as  their  own  private  property. 
The  rapacity  of  the  former  managers  had  winked  at  this  assumption, 
so  long  as  it  was  profitablo  to  them  :  but  thu  discover}^  of  their  aggres- 
sion, instead  of  causing  retributive  justice  to  the  sufferer,  enriched 
progressively  the  Eenters'  treasury  by  fixing  as  a  tribute  all  that  had 
been  discovered  taken  by  previous  compulsion.  And  the  holders  of 
the  property,  formerly  jmllic,  are,  hy  the  yearly  receipt  of  the  rent 
specified,  in  quiet  possession  of  their  impudent  usurpations.' 

Mr.  Hurdis  accordingly  resumed  most  of  these  chattram  inams 
and  assigned  to  the  institutions  tasdik  allowances  in  place  of  them. 
The  land  given  by  Mangammal  to  the  Solavandan  chattram  was 
treated  in  this  manner,  and  the  institution  is  now  paid  an  annual 
allowance  of  Rs.  3,160  from  Provincial  Funds.^  When  the 
new  road  from  Madura  to  Dindigul  through  Tadampatti  was 
opened,  it  diverted  part  of  the  pilgrim  traffic  from  Solavandan, 
and  a  Lranch  of  the  chattram  was  accordingly  opened,  and  is 
still  kept  up,  at  Tadampatti.  Later  on,  when  the  railway  was 
brought  to  Madura,  Solavandan  became  of  less  importance  than 
ever  as  a  halting-place  for  pilgrims  to  Ramesvaram,  and,  with 
the  approval  of  Government,  a  portion  of  its  endowment  was 
diverted  in  1894  to  the  founding  and  upkeep  of  the  chattram 
opposite  the  railway-station  at  Madura,  and  this  was  called  after 
Queen  Mangammdl. 

The  only  railway  in  the  district  is  the  South  Indian  Railway, 
the  main  line  of  which  (metre  gauge)  enters  it  near  Ailur  in  the 
Dindigul  taluk,  runs  in  a  wide  curve  (to  avoid  the  Sirumalais) 
through  Dindigul  to  Madura  town  (crossing  the  Yaigai  there  on 
a  bridge  of  15  spans  of  70  feet  each),  and  thence  passes  south-west 
and  south,  through  Tirumangalam  into  Tinnevelly  district.  The 
section  up  to  Madura  was  opened  in  1875  and  that  beyond  it  in 
the  next  3'ear. 

From  Madura  a  branch  line,  also  metre  gauge,  was  built  in 
1902  to  Mandapam,  on  the  neck  of  land  which  runs  out  to  meet 
Pdmban  island.  This  is  to  be  eventually  carried  across  the 
Pamban  channel  to  the  island,  where  it  is  proposed  to  establish  a 
large  port  for  ocean-going  vessels.  Schemes  are  also  afoot  to 
continue  it  thence  over  Adam's  Bridge  to  Ceylon.  Details  of 
these  matters  are  beyond  the  scope  of  this  volume,  but  if  they  are 
ever  brought  to  completion  Madura  will  be  a  more  important 
town  than  ever. 

Other  lines  have  been  projected.  One  proposed  route  would 
run  from  Dindigul,  through  Palni,  to  join  the  JMadras  Railway  at 

'  For  farther  particulars,  see  G.Os.,  Nos.  252,  Revenue,  dated  7th  February 
1872  and  1095,  L.,  Mis.,  dated  14th  June  1894.. 


MEANS    or    COIIMUNICATION.  159 

Tiruppur  in  the  Coimbatore  district.     Another  would   similarly    CHAP.  VII. 
start  from  Dindig'ul  and  pass  through  Palui^  but  thence  would      Kailwatb. 
run  westwards  to  join  the  Madras  Eailway  at  Palghat.     Neither 
scheme  has  yet  got  beyond  tlie  stage  of  surveys  and  estimates. 

In  1899  Messrs.  Wilson  &  Co.  of  Madras  were  granted  a 
concession  to  make  a  2'  6 "  tramway  from  Ammayanayakkanlir  on 
the  South  Indian  Eailway  to  Kuruvanuth,  at  the  extreme  upper 
end  of  the  Kambam  valley,  with  branches  to  Kottakudi  mentioned 
above  and  to  Kistnama  Ndyak's  tope  at  the  foot  of  the  ghat  to 
Kodaikanal.  '1  he  order  of  Government  granting  this  concession 
contained  the  conditious  that  the  work  should  be  begun  within 
twelve  months  thereafter,  and  completed  within  three  years. 
The  Company,  however,  were  unable  to  raise  the  necessary  funds 
and  eventually  relinquished  the  concession.  In  August  1905  the 
District  Board  decided  to  levy  a  cess  of  three  pies  in  the  rupee  of 
land  revenue  to  be  spent  upon  the  construction  of  railways  within 
the  district  and  it  is  now  proposed  that  the  proceeds  of  this  should 
be  laid  out  in  making  a  metre-gauge  line,  to  be  constructed  and 
worked  by  the  South  Indian  Eailway  Co.,  from  Dindigul'  to 
Uttamapalaiyam,  passing  through  Sembatti  (at  the  end  of  the  new 
Attur  gh^t  road),  Vattilagundu,  Devad/mapatti ,  Periyakulam, 
Teni  (AUinagaram),  Bodinayakkanur  and  Chinnamanur.  This 
would  run  through  much  rich  country  and  would  tap  every  pass 
to  the  Upper  and  Lower  Palnis  along  which  any  considerable 
traffic  is  ever  likely  to  travel. 

'  It  has  since  been  decided  that  the  line  shall  start  from  Amuiayt- 
nayakkandi'. 


160 


MADURA. 


CHAPTER  YIII. 


EAINFALL  AND  SEASONS. 


Bainfall — Liability  to  famine  and  [floods.  Famines  and  Scabcitieb — In  pre- 
British  days— In  1799— In  1812-14— In  1832  and  1836— In  1857— In 
18G6 — The  great  famine  of  1876-78.     Floods. 

CHAP.  VIII.   Statistics    of    the    average    rainfall    at    the    various    recording 

Rainfall.      Stations  in  the  district,  and  for  the  district  as  a  whole,   are  given 

~  below  for  the  dry  weather   (January  to    March),  the    hot  season 

(April  and  May),  the  south-west  monsoon  (June  to  vSeptember), 

the  north-east   monsoon   (October  to   December)  and  the  whole 

year  :~ 


Taluk. 

Station. 

Years  re- 
corded. 

p 

1-5 

April   and 
May. 

o  , 

"a 

2  p.-* 

Total. 

Dindipul            ...< 

Diudigul    

Vedasandiir 

1870-1903 
1887-1903 

1-55 
1-(U 

5-00 
5-81 

9-57 
6-74 

14-18 
13-83 

30-30 
28-02 

Nilakkottui 

Nilakk6ttai 

Do. 

1-45 

5-49 

8-24 

14-88 

30-04 

Kodaikiuial 

Kodaikanal 

1874-1903 

6-43 

11-44 

•21-00 

26-50 

65-37 

Madura      

Madura      

1870-1903 

1-70 

5-11 

12-34 

15-80 

35-00 

M61ur         

M61ur         

Do. 

Vii 

4-80 

15-33 

16-31 

37-88 

Paliii          

Palni         

Do. 

1-30 

4-69 

4-94 

15-13 

26-06 

Periyakulam     ...i 

Periyakulam 
Uttamapalaiyam  . 

1880-1903 
Do. 

3-58 
1-82 

5-38 
4-85 

6-19 
5-25 

14-13 
15-50 

29-28 
27-42 

Tirumangalam  ...  < 

Tirumangalam    ... 

Usilampatti 

1870-1903 
1880-1903 

I'StJ 

5-5S 
5-69 

9-93 
7-43 

14-89 
16-87 

31-81 
31-55 

33-88 

Average     for    the 
district    

2-17 

5-80 

9-72 

16-19 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  average  fall  for  the  district  as  a 
whole  is  nearly  34  inches.  This  is  less  than  is  received  in 
neighbouring  areas,  and  moreover  the  supply  is  very  irregular. 
The  extreme  variations  on  record  are  the  47  41  inclies  of  1877 
and  the  IS'CO  of  1876,  but  in  1898  the  fall  was  over  40  inches 
and  in  1870,  187S,  1881  and  1892,  it  was  under  25  inches. 


BAINFALL    AND    SEASONS. 


161 


•C    Excluding   Kodaikanal,  the  circumstances  of  which  are  pecn-  chap.  Vlii 

liar,  the  highest    amounts  are  received   in   M6\{xv   and   Madura     Rainfall. 

taluks  and  the  lowest  in  Dindigul,  Periyakulam  and  Palni.     The 

figures  show    that  the  difference  occurs   almost   entirely    in  the 

supply    registered    during  the    south-west    monsoon.     The    last 

three  taluks  are  robbed  of  the  moisture  brought  by   this  current 

by  reason  of  their   position  close   under  the   highest    portions  of 

the  whole  range  of  the  Western  Ghats,  while  Madura  and  Meliar 

stand  farther  away  from  the  shelter  of  those  hills  and  opposite  a 

lower  portion  of  them,  and  thus  receive  a  somewhat  larger  supply. 

The  average  fall  in  the  district  as  a  whole  during  the  south-west 

monsoon  is  smaller  than  in  any  other  district  except    Tinnevelly, 

All  the  taluks   share  about  equally  in  the    rain  brought   by  the 

north-east  current. 

The  average  number  of  wet  days  in  a  year  is  53,  so  that  the  Liability  to 
average  fall  per  rainy  day  works  out  to  64  inch,  which,  though  fl^'ods*' 
quite  a  good  shower,  is  considerably  less  than  is  necessary  to  till 
tanks  in  a  country  containing  as  much  porous  red  soil  as  does  this 
district.  Consequently  Palni  and  Dindigul  taluks  depend  greatly 
upon  their  wells  to  bring  crops  to  maturity  and  Tirumangalam, 
where  there  are  no  wells,  is  at  the  mercy  of  the  seasons.  On  the 
other  hand  the  disastrous  floods  which  periodically  sweep  through 
some  of  the  Madras  districts  are  rare  in  Madura. 

Of  the  famines  and  scarcities  which  visited  the  country  in  the  Faminrs  and 
days  before  the  British  occupation,  no  exact  record  survives.  cakcities.. 
Such  things  were  little  accounted  of  in  those  days.  Native  MSS.  i^  d'avs  "  ' 
mention  them  incidentally,  but  give  no  details.  A  Jesuit  letter 
of  1622  says  that  famine  had  then  been  so  bad  for  some  years 
that  the  numerous  corpses  of  those  who  had  died  of  starvation 
were  left  unburied.  Mention  is  made  of  other  faraiues  ;  namely, 
in  Tirumala  Nayakkan's  time;  after  the  troubles  of  1659-62, 
when  10,000  Christians  alone  are  said  to  have  perished  from  want ; 
in  167o,  after  Venkaji's  incursion,  which  was  so  severe  that,  says 
one  of  the  Jesuits,  nothing  was  to  be  met  with  in  any  direction 
save  desolation  and  the  silence  of  the  tomb  ;  in  1678,  following  a 
deluge  caused  by  excessive  rain  on  the  Western  Ghats  ;  in  1709, 
when  another  great  storm  was  succeeded  by  a  famine  which 
seems  to  bave  lasted  right  up  to  1720;  and  in  1781  in  conse- 
quence of  Haidar's  invasion  of  the  year  before. 

In  1799  there  was   considerable  distress  round   Pindigul  and    l"  179P. 
the  Collector  was  authorised  to  purchase  grain  on  Government 
account  and  distribute  it  to  the  people. 

21 


•  162  MADUKA. 

CHAP.  VIII.         The  district  again  suffered  greatly  in    the  three  years  1812- 
Famines  and  X4,  and  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  of  these  it  was  found  neces- 
ScAEciTiEB.    ^^^^  ^^  ^.^^  employment  to  42,000  of  its  people  and  to  advance 
In  1812-14.     2,000  pagodas  to  the   grain-merchants  to  enable   them  to  import 
foodstuffs  from  elsewhere.     The  expenditure  on  relief  in  the  five 
months  from  January  to  May  was  nearly  Es.  3,25,000. 
In  1832  and  The  next   famine   occurred   in    1832-33.     This   is  generally 

1836.  known    as    the    Guntlir  famine,    as    it  was    most    acute    in  that 

district ;  but  ib  was  also  severe  in  Madura,  Salem,  North  Arcot 
and  Cuddapah.  Four  years  later,  in  1836,  there  was  another 
scarcity  in  the  district.  The  late  rains  of  that  year  failed  alto- 
gether and  led  to  a  prolonged  drought.  Large  remissions  had 
to  be  granted,  a  number  of  the  poor  were  employed  on  public 
works,  and  the  Collector  (Mr.  Blackburne)  ordered  relief  to  be 
distributed  from  the  funds  belonging  to  the  Madura  temple, 
which  were  under  his  administration. 

The  loss  of  population  caused  by  these  two  famines  must 
have  been  considerable.  In  1822  the  inhabitants  of  the  Grovern- 
ment  taluks  of  the  district  numbered  788,196,  while  at  the 
census  taken  in  1838  they  were  only  552,477.  It  is  true  that 
these  enumerations  were  probably  very  defective,  but  tbere  is 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  former  was  more  accurate  than 
the  latter ;  the  presumption,  indeed,  is  just  the  opposite.  The 
decrease  in  the  population  must,  therefore,  be  real ;  and  though 
it  is  possible  that  some  of  it  was  due  to  emigration,  the  greater 
part  of  it  must  be  ascribed  to  starvation  and  epidemic  diseases, 
especially  cholera.  Allowing  for  the  natural  increment  of  popu- 
lation from  1822-38,  the  decline  was  at  the  rate  of  39*8  per  cent. 
Seven  other  districts  suffered  a  loss  during  the  same  period. 
In  1857.  Though  a  number  of  the  subsequent  years  were  distinctly 

unfavourable  and  high  prices  caused  much  suffering,  the  next 
really  bad  season  was  in  1857.  The  south-west  monsoon  of 
that  year  failed  and  the  north-east  gave  no  rain  after  October. 
Prices  continued  at  a  high  level,  numbers  of  people  were  in 
receipt  of  relief,  aud  'over  40,000  persons  emigrated  to  Ceylon. 
The  next  year  was  not  much  better,  but  the  failure  of  the  crops 
was  due  to  excessive,  rather  than  deficient,  rainfall.  High 
prices  continued  and  the  people  suffered  much  from  both  cholera 
and  fever. 
In  1866.  The  famine  of  1866   was  more  severe.     The  monsoons  were 

very  late,  prices  rose  rapidly,  and  in  September  rice  was  selling 
at  4"2  measures  a  rupee,  ragi  was  66  per  cent,  dearer  than  in  the 
corresponding  month  of  the  previous  year,  and  in  some  parts 


RAINFALL    AND    SEASONS. 


163 


grain  was    not    procurable  at  any    figure.     The    statistics    below  CHAP.  VIII. 
indicate  tlie  course  of  events  : —  Famines  and 

Scarcities. 


Number  relieved. 

Year 

and  month. 

Gratuitously. 

On  works. 

Total. 

1866. 

August  ... 
September 
October  ... 
November 
December 

1867. 

4,313 
5,375 
5,540 
3,892 
4,203 

60 
310 
310 

4,313 
5,375 
5,600 
4,202 
4,513 

Januai'y 

February 

March    ... 

April 

May 

June 

3,407 
2,071 
1,077 
1,355 

800 

6,161 
5,813 

739 
7H8 
739 
763 

9,568 
7,384 
1,816 
2,118 
1,539 
763 

A  sum  of  lis.  14,000  was  raised  by  local  subscription  and 
Rs.  24,000  were  spent  on  gratuitous  relief  and  Es.  19,000  on 
works.  Tlie  taluks  worst  affected  were  Melur,  Dindigul  and 
Tirumangalam. 

But  tlie  most  serious  visitation  which  Madura  has  ever  had 
to  face  was  the  '  great  famine  '  of  1876-78,  which  affected  dis- 
astrously so  many  other  districts  in  this  Presidency. 

The  south-west  and  north-east  monsoons  of  187  U  both  failed. 
3'he  latter  began  propitiously  enough  with  a  fall  of  nearly  three 
inches^  but  then  ceased  altogether.  By  November  15th  matters 
were  critical  and  by  the  end  of  the  year  not  only  were  all  agri- 
cultural operations  at  a  standstill,  but  in  many  places  the  water 
available  was  insufficient  even  for  domestic  purposes.  Sheep 
and  cattle  in  Palni  began  to  die,  although  the  forest  reserves 
were  thrown  open  for  grazing.  The  ryots  began  to  sell  their 
cattle  and  other  property  and  to  emigrate  in  thousands  to  Ceylou 
and  elsewhere,  leaving  their  children  and  wonienkind  behind 
them.  So  great  was  the  crowd  at  Pamban  waiting  to  get  away, 
that  the  food  supplies  there  ran  out,  and  Government  authorised 
the  Collector  to  buy  grain  and  sell  it  at  cost  price  to  the  emi- 
grants. Cholera,  small-pox  and  other  epidemics  also  appeared. 
Between  July  187G  and  June  1878,  it  may  here  be  noted,  120,000 
persons  emigrated  from  the  district  (including  the  Eamuad  and 
Sivaganga  zamindaris)  and  20,000  died  of  cholera. 


The  great 
famine  of 

1876-78. 


164 


MADURA. 


SCABCITIKS. 


(iHAP.  VIII.  On  lltli  December  1876  Government  placed  a  first  instalment 

[''amines  and  of  Ks.  5,000  at  the  disposal  of  the  Collector  for  the  opening  of 
relief-works,  and  the  Sub-Collector  started  three  centres  for 
gratuitous  relief  round  Dindigul  on  his  own  responsibility. 

In  the  early  part  of  1877  the  numbers  on  relief  increased 
so  considerably  that  for  purposes  of  famine  administration  the 
district  was  arranged  into  four  divisions  ;  Mr.  C.  W.  W.  Martin, 
the  Sub-Collector,  taking  Dindigul  and  Palni ;  Mr.  E.  Turner, 
Extra  Assistant  Collector,  Tirumangalam  and  Periyakulam  ;  and 
two  Deputy  Collectors  (Messrs.  P.  Subbaiyar  and  Tillaindyakam 
Pillai)  being  in  charge  of  Madura  and  Melur  respectively-  The 
District  Engineer's  staif  was  also  strengthened  by  the  addi- 
tion of  several  European  Assistant  Engineers,  and  a  number 
of  subordinates  of  the  Survey  department  were  transferred  to 
famine  duty. 

The  figures  subjoined  (which  have  been  worked  out  for  the 
district  without  the  Hamnad  and  Sivaganga  zamindaris)  show 
graphically  the  progress  of  the  famine  from  that  time  forth  : — 


Month  and  year. 

Number  of  persons  on  last 
day  of  month  on 

Expenditure  on 

Works. 

Gratui- 
tous 
relief. 

Total. 

Works. 

Gratui- 
tous 
relief. 

Total. 

1876. 
December 

1877. 
January 
February 
March  ... 
April     .. 

May       

June      

July       

August 

September 
October 
November 
December 

1878- 
January 
February 

March 

April 
May 
June 
July       ... 

Total  ... 

6,281 

3,554 
5,245 

8,447 
11,631 
12,314 

7,086 
22,559 
24,594 
14,199 
12,565 

9,977 

2,407 

4,251 
250 

1,015 

331 

230 

1,179 

5,458 
7,553 
12,622 
34,537 
50,990 
81,470 
40,910 
27,930 
15,249 

9,818 

936 

265 

106 

24 

24 

7,296 

3,885 
5,475 
9,626 
17,089 
19,867 
19,708 
57,096 
75,584 
95,669 
53,475 
37,907 
17,656 

14,069 

1,186 

265 

106 

24 

24 

BS. 

6,309 

11,844 
12,801 
20,206 
21,534 
26,346 
39,989 
43,211 
62,034 
87,921 
63,955 
24,598 
17,411 

7,788 

3,283 

946 

RS. 

772 

372 

244 

992 

5,725 

11,012 

25,9*2 

47,868 

87,337 

1,56,987 

1,34,541 

63,034 

49,685 

20,122 

8,071 

1,624 

393 

145 

97 

55 

RS. 

7,081 

12,216 

13,045 

21,198 

27,259 

37,358 

65,931 

91,079 

1,49,371 

2,44,908 

1,98,496 

87,632 

67,096 

27,910 

11,354 

2,570 

393 

145 

97 

55 

4,60,176 

6,15,018 

10,65,194 

RAINFALL    AND   SEASONS. 


165 


It  will  be  seen  that  things  quickly  went  from   had  to  worse.   CHAP.  VIII. 
Everyone,  however,  lived  in  the  hope  that  the  south-west  monsoon   Famines  and 

of  1 877  would  be  plentiful  and  put  an  end  to  the  distress.     When,  

therefore,  it  again  turned  out  a  failure,  the  numbers  both  on  works 
and  gratuitous  relief  increased  very  seriously,  the  latter  quadru- 
pling between  June  and  August.  Grain  was  poured  into  the 
district  by  the  railway,  which  had  just  been  opened,  but  there 
remained  the  difficulty  of  getting  it  distributed  to  the  outlying 
parts.  Weavers  were  relieved  in  Dindigul  and  Palni  by  giving 
them  advances  of  raw  material  and  paying  them  the  market  value 
of  the  fabrics  woven  therefrom.  Many  people  died  of  sheer 
starvation  and  the  records  of  the  time  are  full  of  tales  of  horror — 
children  deserted  by  their  mothers,  corpses  lying  un buried  by 
the  road-sides  and  so  forth.  Crime  also  naturally  increased  by 
leaps  and  bounds.  Kvery  effort  was  made  to  reach  the  worst 
cases  of  destitution  with  the  money  provided  by  the  Mansion 
House  Fund,  and  when  at  length,  in  September  and  October  1877, 
good  rain  fell,  this  same  money  was  utilised  in  assisting  ryots  to 
start  the  cultivation  of  their  fields. 

Thereafter  the  numbers  both  on  works  and  gratuitous  relief 
rapidly  declined,  but  in  November  and  December  the  little 
progress  which  had  been  made  with  the  new  crop  was  checked  by 
excessive  rain  ending  (in  Kamnad)  with  the  most  disastrous  floods 
which  had  been  known  for  years. 

On  the  last  day  of  the  February  following,  however,  matters 
had  improved  sufficiently  to  enable  the  distinction  between  famine 
and  budget  works  to  be  revived,  and  village  relief  was  ordered 
to  be  discontinued  from  the  last  day  of  March  1878. 

During  the  fifteen  months  which  bad  elapsed  since  operations 
began  in  December  1876,  Rs.  6'15  lakhs  had  been  spent  on 
gratuitous  relief  in  the  district  and  I" 50  lakhs  on  works.  Besides 
these  amounts,  large  sums  from  the  Mansion  House  Fund  had 
also  been  expended.  The  indirect  cost  of  the  famine  to  the 
State  included  over  65-  lakhs  granted  in  remissions  of  assessment, 
as  under  : — 


Fasli. 

Bemissions. 

Wet. 

Dry. 

Total. 

1286 

1287 

1288 

Total  ... 

lis. 
2,03,291 
11,814 
40,203 

H8. 

2,80,720 
&3,381 

4,84,011 

1,05,195 

40,203 

2,55,808 

3,74,101 

6,29,409 

166  '  MADUftA. 

CHAP.  VIII.  Thns  the  total  cost  to  tlie   Q-overnment,  direct  and  indirect,  of 

Famines  and   the  famine  in  this  district  may  be  put  at  17  lakhs. 

SCAECITIES. 

The  loss  to  the  people  themselves  was,  of  course,  infinitely 

greater.  It  was  reported  that  in  Palni  there  were  practically  no 
cattle  left  alive. 

At  the  census  of  1881,  taken  three  years  after  the  famine 
was  over,  the  people  of  the  district  were  5  per  cent,  fewer  than 
they  had  been  in  1871,  five  years  before  it  began.  Tirumanga- 
1am  taluk  evidently  suffered  more  severely  than  any  other,  for 
the  decline  in  the  population  there  amounted  to  no  less  than  15 
per  cent.  In  Palni  and  Madura  it  was  7  per  cent,  and  in  Dindi- 
gul  6  per  cent.  Since  then  no  famine  or  serious  scarcity  has 
visited  Madura. 
Floods.  Few  floods  have  occurred  in  the  district.     We  are  told  that 

in  December  1677  an  extraordinary  superabundance  of  rain  on 
the  Western  Ghats  caused  a  kind  of  deluge,  which  swept  away 
many  low-lying  villages  with  all  their  inhabitants.  On  the  18th 
December  1709  a  tremendous  cyclone  appeared.  The  tempest 
began  at  7  a.m.  with  a  strong  north-easterly  gale  and  very  violent 
rain.  This  lasted  till  nearly  noon,  when  the  wind  and  rain 
suddenly  ceased  and  a  profound  calm  followed  which  continued 
until  5  P.M.  The  wind  then  got  up  again  with  great  suddenness 
from  the  opposite  quarter,  the  south-west,  and  blew  for  most  of 
the  night  with  even  greater  force  than  in  the  morning.  The 
wind  and  the  rain  breached  tank  after  tank  until  at  last  a  mighty 
wave  of  water  was  surging  through  the  district  carrying  every- 
thing before  it ;  aud  by  morning  the  country  was  one  vast  sheet 
of  water  with  only  the  higher  ground  appearing  above  it  here 
and  there. 

In  November  1814  a  terrific  storm  from  the  south-east  swept 
over  the  neighbourhood  of  Madura  town  and  destroyed  nearly 
3,000  cattle  and  some  50  herdsmen. 

In  December  1843  extraordinary  freshes  occurred  in  the 
Vaigai  and  many  tanks  were  breached. 

In  the  same  month  in  1877  the  Grundar  came  down  in  a  most 
unexpected  and  dangerous  flood.  The  Special  Assistant  Col- 
lector then  in  charge  of  Ramnad  zamindari  under  the  Court 
of  Wards  described  in  a  graphic  way  how  he  was  riding  along 
through  jungle  when  he  suddenly  heard  a  noise  of  rushing  water 
and  in  a  few  minutes  was  struggling  with  his  horse  in  a  torrent 
three  feet  deep.  The  details  of  the  matter  belong  to  the  history  of 
Ramnad,  and  it  is  enough  to  mention  here  that  the  river  swept 
during  the  night  through  the  famine  camp  which  had  been  pitched 


EAINPALL    AND    SEASONS.  167 

in  its  bed  at  Tiruchuli  and  drowned  about  20  people  there  before  CHAP.  viii. 
they  could  escape ;  travelled  to  Kainudi  and  washed  away  the       Floods. 
wall  of  the  temple  and  a  thousand  yards  of  the  big  embankment 
there ;  and  then  rushed  across  country,  breaching   nearly  every 
tank  in  the  south-west  of  the  zamindari,   until  the  whole  of  that 
side  of  the  district  was  covered  with  one  wide  sheet  of  water. 

In  1884  an  unusually  high  flood  in  the  Vaigai  topped  the  road 
to  the  west  of  Madura  and  flowed  into  the  Anuppanadi  channel, 
but  no  great  damage  was  done  except  to  the  newly-opened 
water-works  mentioned  on  p.  22^. 


168 


MADURA. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
PUBLIC  HEALTH. 


Health, 


Cholera. 


General  Health — Cholera — Fever — Small-pcx— Madura  foot — Vital  Statis- 
tics. Medical  Institutions — American  Mission  hospitals  and  dispensaries 
— The  Madura  hospital — The  Dindignl  hospital— Other  institutions. 

HAP.  IX.  The  frequency  of  cliolera  and  fever  in  Madura  is  at  present 
General  too  great  to  warrant  the  inclusion  of  the  district  among-  those 
which  are  clearly  healthy  to  native  constitutions.  Europeans 
have  the  advantage  of  Kodaikanal  as  a  haven  of  refuge  from  the 
usual  effects  of  a  tropical  climate,  but  othervrise  do  not  find  the 
district  invigorating.  To  both  classes  the  high  and  dry  land 
round  about  Dindigul  and  Palni  is  better  suited  than  the  Vaigai 
valley,  and  both  find  the  atmosphere  of  Madura  town  itself  debi- 
litating and  unwholesome.  Hence  the  movement  of  the  residences 
of  the  head-quarter  officials  (see  p.  261)  to  the  new  site  on  the 
race-course  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river. 

Cholera  is  an  ancient  enemy  of  the  country.  A  letter  from  the 
Jesuit  missionary  Robert  de'  Nobili,  dated  as  far  back  as  April 
1609,  speaks  of  the  ravages  of  a  virulent  epidemic  disease  which 
he  calls  mordechin,  and  Father  Martin,  writing  in  1701,  gives  an 
account  of  this  which  makes  it  clear  that  it  was  none  other  than 
cholera.  Tule  and  Burnell  say  that  mordechin  is  a  fanciful 
French  corruption  of  modachi,  the  Konkani  and  Marathi  name  for 
the  disease.  The  remedy  favoured  by  the  Jesuit  fathers  for  the 
cure  of  choleraic  attacks  was  the  application  of  a  red  hot  sickle  to 
the  soles  of  the  patient's  feet.  If  he  did  not  move  when  this  was 
applied,  they  naively  observe,  his  case  was  hopeless. 

Severe  epidemics  of  cholera  are  reported  to  have  occurred  in 
1815,  1818,  1819,  1820,  1831  to  1837,  1839,  1843,  1850  to  1852, 
I  853,  1858,  1859,  1861,  1864  and  1865.  In  187f),  11,600  persons 
died  of  the  disease  and  15,600  in  1877.  Since  then,  the  worst 
years  have  been  1891  (6,800  deaths),  1897  (8,:i00)  and  1900 
(5,800),  but  in  no  single  year  since  1871,  with  the  two  solitary 
exceptions  of  1874  and  1886,  has  Madura  been  entirely  free  from 
this  scourge.  The  festivals  at  the  temples  at  Madura,  Palni,  and 
Rdmesvaram  used  to  be  the  great  centres  for  its  propagation,  but 
these  are  now  more  carefully  watched  than  formerly.  Statistics 
of  the  deaths  from  cholera  and  certain  other  causes  in  recent 
years  will  be  found  in  the  separate  Appendix  to  this  volume. 


PUBLIC    HEALTH.  169 

Malarial  fever  is  endemic  in  most  of  llie  country  close  under  tlie     CHAP.  IX. 
numerous  hill-rang-cs  of    the  district,    bucIi    as  the  tracts  lying-      Genehai, 
among  the  Nattarn  liills,  at  the  head  of  the  Kambam  valley  and      Health. 
at  the  foot  of  the  Palnis.     The  Sirumalai  hills  are  also  themselves   Fever, 
exceeding-ly  malarious. 

In  the  early  years  of  ilie  last  century,  however,  some  sort  of 
fever  created  havoc  all  over  the  district  and  not  only  in  the 
country  near  the  hills.  It  was  especially  virulent  in  the  three 
years  1809  to  JSll,  and  is  constantly  referred  to  in  the  old 
records.  In  his  jamahandi  report  for  fasli  1221  the  Collector  said 
that  13,000  people  had  died  of  it  in  ton  months,  aud  that  those  who 
had  escaped  with  their  lives  were  almost  all  prostrated  from  its 
effects.  Cultivation  and  business  had  everywhere  Iteen  inter- 
rupted; the  ryots  were  unable  to  work  in  the  fields;  the  nattam- 
gars  could  hardly  crawl  to  the  cutcherries  for  their  pattas  ;  the 
gumastahs  were  too  ill  to  prepare  the  accounts  ;  and  he  himself 
was  not  strong  enough  to  write  the  report  and  had  been  obliged 
to  order  his  Head  Assistant  to  do  it  for  him. 

A  Committee  investigated  the  disease  and  reported  in  1816  at 
great  length  upon  its  nature  and  its  supposed  causes.  It  re- 
appeared in  that  year  and  again,  in  a  severe  form,  in  1818,  1819, 
1820,  lb39,  1840,  18^5,  1800,  1851,  1854  (when  it  was  especially 
malignant),  1^55,  1856,  1858,  1859,  lS-61,  18()3,  1864  and  1865. 
But  in  some  of  these  years  it  was  confined  to  limited  areas. 
Sometimes,  it  was  paid,  whole  villages  were  decimated  by  it  in  a 
few  days.  Since  that  time  it  has  not  visited  the  district.  Over 
one-third  of  all  the  deaths  in  Madura  since  1883  have,  it  is  true, 
been  attributed  to  'fever,^  but  probably  (as  elsewhere)  many 
diseases  are  so  entered  which  are  beyond  the  powers  of  diagnosis 
possessed  by  the  heads  of  villages  who  are  responsible  for  the 
returns. 

Small-pox  is  not  particularly  common.  The  worst  years  since  Small-pox. 
1871  hctve  been  1872  (4,491  deaths),  1877  (3,161)  and  1891 
(2,783).  In  the  decade  1883-1892  the  disease  caused  555  deaths 
out  of  every  10,000  and  in  the  quinquennium  1898-1902,  343  out 
of  the  same  number.  Vaccination  is  compulsory  in  all  the  unions 
aad  municipalities. 

A  disease  worth  special  mention  is  '  Madura  foot/  or  Madura 
mycetoma.  In  this  Presidency  it  is  especially  common  in  the  '*^^^- 
Madura  district  and  (in  the  same  way  that  elephantiasis  is  often 
called  '  Cochin  leg ')  it  gets  its  popular  name  from  tins  fact.  It 
consists  in  a  marked  swelling  of  the  foot  (or  occasionally  of  the 
hand)  and  is  popularly  supposed  to  be  confined  to  the  tracla 
covered  with  black  cotton-soil. 

22 


170 


MADUEA. 


CHAP.  IX.  The  earliest,  uotice  of  the  disease  was  hj  Ksempfer  in  1712.^ 

GENERAL       Jts   more  modern  history  began  with  Godfrey,  of  Madras,    who 

'       gave  a  description  of  several  undoubted  examples  of  it  in  the 

Lancet  of  June  10th,  1843.  The  merit  of  biinging  the  disease 
prominently  to  notice,  of  distinctly  describing  its  clinical  and 
anatomical  features,  as  well  as  of  suggesting  its  probable  patho- 
logy, belongs  entirely  to  Vandyke  Carter,  who,  from  1860  to  1874, 
in  a  series  of  important  papers,  furnished  the  information  on 
which  all  later  descriptions  have  been  principally  founded. 

The  disease  is  not  confined  to  India,  but  occurs  with  some 
degree  of  frequency  in  Senegambia  and,  more  rarely,  in  Algeria, 
Italy  and  Cochin-China.  In  India,  it  is  endemic  in  more  or  less 
limited  areas  which  are  scattered  over  a  wide  extent  of  country 
and  separated  by  tracts  which  are  almost  completely  immune. 
Besides  Madura,  it  is  said  ^  to  be  prevalent  in  the  Proddatur, 
Jammalamadugu  and  Pulivendla  taluks  of  the  Cuddapah  district 
(chiefly  on  the  cotton-soil  arpas  in  them)  and  it  is  common  in  the 
Punjab,  Kashmir  and  Eajputana.  It  appears  to  be  acquired  only 
in  rural  areas,  the  inhabitants  of  towns  being  exempt. 

Mycetoma  begins  usually,  but  by  no  means  invai-iably,  on  the 
sole  of  the  foot,  the  first  indication  of  its  presence  being  a  small 
round  painless  swelling  perhaps  half  an  inch  in  diameter.  After 
a  month  or  more,  this  swelling  will  soften  and  rupture,  discharg- 
ing a  peculiar  viscid  fluid  containing  in  suspension  minute  round 
particles  (compared  by  some  to  fish-roe)  which  are  either  grey, 
yellow  or  black.  In  time  other  similar  swellings  appear  and  go 
through  the  same  process,  leaving  sinuses  which  do  not  heal. 
Gradually  the  foot  enlarges  to  two  or  three  times  its  normal  size, 
the  sole  becomes  convex  so  that  the  toes  do  not  touch  the  ground, 
the  tissues  soften  and  the  whole  of  the  member  is  covered  with 
the  discharging  sinuses. 

As  the  foot  enlarges,  the  leg  atrophies  from  disuse,  so  that  in 
advanced  cases  an  enormously  swollen  foot  is  attached  to  a  leg 
which  is  little  more  than  skin  and  bone.  Unless  treated,  the 
patient  dies  after  ten  or  twenty  vears,  worn  out  by  the  continued 
drain. 

Three  varieties  of  the  disease  have  been  recognised — the  white, 
the  black  and  the  red— of  which  the  last  is  very  rare.  It  is  due 
to  a  ray  fungus  which  is  allied  to  the  actinomyses  which  in  some 
places  causes  an  affection  (actinomycosis)  among  cattle  which  has 

^  See    Mansou's    Tropical  Diseases  (Cassel   &    Co.,   1898),    from  wbioli  the 
following  particulars  are  abstracted. 
*  Cuddapiih  Diitrict  Manual,  193. 


PUBLIC    HEALTH.  171 

been  communicated  to  man.     How  this  enters  the  foot  is  not  yet     CHAP.  IX. 
certain.     It  is  conjectured  that  it  may    be  a  usual  parasite  on       General 
some  plant,  and  that  it  finds  its  way   into  the  tissues  through      H^^"- 
a  wound  in  the  skin.     This  theory  is  supported   by  the  facts  that 
the  disease  occurs  almost  invariably  on  the  feet  and  hands,   and 
principally  among  the  barefooted  ryots.     If  the  harm   has   not 
proceeded  far,  free  excision  of  the  affected  parts  will  stop  it ;  but 
in  more  advanced  cases  amputation  is  the  only  remedy  yet  known. 

Statistics  of  the  recorded  rates  of  births  and  deaths  will  be   ^'^^^^ 
found  in  the    Appendix.     Eegistration  of   these    events   is    now   ^^^^•'^^^*^''- 
compulsory  in  all  the   anions   and  municipalities  in  the   district. 
The  figures  are  probably  as  reliable  as   elsewhere.     They  show 
among  other  things,  that  the  hot  weather  is  much  more  healthy 
than  the  rains. 

The  medical  institutions  of  the  district  comprise  6ve  municipal,       Medical 
three  local  board,  and  two  mission,  hospitals,  and  three  municipal,    ^nstitutioms. 
twelve  local  board,  and  one  naission,  dispensaries.     Statistics   of 
the  attendance  at,  and  expenditure   on,  the   municipal   and  local 
board  institutions  are  given  in  the  Appendix. 

Tne    mission  hospitals   are    that  for  women  and  children  in   American 
Madura  town,   near  the  site  of  the  east  gate  of  the  old  fort,  which  ^^*"*'o° 
was  opened  by  the  American  Mission  in  1898  (the   cases  treated   and  ' 
in  which  numbered  15,501)  in  1904)  and  the  well-equipped  Albert   '^'spf^nsarieH. 
Victor  hospital  (commonly  known,   from  the  name  of  the   surgeon 
who  originated  it,  as  the  Van  Allen  hospital)  belonging-  to  the  same 
body,  wliere  there  is  accommodation  for  ^8   in-patients   and  the 
out-patients  treated  in  which  numbered   20,800  in   1904.     This 
latter  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  Hs.  42,000  (nearly  all  subscribed  by 
natives  of  the   district),  was  opened  by  Sir  Arthur  Havelock  in 
1897,  and  is  supported  by  annual  subscriptions  from  the  Ndttu- 
kottai  Chettis,  the  Lessees  of  Sivaganga  and  others,  aided  by  grants 
from  the  municipality,  the  District   Board  and  the  mission.     The 
mission  also  maintains  a  dispensary  at  Pasumalai. 

Of    all   the   medical  institutions  the  oldest  is    the    municipal  Tlie  Madura 
hospital  at  Madura.     It  was  opened  in  May  1842  in  the  old  guard-  ho«pital. 
room  over  the   remains  of  the  west  gate  of  the   Madura  fort   (see 
p.   266)  where  the   maternity  hospital   (opened  in   1863)  is  now 
located.     In   1843  the   rooms   on  the   north  side  of  the   platform 
over  this   gateway,   behind  the   guard- room,   were  erected  for  it 
In   18(32  the  Collector,   Mr.  Vere   Levinge,   set  on  foot  a  public 
subscription  for  the   provision   of  proper  accommodation  for  the 
institution  and    for  a  maternity  hospital.     About  Rs.  67,000  were 
collected  among  the  natives  of  the  district  and  part  of  this  was 


172 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  IX. 

Medical 
Inbtitutionb. 


The 

Dindigul 
hospital. 


Othe.- 

institutions. 


spent  in  putting-  up  new  buildings  and  part  in  constructing,  as  an 
investment  for  tlie  liospital,  the  bungalow  in  which  the  European 
Club  at  Madura  is  now  located.  The  land  round  the  site  on 
which  this  stands  had,  it  was  said,  been  used  for  Sir  Thomas 
Munro's  camp  wlien  he  once  came  to  Madura  as  Governor,  and 
ever  afterwards  it  had  continued  to  be  reserved  in  case  another 
Governor  might  similarly  require  it.  Mr.  Levinge  levelled  it 
with  convict  labour,  sold  part  of  it  by  auction  and  reserved  one 
portion  for  the  new  bungalow.  This  last  was  apparently  trans- 
ferred to  the  municipal  council,  which  now  receives  the  rent  of  it, 
when  the  two  hospitals  were  vested  in  that  body  in  1872  The 
erection  of  the  excellent  range  of  buildings  in  which  the  hospital 
is  now  located  was  sanctioned  in  May  1903,  the  estimate  amount- 
ing to  Es  1,03,500.  The  cost  of  two  of  the  wards  was  borne 
by  M.R.Ry.  A.  L.  A.  R.  Arnndchala  Chetti  of  Devikottai  and 
M.R.Ry.  P.  L.  R.  M-  Shanmuga  Chetti  of  Moraiyur,  the  District 
Board  contributed  Rs.  10,000,  and  the  municipal  council  provided 
the  remainder.  From  1875  to  1887  a  medical  school  for  training 
hospital  assistants  existed  in  connection  with  the  institution.  Jn 
addition  to  this  and  the  maternity  hospital,  the  municipality  keeps 
up  a  branch  dispensary,  opened  in  July  1876,  and  a  dispensary  for 
women  and  children,  originated  in  1894. 

After  that  at  Madura,  the  next  most  prominent  hospital  in  the 
district  is  that  maintained  by  the  manicipality  of  Dindigul.  For 
many  years  the  Rev.  E.  Chester,  m.d.,  of  the  American  Mission, 
who  was  engaged  in  medical  work  in  the  town  from  1860  until 
his  death  there  in  1902,  managed  a  hospital  in  Dindigul  which 
was  aided  from  local  and  municipal  funds.  In  1899  the  munici- 
pality started  an  institution  of  its  own  in  a  rented  building. 
Five  years  earlier  a  dispensary  for  women  and  children  liad  lieon 
opened,  also  in  a  rented  house.  Roth  these  buildings  were 
repeatedly  condemned  as  unsuitable,  and  the  Government  has 
recently  sanctioned  Rs.  21,000  from  Provincial  Funds  for  the 
erection  of  a  new  building  to  hold  both  institutions.  To  this  a 
sum  of  about  Bs.  3,000,  which  lias  been  collected  towards  a 
memorial  to  Dr.  Chester,  is  to  be  add('<l  and,  at  the  suggestion 
of  the  municipal  council,  the  building  is  to  be  called  the  '  Chester 
hospital.' 

The  municipalities  of  Palni,  Periyakulaui  and  KodaikanrJ  also 
maintain  hospitals.  The  first  two  of  these  institutions  were 
opened  in  1872  and  the  last  in  1873.  Hospitals  are  kept  up  by 
the  local  boards  in  Bodinayakkanur  (started  in  1880),  Uttama- 
pdlaiyam  (1873)  and  Usilampatti  (1876). 


IXSTITUTIONB. 


PUBLIC    HEALTH.  17'' 

In  addition  to  tlie  three  municipal  dispensaries  at  Madura  CHAP.  IX. 
and  Dindigul  already  mentioned,  others  liave  been  maintained  Medical 
from  local  funds  at  the  places,  and  since  the  dates,  noted  Lelow  : 
In  Dindigul  taluk,  Kannivadi  (1884)  and  Yedasandur  (1879j  ; 
in  Kodaikanal,  Tdndikkudi  (1891) ;  in  AJolur  taluk,  Mel6r  (1879) 
and  Nattam  (1888);  in  Nilakkottai  taluk,  Nilakkottai  (1891); 
Solavandan  (1 888)  and  Yattilagundu  (1881) ;  in  Palni,  Sattirapatti 
(1897) ;  in  Periyakalam,  Andipatti  (1891) ;  and  in  Tiriimangalam, 
Saptur  (1888)  and  Tiruiuangalam  itself  (l&7;i).  Except  those  at 
Melur,  Nattam,  Nilakkottai,  iSolavanddn  and  Tirumangalam,  all 
these  are  located  in  rented  buildings. 


174  MADDRA. 

CHAPTER  X. 
EDUCATION. 


Karly'  History — The  tliree  Sangams— The  new  Sangarn — Education  under 
the  Nd^akkans.  Census  Statistics— Figures  by  religions  and  tuluks. 
Educational  Institutions  — The  Pasumalai  College — The  Afadura  C(jllege 
— Upper  secondary  fscliools  —  fjower  secondary  schools— Other  schools 
— Newspapers,  etc., 

CHAP.  X.     Madura   was  famous  as  a  seat  of  learning  in  very   early  times. 
Earlt         Tradition  says  that  the  Pandya  capital  was  the  home,  at  different 

^^ '       periods,   of  three  different   Sangams,  or  bodies  somewhat   similar 

The  throe  f,,,  fhe  existing  French  Academy,  which  sat  in  judgment  on  literary 
angams,  -works  submitted  for  their  approval  and  without  whose  imprtmatur 
no  composition  could  hope  for  a  favourable  reception.  The  first 
of  these  was  at  the  old  capital  of  the  Madura  country  which  (see 
p.  28)  was  swept  away  by  the  sea ;  the  second  at  Kapddapuram, 
its  successor  as  the  (.-liief  town  of  the  Pandyas ;  and  the  third  was 
at  the  present  town  of  Madura. 

Fabulous  stories  are  told  of  this  last.  The  Madura  st//ala 
puyiiua  recounts  a  long  tale  of  how  Sarasvati,  the  goddess  of 
learning,  was  impudent  to  Brahma  and  was  accordingly  visited 
by  him  with  a  curse  compelling  her  to  undergo  forty-eight 
successive  births  on  earth.  Afterwards,  relenting  somewhat,  he 
allowed  the  sentences  to  run  concurrently ;  and  a  forty-eighth 
part  of  her  soul  was  thereupon  transfused  into  each  of  forty-eight 
mortals  who  became  poets  of  transcendent  excellence,  were  received 
with  honour  by  the  Pandyan  king,  and  formed  the  Sangam. 
Tiiey  were,  however,  constantly  annoyed  by  the  absurd  pretensions 
of  others  who  claimed  to  be  their  equals,  and  at  length  Siva  gave 
them  a  diamond  bench  which  contracted  and  expanded  so  as  just 
to  accommodate  those  of  the  forty-eight  who  were  present  and  no 
more,  and  thus  prevented  any  unworthy  aspiraut  from  attempting 
to  take  his  seat  among  them.  When  at  last,  says  another  tale, 
Tiruvalluvar,  the  Faraiyau  composer  of  the  famous  Rural, 
brought  his  work  for  the  .approval  of  the  Sangam,  its  members 
declined  to  '  crown '  it  ;  but  the  miraculous  bench,  knowing 
the  worth  of  the  book,  expanded  to  make  room  for  it,  and  the 
book  then  in  its  turn  grew  bigger  and  bigger  and  pushed  all  the 
forty -eight  off  their  eat.s 


KDUCATION.  175 

Native  literary  critics   of  mucli   repute   have  held  that  it  is      CHAi'.  X. 
doubtful  whether  any  Sang-am  ever  existed  at  all ;  but  the  weight         Karlv 

of  opinion  is  in  favour  of  the  theory  that  the  third  of  tliem  is  an  ^^^ 

historical  fact  and  tliat  it  flourislied  in  the  early  years  of  the 
present  era.  Mr.  Kanakasabhai  Pillai  ^  gives  the  sober  version  of 
its  reception  of  tlie  Kural  in  tlio  time  of  the  Pandyan  king  Ugra- 
peru-vabati  (see  p.  27  above). 

The  'New  Madura  Tamil  Sangam,'  a  flourishing  literary  t hp  now 
society,  was  established  in  1901.  Its  object  is  the  improvement  Sjiigam. 
of  the  Tamil  language ;  its  income  from  endowments  is  returned 
as  Rs.  4,850,  and  from  subscriptions  Rs.  10,974 ;  its  supporters 
include  the  Raja  of  Pndukkottai  and  many  well-known  natives 
of  Madura,  and  the  members  number  525  ;  it  maintains  a  boarding 
institution  in  Madura  where  Sanskrit.  Tamil  and  English  arc 
taught ;  possesses  a  library  of  3,800  books  and  manuscripts  in 
these  thiee  languages  ;  issues  a  monthly  journal  from  a  press  of  its 
own  ;  holds  examinations  and  awards  medals  to  those  who  are  suc- 
cessful in  them  ;  and  conducts  original  research  and  the  editing  of 
ancient  Tamil  works. 

Under  the  Nayakkan  rulers,  tlie  education  of  Brdhmans  Education 
(apparently  other  classes  wore  neglected)  was  subsidised  by  the  under  the 
state  on  an  unparalleled  scale.  The  Jesuit  missionary  Hobert  "^  *^ 
de'  Nobili  wrote  in  1610  that  more  than  ten  thousand  Brahmans 
were  being  taught,  boarded  and  lodged  at  the  ]niblic  cost  in 
Madura,  and  that  the  courses  of  tuition  provided  not  only  for  the 
instruction  of  boys,  but  for  the  education  of  adults  in  philosophy 
and  theology.  Sanskrit,  and  not  Tamil,  was  the  medium  of 
instruction.  The  fall  of  the  Nayakkans  put  an  end  to  these  classes, 
and  in  the  disturbed  times  which  followed  education  seems  to  have 
been  almost  entirely  neglected.  "When  the  English  first  acquired 
the  country  hardly  any  one  in  rural  parts  except  a  few  hereditary 
village  accountants  and  headmen  seems  to  have  been  able  to  read 
and  write,  and  the  Tamil  Jin'ihmans  in  the  towns  were  so  ignorant 
that,  as  elsewhere,  Marathas  and  other  foreigners  had  to  be  called 
in  by  the  Government  to  do  its  work,  the  records  were  kept  in 
Marathi,  and  this  tongue  became  almost  the  official  language. 
The  American  Mission  (see  below)  wore  the  first  to  re-introduce 
systematic  education  in  tlie  district,  and  it  was  not  until  1856 
that  the  first  Government  Zilla  school,  referred  to  later,  was 
established. 

In  the   separate   Appendix  to  this  volume  will    bo  found  tlio        Cknsur 
chief  statistics  of  the  last  census  and  of  the  Educational  department     Statistics. 

'    The  Tami/.s  eighteen  hundred  year.s  ago,  138-140. 


176  MADURA. 

CIIAF.  X.     regarding-  tho  present  state  of  education  in  Madura.     The  census 
Tkn-sis        sliowed  tliat  in  tlie  literacy  of  tlie  males  among  its  population  the 
rAtTsiics.     rligtrict  ranked  sixth   in  tlie   Presidency,  but  tliat  it   came   only 
fourteenth    in    the    education    of    its    girls.     Taking    both    sexes 
together,  the  number  of  people  in  it  who  know  how  to  read  and 
write  is  slightly  below  the  average  of  the  southern  districts  and 
numbers  just  over  seven  per  cent,     Tamil  is  the  language  most 
generally   known  and  only  three  persons  in  every  thousand  can 
read  and  write  English.      Among  the  eleven  towns  in  the  Presi- 
dency   which    contain    over    5U,000    inhabitants,    Madura    ranks 
sixth  in  the  education  of  its  males  and  eighth  in  the  literacy  of  the 
other  sex. 
Figures  by  Figures   of  education  among    the  followers    of   the   different 

talukV  '^""^  religions  show  that  (as  in  several  other  districts)  the  males  among 
the  Musalmans  are  better  educated  than  those  of  any  other  faith. 
The  Madura  Musalmans  are  mainly  Ravutans,  a  pushing  commer- 
cial class  to  whom  a  knowledge  of  reading  and  writing  is  essential. 
Next  to  them,  but  a  long  way  behind,  come  the  males  among  the 
Christians,  and  the  Hindus  of  that  sex  bring  up  the  rear.  In  the 
literacy  of  their  girls,  however,  the  Cliristians,  as  usual,  easily  take 
the  first  place  among  the  three  religions,  neither  the  Musalmans 
nor  the  Hindus  even  approaching  their  standard. 

Education  is  most  advanced,  as  is  natural,  in  the  head-quarter 
taluk  of  Madura.  Excluding  Kodaikanal,  the  conditions  in  which 
are  exceptional,  Periyakulam  comes  next.  Between  the  other 
taluks  there  is  not  much  to  i choose,  but  Tirumangalaui  is  at  the 
bottom  of  the  list. 
EDccATiOiNAL  Thc  cducatioual  institutions  of  the  district  include  two  colleges  ; 

N'sriTunoxs.    j^^j^^i^.^  ^]-^^^  formerly  maintained   by  the  American  Mission   at 
Pasumalai,  2|  miles  from  Madura,  but  now  transferred  to  Madura 
itself,  and  the  Madura  College. 
The  Pasuuia-  The  former  is  the  older.     It  originated  in  a  seminary  which 

lai  College.  was  opened  at  Tirumangalam  in  1842  and  moved  to  Pasumalai 
three  years  later.  The  original  object  of  the  mission  was  to 
provide  in  this  school  a  high  class  education  for  youths  of  all  reli- 
gions, the  Bible  and  the  tenets  of  the  Christian  faith  being 
included  in  the  curriculum.  But  alterations  and  re- alterations  of 
this  plan  took  place,  owing  to  changes  in  the  views  of  the  authorities 
upon  the  question  whether  the  work  of  the  institution  should  be 
confined  to  the  instruction  of  candidates  for  missionary  labours, 
or  so  extended  as  to  include  non-Christian  students  as  well.  In 
1875  it  was  resolved  that  the  latter  of  these  plans  should  be 
followed,  and  subsequently  the  department  for  the  training  of 
missionary  agents  was  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  institution. 


EDUCATION.  177 

In  1882  the  school  was  raised  to  the  position  of  a  second-grade     CHAP.  X. 
college,  but  the  high  and  middle  school  classes  were  retained.     In   Educational 
1886  a  normal  school  with  a  primary  practising  branch  was  added,     nstitutions. 
and  in  1892  the  first  of  its  hostels  was  opened.     The  institution 
now  stands  on  a  site  some  50  acres  in  extent,  which  inclndes  tennis 
courts  and  a  field  for  football  and  cricket,  and  is  accommodated  in 
buildings  which  have  cost  over  Es.  80,000.     It  has  a  consulting 
and  general  library,  its  own  press,  and  an.  endowment  fund  the 
interest  of  which  is  devoted  to  scholarships.     The  college  classes 
have    very  recently    been    moved    to   the   mission's   high    school 
building  in  Madura,  as  Pasumalai  is  so  far  from  the  town,  and  a 
proposal  is  on  foot  to  construct,  from  the  mission's   share   of  Mr. 
Eockefeller's  recent  munifkent  gift  in  furtherance  of  education,  a 
new  college  building  on  a  site  belonging  to  the  mission  near  the 
Collector's  residence 

The  Madura  College  is  a  development  of  the  Grovernment  Zilla   Tho  Madura 
school  which  was  established  in  March  1856  as  an  outcome  of  the   ^'^^'®^®- 
Directors'  famous  despatch  of  1854  on  education.     It  was  at  first 
located  in  the  north-east  corner  of  the  great  arcade  of  Tirumala 
Ndyakkan'g  palace ;  and,  on  this  being  pronounced  likely  to  fall 
down,  was  moved  to  the  Naubat  khana,  or  music  pavilion  of  tho 
palace,  which  then  stood  near  the  Ten  Pillars  (see  p.  274),  was 
afterwards  used  as  the  Police  head-quarter  office,  was  eventually 
pulled  down  because  it  was  unsafe,  and  the  site  of  which  is  now 
occupied  by  the  Patnulkarans'  primary  school.     About  18ti5  the 
Zilla  school  was   moved  to  a  building  near  the   railway-station 
(apparently  erected  partly  from  public  subscriptions)  which  now 
forms   part  of  the   existing  college.     In  March    1880   a  colleo-e 
department  was  opened  in  the  institution,  but  this  was  abolished 
in  1888.     In  the  next  year  the  school  building  and  library  were 
lent  to  the  committee  which  was  managing  the  then  Native  High 
School  and  this  body  started  the  present  college.     The  institution 
was  affiliated  to  the  University  in  the  same  year.     In  1891  the 
extension  of  the  premises  at  a  cost  of  Es.   11,750  was. sanctioned 
and  in  the  following  year  the  new  block  was  opened   by  Lord 
Wenlock.     The   attendance  in  the   college  classes  is   about   120. 
The  institution  is  now  managed  by  a  committee  of  native  gentle- 
men.    Attaclied  to  it  are  three  lower  secondary  branches  located 
in  rented  buildings. 

The  upper  secondary  schools  of  the  district  are  six  in  number  •    Upper 
namely,  that  maintained  at  Dindigul  by  the  municipality,  those  in   ^scondsiy 
Madura  kept  up  by  the  American  Mission,  the  Patntjlkdran  com-   ®°'^°°''* 
munity  and  the  committee  of  the  Madura  College  (the  '  SetuiDati 

23 


178 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  X. 

Educational 
Institutions. 


Lower 

secondary 

schools. 


Other 
schools. 


Newspapers, 
eto. 


High  School '),  the  American  Mission's  school  for  girls  in  the  same 
town,  and  the  school  maintained  at  Periyakulam  by  M.E.Ry. 
V.  Kdmabhadra  Ndyudu,  the  present  representative  of  the  old 
poligars  of  Vadakarai  (see  p.  323). 

Lower  secondary  schools  for  boys  number  twelve,  and  comprise 
those  kept  up  by  the  American  Mission  at  Dindigul  and  Meliir 
and  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Mission  at  Madura,  the  Dindigul 
Muhamraadan  school,  the  schools  at  Solavanddn,  Madura,  Palni, 
M^lamangalam  (near  Periyakulam),  Uttamapalaiyam,  Bodinayak- 
kanur  and  Tirumangalam,  and  the  general  education  branch  of  the 
local  board's  Technical  Institute  at  Madura.  Schools  of  the  same 
grade  for  girls  are  three  in  number  ;  namely,  the  Government 
school  at  Dindigul,  the  American  Mission  practising  institution  at 
Madura  and  the  South  Indian  Railway's  school  for  European  girls 
in  the  same  town. 

Government  maintains  a  training  school  for  masters  at  Madura, 
the  local  boards  have  a  sessional  school,  and  the  American 
Mission  keeps  up  a  training  school  for  masters  at  Pasumalai  and 
another  for  mistresses  at  Madura. 

Excluding  classes  for  book-keeping,  type-writing  and  the  like, 
the  only  technical  instruction  obtainable  is  that  given  in  the  local 
board's  Technical  Institute  opposite  the  railway-station  at  Madura. 
There,  besides  those  learning  drawing,  about  100  pupils  are  being 
taught  calnnet-making,  metal-work,  etc. 

Some  190  boys  are  instructed  in  the  Vedas  and  Sastras  in  a 
number  of  pdthasdias  kept  up  in  various  parts  of  the  district  at  the 
cost  of  the  N^ttukottai  Chettis  and  others. 

Five  newspapers  or  periodicals  are  published  in  Madura.  The 
American  Mission  issues  a  fortnightly  English  and  Tamil  paper 
and  a  monthly  Tamil  periodical,  both  of  which  are  devoted  mainly 
to  religious  matters  ;  the  Tamil  Sangam  has  its  own  organ  (a 
Tamil  monthly)  ;  and  there  are  two  newspapers,  namely,  the 
Tamil  monthly  Viveka  Bhdnu  with  a  circulation  of  about  800 
copies  and  the  South  Indian  Mail,  an  English  weekly  with  a 
circulation  of  400. 


LAND    REVENUE   ADMINISTRATION.  179 

CHAPTER  XI. 
LAND  EEVENUE  ADMINISTRATION. 


RicvEXUE  History — Nat'vo  revemie  pyatems — Methods  of  the  Nayakkans— Of 
the  Marathas — And  of  the  later  renters — British  administration  :  in  the 
DindigTil  country— Mr.  McLeod,  first  Collector,  1790 — Jlis  incapacity— Mr. 
Wynch  and  his  n;aladministration,  1794 — Commission  of  eucjuiry,  179G — Mr. 
Hurdis'  CoHcctorship — Order  restored  and  survey  and  scittlement  begun, 
1800 — Principles  of  these— Miscellaneous  taxes — The  financial  results — 
Mr.  Parish  becomes  Collect?r~The  district  declines,  1805 — Mr.  Hodgson's 
report  upon  it — Triennial  village  leases,  1808-10  —Mr.  Rous  Peter's  reductions 
in  the  assessments,  182.3 — Further  reductions,  1831 — Abolition  of  vdnpayir 
assessments,  1854— Unsettled  palaiyams — British  administration  in  the 
Madura  country — Difficulties  at  the  outset— Formal  cession  of  the  country, 
1801 — Early  settlements  in  it — The  various  land  tenures — Government  land 
— Hafta  devastanam — Sibbandi  porv/ppv, — Jivitham — Poruppu  villages  — 
Church  mdniyams — Cliattrani  land — Arai-l(attalai — Arai-kattalai  villages— 
Ardhamo nit/am,  etc. — Defects  of  the  settlement — Triennial  leases  and  the 
ryotwari  system — Reductions  in  assessments.  The  existing  Survey  and 
Settlement,  1885-89 — Principles  followed — Rates  prescribed  — Resultant 
effects — Settlement  of  hill  villages.  Inams.  Existing  Divisional  Charges. 
Appendix,  List  of  Collectors. 

Of  the  details  of  the  revenue  systems  in  force  under  the  various     CHAP.  XI. 
native  governments  which  held  the  Madura  country  before  it  came      Revenlb 
into  the  possession  of  the   English,  exceedingly  little  is  known.       History. 
Besides  the  land-tax  proper,  there  were  several  smaller  imposts  on   Native 
the  soil.     Among  these  (in  Tirumala  Nayakkan's  time  at  least ; 
no  continuous  particulars  are  available)  were  the  plough-tax,  which 
required  owners  of  land  to  furnish  the  Ndyakkan  when  called  upon 
with  one  labourer,  free  of  charge,  for  every  plough  they  owned ; 
the  ferry  tax  for  the  upkeep  of  the  public  ferries  on  the  rivers  ;  the 
kdvali-vari,  or  tax  for  providing  crop  watchers  ;  and  the  ter-uliyam, 
or  car-service,  which  required  each  village  to  provide  a  fixed  quota 
of  men  to  drag  the  great  temple  cars.     Also  every  kind  of  art  and 
profession  was  taxed. 

'  Every  weaver's  loom  paid  so  much  per  annum  ;  and  every  iron- 
smelter's  furnace  ;  every  oil-mill ;  every  retail  shop ;  every  house 
occupied  hj  an  artificer  ;  and  every  indigo  vat.  Every  colloctur  of  wild 
honey  M'as  taxed  ;  every  maker  and  seller  of  clarified  butter  ;  every 
owner  of  carriage  bullocks.     Even  stones  in  the  beds  of  rivers,  used  by 

'  The  early  part  of  this  chapter  is  for  the  most  part  an  abridgment  of  the 
full  account  of  the  matter  given  by  Mr.  Nelson  in  the  19G  pages  of  Part  IV  of 
his  book. 


revenue 
systems. 


180 


MADUKA. 


CHAP.  XI. 

Revenue 
History. 


Methods  of 
the  Nayak- 
kans. 


washermen  to  beat  clothes  on,  paid  a  small  tax.  In  the  towns  there 
were  octroi  dutins  on  grain  and  other  commodities  brought  through 
the  gates.     And  lastly  there  were  the  land  customs.' 

The  revenue  from  the  land  was  however  always  the  chief  main- 
stay of  the  public  exchequer.  Tradition  ^  says  that  under  the 
Yijayanagar  kings  (it  is  useless  to  attempt  to  trace  matters 
further  back)  the  state  was  held  to  be  entitled  to  one-half  of 
the  gross  produce  of  all  land  cultivated.  This  revenue  was  realised 
by  parcelling  out  the  greater  part  of  the  country — the  Nayakkan's 
private  estates  and  the  favourable  grants  to  temples,  charities  and 
Brahmans  were  excepted — among  the  poligars  already  (p.  42) 
referred  to,  and  entrusting  them  with  the  collection  of  it  subject 
to  certain  payments  and  services.  The  rapacity  of  these  men  and 
their  servants  was  usually  limited  only  by  the  inability  of  the  ryot 
to  pay,  or  by  his  success  in  deceiving  or  bribing  the  collecting 
staff ;  and  oppression  was  rampant. 

After  the  disruption  of  the  Vijayanagar  dynasty  in  1565  at  the 
battle  of  Talikota,  these  methods  still  continued  ;  but  they  were 
complicated  by  the  fact  that  the  Ndyakkans  of  Madura  frequently 
declined  to  pay  their  dues  to  their  nominal  suzerains,  the  fallen 
kings  of  that  line.  The  system  and  its  deplorable  results  are 
graphically  described  in  a  letter  from  a  Jesuit  priest,  dated  Madura, 
30th  August  1611,  which  is  preserved  in  La  Mission  du  Madure 
and  may  be  rendered  as  under : — 

'  The  king,  or  great  Nayakkan,  of  Madura  has  only  a  few  estates 
which  depend  immediately  upon  him,  that  is  to  say  which  are  his 
own  property  (for  in  this  country  the  great  are  the  sole  proprietors 
and  the  common  people  are  merely  their  tenants)  and  all  the  rest  of 
the  land  belongs  to  a  crowd  of  small  princes  or  tributary  poligars. 
These  last  have,  each  in  his  own  estate,  the  entire  administration  of 
the  police  and  of  justice — if  justice  it  can  ever  be  called— and  they 
levy  the  revenue  (which  comprises  at  least  half  the  produce  of  the  soil) 
and  divide  it  into  three  parts.  Of  these,  the  first  is  set  aside  as  tribute 
to  the  great  Nayakkan,  the  second  is  allotted  for  the  upkeep  of  the 
troops  with  which  the  poligar  is  obliged  to  furnish  him  in  case  of  war 
and  the  third  goes  to  the  poligar  himself.  The  great  Nayakkan  of 
Madura,  and  also  those  of  Tanjore  and  Gingee,  are  themselves  tribu- 
tary to  the  king  of  Vijayanngar,  to  whom  thoy  have  each  to  pay 
annually  irom  six  to  ten  million  francs.  But  they  are  not  regular  in 
sending  these  amounts,  often  make  delay,  sometimes  even  refuse 
insolently  to  pay  at  aU  ;  and  then  the  king  of  Vijayanagar  appears, 
or  sends  one  of  his  generals,  at  the  head  of  100,000  men  to  collect  the 
arrears  with  interest.  When  this  happens  (as  it  often  does)  it  is  once 
more  the  poor  common  people  who  pay  for  the  fault  of  their  princes  \ 

^  Sir  Thomas  Munro's  report  cited  in  the  BeUarij  Gazetteer,  150. 


LAND    REVENUE   ADMINISTRATION.  181 

the  whole  country  is  devastated,  and  the  inhabitants  are  piUaged  or     CHAP.  XI. 
massacred.'  Kevenuk 

After  the  Marathas  came  into  power,  things  were  even  worse ;       Historv. 
for  John  de  Britto,  an  eye-witness  of  what  he  described,  wrote  of  of  the 
the  neighbouring  Tanjore  country  in  1683  that —  Marathus. 

'  Ekoji  (the  Maratha  king)  levies  four-fifths  of  all  the  produce. 
As  if  that  were  not  enough,  instead  of  accepting  this  ehare  in  kind  he 
makes  the  ryots  pay  in  money.  Aad  since  he  is  careful  to  fix  the 
price  himself  at  a  figure  much  above  that  which  the  cultivator  can 
get,  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  whole  of  the  crop  are  insufficient 
to  meet  the  land  assessment.  Thus  the  ryots  linger  under  the  weight 
of  a  crushing  debt  and  are  often  pat  to  crael  tortures  to  prove  their 
inability  to  pay.  You  will  hardly  be  able  to  realize  such  oppression, 
and  yet  I  must  add  that  the  tyranny  in  the  Gingee  kingdom  is  even 
more  frightful  and  revolting.  But  I  will  say  no  more  on  the  matter, 
for  words  fail  me  to  express  its  horrors.' 

Under  the  Musalmans,  the  Madura  country  (like  other  parts 
of  the  Presidency)  was  usually  rented  out  to  farmers  for  fixed 
suras,  the  farmers  being  left  to  make  wlmt  profits  they  could  by 
grinding  the  faces  of  the  ryots. 

About  1742,  as  has  been  seen  above  (p.  69),  the  province  And  of  the 
of  Dindigul  was  leased  in  this  manner  by  the  Eaja  of  Mysore  to  ^^tcr  renters. 
Birki  Yenkata  Bao  ;  in  17o5  Madura  proper  and  Tinnevelly  were 
similarly  rented  by  Colonel  Heron  to  Mahfuz  Khdn  for  fifteen 
lakhs  of  rupees  and  in  1758  to  Muhammad  Yi'tsuf  for  five  laklis ; 
in  1772  Haidar  AH  of  Mysore  leased  the  Dindigul  country  to  his 
brother-in-law  Mir  Sal\ib,  and  in  1784  Tipu  Sultan  leased  it  to  Mir 
Sahib's  nephew  Saiyad  8ahib.  In  fact  the  land  revenue  in  most 
of  the  area  which  now  makes  up  the  district  was  administered 
in  this  way  up  to  the  time  when  the  British  obtained  final  posses- 
sion of  it.  These  renters  were  usually  tyrants  of  the  worst 
description.  Colonel  Fullarton  wrote  that  the  object  of  each  of 
them — 

*  Too  frequently  was  to  ransack  and  embezzle,  that  he  may  go  off 
at  last  enriched  with  the  spoils  of  his  province.  The  fact  is,  that  in 
every  part  of  India  where  the  Renters  are  established,  not  only  the 
ryot  and  the  husbandman,  but  the  manufacturer,  the  artificer,  and 
every  other  Indian  inhabitant,  is  wholly  at  the  mercy  o£  those 
ministers  of  public  pxaction.  The  established  practice  throughout 
this  part  of  the  Peninsula  has  for  ages  been,  to  allow  the  farmer  one- 
half  of  the  produce  of  his  cro]i  for  the  maintenano  of  his  family,  and 
the  re-c\iltivation  of  the  land  ;  Avhile  the  other  is  appropriated  to  the 
Circar.  In  the  richest  soils,  under  tho  cowln  of  Haidar.  producing 
three  annual  crops,  it  is  hardly  known  that  less  than  forty  per  cent, 
of  the   crop    produced  has  been  allotted  to  the  husbandman.     Yet 


182  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XI.  Renters  on  the  coast  liave  not  scrupled  to  imprison  reputable  farmers, 
REfENOK  andtoinQict  on  them  extreme  severities  of  punishment,  for  refusing 
History.  to  accept  of  sixteen  'in  the  hundred,  as  the  jiroportion  out  of  which 
they  were  to  maintain  a  family,  to  furnish  stock  and  implements  of 
husbandry,  cattle,  seed,  and  all  expenses  incidental  to  the  cultivation 
of  their  lands.  But  should  the  unfortunate  ryot  be  forced  to  submit 
to  such  conditions,  he  has  still  a  long  list  of  cruel  impositions  to 
endure.  He  must  labour  week  after  week  at  the  repair  of  water- 
courses, tanks,  and  embankments  of  rivers.  His  cattle,  sheep,  and 
every  other  portion  of  his  property  is  at  the  disposal  of  the  Renter, 
and  his  life  might  pay  the  forfeit  of  refusal.  Should  he  presume 
to  reap  his  harvest  when  ripe,  without  a  mandate  from  the  Renter, 
whose  peons,  conicopolies,  and  retainers  attend  on  the  occasion, 
nothing  short  of  bodily  torture  and  a  confiscation  of  the  little  that 
is  left  him,  could  expiate  the  offence.  Would  he  sell  any  part  of  his 
scanty  portion,  he  cannot  be  permitted  while  the  Circar  has  any 
to  dispose  of ;  Avould  he  convey  anything  to  a  distant  market,  he  is 
stopped  at  every  village  by  the  collectors  of  Sunkum  or  Gabella,  who 
exact  a  duty  for  every  article  exported,  imported,  or  disposed  of.  So 
uDsupportable  is  this  evil,  that  between  Negapatam  and  Palghaut- 
clierry,  not  more  than  three  hundred  miles,  there  are  about  thirty 
places  of  collection,  or,  in  other  words,  a  tax  is  levied  every  ten  miles 
upon  the  produce  of  the  country  ;  thus  manufacture  ■  and  commerce 
are  exposed  to  disasters  hardly  less  severe  than  those  which  have  occa- 
sioned the  decline  of  cultivation. 

'  But  these  form  only  a  small  proportion  of  the  powers  with  which 
the  Renter  is  invested.  He  may  sink  or  raise  the  exchange  of  specie 
at  his  own  discretion ;  he  may  preveut  the  sale  of  grain,  or  sell  it  at 
the  most  exorbitant  rates  ;  thus  at  any  time  he  may,  and  frequently 
does,  occasion  general  famine.  Besides  maintaining  a  useless  rabble, 
whom  he  emploj's  under  the  appellation  of  peons,  at  the  public 
expense,  he  may  require  any  military  force  he  finds  necessary  for  the 
business  of  oppression,  and  few  inferior  officers  would  have  weight 
enough  to  justify  their  refusal  of  such  aid.  Should  any  one,  however, 
dispute  those  powers,  should  the  military  officers  refuse  to  prostitute 
military  service  to  the  distress  of  wretched  individuals,  or  should  the 
Civil  Superintendent  remonstrate  against  such  abuse,  nothing  could 
be  more  pleasing  to  the  Renter  ;  he  derives,  from  thence,  innumerable 
arguments  for  non-performance  of  engagements,  and  for  a  long  list 
of  defalcations.  But  there  are  still  some  other  not  less  extraordinary 
constituents  in  the  complex  endowments  of  a  Renter.  He  unites,  in 
his  own  person,  all  the  branches  of  judicial  or  civil  authority,  and  if 
he  happens  to  be  a  Brahman,  he  may  also  be  termed  the  representative 
of  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction.  I  will  not  enlarge  on  the  consequences 
of  thus  huddling  into  the  person  of  one  wretched  mercenary  all  those 
powers  that  ought  to  constitute  the  dignity  and  lustre  of  supreme 
executive  authority.' 


LAND    REVENUE    ADMINISTRATION. 


183 


After  the  district  came  into  Britisli  possession  in   1790  the     CHAP.  XI. 
revenue  history  of  the   Dindigul   country   differed  altogether  for      Eevexce 
many  years  from  that  of  Madura  proper,  and  it  may  conveniently      ^^^»^'- 
be  dealt  -with  first.  British 

The  Dindigul  territory,  as  has  already  (p.   71)  been   seen,  was  tionrSuthe 
obtained  by  conquest  from  Mysore  in  August  1790,  and  ceded  for-  ^^"^/f"' 

raaUy  in  1 792.  When  first  it  was 
acquired  it  consisted  of  four* 
estates  or  palaiyams  ('  pollems  ') 
which  were  in  the  possession 
of  their  owners  ;  four  f  which  had 
been  sequestered  in  1785-8G  by 
Saiyad  Sahib  ;  and  some  incon- 
siderable extent  of  Government 
land  included  in  which  were  four  J 
more  which  had  been  resumed 
many  years  before.  Shortly  after 
the  acquisition,  fourteen  ^  estates 
which  had  been  resumed  by  Tipu 
in  1788  on  account  of  the  arrears 
of  tribute  in  them,  and  had  been 
temporarily  attached  by  him  to 
the  province  of  Sankaridrug  (in 
Salem  district),  were  restored  to 
their  former  ownt-rs  and  re- 
annexed  to  the  Dindigul  country, 
and  this  therefore  at  that  time 
comprised  2f)'iestates  making  up 
roughly  tlie  present  Dindigul, 
Palni  and  Peri\akulam  taluks 
and  the  west  of  Nilakkottai. 
Some  account  of  the  various  palaiyams  will  be  found  in  Cliapter 
XV  below.  The  Mysore  Government  had  apparently  not  inter- 
fered in  the  management  of  the  four  which  were  in  tlie  possession 
of  their  owners,  but  had  leased  out  the  otliers,  and  also  the  Sirkar 
land,  to  renters. 

Immediately  aftei-  the  acquisition  of  the  province,  General 
Medows,  who  was  commanding  in  the  south,  placed  it  temporarily 
in  the  charge  of  one  A'enkatappa  Nayakkan,  who  made  hay  while 
the  sun  shone  and!  went  off  at  once  with  all  the  accounts. 

On  the  6th  of.ltlie  following  month  (September  1790)  Mr. 
Alexander  McLeod^  arrived  and  took  charge  as  Collector.     His 


*  Idaiyanfcdttai. 
Kombai. 
Mambarai. 
Sandaiyur. 

t  Eriyddu. 

Madur. 

Palni  (appai'ently   including  Ayak- 

kudi  and  Eottayambadi). 
Sukkampatti. 

X  D^v.adanapatti. 
Gudalur. 
Kanibani. 
Vadakarai. 

§  Ambaturai, 

Ammayanayakkanui'. 

Bodinayakkannr. 

Emakkalapuram. 

Erasakkanayakkantir . 

Gantamanayakkanur. 

Kannivadi. 

Marunuttu. 

Nilakkottai. 

Palliyappanayakkanur  (now  called 

Kiivakkapatti). 
Ta-vasimadai. 
T6varani. 
Tottiyankdttai. 
Virupaksbi. 


'  In  the  Appendix  to  this  chapter  will  be  found  a  list  of  the  various  Collectors 
of  Madura  from  this  time  forth  up  to  date. 


Mr.  McLeod, 
first 

Collector, 
1790. 


184 


MADURA. 


CHA.P.  XL 

Revexoe 
History. 


His  incapa- 
city. 


position  was  one  of  mucli  difficulty,  and  he  was  quite  unequal  to 
it ;  and  the  four  jears  during-  which  he  endeavoured  to  administer 
the  country  were  marked  by  confusion  bordering-  on  anarchy. 

Each  year,  he  assessed  the  peshkash  due  from  the  various 
estates,  the  amounts  purporting  to  be  fixed  on  the  basis  of  estab- 
lished usag-e  and  of  estimates  of  the  outturn  of  crops  furnished 
by  the  poligars  and  their  officials  ;  but,  as  Yenkatappa  had  made 
off  with  such  accounts  as  there  were,  it  seems  clear  that  these  pay- 
ments were  regulated  more  by  chance  than  by  precedent  or  equity. 
The  Government  land  (which  was  divided  into  the  six  ^taluks  of 
Tadikkombu  (the  kasba),  Periyakulam,  Vattilagundu,  Andipatti, 
Uttamapalaiyam  and  Kambam)  was  annually  leased  either  in  blocks 
for  fixed  sums  to  renters,  or  village  by  village  to  the  headmen. 
The  renters  treated  the  ryots  after  the  barbarous  manner  of  their 
kind  already  described  above,  but  the  headmen  lessees  paid  (as 
elsewhere)  fixed  money  rates  (the  details  of  which  are  not  now 
ascertainable)  for  dry  land,  and  for  wet  land  one  half  of  the  gross 
produce  after  the  swafanirams  (or  fees  due  to  village  officers  and 
others)  had  been  deducted  therefrom. 

But  the  whole  country  was  constantly  in  disorder.  In  June 
1791  it  was  stated  that  troops  were  required  to  maintain  the 
Collector's  authority  ;  in  November  of  the  same  year  Coimbatore 
and  the  surrounding  tracts  on  the  north  were  in  tlie  hands  of  the 
Mysore  forces  ;  in  February  1792  the  neighbouring  Palni  and 
Idaiyankottai  poligars  were  plundering  in  the  same  area  ;  the  Raja 
of  Travancore  was  at  the  same  time  preventing  the  Collector  from 
taking  possession  of  Kambam  and  Gudalur,  though  these  tracts 
(which  had  once  been  palaiyams,  but  had  been  confiscated  by 
Haidar  Ali  of  Mysore  in  1755)  undoubtedly  belonged  to  the 
Dindigul  district ;  and  the  Kalians  had  quarrelled  with  the  Madura 
renter  and  were  committing  every  kind  of  excess.  The  poligars 
naturally  took  advantage  of  this  confusion  to  withhold  payment  of 
their  dues,  and  the  renters  followed  their  example. 

In  September  1793  the  Board  of  Revenue  endeavoured  to 
improve  the  class  of  renters  by  directing  the  Collector  to  lease 
villages  to  their  headmen  instead  of  to  strangers  ;  but  though  the 
system  was  introduced  in  part,  the  headmen  of  villages  which 
were  especially  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  Kalians  of  Anaiyt^r,  * 
the  notorious  centre  of  this  caste  in  the  Tirumangalam  taluk, 
naturally  declined  to  have  anything  to  say  to  it. 

In  May  1794  Mr.  McLeod  went  on  leave  to  the  seaside  to 
recruit  his  health,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  Head  Assistant, 
Mr.  John  Wrangham.     A  Board's   Proceedings  of  August  of  thig 


LAND    KEVENUE    ADMINISTRATION.  ]  85 

year  comments  in  a  caustic  manner  on  Mr.  McLeod's  maladminis-     CHAP.  XI. 
tration,  which  had  reduced  the  district  to  disorder  and  its  revenues       Eevem-e 

•  HiSTORT 

to  a  very  low  eLb.     It  appears  that  not  only  had  the  poligars,  

Kalians  and  renters  been  permitted  with  impunity  to  exhibit  open 
contumacy,  but  misappropriations  of  inams  and  swatantrams  had 
occurred,  the  assessments  had  not  been  collected,  large  remissions 
had  been  obtained  on  the  plea  that  tanks  were  out  of  order, 
Kambam  and  Gudalur  had  not  been  recovered,  the  customs  had 
been  mismanaged  and  the  Collector's  accounts  were  worthless. 

In  December  of  this  same  year  Mr.  Wrangham  was  replaced  ^'J"-  ^ynch 
by  Mr.  George  Wynch,  but  the  year  and  a  half  during  which  the  maiadmiiiis- 
latter  remained  in  charge  witnessed  even  worse  confusion  than  tration,  179-t. 
ever.  He  had  scarcely  taken  charge  when  Captain  Oliver,  the 
officer  commanding  the  district,  reported  that  the  Palni  poligar 
was  engaged  in  open  hostilities  with  his  neighbour  the  poligar  of 
Ayakkudi,  while  one  of  Tipu  Sultan's  officers  complained  that  the 
former  was  looting  across  the  boundary  in  Coimbatoro  ;  several  of 
the  other  poligars  disobeyed  the  Collector's  summons  to  appear 
before  hira  in  Dindigul ;  the  poligar  of  Sandaiyur  laid  claim  to  the 
pdlaiyam  of  Devadanapatti,  the  owner  of  which  had  recently  died, 
and  refused  to  enter  into  any  engagement  for  the  payment  of  his 
arrears  until  his  claim  was  allowed  ;  the  Palni  poligar  objected  to 
the  proposal  to  detach  and  assess  separately  the  Ayakkudi  estate 
which  had  once  been  an  appanage  of  his  palaiyam,  and  not  only 
refused  to  pay  his  peshkash  but  armed  a  thousand  of  his  followers  ; 
the  Yirupakshi  poligar  declined  to  receive  the  Collector's  sanad 
and  customary  presents  and  laid  claim  to  the  KannivWi  estate ; 
the  Travancore  manager  kept  on  committing  every  sort  of  excess 
in  Kambam  and  Gudalur;  in  April  the  Collector  himself  and  his 
escort  were  stopped  on  the  boundaries  of  Bodinayakkanur  and  his 
peons  were  fired  on ;  and  in  May  the  Yadakarai  poligar  joined 
Bodinayakkanur,  both  Palni  and  Ayakkudi  began  arming,  Yiru- 
pakshi opposed  the  Collector's  progress,  and  Kombai  set  himself 
to  stir  up  disturbances  in  the  Kambam  valley. 

In  June,  Government  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  poligars 
forbidding  them  to  arm  themselves  and  requiring  them  to  obey 
the  Collector.  This  had  some  temporary  effect,  but  the  country 
went  rapidly  from  bad  to  worse  and  in  June  179G  Government 
appointed  a  Commission,  consisting  of  Mr,  William  Harrington 
and  Captain  William  McLeod,  to  take  charge  of  the  district  and  to 
investigate  the  causes  of  the  disorder  which  existed. 

On  the  last  day  of  the  following  August  the  two  Commissioners  Commission 
sent  in  a  voluminous  report  on  the  matter  and  handed  over  the  1796.    "^^' 

24 


186 


MADUEA, 


CHAP.  XI. 
Rbvknub 

History. 


Mr.  Hurdis' 
Collector- 
ship. 


district  to  a  new  Collector,  Mr.  Thomas  Bowyer  Hurdis.  They 
stated  that  not  only  was  the  district  a  prey  to  the  political  confu- 
sion jast  described,  but  that  its  revenue  administration  was  defective 
throughout.  The  karnams  and  amildars  (or  tahsildars)  had  com- 
bined to  produce  false  revenue  accounts  ;  the  former  had  entered 
large  areas  of  land  as  '  inams '  in  the  accounts,  so  that  they  might 
be  able  to  appropriate  the  produce  of  them ;  poligars  who  had 
been  nominally  dispossessed  for  contumacy  went  about  none  the 
less  with  armed  bands,  annoying  the  ryots  on  their  old  estates  ; 
the  land-customs  were  maladministered,  certain  individuals  (for 
example)  being  exempted  without  authority  from  paying  them  ;  the 
lessees  of  the  five  taluks  (these  had  been  rented  out  for  five  years 
in  November  1794 ;  Kambam  alone  was  kept  under  amani)  had 
fabricated  false  returns  and  kept  the  authorities  in  ignorance  of  the 
real  value  of  these  tracts ;  one  of  them,  Appaji  Pillai,  moreover 
caused  all  the  ryots  to  leave  their  lands  when  the  Commission 
came  round  to  measure  and  appraise  them,  lest  they  should  give 
information  prejudicial  to  his  interests ;  these  renters  were  not 
only  in  arrears,  but  so  bullied  their  tenants  and  let  the  lands  fall 
into  such  disrepair  that  numerous  ryots  had  emigrated ;  numerous 
unauthorised  alienations  of  Government  land  had  been  made  by 
subordinates ;  the  above  Appaji  Pillai  and  his  father  Kumara 
Pillai  had  fraudulently  effected  many  of  these  and  had  systemati- 
cally colluded  with  the  Collector's  understrappers  to  undervalue 
Government  land  and  bring  about  other  irregularities;  the  pesh- 
kash  collected  from  the  poligars  was  from  14  to  28  per  cent  less 
than  it  ought  to  have  been,  and  than  it  had  been  in  the  time  of 
the  Mysore  renters  Mir  iSahib  and  Saiyad  Sdhib  mentioned  above  ; 
and  so  forth  and  so  on. 

Grovernment  and  the  Board  considered  the  report  and  ordered, 
among  other  things,  that  unauthorised  alienations  of  land  made 
since  the  country  camo  into  British  hands  should  be  resumed ; 
that  inamdars  who  were  not  in  possession  at  the  same  date  should 
be  dispossessed ;  that  Kumara  Pillai  and  Appaji  Pillai  should  be 
banished  the  district ;  that  triennial,  instead  of  annual,  agreements 
should  be  made  with  the  poligars ;  that  troops  should  be  sent  to 
Dindigul ;  and  that  the  Palni  poligar  should  forfeit  his  estate  for  his 
repeated  misbehaviour.  They  stated  that  they  looked  to  the  new 
Collector,  Mr.  Hurdis,  to  bring  the  district  back  again  into  order. 

For  several  years  this  officer  was  only  partially  successful  in 
doing  so.  Unlike  Sir  Thomas  Munro  in  the  Ceded  districts,  he 
had  no  body  of  troops  at  his  command  sufficient  to  enable  him 
forcibly  to  compel  the  poligars  to  behave  themselves.     These  juen 


LAND   EEVENUE    ADMINISTRATION. 


w 


had  already  become  angry  and  disaffected  ;  some  of  them  had  been    CHAP.  Xf. 
ousted  from  their  ancestral  estates   and  were   wild  with  grief  and      Kevenok 
indignation;  the  others  found  themselves   expected  to  give  up  for         istokt. 
ever  the  independence  and  power  they  had  always  enjoyed  and 
to  settle  down  to  live  virtuously  and  tamely  on  the  produce  of 
their  properties  in    entire   subjection  to  the  orders  of   the   new 
Grove  rnment. 

In  1797  this  inflammable  material  was  ignited  by  a  revolt  in 
the  Ramnad  country,  and  the  more  daring  and  rebellious  of  the 
Dindigul  poligars  began  to  raise  disturbances  in  every  quarter- 
The  records  of  this  year  and  of  1798  are  full  of  accounts  of  their 
misdeeds.  The  one  matter  for  congratulation  was  the  fact  that 
they  acted  independently,  each  in  what  he  conceived  to  be  his  own 
interests,  so  that  Mr.  Hurdis  was  usually  able  to  deal  with  then; 
one  by  one. 

In  May  1799  the  news  reached  Dindigul  of  the  British  suc- 
cesses in  the  Third  Mysore  War  against  Tipu  Sultan,  of  the  fall 
of  Seringapatam,  that  ruler's  capital,  and  of  his  death  during  the 
attack.  This  produced  the  happiest  results.  Those  of  the  poligars 
who  were  secretly  disaffected  were  awed  into  obedience  to  the 
British,  while  those  who  were  more  deeply  implicated  lost  all  heart 
and  relaxed  their  efforts  to  create  trouble. 

By  November  1799  order  had  been  sufficiently  restored  to  Order 

enable  the  Collector  to  begin  a  task  which  he  had  always  set  before  ""^^tored  and 
1  I  .  -,  survey  and 

himself,  namely,  the  systematic  survey  and  assessment,  field  by  settlement 
field,  of  his  charge.  He  eventually  completed  this  undertaking  \ocio^' 
and  sent  in  a  monumental  report  thereon  (dated  6th  April  1803) 
which  came  to  be  quoted  as  an  authority  for  years  afterwards ;  and 
it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  prosperity  of  the  district  dates 
from  the  time  of  his  administration,  and  that  (while  the  settlement 
which  he  effected  was  ultimately  modified  in  many  of  its  details) 
the  revenue  system  now  in  force  is  Mr.  Hurdis'  original  system, 
developed  and  improved. 

About  this  time  the  policy  of  concluding  permanent  settle- 
ments of  the  land  revenue  was  being  strenuously  advocated,  and 
Mr.  Hurdis  was  directed  so  to  survey  and  report  upon  his  charge 
that  the  Board  of  Revenue  might  bo  able  at  once  to  effect  such  a 
permanent  settlement  of  its  assessments.  His  charge,  it  may  be 
here  noted  in  parenthesis,  included,  from  the  31st  July  1801  (the 
date  on  which  the  Nawab  of  Arcot  concluded  the  arrangement 
already  referred  to  on  p.  71  above)  the  Madura  country  proper 
as  well  as  the  province  of  Dindigul ;  but  as  the  revenue  history  of 


188 


MADUBA. 


CHAP.  XI.' 

Revenue 
History. 


Principles  of 
these. 


the  former  is  distinct  from  that  of  Dindigul,  it  will  be  separately 
dealt  with  later. 

Mr.  Hurdis,  then,  proceeded  to  survey  and  assess  the  Dindigul 
country  in  much  detail ;  and  at  the  end  of  each  subsequent  year 
the  area  completed  up  to  then  was  rented  out  on  triennial  leases 
on  progressive  rents  which  were  so  arranged  that  by  the  end  of 
the  thiid  of  the  three  years  they  would  reach  the  figure  at  which 
Mr.  Hurdis  considered  that  a  permanent  settlement  might  with 
justice  be  concluded.  These  operations  were  carried  out  not  only 
in  Government  land  but  in  twelve  of  the  twenty-six  estates 
included  in  the  district  and  named  on  p.  183  above,  which  twelve 
had  come  under  Gcvernment  management  owing  to  their  having 
been  forfeited  for  rebellion,  escheated  in  default  of  heirs,  or 
attached  for  arrears  of  revenue.  The  other  fourteen  estates  were 
left  in  the  hands  of  their  owners  and  assessed  at  a  peshkash  equal 
to  70  per  cent,  of  their  value  as  ascertained  by  the  survey  and 
settlement  of  fasli  1212  (lb02-03). 

By  the  end  of  fasli  1214  (1804-05)  all  the  Dindigul  country 
had  been  thus  surveyed  and  assessed,  the  triennial  leases  had  all 
expired,  and  the  permanent  settlement  came  into  full  operation 
throughout  it.  With  the  exception  of  the  fourteen  palaiyams 
above  mentioned  and  of  a  few  hill  villages  which  had  never  formed 
part  of  any  of  the  poligars'  estates  and  were  likely  to  become 
refuo-cs  for  bad  characters  if  removed  from  Government  control, 
the  whole  district  was  cut  up  into  40  different  zamindaris  or  estates. 
The  annual  peshkash  payable  on  each  of  these  was  definitely  fixed, 
and  eight  of  them,  which  had  been  formed  from  six  estates  for- 
feited for  arrears,  were  handed  over  to  their  former  owners  ;  31 
were  sold  to  new  purchasers ;  and  the  remaining  one,  being 
unsold,  remained  in  the  Collector's  hands. 

The  principles  upon  which  Mr.  Hurdis  effected  this  memorable 
survey  and  settlement  were,  very  briefly,  as  under :  — 

Excluding  poramboke  (that  is,  areas  such  as  tank  beds,  the 
sites  of  forts  and  so  on  which  could  never  be  cultivated)  the  land 
of  the  district  was  primarily  classed  as  being  either  {a)  dry  (un- 
irrigated)  or  (b)  wet,  that  is,  land  capable  of  being  regularly 
irrigated. 

Dry  land  was  again  sub-divided  into  (i)  bdghdyat,  or  garden, 
and  (ii)  ordinary  dry  land.  On  the  former,  the  Government  assess- 
ment— which  seems  to  have  been  fixed  after  considering  what 
,  not  only  the  settlement  staff,  but  also  the  proprietor  of  the  land 
and  the  ryots  themselves  had  to, say  on  the  matter — was  one-third 


LAND   REVENUE    ADMINISTHATION. 


189 


ot  the  estimated  gross  produce  after  a  certain  deduction  had  been     CHAP.  XI. 
made  for  the  cost  of  manuring-.     On  the  latter,  the  assessment  was      He  venue 
usually  two-fifths  of  the  estimated  gross  produce.     In  neither  case,  istork 

apparently,    was    any    allowance    made    for   ordinary    cultivation 
expenses. 

Wet  land  was  sub-divided  into  (ij  pdnmald,  or  ])etel-growing 
land,  and  (ii)  ordinary  wet  land.  '!  lie  former  was  assessed  in 
accordance  with  the  estimated  produce,  the  excellence  of  the 
irrigation  available  and  the  cost  of  cultivation ;  and  the  revenue 
varied  from  as  little  as  20  per  cent,  of  the  gross  produce  to  as  much 
as  4U  per  cent.  The  latter,  ordinary  wet  land,  was  assessed 
according  as  it  was  capable  of  growing  (a)  sugar-cane,  turmeric 
and  similar  valuable  crops,  (6)  two  crops  of  paddy,  or  (c)  one  crop 
of  paddy.  In  the  first  of  these  cases  duo  deductions  were  made 
from  the  value  of  the  estimated  gross  produce  for  cultivation 
expenses,  and  the  assessment  was  then  fixed  at  the  value  in  money 
of  one  half  of  the  remainder.  In  the  other  two  cases  a  similar 
method  was  followed,  except  that  for  some  reason  no  allowance 
was  apparently  made  for  cultivation  expenses,  while  on  the  other 
hand  a  deduction  from  the  gross  .produce  of  12^  per  cent,  for 
swatantratns  was  made  before  the  hypothetical  division  between 
Grovernment  and  the  ryot  was  made. 

In  addition  to  the  above  four  main  kinds  of  dry  and  wet  land 
there  were  also  naiijai  taram  punjat  and  pilluvari  land.  The 
former  of  these  was  wet  land  which  was  so  poorly  supplied  with 
irrigation  that  it  would  not  produce  wet  crops,  and  its  assessment 
was  fixed  at  rates  calculated  to  give  the  G-overnment  40  per  cent. 
of  the  gross  produce.  'J'he  latter  was  pasturage,  and  was  assessed 
on  very  easy  terms. 

In  addition  to  the  land  revenue,  part  of  which  was  paid  in  kind  Miscellane- 
and  part  in  money,  there  were  a  number  of  other  and  curious  taxes  °^^  taxes, 
which  were  styled  sxcarnaddya,  or  payable  in  money.  Some  of 
these  (such  as  poniki'ulu,  a  customary  rent  levied  on  small  patches 
on  the  hills,  the  tope  tax,  derived  from  sixteen  sorts  of  trees,  and 
poruppu,  a  small  quit-rent  on  inams)  were  lield  to  be  such  as  might 
be  properly  levied  by  the  proprietors  of  tlio  estates  which  were 
being  newly  formed,  but  others  of  them  were  reserved  by  Govern- 
ment for  its  own  management  and  disposal.  These  last  included 
the  shop  tax,  on  the  estimated  value  of  tlie  dealings  of  merchants ; 
the  house  tax,  a  somewhat  similar  impost  on  petty  traders  and 
artificers  ;  tlie  loom  tax,  assessed  on  the  outturn  of  each  loom  ;  the 
oil-mill,  iron-furnace  and  indigo- vat  taxes,  which  were  rated  on 
similar  principles ;  the  Pallar  tax,  levied  on  men  of  certain  castes 


190 


MADUJtA. 


CHAP.  XL 

Revknie 
History. 


The  linaucial 
results. 


Mr.  Parish 

becomes 

Collector. 


in  proportion  to  the  wages  they  obtained  at  harvest-time ;  the 
lioney  tax,  on  the  amount  of  wild,  honey  collected ;  the  Patna 
Chetti  and  Bogari  tax,  levied  on  two  rival  factions  as  a  payment 
for  protection  and  religious  supervision  ;  the  ghee-tax,  paid  for  the 
monopoly  of  the  retail  sale  of  ghee  in  each  village ;  and,  lastly, 
tlie  carriage-bullock  tax,  which  was  proportioned  to  the  profits 
derived  from  the  hire  of  those  animals. 

On  the  whole,  the  total  increase  in  the  assessment  of  the 
Dindigul  country  amounted  to  no  less  than  67  per  cent.,  the 
average  collections  in  the  years  preceding  1790  having  been  4o,543 
star  pagodas  ;  ^  those  from  1700-91  to  1795-96  (faslis  1200  to 
1205)  59,180  pagodas;  those  from  1796-97  to  1801-02  (faslis 
1206  to  1211)  86,543  pagodas;  and  those  for  the  twelve  years  of 
British  possession,  from  1790-91  to  1801-02  (faslis  1200  to  1211), 
72,8  il  pagodas.  Mr.  Hurdis  considered  that  by  the  end  of  fasli 
1214  (1804-05),  when  the  whole  of  the  district  would  have  come 
under  the  new  settlement,  the  revenue  would  be  as  much  as 
1,13,315  star  pagodas.  He  explained,  however,  that  a  very  large 
proportion  of  this  was  due  to  the  increase  in  the  area  in  occupation 
brought  about  by  the  survey,  which  had  disclosed  an  enormous 
extent  of  concealed  cultivation.  He  reported  that  in  the  thirteen  of 
the  forty  zamindaris  where  the  new  rates  had  already  been  intro- 
duced, 'the  increase  thus  levied  was  cheerfully  agreed  to  by  the 
ryots  ....  and,  as  made,  has  hitherto  been  fully  and 
regularly  collected.'  He  also  believed  that  it  was  possible  to  count 
upon  a  great  future  increase  in  the  wealth  of  the  country  from  the 
extension  of  cultivation.  Only  some  thirty-four  per  cent,  of  the 
whole  culturable  area  in  the  Dindigul  country  was  actually  under 
tillage,  and  though  the  waste  land  was  unavoidably  very  unequally 
divided  among  the  different  zamindaris  (some  containing  much 
and  others  hardly  any)  and  though  ryots  and  capital  were  both 
lacking  at  the  moment,  he  anticipated  that  '  under  a  vigilant 
superintendence  and  firm,  yet  almost  imperceptible,  guidance  of 
the  labours  of  the  inhabitants  (if  peace  continue)  the  revenues 
from  the  increase  of  population,  and  the  habits  of  industry  which 
may  be  then  expected  to  be  confirmed  in  the  ryots,  will  in  the  course 
of  ten  jears  be  nearly  doubled.' 

In  December  1803  Mr.  Hurdis  was  promoted  and  Mr.  Greorge 
Parish  became  Collector  of  Madura.  He  held  the  post  until 
1812.  He  at  first  continued,  generally,  the  policy  which  Mr. 
Hurdis  had  inaugurated  but  had  not  remained  to  see  carried 
out  in  its  entiretv.     The  orders  of  the   Board  of  lievenue  were 


^  A  star  pagoda  was  equivalent  to  lis.  3-8. 


LAND    REVENUE    ADMINISTRATION. 


191 


meanwhile  received  on  that  officer's  great  report  on  his  survey  and 
settlement.  While  the  Board  approved  +he  figure  of  1,31,315  star 
pagodas  which  had  been  arrived  at  as  the  ultimate  revenue  on  all 
the  cultivated  lands  in  the  Dindigul  country,  they  considered  that 
the  deduction  of  some  ten  per  cent,  from  the  gross  value  of  the 
province  which  Mr.  Hurdis  had  proposed  to  allow  the  zamindars 
as  their  profit  should  be  increased  to  10  per  cent.,  and  that  the 
permanent  revenue  should  be  1,09,189  star  pagodas. 

But  hardly  had  the  division  of  the  district  into  these  forty 
estates  come  completely  into  operation  than  (from  1805  onwards) 
the  state  of  the  country  rapidly  became  alarmingly  serious.  The 
owners  of  the  various  zamindaris  fell  heavily  into  arrears,  the  total 
balance  at  the  end  of  fasli  12 1<)  (^1806-07)  against  twenty-six 
estates  then  under  attachment  being  ;i9,909  star  pagodas  ;  the 
capitalists  became  bankrupt  ;  and  at  last  in  1808  Mr.  Hodgson, 
a  Member  of  the  Board  of  Revenue,  was  deputed  to  visit  and 
inspect  the  country  and  ascertain  the  causes  of  its  rapi<l  decline. 

He  travelled  all  around  the  district  and  eventually  submitted 
a  most  elaborate  report  upon  the  case.  He  considered  that  though 
Mr.  Hurdis'  rates  of  assessment  were  not  in  themselves  excessive, 
nor  his  calculations  for  commuting  produce  into  money  anything 
but  fair,  yet  his  settlement  had  in  some  respects  been  based  on 
incorrect  principles.  Too  much  stress  had  been  laid  upon  the 
possible  future  profits  to  the  zamindars  from  the  cultivation  of  the 
waste  land  included  in  their  estates,  and  instead  of  taking  (as  had 
been  done  elsewhere)  the  average  collections  of  a  number  of  years 
as  the  basis  upon  which  the  revenue  should  be  collected,  all  that 
had  been  done  was  to  deduct  16  per  cent,  from  the  proposed  total 
revenue  of  fasli  1214,  which  was  a  higher  figure  than  had  ever 
been  actually  collected  while  the  country  was  under  the  Compan) . 
Consequently  the  margin  of  profit  left  to  the  zamindars  was  very 
small,  and  as  a  series  of  bad  seasons  had  followed  the  comjiletion 
of  the  permanent  settlement  they  had  collapsed  under  tlie  losses 
which  these  had  involved.  Mr.  Hodgson  concluded  by  recommend- 
ing that  as  the  permanent  settlement  liad  thus  failed  it  should  be 
replaced  by  the  system  of  leasing  out  each  village  separately  for  a 
fixed  term. 

The  Government  approved  his  conclusions  and  suggestions,  and 
wrote  a  despatch  on  iho  matter  to  the  Directors  which  largely 
reproduced  them  both.  From  fasli  1217  (1807-08)  the  system  of 
renting  out  the  various  villages  for  a  term  of  three  years  was 
introduced  under  Mr.  Parish's  suj^ervision.  The  result  was  a 
slight  increase  in  the  amount  of  ihe  revenue  realised  over  that 


CHAP«  XI. 

11  EVEN  UK 

History. 


The  district 

declines, 

1805. 


Mr.  Hodg- 
son's roporfc 
npon  it. 


Triennial 

village  leases, 
1808-10. 


192 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  XT. 

Revenue 
History. 


Mr.  Kou8 

Peter's 

reductions 

in  the 

assessments, 

1823. 


Furthei" 

redactions, 

1831. 


whicli  would  have  been  received  under  the  permanent  settlement, 
bat  this  was  counterbalanced  by  the  higher  charges  of  management 
and  collection  which  the  more  detailed  system  involved. 

From  1812,  the  year  when  the  triennial  village  leases  expired, 
to  1828  (with  the  exception  of  one  short  interval)  the  Collector  of 
the  district  was  Mr.  Eons  Peter,  a  gentleman  who  made  himself 
extremely  popular  among  the  natives  of  the  district  and  is  still 
(see  p.  25i^>)  well  remembered  in  Madura. 

The  triennial  leases  had  been  almost  as  serious  a  failure  as  the 
attempted  permanent  settlement ;  and  on  their  expiry  a  ryotwari 
settlement,  based  on  Mr.  Hurdis'  survey,  was  introduced.  This 
system  has  continued  to  the  present  day.  In  1823  Mr.  Rous  Peter 
proposed  to  the  Board  of  Revenue  that  the  assessments  of  the 
Dindigul  country  should  be  revised  and  lowered.  He  considered 
that  they  had  proved  themselves  to  be  higher  than  the  ryots  could 
afford,  and  that  they  were  moreover  unequal  in  their  incidence 
owing  to  imperfections  in  the  land  classification  effected  by  Mr. 
Hurdis.  He  was  of  opinion  that  to  remedy  matters  a  reclassifica- 
tion of  the  whole  country  was  necessary. 

His  suggestions  were  sanctioned  by  the  authorities  at  Madras 
with  but  little  discussion,  and  were  carried  out. 

They  were,  however,  insufficient  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  case  ; 
and  in  October  1831  the  then  Collector,  Mr.  Viveash,  submitted 
for  the  consideration  of  the  Board  of  Revenue  yet  another  scheme 
for  the  reduction  of  the  Dindigul  assessments  which  he  appears  to 
have  carried  out  in  part  in  anticipation  of  sanction.  He  pointed  out 
that  Mr.  Hurdis'  rates  had  been  prescribed  without  ever  consider- 
ing whether  the  result  of  them  was  to  biing  the  revenue  demanded 
from  any  particular  tract  or  zamindari  above  the  figures  prevailing 
imder  former  governments,  so  that  in  many  cases,  when  compared 
with  such  figures,  they  were  clearly  excessive.  He  instanced  the 
case  of  kasba  Tadikkombu,  the  amount  collected  from  which  had 
been  4,637  chakrams  in  fasli  1183  under  the  renter  Mir  Sahib 
already  mentioned ;  4,508  chakrams  on  an  average  during  six 
years  under  the  renter  iSaiyad  Sahib  ;  3,296  chakrams  on  an 
average  in  the  eighteen  years  from  fasli  1194  ;  but  4,999  chakrams 
in  fasli  1212  under  Mr.  Hurdis. 

Mr.  Yiveash  said  he  had  followed  the  methods  and  rules  which 
had  been  adopted  in  the  Ceded  districts,  and  had  assembled  before 
him  the  village  headmen,  karnams  and  ryots  of  each  zamindari  or 
estate,  together  with  experienced  ryots  of  neighbouring  taluks  to 


LAND    RETENUE    ADMINISTRATION. 


193 


act  as  arbitrators,  and  had  required  tliem  to  revise  the  classification     CHAP.  XI. 
of  all  land  cultivated  in  fasli  1236  (1826-27),  a  good  year,  with      Ekvenub 

reference  to  such  sets  of  accounts  as  were  available,   to  the  assess- 

ments  of  neighbouring  tracts  and  to  their  own  personal  experience. 
He  went  on  to  say  that — 

'  After  the  rates  of  Mr.  Kurdis  had  thus  been  revised,  T  considered, 
with  reference  to  the  collections  of  Fuslj  1236,  the  average  collections 
of  former  years,  and  the  opinions  of  the  experienced  Natamgars, 
whether  any,  and  if  any,  what  addition  should  be  made  to  the  total 
revenue  of  each  taluq  resulting  from  the  revised  rates  of  the  ryots  in 
Cutcherry,  and  the  addition  was  then  made  to  the  villages,  and  the 
fields  of  each  village,  by  the  Natamgars,  Kurnums,  and  Eyots,  who, 
aware  that  what  one  gained  another  would  lose,  took  special  care  that 
the  additional  revenue  was  fairly  imposed.  The  accounts  were  then 
brought  to  me,  the  rcA'ised  rates  read  over,  the  ryots  were  questioned 
if  any  of  the  villages  or  lands  had  been  favoured,  and,  on  their 
expressing  themselves   and  signing  a  document  to  the  contrary,  they 

were  dismissed The  basis  of  the  revised  assessment 

is  the  Hoolcos  assessment  of  Mr.  Hurdis  revised  and  corrected  by 
the  instrumentality  of  the  ryots  themselves;  whilst  loss  of  revenue  was 
prevented  by  fixing  the  total  bereez  of  the  district  with  reference  to 
average  collections,  and  checks  were  provided  against  inequality  in 
the  assessment  by  leaving  the  ryots  themselves  to  distribute  the  total 
reduction.' 

Apparently  no  definite  orders  were  ever  passed  on  this  report  of 
Mr.  Viveash's. 

In  March  1854  Mr.  Parker,  the  then  Collector,  submitted  for  Abolition  of 
the  consideration  of  the  Board  a  plan  for  the  abolition  of  an 
exceptional  tax  known  as  vdnpayir  which  was  levied  on  the  culti- 
vation of  certain  specially  valuable  kinds  of  produce  (such  as 
betel,  plantains,  turmeric,  chillies  and  brinjals)  when  grown  on 
wet  land,  and  a  similar  extra  assessment  which  was  levied  on 
garden  dry  land  planted  with  these  same  crops.  The  rates  at 
which  the  vdnfmjir  tax  was  imposed  varied  in  a  complicated 
manner  from  taluk  to  taluk  and  with  the  nature  of  the  crop.  Mr. 
Parker  considered  that  only  the  ordinary  wet  land  and  garden  dry 
land  assessments,  respectively,  should  be  charged  in  these  two 
cases.  He  urged  that  the  extra  rate  was  objectionable  on  the 
ground  that  it  violated  the  accepted  principle  that  the  land,  and 
not  the  particular  product  raised,  should  be  taxed,  that  it  restricted 
the  ryots'  methods,  that  it  raised  the  price  of  very  necessary  articles 
of  food  and  that  it  occasioned  vexatious  inquisitions  into  the 
ryots'  doings  and  complications  in  the  accounts.  The  Board 
agreed    with   him,    and    shortly   afterwards     also   sanctioned  the 

36 


vayipayir 

asBcssments, 

1854. 


194 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  XI. 

Reve.vue 
History. 

Unsettled 
palaiyams. 


discontinnance  of  an  extra  tax  whicli  was  being-  similarly  levied  on 
tobacco  in  certain  parts  of  the  district. 

In  1861  Grovernment  asked  the  Board  to  report  on  certain 
questions  which  had  been  left  undetermined  for  many  years ; 
namely,  the  position  of  what  were  termed  the  '  unsettled  pdlaiyams' 
(also  spplt  '  poliems  '  and  '  poUams  ')  in  this  and  other  districts, 
the  expediency  of  granting  them  permanent  sanads,  and  the 
terms  on  which  this  might  be  done. 

It  will  be  remembered  (see  p.  183  above)  that  when  the  Din. 
digul  country  was  first  acquired  by  the  Company  it  contained  26 
palaiyams  or  zamindari  estates.  By  1803,  when  Mr.  Hurdis 
wrote  his  great  report  on  the  settlement  of  the  district,  twelve  of 
these  had  come  under  Government  management  -  three  of  them 
(Eriy6du,  Palni  and  Virtipakshi)  having  been  forfeited  for  rebellion ; 
three  more  ( Devadanapatti,  Madlir  and  R  ettayambadi)  having 
escheated  for  want  of  heirs  ;  and  six  (Idaiyankottai,  Nilakk6t- 
tai,  PaUiyappanayakkanur,  Sandaiytir,  Sukkdmpatti  and  another) 
having  been  resumed  for  arrears.  These  twelve,  together  with 
the  Government  lands,  were  carved  up  into  the  forty  zamindaris 
already  mentioned,  and  were  either  handed  over  to  their  former 
owners  or  were  sold  to  sundry  purchasers  under  the  idea  that  a 
permanent  settlement  would  thus  be  established.  Their  fate  has 
already  been  sketched  above. 

The  other  fourteen  estates  were  left  in  the  hands  of  their 
owners  and  charged  a  peshkash  assessed  at  70  per  cent,  of  their 
value  as  ascertained  by  Mr.  Hurdis'  survey  and  settlement  of 
fasli  1212.  Similar  arrangements  were  made  by  Mr.  Hurdis  and 
his  successor  Mr.  Parish  with  respect  to  the  sixteen  other  palai- 
yams in  the  Madura  country  proper — '  the  ten  poliems  of  Madura 
and  the  six  poliems  of  Manapara,'  as  they  are  called  in  the  old 
records.  In  1816,  several  of  these  thirty  estates  were  in  arrear 
with  their  peshkash  and  Government  authorised  the  Collector  in 
future  to  take  such  properties  under  his  own  management  and 
allow  the  ejected  poligars  a  m^likhana  allowance  of  ten  per  cent, 
on  the  net  proceeds  of  the  palaiyams.  This  course  continued  to 
be  followed  until  1840.  In  that  year  Government  called  upon  the 
owners  of  estates  thus  under  attachment  either  to  pay  up  the 
arrears  or  to  agree  to  surrender  their  properties  on  condition  of 
continuing  to  receive  the  malikh^na  they  were  then  getting  ;  and 
said  that  the  palaiyams  of  those  who  would  not  consent  to  either 
alternative  would  be  sold  in  satisfaction  of  the  arrears  due  upon 
tnem.     Several  of  the  poligars  accordingly  gave  up  their  estates 


LAND    EEVENUB    ADMINISTRATION. 


195 


*  Ammayunayakkaudr. 

Ayakkudi. 

B6din6.yakkanur. 

Erasakkandj-akkanu)-. 

Gantamanayakkanur. 

Idaiyankottai. 

Kannivadi. 

Mambdi-ai. 

T6varain. 

D  od  dappaniy  ak  kantir . 

Jdtiln&yakkanur. 

K.ilakkottai. 

M61akk6ttai. 

Nadukkottai. 

Pnliyankulani. 

Sirupalai. 

Uttappanayakkandr. 

Velliyakundam. 


and  the  owner  of  Kannivadi  paid 
up  the  arrears  due  by  him.  8uch 
of  tlie  other  palaiyams  as  neither 
escheated  on  failure  of  heirs 
nor  were  resumed  for  arrears j 
continued  to  pay  the  peshkash 
originally  fixed  by  Messrs. 
Hurdis  and  Parish,  even  though 
this  had  not  been  formally 
declared  permanent  and  though 
no  sanads  had  been  granted  for 
them.^  By  1865  eighteen  *  of 
the  original  thirty  palaiyamSj  as 
well  as  the  mittahs  of  Velur  and 
Eettayambadi  in  the  Palni  taluk > 
were  still  in  existence. 
In  that  year  (in  answer  to  the  orders  of  Government  above 
mentioned)  the  Board  of  Eevenue  reviewed  in  an  elaborate 
proceedings  ^  the  history  and  position  of  these  estates  and  recom- 
mended that  permanent  sanads  should  be  granted  to  the  owners  of 
such  of  them  as  were  willing  to  accept  such  grants  and  to  execute 
the  corresponding  kabuliyats  ;  and  that,  for  reasons  stated,  the 
peshkash  should  in  no  ease  be  enhanced.  Government  agreed. 
The  owners  of  one  t  of  the  two  mittahs  and  of  fourteen  +  of  the 

eighteen  palaiyams  accepted  this 
invitation  and  applied  for  sanads. 
In  August  1867  Grovernment 
ordered  that  the  case  of  Velur 
should  receive  further  considera- 
tion, postponed  orders  in  the 
cases  of  Bodindyakkanur,  Ganta- 
manayakkanur, Uttappandyakka- 
ntir,  and  Sirupalai  (the  owners 
of  which  were  minors)  and  also 
of  Kannivddi  (which,  see  p.  239, 
was  exceptionally  situated),  but 
sanctioned  the  issue  of  sanads 
in  the  remaining  nine  cases.     In 

'  Forty  blank  sanads  (with  their  corresponding  kabuliyats)  wore  sent  to 
Mr.  Parish  in  1805  for  distribution  to  '  the  mittahdars  in  Dindigul,'  but  the 
estates  were  continually  being  resumed  and  resold  and  Air.  Parish  as  a  faot 
never  even  filled  up  these  documents — much  less  issued  them.  Except  one 
which  was  lost  and  another  which  had  been  abstracted  by  the  record-keeper 
and  made  over  to  a  pretender  to  the  Ki'lakkottai  estate,  the  whole  of  them  lay  in 
the  Collector's  records  uutil  183b,  when  thoy  were  torn  up. 

*  Printed  in  G.O.,  No.  2730,  Kevenuc,  dated  10th  Noyember  1865.1 


cm  I'.  XI. 
Revenue 

HiSTORT. 


t  761dr. 

X  Amniayanayakkanur. 
Ayakkudi. 
Bodinayukkandr. 
Erasakkanayakkandr. 
Gantamanayakkandr. 
Idaiyankottai. 
Kannivadi. 
r^varani. 

Doddappanayakkandr. 
Jot  ilnayakkandr. 
Nadukkottai. 
Sirupalai. 

Uttappanayakkaudr. 
Velliyakundam. 


196 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  XI. 
Eevenue 
History, 


liritish 
administra- 
tion in  the 
Madura 
country. 


Difficulties  at 
the  outset. 


*  Kanuiv^di. 
Kilakk6ttai. 
Sii-upfilai. 
Velliyaknndam. 


t  P6raiy6r. 
Sandaiydr. 
Saptdr. 


subsequent  years  sanads  were  also  granted  to  all  tlie  other  estates 
except  (apparently)  Sirup^lai.  Statistics  regarding  the  various 
zamindaris  now  in  existence  will  be  found  in  the  separate 
Appendix  to  this  Grazetteer    and  some  account  of  each  of  them 

is  given  in  Chapter  XV  below. 
Of  the  eighteen  estates  and  two 
mittahs  mentioned  above  as 
being  included  in  the  district  in 
V6idr.  *  1865^  all  except  five*  have  been 

declared  impartible  and  inalienable  by  the  Madras    Impartible 

Estates  Act,  1904,  and  the  same 
declaration  has  been  made  re- 
garding three  f  others  which  were 
transferred  to  the  district  from 
TinneveUy  in  1859. 

We  may  now  turn  to  the  revenue  history  of  the  Madura 
country  from  the  time  when  it  came  into  British  hands. 

As  has  already  (p.  69)  been  seen,  this  practically  became 
part  of  the  territories  of  the  British  in  1 790,  when  the  Company 
assumed  its  revenues  from  the  Naw4b  by  proclamation  and 
Mr.  McLeod  was  appointed  Collector  of  it. 

His  responsibilities  within  it  appear  to  have  been  limited  at 
first  to  receiving  the  rent  from  the  man,  Muttu  Irulappa  Pillai, 
to  whom  it  had  been  leased,  and  to  watching  the  Company's 
pecuniary  interests,  but  the  difficulties  in  Madura  soon  became 
almost  as  serious  as  those  which  had  been  experienced  at  the 
outset  of  the  administration  of  the  Dindigul  country. 

Early  in  1791  the  renter  appears  to  have  been  guilty  of 
tyrannical  and  extortionate  conduct  and  to  have  provoked  the 
Kalians  to  commit  a  series  of  outrages.  The  Collector  reported 
that  it  was  necessary  to  station  sufficient  troops  at  Anaiyiir  (in 
Tirumangalam)  and  Melur  (at  which  latter  place  there  were 
already  two  companies  of  sepoys)  to  keep  these  people  in  order, 
and  that  the  Anaiyur  Kalians  were  in  the  habit  of  making 
predatory  excursions  through  both  the  Dindigul  and  Madura 
provinces  because  there  was  no  force  there  which  was  adequate  to 
overawe  them.  In  June  1791  the  renter  was  deprived  of  his  farm 
and  much  correspondence  "followed  regarding  his  conduct  and 
pecuniary  liabilities.  Grovernment  resolved  that  thenceforth  the 
country  should  be  leased  out  in  a  number  of  small  farms  and  not 
again  to  a  single  individual, 

Three  years  later,  in  June  1794,  Mr.  McLeod  seems  to  have 
ceased  to  be  Collector  at  Madura,  and  to  have  been  in  charge  of 


LAND    REVENUR    ADMINISTRATION. 


197 


Dindigui  onlj.  Apparently,  indeed,  Madura  was  left  for  a  timft 
without  any  Collector  at  all,  for  in  October  1795  the  Collector  of 
Dindigui  complained  of  tlie  outrages  committed  by  the  Kalians, 
stated  that  the  turbulent  individuals  all  belonged  to  the  Madura 
country,  and  urged  that  the  faujdar  of  the  Nawab  of  Arcot,  who 
was  in  charge  of  that  tract,  ought  to  be  required  to  keep  them  in 
order.  He  said  that  the  road  from  Dindigui  to  Kambam  was 
altogether  unsafe,  and  that  it  was  necessary  to  station  troops  along 
it  in  the  Kambam  valley. 

In  July  1801,  as  has  already  (p.  71)  been  seen,  the  Madura 
country,  which  was  then  under  the  management  of  the  amildar 
of  the  Nawdb  of  Arcot,  was  formally  ceded  by  treaty  by  the 
Nawab  to  the  Company  ;  and  a  proclamation  was  issued  constitut- 
ing Mr.  Hurdis,  the  Collector  of  Dindigui,  as  Collector  of  the 
whole  of  the  Madura  district.  Government  informed  that  officer 
that  there  was  no  reason  to  expect  any  opposition  to  the  transfer, 
but  that  the  troops  quartered  in  the  south  of  the  Presidency  w^ould 
be  at  his  disposal  if  necessary  ;  and  directed  him  to  use  his  own 
discretion  as  to  maintaining  for  a  time  or  disbanding  at  once  the 
regular  troops  and  sihbandi,  or  armed  police,  which  had  been 
kept  up  by  the  Naw4b.  Mr.  Hurdis  set  a  native  commandant 
named  Nattam  Khan  to  watcli  the  Kalians,  kept  on  the  Naw^b's 
tahsildars  for  a  time,  obtained  the  revenue  accounts  from  these  and 
others  of  that  potentate's  officers  and  organized  taluk  establishments 
in  all  parts  except  Melur,  where  the  Kalians  were  apparently 
exceptionally  troublesome. 

His  first  jamabandi  of  the  country  was  begun  towards  the  end 
of  1801  (fasli  1211)  and  merely  retained  the  customary  rates  of 
assessment  and  avoided  any  sweeping  changes.  His  report  on 
this,  his  letter  of  20th  July  1802  on  the  improved  settlement  he 
afterwards  introduced  in  this  same  fasli,  and  a  third  report,  dated 
4th  May  1803,  and  dealing  with  the  jamabandi  of  fasli  1212 
(1802-03),  are  the  chief  authorities  regarding  his  administration  of 
the  country.  They  cannot  be  said  to  be  perspicuous  documents.  Mr. 
Nelson  spent  much  labour  in  the  '  endeavour  to  illumine  to  some 
little  extent  their  dark  and  apparently  unfathomable  depths  '  and 
came  to  the  conclusion  that '  the  mode  in  which  its  (the  Madura 
country's)  settlement  was  effected  is  to  this  day  a  mystery.' 

The  reports  speak  of  the  following  different  kinds  of  lands  and 
land  tenure,  some  of  which  are  of  interest :  (I)  Sirkar,  or  ordinary 
Government,  land,  (2)  Hafta  devasidnam,  (3)  Sibbandi  poriippu, 
(4)  Jivitham,  (5)  Poruppu  villages,  (6)  Church  mdniyams,  (7) 
Chattram,  (8)  ^rai-lcatlalai,  (9)  Arai-kat  alai  \i}Aa,ges^  {IQ)  Ardha- 
mdniyam,  (11)  Palaiyam,  and  (12)  Inani. 


CHAP.  XL 

Kevenuk 
History. 


Formal 
cession  of  the 
country, 
1801. 


Early   settlo- 
iiients  in  it. 


The  rarious 
land  tenures. 


198 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  XL 

Revenue 
History. 


Governmeut 
laud. 


Hafta  ^ 
Aivastanam. 


The  first  of  these,  oi-dinary  Government  land,  was  divided  inro 
(a^  wet,  (A)  dry,  and  (o)  betel,  land. 

The  revenue  on  wet  land  was  collected  according  to  one  of  two 
methods.  Under  the  former  of  these,  which  was  called  dttu-Tcdl- 
pcUhanaii)  and  was  followed  only  in  the  case  of  land  watered  from  a 
river  channel,  the  customary  swaiantratns  and  rassums  (which  Mr. 
Hardis,  after  much  enquiry,  had  fixed  at  12  J  per  cent,  of  the 
whole)  were  first  deducted  from  the  gross  produce  of  each  field 
and  distributed  to  their  owners,  and  then  the  remaining  produce 
was  divided  in  equal  shares  between  Grovernment  and  the  culti- 
vator. The  Government  share  was  either  handed  over  in  kind,  or 
paid  for  in  cash  at  a  price  fixed  by  the  Collector.  Under  the 
latter  of  the  two  methods  of  collecting  the  revenue  on  wet  land, 
which  was  called  mdnacdripat  and  was  applied  only  to  land  under 
rain-fed  tanks,  the  gross  produce  was  equally  divided  between 
Grovernment  and  the  cultivator  without  any  deduction  for  swatan- 
trams  being  made. 

The  revenue  on  dry  land  was  collected  in  money  and  was  either 
assessed  on  the  acreage  cultivated  (at  what  rates  does  not  appear) 
or  in  a  lump  sum  on  each  village  as  a  whole,  without  reference  to 
the  area  tilled  therein.  These  latter  villages  were  called  katiu- 
kutiagai,  or  fixed  rent,  villages. 

Betel  land  was  reported  to  have  been  assessed  on  the  principles 
followed  under  the  Nawdb's  government,  but  what  these  were 
was  not  explained.  The  assessments  collected  in  this  year  1801 
on  the  various  fields,  calculated  almost  at  haphazard  though  they 
were,  were  duly  recorded  and  remained  for  years  afterwards  the 
revenue  always  demanded  on  those  fields. 

The  hafta  devaddnam  (seven  temples)  land  was  land  granted  for 
the  upkeep  of  the  worship  and  ceremonies  at  the  following  seven 
temples  :  those  of  Minakshi  at  Madura  (the  great  temple),  JCallar 
Alagarsvdmi  and  Kudal  Alagarsvami,  and  those  at  Tirupparan- 
kunram,  Tenkarai,  Tiruvedagam  and  Kuraviturai.  Who  origi- 
nally made  these  grants  is  not  now  ascertainable.  It  was  per- 
haps Tirumala  Nayakkan.  Nor  is  their  subsequent  fate  clear,  as 
accounts  differ.  Perhaps  some  of  them  were  usurped  during  the 
troublous  times  immediately  following  the  disruption  of  the  Vijaya- 
nagar  empire.  When  Chanda  Sahib  obtained  possession  of  the 
Madura  kingdom  (see  p  58)  he  is  said  to  have  seized  what 
remained  of  them  ;  and  his  proceedings  rendered  it  necessary  for 
the  managers  of  the  Minakshi  temple  to  close  that  institution  and 
to  hurriedly  remove  the  idols  and  the  entire  establishment  to 
Manamadura  in  the  Sivaganga  zamindari,  where,  it  is  said,  they 
remained  for  twoiyears  and  three  months,  the  expenses  of  maintain- 


LAND    RBVENUE    ADMINISTRATION.  199 

ing  the  customary    worship  being  met  by  the  Setupati  of  Eamnad.     CHAP.  XI. 

After  the  capture  of  Chanda  Sahib  (see  p.  69),  Morari  Kao,  it  is      Kkveme 

stated,  effected  the  return  to  Madura  of  the  idols  and  establishment          '"^""^ " 

and  the  restoration  of  part,  if  not  all,  of  the  land  which  Chanda 

Sahib  had  taken  from  the  temple.     Subsequently    much    of   the 

property  was  again  lost,  but  when  Muhammad  Yusuf  Khan  (who 

was  by  birth  a  Vellala  and  therefore,  though  by  faith  a  Musalman, 

kindly    disposed   towards  Hindu  temples)    came  to  Madura  (see 

p.  06),  he  is  declared  to  have  retained  possession  of  the  whole   of 

it,  but  to  have  made,  in  his  first  year,  a  grant  of  12,000  chakrams 

for  the  support  of  the  seven  temples  and,  in  the  succeeding  years, 

an  allotment  of  6,000  chakrams.     When  Mr.  Hurdis  took  charge 

of   the    country    he   found  that   what  was  then  called  the  hafta 

devastdnam  land  yielded  the  Grovernment  a  revenue  of  Rs.  50,292, 

and  he  proposed   to  the  Board  that  it  should  be  retained  in  the 

hands  of  Grovernment  and  that  an   annual  permanent  allowance 

of  12,000  chakrams  should  be  made  to  the  seven  temples. 

The  Board  ordered  the  Collector  to  restore  to  the  temples  '  the 
lands  resumed  from  the  pagodas  by  the  late  government,^  but 
for  some  reason  not  now  traceable  Mr.  Hurdis  never  carried  out 
these  instructions  and  (though  the  question  of  its  disposal  was 
raised  in  1849  and  again  in  1859)  the  hafta  devastdnam  land 
remains  in  the  hands  of  Government.  It  had  long  ceased  to  be  a 
religious  endowment,  and  formed  part  of  the  resources  of  the 
State  at  the  time  of  the  cession  of  the  district. 

Sihbandi  poriippu  land  was  that  in  the  occupation  of  indivi-  sniandi 
duals  belonging  to  the  establishment  {sib1>andi)  of  the  great  voruppu. 
Minakshi  temple  at  Madura.  It  is  said  that  Yusuf  Khan  imposed 
on  this  a  poruppu,  or  fixed  tribute,  of  an  arbitrary  nature  in 
order  to  make  up  the  grant  of  6,000  chakrams  which  he  accorded 
to  the  great  temple  at  Madura.  In  Mr.  Hurdis'  time  this 
poruppu  amounted  to  as  much  as  5,506  chakrams,  and  it  was 
excluded  by  him  from  his  revenue  demand. 

Jivitham    land    was  that   which  had    been   held   by    military  jivitham, 
peons  for  subsistence.     Holding  the  opinion  that  the  peons  were 
no  longer  required,   Mr.   Hurdis   resumed    it  all   and  added  its 
assessment  to  the  revenue  demand. 

Poruppu  villages  appear  to  have  been  those  which  were  Poruppu 
originally  granted  free  to  Brahmans  but  were  afterwards  taxed  tillages, 
with  a  quit-rent,  or  poruppu,  by  later  rulers, 

'  Church  mdniyams  *  seem   to  have  included  in    a  general  way  Chnrch 
all  land  which  was  lield  by  the  temples,  or  by  Brahmans  or  others  "'""'ya*"*- 
connected   therewith,  and  was   not  subject  to  the  ordinary  full 
land-tax. 


200 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  XI. 

Revenue 

HiSTORT. 


Cliattram 
land. 


Arai-kaitalai. 


Arai-kattalai 
villages. 


Ardha- 

mdniyam, 

etc. 


Defects  of  the 
settlement. 


Cliattram  laud  was  that  granted  for  the  purpose  of  perpetuaiij 
maintaining  certain  eliattrams,  or  rest-houses,  for  travellers.  As 
has  been  mentioned  on  p.  157  above,  the  grantees  had  in  manj 
instances  altogether  ignored  their  trusts  and  treated  the  land 
as  their  private  property,  guarding  themselves  by  bribes  to  the 
authorities  against  interference  with  their  dishonesty. 

Arai-kattalai  land  was  apparently  [that  granted  and  added  to 
temple  property  to  pay  for  the  performance  of  certain  religious 
acts,  among  them  the  celebration  of  worship  for  the  benefit  of 
the  soul  of  the  departed  grantor.  Mr.  Hurdis  found  that,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  chattram  land,  many  of  these  grants  had  been 
improperly  alienated  by  the  dishonest  servants  of  their  nominal 
managers,  and  that  the  proceeds  of  them  were  no  longer  devoted 
to  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  originally  intended, 

Arai-kattalai  villages  were  said  to  be  those  which  had  been 
granted  rent-free  to  individuals  in  order  that  they  might  transfer 
them  to  the  temples  and  thus  obtain  credit  for  a  religious  act.  The 
transfers  effected  in  accordance  with  tha  grants  had  in  most  cases 
been  merely  nominal  and  colourable,  and  the  villages  remained  the 
property  of  the  grantees.  The  fiction  of  transfer  had,  however, 
the  advantage  of  obtaining  for  the  villages  that  protection  which 
was  often  accorded  to  temple  property,  though  in  some  cases  this 
had  had  to  be  bought  by  the  payment  of  a  poruppu,  or  quit-rent. 
Following  the  rules  laid  down  by  the  late  Nawab,  Mr.  Hurdis 
recommended  that  these  grants  should  be  resumed  unless  they 
could  be  proved  to  have  been  made  by  Tirumala  Ndyaktan. 

Ardha-mdniyams  comprised  a  small  extent  of  land  which  had 
been  granted  on  payment  of  half  [ardha)  the  usual  assessment. 

Of  the  two  remaining  sorts  of  land,  pdlaiyams  were  the 
poligars'  estates,  ana  inams  were  fields  or  villages  granted  on  the 
usual  favourable  terms  for  the  usual  multiplicity  of  reasons. 

Mr.  Hurdis  set  himself  to  survey  and  settle  the  Madura  side 
of  the  district  just  as  he  had  done  the  Dindigul  portion,  but  the 
work  was  far  less  carefully  done  in  the  former,  than  in  the  latter, 
area.  Madura  w^as  never  surveyed,  like  Dindigul,  by  skilled  men. 
The  area  under  cultivation  in  1802, 'and  that  [alone,  was  ^  hastily 
and  incompletely  surveyed  by  the  kamams  and  other  village 
officers  in  that  year.  The  work  was  never  finished,  and  that  part 
of  it  which  was  done  was  never  revised  until  the  existing  survey 
was  carried  out. 

The  settlement  which  followed  was  also  defective.  No  pro- 
vision seems  to  have  been  made,  as'] in  Dindigul,  for  the  case  ol 
double-crop  wet  land,  and  therefore  fields  sufficiently  well  watered 


LAND  BI; VENUE   ADMINI8TEATI0V.  201 

to  raise  two  crops  paid  only  single  assessment  if  only  one  crop    CHAP.  XI. 
was  raised.     Again,   neither  wet  nor  dry  land  was  ever  classed  as      Revkm-e 
garden  and  assessed  according  to  the  class  of  crop  grown  on  it,  as         '^^tobt. 
had  been  done  in  Dindigul.     This  was  no  douLt  a  very  lihcral  and 
proper  arrangement,  Lut  it  was  clearly  due  to  the  happy  accident 
of  Mr.  Ilnrdii'  forgetfalness  rather  than  to  economic   sagacity 
and  forethought  on  the  part  of  him  and  his  successors. 

As  in  Dindigul,  the  Government  revenues  in  Madura  included 
a  number  of  money  taxes,  known  generically  as  swarnaddya,  and 
the  land  customs. 

Mr.  Ilurdis,  as  has  already  been  seen,  left  the  district  in  1803 
and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Parish.  As  in  Dindigul,  so  in  the 
Madura  country,  the  latter  adhered  generally  to  the  system  which 
he  found  in  operation.  His  report  on  the  jamabandi  of  fasli  1213 
(1800-04)  showed  that  since  the  preceding  year  there  had  been  a 
healthy  extension  of  cultivation  to  the  extent  of  8  per  cent.,  and 
that  there  was  every  prospect  that  this  would  further  develop. 

Jn  1804-05,  it  appears,  a  settlement  'formed  upon  the  money  Tiiennial 
assessments  introduced  by  Mr.   Hurdis  '  was  made  with  each  ryot  |,he^ryou^ari 
separately.     In  1805-06,  apparently,  the  villages  were  leased  out,    system. 
as  in  Dindigul,  either  singly  or  in  groups,  to   renters.     In  fasli 
1218  (1808-('9)  these  leases  were  made  triennial.     They  were   not 
a  success,  and  when  they  expired  (in   fasli   1220)   the    system    of 
settling  with  each  ryot  separately  was  reverted  to.     This  was 
temporarily  continued  for  a  year  or  two  more,  and  was  formally 
adopted,  as  in  Dindigul,  in  1814-15. 

Between  that  year  and  1821-22  Mr.  Eons  Peter  on  several  Eednctions  in 
occasions  granted  unauthorised  reductions  in  the  assessments  of  aseessmenta. 
some  52  villages  situated  in  the  then  taluks  of  Mddakkulam. 
Solavanddn,  Melur  and  Tirumangalam.  These  were  carried  out 
on  no  fixed  prinoi])les  and  without  any  regard  for  the  characteristics 
of  each  village.  Mr.  Peter  was  repeatedly  called  upon  by  the 
Board  to  explain  on  what  grounds  he  had  granted  them,  but 
neither  he  nor  his  successor  Mr.  Viveash  ever  replied.  Eventually, 
however,  in  1848  the  Board  ordered  them  to  be  cancelled. 

The  existing  survey  of  the  whole  district  was  begun  in  1872.    rpj,j.  existing 
Between  then  and  1875   it  was  carried  on  in  a  desultory  manner    SaRVEv  and 
by  detachments   from  a  survey  party  mainly   employed   in  other    "^  lyjjs-yii."   * 
districts,  while  between  1870  and  1878  work  was  seriously  delayed 
by  the   great  famine.     From    1879,   however,   a   full   party   was 
employed   and   the    operations    were    completed    in    1884.     Tlie 
whole  of  the   six  taluks  were  entirely  re-surveyed,  but  the  work 
was  done  in   detail  in  Government    land  only,    and  not    in  the 
zamindaris  or  whole  inam  villages, 

?0 


202 


MADURA. 


CHAP.    XI. 

The  existing 

schvey  and 

Settlement, 

1885-89. 


Principles 
followed. 


The  Settlement  department  began  operations  in  the  district  in 
1881,  and  in  1884  submitted  a  settlement  scheme.  This  was 
sanctioned  hy  Government  in  1885  and  its  introduction  was 
begun  in  1885  86  and  completed  in  March  1889.  It  did  not 
extend  to  the  whole  inam  villages  or  the  zamindaris. 

It  proceeded  on  the  usual  principles  and  was  based  on 
elaborate  enquiries  undertaken  in  the  five  taluks  other  than 
Tirumangalam.  The  soils  were  classified,  and  were  grouped 
under  the  two  main  headings  of  regada,  or  black  cotton-soil,  and 
red  ferruginous.  The  extent  to  which  each  of  these  occurs  in 
each  of  the  talukslhas  already  been  shown  on  p.  12  above.  There 
are  none  of  the  arenaceous,  or  sandy,  soils  found  in  some  districts. 
These  main  varieties  were  then  again  sub-divided  according 
to  their  fertility  into  '  classes  '  and  '  sorts.' 

For  the  purposes  of  wet  assessment,  the  irrigation  sources  of 
the  district  were  divided  into  four  classes.  These  were  (to  give 
them  in  the  order  of  their  superiority)  first,  permanent  anicuts  or 
head  sluices  on  the  main  rivers  and  tanks  directly  fed  by  channels 
led  therefrom ;  second,  channels  led  direct  from  the  main  rivers 
without  permanent  anicuts  or  head  sluices,  permanent  anicuts  on 
the  minor  rivers,  tanks  fed  directly  from  the  above,  and  spring 
channels  and  rain-fed  tanks  of  six  months'  capacity  and  upwards  ; 
third,  channels  from  minor  rivers  without  permanent  anicuts  and 
tanks  fed  by  them,  and  spring  channels  and  rain-fed  tanks  of  from 
three  to  six  months'  capacity  ;  and,  fourth,  other  rain-fed  tanks 
and  hill  and  jungle  streams.  Notice  was  given  that  on  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Periyar  Project  (pp.  126-130)  all  irrigation  affected 
thereby  would  be  included  in  the  first  group. 

In  some  districts  villages  are  classified,  for  the  purposes  of  dry 
assessment,  into  groups  in  accordance  with  their  facilities  for 
getting  their  produce  to  favourable  markets,  but  in  Madura  no 
distinction  of  this  kind  was  drawn. 

The  money  assessments  were  calculated  on  the  estimated  value 
of  the  calculated  outturn  of  standard  grains  on  wet  and  on  dry 
land.  For  wet  land,  paddy  was  taken  as  the  standard  grain  ;  the 
outturn  was  calculated  to  vary  from  1,000  to  400  Madras  measures 
per  acre ;  and  the  '  commutation  price/  fixed  for  commuting  the 
money  value  of  the  estimated  outturn  on  different  classes  of  soil, 
was  taken  at  Es.  123-8-0  per  Madras  garce  of  3,200  Madras  mea- 
sures— this  being  the  lowest  figure  touched  during  the  preceding 
twenty  non-famine  years  and  some  lis.  30  less  than  the  average 
price  for  those  years  (Rs.  17r35),  even  when  reduced  by  ten 
per  cent,  to  allow  for  the   difference  between  the  figure  obtainable 


LAND  REVENUE  ADMINISTBATION.  203 

by  tlie  ryot  and  that  commanded  by  the  merchant.     For  dry  land,     CHAP.  Xf. 
cholam  and  cambu,  each  in  the  proportion  of  a  half,  were  taken  as   The  existing 

•  S  L'  R  V  E  Y  AND 

the  standard  grains  ;  the  outturn  of  the  two  together  was  esti-  settlement, 
mated  to  vary  from  275  to  100  Madras  measures  per  acre  ;  and  the  18S5-fe9. 
commutation  price  of  the  two  was  taken  at  Rs.  108-8-0  per  Madras 
garce  — the  lowest  figure  reached  ia  the  preceding  twenty  non- 
famine  years,  and  a  value  much  less  than  the  average  for  such  years 
(Rs.  lG0"7o),  even  when  a  deduction  often  percent,  for  merchants' 
profits  had  been  made  tlierefrom. 

From  these  commutation  prices  the  gross  value  of  the  outturn 
on  an  acre  of  each  of  the  different  varieties  of  soil  was  calculated  ; 
from  this  a  deduction  of  one-fifth  was  made  to  compensate  for 
vicissitudes  of  season  and  the  inclusion  within  the  survey  fields 
of  unprofitable  patches,  such  as  paths,  banks  and  channels  ;  and 
a  further  deduction,  based  on  experiment  and  enquiry,  for  cultiva- 
tion expenses.  'J  he  remainder  was  assumed  to  be  the  net  yield 
per  acre  ;  and  one  half  of  this,  rounded  to  the  next  lowest  of 
the  standard  rates  of  assessment,  was  taken  to  be  the  value  of 
the  Government  share  of  the  crop  aud  the  money  assessment  per 
acre. 

The  rates  per  acre  so  arrived  at  for  wet  and  dry  land  respectively  Rates 

are   given    in  the   margin.     The   per-  prescribed. 
*^''  '^'  centage  of  each  class  of  land  ^vhich  i^ 

assessed  in  each  taluk  at  each  of  these 
rates  is  given  on  pp.  122  and  116,  and 
in  the  separate  Appendix  to  this  volume 
will  be  found  figures  showing  by  taluks 
the  actual  area  under  each  money  rate 
and  the  classes  and  sorts  of  soils  included 
under  each.  Less  than  one  per  cent,  of 
the  total  wet  area  of  the  district  is  charged  the  highest  rate,  and  only 
2  per  cent,  of  it  the  next  highest,  while  59  per  cent,  is  assessed  at 
either  Rs.  4-8-0  or  Rs.  3-8-0.  Of  the  total  dry  area,  less  than  thirty 
acres  is  similarly  charged  the  highest  dry  rate,  and  only  5  per  cent, 
the  next  highest,  while  64  per  cent,  is  assessed  at  either  Re.  1-4-0 
or  Re.  1 .  It  had  long  been  recognised  that  the  old  wet  assessments 
were  too  low  and  the  dry  rates  too  high.  This  was  sufticicntly 
evident  from  the  figures  of  occupation,  which  showed  that  while 
only  seven  per  cent,  of  the  assessed  wet  land  was  unoccupied,  the 
unoccupied  portion  of  the  assessed  dry  land  was  as  high  as  37  per 
cent.  The  Director  of  Revenue  Settlement  found  that  some  of  the 
most  fertile  wet  land  in  the  whole  of  the  Peri)  akulam  taluk  (then  the 
best  irrigated  in  the  district)  was  assessed  at  only  some  Es.  2  per 


KB. 

A. 

RS. 

A. 

8 

8 

3 

u 

7 

8 

2 

0 

6 

8 

1 

8 

5 

8 

1 

4 

4 

8 

1 

0 

3 

8 

0 

12 

2 

8 

0 

8 

2 

0 

0 

(5 

0 

4 

204 


MADURA. 


yUKVEy  AND 

Skxtlrmknt 
18S5-89. 


J'esultant 
effects. 


CHAP.  XI.  acre.  The  dry  land  was  accordingly  treated  with  especial  leniency, 
The  K.VI8TING  but  the  wet  rates  were  frequently  enhanced.  There  remained,  at 
the  time  of  the  settlement,  253,794  acres  of  dry  land  assessed  at 
Rs.  2,1  7,519  and  10,000  acres  of  wet  land  assessed  at  Its.  31,770 
which  was  still  unoccupied.  Most  of  the  latter  was  in  Madura 
and  Melur  taluks. 

The  figures  Lelow  give  nt  a  glance  the  general  eifect  of  the 
survey  and  settlement  on  wot  and  dry  land  respectively  ;  namely, 
tlie  increase  in  the  cultivated  area  in  each  taluk  disclosed  by  tlio 
survey,  and  the  onhaucement  or  redaction  of  the  assessment  brought 
about  by  the  settlement.  It  should  however  be  noted  that  the 
figures  for  Palni,  Dindigul  and  Periyakulam  compare  the  old  wet 
assessment,  which  was  a  consolidated  rate  on  the  two  crops,  with 
the  settlement  assessment  on  a  single  crop.  If  the  compulsorily 
registered  aid  compounded  second-crop  charges  and  the  additional 
assessment  levied  whore  second  crops  were  growi'  are  taken  into 
account,  the  increase  will  be  larger  : — 


Taluk. 

Wet  laud. 

Dry  land. 

Peroentagf  difference 
in 

Percentage  difference 
in 

Extent. 

Assess- 
ment. 

Extent. 

Assess- 
ment. 

Dindigul  

Madura     ... 

M6ldr        

Palni         

Periyakulam 

Tirninangalaiii 

District  Total     ... 

+    10 
+      9 
+    15 
+      5 
+      3 
+      8 

+    12 

+    10 
+    11 
-     7 
+      4 
+    10 

4-      9 
+      7 
+   12 
+     7 
+     8 
+      3 

-  6 

-  18 

-  20 

-  li 

-  5 

-  7 

-  9-5 

+  9-3 

+  7-7 

+  7-5 

It  will  be  seen  that  though  the  survey  showed  that  the  irrigated 
area  in  occupation  was  9"3  per  cent,  more  than  was  entered  in  the 
accounts,  the  settlement  only  increased  the  assessment  on  it  by  7' 7 
per  cent.  ;  and  whereas  the  survey  showed  the  similar  excess  in  the 
dry  land  in  occupation  to  be  7*5  per  cent.,  the  settlement  brought 
about  a  decrease  of  no  less  than  9'5  per  cent,  in  the  amount 
charged  on  this.  Taking  both  wet  and  dry  land  together,  the 
survey  disclosed  an  increase  of  8  per  cent,  in  the  occupied  area, 
while  the  settlement  resulted  in  a  net  decrease  of  2 ^  per  cent,  in  the 
assessment,  or,  including  the  charge  for  second  crop,  an  increase 
of  "45  per  cent.  The  settlement  cannot  therefore  be  said  to  Have 
"(ieftlt  harshly  with  the  Madura  ryot, 


LAND    REVENUE    AD.MINISTIIATION.  205 

The  pill avari  tax  already  referred  to,  wliicli  was  a  light  assess-    CHAP.  XI. 
ment  collected  in  tlie  Paliii  and  Dindigul  taluks  on  land   used  for  Tife  rxishnq 
pasturage,  was  discontinued  after  the  settlement.^  buRVKv  a.n-o 

The  settlement  of  the  villages  on  tlie  Palni  hills,  which  were       18S5-89. 
sixteen  in  number  (six  on  the  Upper  Palnis,  and  ten  on  the  Lower),   St-ttiement  of 
covering  an  area  of  410  square  miles  and  containing  18,000  souls,   l"'l  villages. 
was    separately    undertaken   in    the    latter   half   of    189-3.     Tliese 
villages,  as  has  already  (p.  188)  been  stated,  were  not  included  in 
Mr.   Hurdis'   original   settlement.     Besides  the  ponikddu  already 
referred  to,  which  was  a  customary  rent  on  patches  in  the  hills  whicli 
were  cultivated  with  hoes,  a  tax  of  from  Rs.  3  to  Rs.  9  was  at  one 
time  charged  on  each  plough  kept  tliere  and  another  of  from  As.  8 
to  Rs.  8  on  every  hatchet.     'Paxes  on  wild  honey,  dammar,  ginger 
and  other  jungle  products  collected  were  also  levied.   In  Mr.  Ilurdis' 
time  and  for  many   years  afterwards,  the  Iiill  villages  were  farmed 
to  renters   who  lived  on  the   jUains  and  only  occasionally  visited 
their  farms,     'I'he  villagers  repeatedly  re})resented   the  intolerable 
exactions  of  these  men  (and  of  the  mannddh-,  or  headmen  of  hill 
villages,  who  afterwards  were  made  the  renters  in  some  cases)  and 
at  length,  in  1837,   karnams  were   appointed  in   each  village  to 
enquire  into  the  modes  of  taxation  in  vogue  and  the  methods  of 
the  renters.     In  1842,  on  the  representations  of  Mr.   Blackburne, 
the  then   Collector,  the  farming  out  was  formally  abandoned  in 
favour  of  the  ryotwari  system,  and  the  land  vvas  taxed,  as   else- 
where,   according   as   it    was    dry   or  wet.=     At  the  time  of  the 
settlement,  of  the  total  occupied  area,  4  per  cent,  was  dry  and  15 
per  cent,  wet  in  the  Upper  Palni  villages,  and  78  per  cent,  dry  and 
8  per  cent,  wet  in  those  in  the   Lower  Palnis.     The  old  rates  of 
assessment  had  varied  from  Rs.  3-9-9  (for  plantains)  to  Re.  0-5-9 
on  dry  land,  and  from  Rs.  3-9-9  (again  for  plantains)  to  Re. 
1-4-8  on  wet.     The  new  rates  ranged  respectively  from  Rs.  2  to 
As.  4  and  from  Rs.  5-8-0  to  Rs.  2.     The  survey  disclosed  an 
increase  in  the  dry  land  of  38  per  cent,  and  the  settlement  imposed  an 
enhancement  of  25  per  cent,  in  the  assessment.     In  the  case  of 
wet  land  the  corresponding  figures  were  25  and  148.     The  old  wet 
rates  were  admitted  on  all  hands  to  have  been   much  too   low.     In 
calculating  the  assessments  the  same    standard    grains   and   the 
same  commutation    prices  were    taken   as  on    tlie  plains.     All  tlie 
irrigation  sources  were  placed  in  the  fourth  class,  as  they  had  all 
been  made  by  the  ryots  themselves. 

'  A  liistory  of  tbi3  impost  will  be  found  in  the  papers  read  in  13.  P.  Xo.  13G2, 
Revenue,  dated  l(5th  .June  18S6. 

*  For  further  particulars,  see  tlie  iuleresting  report  of  Mr.  Clarke,  tlio  Sub- 
Collector,  dated  10th  May  1853. 


203  MADUEA. 

CHAP.  XT.  j'J'G  inanis  of  Madura  are  not  of  particular  interest.     As  Kas 

iNAMs.        already  Leen    seen,   the    poligars    and  karnams    more  than   once 

endeavoured,  when  the  district  was  first  taken  over  by  the  British, 

to  get  the  best  fields  into  their  possession  by  showing  them  in  the 

accounts  as   inams.     On  receipt  of   the   report   of   the    Dindigul 

Commission  of   179G,   Government  passed  the   very  liberal  order 

that  every  inamdar  who  was  in  actual  legal  possession  at  the  time 

when   the   British   arrived  should   be   confirmed,  and  that  any  of 

them  who  were  denied  confirmation   under  this   rule   should  be 

given  a  money  allowance  for  life.     Mr.  Hurdis  made  enquiries  into 

most  of  the  inams  and  compiled  a  list   of  them.     Those  which  he 

proposed  to  confirm  amounted  in  extent  to  rather  more  than  three 

per  cent,  of  the  whole  cultivable  area  of  the  Government  lands  and 

were  mostly   granted    for   religious    purposes.     He    proposed   to 

resume  '  those  given   by  the    heads  of   villages,   or   by   amildars 

and  renters  to  dancing -girls,  poets,    musicians,   heroes  and  others 

contributing  to  the  pleasure  of  their  immediate  employers.' 

The  inam  settlement  was  based  on  his  accounts   offaslil21l 

and  on  two  other  sets  of  faslis  1217  and  1222,  and  proceeded  on 

the  usual  lines.     Details   of  the   grants  then  in  existence  will  be 

found  in  the  Inam   Commissioner's  letter  read  in  G.O.,    No.  545, 

Revenue,  dated  19th  March  1863. 

p]xi8TixG  In  1^60,  in  consequence  of  Mr.  Felly's  scheme  for  the  reorga- 

Divisional    nization  of  the   village   establishments,  the  taluks  of  the   district 
Charges.  ,        ,  ,  -, 

were  re-named  and  re-arranged  as  under  :  — 

Former  taluks.  ^ew  taluks. 

Tadikkombu.  \  -^.    ^.     . 

Nilakk6ttai.     1  Dindigul. 

Madakkulam.  Madura. 

Melur.  M^liir. 

Aiyamj)alle.  Palni. 

Tenkarai.  Periyakulam. 

Tirumangalam.  Tirumangalam, 

On  the  17th  October  1861  a  sub-magistrate  was  first  appointed 
at  Kodaikanal,  but  revenue  jurisdiction  over  the  Palni  Hills 
remained  unchanged,  and  they  continued  to  be  included  partly  in 
Periyakulam,  and  partly  in  Palni,  taluk. 

In  1881)  the  existing  Kodaikanal  taluk  was  formed  and  a 
deputy  tahsildar  was  appointed  to  the  charge  of  it.  Besides  this 
officer  and  the  tahsildars  of  the  other  seven  taluks,  there  are 
deputy  tahsildars  at  Vedasandur  in  Dindigul  taluk,  at  Uttamapa- 
laiyam  in  Periyakulam,  at  Usilampatti  in  Tirumangalam  and  two 
(one  sanctioned  temporarily  in  1904  for  two  years)  in  Madura 
town. 


LAND   REVENUE    ADMINISTRATION.  207 

The   existing    divisional    cliarges    are    as    under:    Dindigul,    CHAP.  XI. 
Kodaikanal,  Palni  and   Periyakulam  taluks   are   under  the  care  of      i^xisting 
the  Divisional  Officer  of  Dindigul ;  Madura  and  Melur  are  under  the     ^',^1^^'°^'^^ 

Madura  (or    Head-quarter)    Deputj  Collector,   who  also  does   the  - '. 

magisterial  work  arising  in  Madura  town  ;  and  Nilakkottai  and 
Tiruraangalam  are  in  charge  of  tlie  Tirumangalara  division  Deputy 
Collector. 

In  1903  an  additional  Sub-Collector  and  Joint  Magistrate  was 
appointed  temporarily  to  assist  the  Collector  and  District  Magis- 
trate, who  was  greatly  overworked,  and  his  appointment  still 
continues. 

A  special  Deputy  Collector  is  engaged  in  tlie  introduction  of 
the  Proprietary  Estates  Village  Service  Act  in  the  whole  inam  and 
zamin  villages  in  the  district,  and  another  in  attending  to  various 
matters  connected  with  the  introduction  of  the  Periyar  water,  such 
as  the  sale  of  land  commanded  by  the  Project,  the  levy  of  water- 
rate  on  inam  and  zamin  land,  the  acquisition  of  land  for  the  series 
of  cross-roads  which  are  being  made  in  the  Periyar  area  and 
so  forth. 


208 


^1ADURA, 


CTfAP.  XI. 


AFPENBIX. 


Lid  of  CoUtciors. 


Date  of  taking 
charge. 


Names. 


6  Sept. 
13  May 
27  Dec. 


neo. 

1704. 
1794. 


22  June        17?U. 


Seijt. 

Dec. 
Ife  March 
IS  Jim. 
17  May 
9  A.ig. 
10  Sept. 
15  Jan. 
15  Feb. 
20  Doc. 

23  Jan. 
30  April 
17  Feb. 

13  March 

14  Oct. 
8  Nov. 

20  Dec. 
19  April 

4  May 
27  June 
27  July 

1  April 
13  July 

7  July 

7  Aug. 

24  Aui<. 
23  Oct. 

1  A  pril 

8  Oct. 
ir,  Oct. 
22  Oct. 

21  Oct. 
11  Nov. 

9  Jlarch 

7  April 

8  Nov. 
19  Nov. 
17  March 

May 
Jan. 
A  pril 
Jan. 
April 
13  Mny 
13  Aug. 

7  Jan. 

8  April 

2  July 


1796. 
1803. 
1812. 
1815. 
1815. 
1828. 
1828. 
]  830. 
1 830. 
1831. 
1832. 
1833. 
1834. 
1834. 
183G. 
183G. 
1842. 
1843. 
1843. 
1843. 
1843. 
1847. 
1847. 
1852. 
1852. 
1852. 
18-2. 
1853. 
IS'53. 
1 856. 
lS.-)6. 
1857. 
1857. 
1858 
]  858 
1858. 
1858. 

1 860. 
1860. 

186 1. 
1 864. 
1867. 
1867. 
1868. 
1868. 
1869. 
1870. 
1870. 


Mr.  Alexander  McLeod,  Principal  Collector. 
Mr.  John  Wrangham,  Acting  Collector. 
Mr.  George  Wynch,  Principil  Collector. 

f  ^n""-  .^•^"w'?tv^^'''i^T°"'^       1  Acting  Collectors. 
\  Captain  William  McLeod,      J  " 

Mr.  Thomas  Bowyer  Burdis,  Principal  Collector. 

Mr.  George  Parish,  Piincipal  Collector. 

Mr.  Rous  Peter,  Principal  Collector. 

Mr.  George  Cherr3^  Acting  Collect -'r. 

Mr.  Rons  Peter,  Principal  Collector. 

Mr.  Jonathan  Gleig  (Sub-Collector  in  chai-ge). 

Mr.  Henry  Viveash,  Principal  Collector. 

Mr.  Henry  Morris  (Sub-Collector  in  charge). 

Mr.  Henry  Viveash,  Principal  Collector. 

Mr.  .John  Chardin  Wroughton  (Sab-CoUe-'-tor  in  charge). 

Mr.  Henry  Viveash,  Principal  Collector. 

Mr.  John  Chardin  Wroughton,  Acting  Collector. 

Mr.  John  Blackburne,  Acting  Collector. 

Mr.  John  Blackburne,  Priocipal  Collector. 

Mr.  Robert  Davidson  (Sub-Collector  in  charge). 

Mr.  John  Blackburne,  Principal  Collector. 

Mr.  George  Dominico  Drury  (Commissioner  in  charge). 

Mr.  William  Elliott  (Sab-Collector  in  charge). 

Mr.  William  A.  Mcn-ehead,  Acting  Collector. 

Mr.  William  Elliott  (Sub-Collector  in  charge). 

Mr.  John  Blackburne,  Principal  Collector. 

Mr.  Robert  Deane  Parker,  Acting  Collector. 

Mr.  Robert  Deane  Parker,  Collector. 

Mr.  Thomas  Clarke  (Sub-Collector  in  charge). 

Mr.  Robert  Deane  Parker,  Collector. 

Mr.  Thomas  Clarke  (Sub-Collector  in  charge). 

Jtr.  Robert  Deane  Parker,  Collector. 

Mr.  Thomas  Clarkf,  Acting  Collector. 

Mr.  Robert  Peane  Parker.  Collector. 

Mr.  John  Rennie  Cockerell  (Sub-Collector  in  charge). 

Mr.  Richard  .lames  Sullivan,  Acting  Collector. 

Mr.  John  Rennie  Cockerell  (Sub-Collector  in  charge). 

Mr.  Arthur  Hathaway,  Actinr  Collector. 

Mr.  Robert  D<'ane  Parker,  Collector. 

Mr.  Arthur  Hathaway,  Acting  Collector. 

Mr.  Artliur  Pemberton  Hodgson  (Sub-Collector  in  charge). 

Mr.  Thomas  Clarke,  Collector. 

Mr.  Charles  Herbert  Ames  (Sub-Collector  in  charge'. 

Mr.  Vere  Henry  jjcvinge.  Collector. 

Mr.  jEneas  Ranold  McDonell,  Acting  Collector 

Mr.  "Vere  Henry  Jjevinpce,  Collector. 

The  Honourable  David  Arbnthnott,  Acting  Collector. 

The  Honourable  David  Arbuthnott,  Collector. 

Mr.  John  Robert  Arbuthnott,  Acting  Collector. 

The  Honourable  David  Arbuthnott,  Collector. 

Mr.  John  Robert  Arbuthnott,  Aetinp;  Collector. 

Mr.  Henry  William  Bliss,  Acting  Collector. 

The  Honourable  David  Arbuthnott,  Collector. 


LAND   REVENUE   ADMINISTRATION. 


209 


List  of  Collectors — cont, 


Date  of  taking: 

Kanios. 

chu-go. 

12  May 

isri. 

Mr.  William  ^rcQuhao,  Actmg:  Collector. 

1 

G  M^y 

1^72. 

'Slv.  William  I\[cQuhae,  Colcctor. 

2  Sept. 

1873. 

Mr.  Henry  William  Dliss,  Actin<,'  Collector. 

16  Nov. 

1873. 

Mr.  William  McQuhae,  Collector. 

5  Sept. 

1874. 

Mr.  Ileni-y  William  IJIiss,  Acting  Collector. 

5  Oct. 

1874. 

Mr.  Willi'im  McQahae,  Collector. 

16  Sept. 

1875. 

Mr.  Henry  William  Bliss,  Acting  Collector. 

3  Sept. 

1876. 

Mr.  Jeremiah  Garnet  Ilorsi'all,  Acting  Collector. 

11  Dec. 

1876. 

Mr.  William  McQuhao,  Collector. 

24,  Nov. 

1877. 

Mr.  Ileary  John  Stokes,  Acting  Collector. 

30  St'pt. 

1878. 

Mr.  Charles  William  Wall  Moitiii,  Acting  Collector, 

16  April 

1879. 

Mr.  Uenry  John  Stol<es,  Acting  Collector. 

18  June 

1879. 

Mr.  Charles  Kough  (Acting  Sub-Collector  in  cliarge). 

24  June 

1879. 

Mr.  Henry  John  Stokes,  Collector. 

13  March 

18S1. 

Mr.  Charles  Kough,  Acting  Collector. 

13  Juno 

1881. 

Mr.  Henry  John  Stokes,  Collector. 

26  March 

1882. 

Mr.  Charles  Stewart  Crole,  Acting  Collector. 

21  Nov. 

1883. 

Mr.  Charles  Stewart  Crole,  Collector. 

11  Jan. 

1885. 

Mr.  Charles  Kough,  Acting  Collector. 

5  YeK 

1885. 

:\rr.  Charles  Stewart  Crole,  Collector. 

4  Jan. 

1886. 

Mr-  Edward  Turner,  Collector* 

23  July 

1889. 

Mr.  William  Henry  Welsh,  Acting  Collector. 

23  Oct. 

1889. 

Mr.  Edward  Turner,  Collector. 

15  I\rarch 

1891. 

Mr.  Kaaachaudra  Rao,  Acting  Collector. 

4  April 

1891. 

Mr.  Sydenham  Henry  Wynne,  Acting  Collector. 

5  March 

1892. 

Mr.  Charles  James  Weir,  Acting  Collector. 

28  March 

1892. 

Mr.  Edward  Turner,  Collector. 

28  .April 

1894. 

Mr.  Leslie  Creery  Miller,  Acting  Collector. 

1  Feb. 

1895. 

Mr.  JohnTwigy,  Collector. 

3  Jan. 

1898. 

Mr.  John  George  Denman  Partridge,  Acting  Collector. 

2  Nov. 

1898. 

Mr.  Charles  James  Weir,  Acting  Collector. 

30  Jan. 

1899. 

Mr.  John  Ccorge  Deninan  PRrtiidge,  Acting  Collector. 

14  Awj^. 

1899. 

.Mr.  Llewellyn  Eddison  Buckley,  Acting  Collector. 

15  Nov. 

1899. 

Mr.  John  George  Denman  Partridge,  Acting  Collector. 

16  Julv 

1 900. 

Mr.  John  Arthur  Cumminir,  Acting  Collector. 

3  Oct. 

1901. 

Mr.  Alexander  Gordon  Cardew,  Collector. 

3  Feb. 

1903. 

Mr.  Charles  George  Tofihunter,  Acting  Collector. 

3  Dec. 

1903. 

Mr.  iNLathew  Young,  Acting  Collector. 

25  Doc. 

190;}. 

Mr.  Arthur  Rowland  Knapji,  A.eting  Collector. 

30  Oct. 

1D04. 

Mr.  James  Perch  Bedford,  Acting  Collector. 

11  Nov. 

1905. 

Mr.  Edward  Libouchere  Thornton,  Acting  Collector. 

CHAP.  XT, 
Appexpix 


%1 


210 


WADURA. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
SALT,  ABKAEI  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  EEYENUE, 


CHAP.  XII. 
Salt. 


Earth-salt. 


Saltpetre. 


SaI-T— Earth-salt— Saltpetre.    Abkari  and  Opium— Arrack—  Foreijjn  liquor — 
Toddy— Opinm  and  hemp-dru^s.    Income-tax.     Stamps. 

The  salt  consumed  in  Madura  comes  chiefly  from  tlie  factories 
in  the  Tinnevelly  district.  The  lighter  Bombay  product  has 
not  so  far  entered  into  competition  with  this.  The  fact  that  the 
frontiers  of  Pudukkottai  and  Travancore  States  both  march  in 
places  with  those  of  Madura  occasions  no  difficulty  in  the  main- 
tenance of  the  Government  monopoly,  for  the  Durbar  of  the 
former  State  consented  in  1887  to  entirely  prohibit  the  manufac- 
ture of  salt  and  salt-earth  within  its  limits  on  condition  of 
receiving  from  the  British  Government  an  annual  compensation  of 
Rs.  38,000 ;  while  that  of  the  latter  agreed,  by  a  Convention  of 
1865,  to  adopt  within  the  State  the  British  Indian  selling  price. 
In  the  one  case,  therefore,  there  is  no  salt  to  smuggle  across  the 
frontier  into  Madura,  and  in  the  other  there  is  no  inducement  to 
smuggle  it. 

Earth-salt  has  never  been  largely  manufactured  illicitly  in  any 
part  of  Madura  except  INIelur  taluk,  where  alone  salt-earth  occurs 
with  any  frequency.  In  this  area,  liowever,  the  temptation  to 
make  it  is  considerable,  as  there  are  many  places  on  the  numerous 
rocky  hills  which  serve  as  admirable  evaporating-pans  and  tha 
local  salt-eartli  makes  very  pure  and  white  salt.  Formerly  the 
Kalians  and  Valaiyans  of  this  part  regularly  made  this  ilKcit 
product,  and  murderous  affrays  occurred  in  consequence  between 
them  and  the  Police  ;  and  only  a  few  years  ago  some  70  cases  of 
illicit  manufacture  were  detected  in  and  about  the  one  village  of 
K  araiyapatti,  about  eight  miles  north-west  of  Melur. 

The  process  of  manufacture  was  tlie  same  as  elsewhere,  the 
salt-earth  being  placed  in  a  chatti  in  the  bottom  of  which  was  a 
small  hole  plugged  with  a  bit  of  rag.  Water  was  then  stirred 
with  it,  and  the  brine  so  formed  filtered  through  the  hole  into  a 
smaller  pot  placed  beneath,  and  was  eventually  evaporated  in  the 
sun  in  shallow  pans  made  on  the  rocks. 

Saltpetre  is  only  refined  at  one  place  in  the  district  (a  factory 
owned  by  a  Sh^nan  at  Kusavapalaiyam,  a  hamlet  of  Anuppanadi, 


SALT,   ABKAia    AND    MISCELLANEOUS   REVENUE.  211 

just  south  of  Madura   town)  and   operations  tlierc  are  on  a  small    CH  iP.  XII. 
scale,  less  than  500  maunds  being   made   in  the   latest  year  for         Salt. 
which  figures  are  available. 

Hound  about  Palni  and  Ayakkudi  a  good  deal  of  crude  salt- 
petre is  made  by  the  ordinary  process  of  lixiviating  the  alkaline 
efflorescence  of  the  soil,  and  this  is  sent  to  be  refined  at  Dhara- 
puram  in  the  Coimbatore  district,  whence  a  good  deal  of  it  is 
ultimately  exported  to  the  Nilgiris  to  be  used  as  a  manure  on  the 
coffee-estates  there. 

The  abkdri  revenue  of  the  district  consists  of  that  derived  from    AbkXri  and 
arrack,  foreign  liquor,  toddy  and  hemp-drugs.     Statistics  regarding        '^^^^'  ^- 
each  of  these  items,  and  also  concerning  opium,  will  be  found  in  the 
separate  Appendix  to  this  Gazetteer. 

The  arrack  revenue  is  managed  under  what  is  known  as  the  Arrack, 
contract  distillery  supply  system,  under  which  the  exclusive 
privilege  of  manufacture  and  supply  of  country  spirits  throughout 
the  district  is  disposed  of  by  tender,  and  the  right  to  open  retail 
shops  is  sold  annually  by  auction.  The  successful  tenderer  at 
present  is  M.H.Ey.  T.  Ratnasvami  Nadar,  who  makes  the  arrack 
from  palmyra  jaggery  at  his  distillery  at  Tachanallur  iu  Tinnevelly 
and  supplies  the  district  from  a  warehouse  in  Madura  town. 

No  difficulties  occur  with  Pudukkottai  State.  The  arrack 
made  in  the  distillery  there  is  about  the  same  strength  as  the 
Tachanallur  brand,  and  the  duty  levied  is  nearly  as  high  as  in 
British  territory  ;  so  prices  on  both  sides  of  the  frontier  are  fairly 
equal.  The  case  of  Travancore  is  less  simple,  but  the  existing 
rate  of  duty  on  this  side  of  the  boundary  is  not  high  enough  to 
encourage  smuggling. 

The  supply  of  foreign  liquor  is  controlled  in  the  usual  manner,  Poroio-n 
licenses  to  vend  wholesale  or  retail  being  issued  on  payment  of  the  li(|iior. 
prescribed  fees.  This  liquor  all  comes  from  Madras.  It  appears 
to  be  growing  in  popularity  with  the  richer  of  those  classes  which 
are  not  prohibited  by  caste  custom  from  touching  strong  waters, 
and  to  be  in  some  degree  ousting  the  cheaper  but  harsher  country 
spirit. 

Since  October  181)5  the  toddy  revenue  has  been  managed  on  Toddy,  ") 
the  tree-tax  system,  under  which  a  tax  is  levied  on  every  tree 
tapped  and  the  right  to  open  retail  shops  is  sold  annually  by 
auction.  The  toddy  is  obtained  chielly  from  cocoanut,  but  to 
some  extent  from  palmyra,  palms.  The  number  of  the  former 
tapped  is  eight  or  ton  times  as  many  as  that  of  the  latter.  Date 
trees  are  never  utilised,  nor,  except  here  and  there  in  the  Lower 
Palnis,  are  sago  palms.     Cocoanut  and  palmyra  toddy  are  never 


212  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XII.    blended  in   the    sliops,  but  are   sold   separately,   some   consumers 
AbkXri  and    preferring  one,  and  some  the  otlier.     The  best  cocoanut  palms  are 
Opiuji.        tliose   in  tlie    neig-libourhood    of   Madura    town,    and    along    the 
banks  of  the  Yaigai,  and  toddy  is  sent  from  these,  in  casks  by  rail 
and  road,  as  far  asMelurinthe  north-east,  Ramnad  in  the  south- 
east and  Virudupatti  in  the  south-west. 

The  toddy-drawers  are  all  Shanans  by  caste,  and  their  methods 
do  not  differ  from  the  ordinary.  They  employ  Pallans,  I'araiyans 
and  other  low  castes  to  help  them  transport  the  li(]uor,  but 
Musalmans  and  Brahmans  have  in  several  cases  sufficiently  set 
aside  the  scruples  enjoined  by  their  respective  faiths  against 
dealings  in  potent  liquors  to  own  retail  shopo  and  (in  the  case 
of  some  ivlusalmans,  at  least)  to  servo  their  customers  witli  tlieir 
own  hands. 

Toddy  shops  sometimes  proclaim  their  presence  by  a  sign 
consisting  of  the  small  earthen  pot  which  is  specially  used  for 
toddy  inverted  on  a  long  stick,  v.'hile  arrack  shops  similarly 
disi^lay  a  glass  bottle. 

No  smuggling  appears  to  take  place  from  Pudukkottai  or 
Travancore  States.  The  former  has  adopted  tlie  tree-tax  system 
and  the  selling  price  of  toddy  differs  but  little  on  the  two  sides 
of  the  frontier.  The  boundary  of  tho  latter,  where  it  adjoins 
Madura,  consists  of  a  high  range  of  hills  on  which  toddy- 
proclucing-  trees  do  not  grow  and  across  which  it  would  be  a 
difficult  matter  to  smuggle  a  drink  which  keeps  good  for  so  short 
a  time. 

The  consumption  of  toddy  is  usually  heaviest  at  the  periods  of 
the  year  when  paddy  seedlings  are  transplanted  into  the  fields 
and  when  the  paddy  harvest  is  reaped.  The  cooly  classes,  the 
chief  consumers  of  this  drink,  have  money  in  their  pockets  at 
those  seasons  and  moreover  are  so  continuously  at  work  that  they 
require  a  pick-me-up  in  the  evening.  Judged  from  the  official 
statistics  of  the  incidence  of  the  revenue  therefrom  per  head  of 
the  population,  the  consumption  of  toddy  in  Madura  is  compara- 
tively small,  and  the  similar  incidence  of  the  revenue  from  toddy 
and  arrack  together  is  lower  in  this  district  than  in  any  other  in 
the  £outh  except  Tinnevelly. 

A  little  sweet  toddy  and  some  palmy i a  jaggery  is  made  at 
Paganattam  and   Nallur  in  tlie  Dindigul  taluk  and  at   Saadaiyur 
in   Tiramangalam,  where   palmyra  trees  are  plentiful,  but   practi- 
cally nowhere  else. 
Opium  and  The   sale  of  opium,   ganja  and  poj)py  heads  is  controlled  on 

einp-arugi-,     ^^^  usual  system. 


SALT,    AliKAKl    AND    MISCELLANEOUS    EEVKXTE.  213 

Opium  is  supplied  from  tlie   Madras   storehouse,  bliang  from    CHAP.  XII. 
the  storehouse   at  Daggupad  in  the   Guntiir  district  and  ganja    AuKifKi  and 

from  this  latter  and  that  at   Kaniyambadi  in  Nortli  Arcot,  where ' 

the  crop  from  the  Javadi  hills  is  kept.  Tlie  consumption  of  ganja 
in  the  district  is  considerable,  owing  cluefl}'  to  the  number  of 
north-countrj  boirdgU  (who  arc  greatly  addicted  to  it)  who  pass 
through  on  their  way  to  tlie  sacred  shrines  at  Madura,  Palni  and 
Eamesvaram.  Neither  Pudukkottai  nor  Travancore  produce 
either  opium  or  hemp-drugs,  and  they  arc  supplied  with  both 
from  the  British  storehouses.  Consequently  no  difficulties  about 
smuggling  arise. 

Income-tax  is  levied  and  collected  in  the  usual  manner ;  Income-tax. 
statistics  will  be  found  in  tlio  separate  Appendix  to  this  volume. 
Including  tlie  zamindaris  of  Eamnad  and  Sivaganga  (separate 
figures  are  not  available  for  the  other  taluks  by  themselves)  the 
incidence  of  the  tax  per  head  of  the  population  and  per  liead  of  the 
tax-payers  both  in  the  triennium  ending  with  1901-02  and  in  that 
ending  with  1904-05  was  higher  in  Madura  than  in  any  other 
district  in  tiie  Presidency  but  the  Nilgiris  and  the  Presidency  town, 
tlie  circumstances  of  both  of  which  are  exceptional.  This,  however, 
is  largely  due  to  the  presence^  in  the  Tiruppattur  and  Tiruvadanai 
divisions  of  Sivaganga,  of  large  numbers  of  the  wealthy  Ndttukottai 
Chettis.  A  special  Deputy  Collector  has  recently  been  appointed 
to  relieve  the  deputy  tahsildars  and  the  Divisional  Officer  of  the 
licavy  work  connected  with  the  assessment  to  the  tax  of  tliesc 
pjeople,  whose  accounts  and  methods  of  business  are  complicated 
and  who  trade  all  over  India,  Burma,  Ceylon  and  the  Straits  Scttle- 
^nents.  The  collection  of  the  tax  under  Part  II  of  the  Act  (profits 
of  Companies)  is  increased  by  the  existence  in  the  district  of  a 
large  number  of  '  Elanidhis,'  or  auction  chit  associations. 

Botli  judicial  and  non- judicial  stamps  are  sold  on  the  system  Stamps. 
usual  elsewhere  :  statistics  of  the  receipts  will  be  found  in  the 
separate  Appendix.  The  amount  of  the  revenue  from  stamps  in 
a  district  has  with  justice  been  held  to  be  an  index  to  its  prosperity, 
and  judged  by  this  criterion  Madura  is  a  wealthy  tract ;  for  (includ- 
ing again  the  Ramnad  and  Sivaganga  zauiindaris)  the  receipts 
within  it  from  the  sale  of  judicial  stamps  in  tlie  latest  year  for 
which  figures  are  available  were  higher  than  in  any  other  district 
in  the  Presidency  except  Tanjore  and  Malabar,  and  those  from 
non-judicial  stamps  were  in  excess  of  tlie  figures  of  any  district 
excepting  Malabar. 


214  MADUEA. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
ADMINISTRATION  OF  JUSTICE. 


FoRMKR  Courts.  Civil  Justice — Existing  courts —Amount  of  litigatiou  — 
Registration.  Criminal  Justice — The  various  tribunals— Ciime — Criminal 
castes.  Police — Previous  systems — The  existing  force.  Jails.  Appendix, 
List  of  Judges. 

CHAP.  XIII.  In  tlie  days  before  the  Company  acquired  tlie  district,  there  were 

Former       no  reerular  courts,   either  civil  or  criminaL     In  the  time   of  the 
Courts, 
' '       Nayakkans  the  poligars  to  wliom  (see  below)  the  responsibility  for 

the  suppression  of  crime  within  their  estates  had  been  delegated 
administered  criminal  justice  in  a  rough  and  ready  way  and  also 
constituted  the  only  civil  tribunal  available  in  rural  parts.  Suits 
were  also  settled  by  arbitration,  by  the  intervention  of  the  friends 
of  both  parties,  by  ordeals  by  fire,  oil  and  water,  or  by  one  of  the 
sides  swearing  to  the  truth  of  his  case  before  the  god  of  some 
temple.  The  Nayakkans  appear,  from  native  MSS.,  to  have  them- 
selves held  a  kind  of  court  at  their  capital  in  which  quarrels  were 
settled,  with  the  aid  of  learned  Brdhman  assessors,  as  far  as 
possible  in  accordance  with  the  known  customs  of  the  caste  or  castes 
concerned.  Thus  it  is  recorded  that  the  king  decided  a  dispute 
between  the  Sedan  weavers  and  another  caste  as  to  which  of  them 
was  entitled  to  precedence  in  receiving  betel  on  public  occasions, 
and  settled  a  quarrel  between  the  Saivites  and  the  Yaishnavites 
regarding  the  placing  of  a  certain  image  in  the  Piidu  mantapam 
at  Madura. 
Civil  Under  the  Muhammadan  governors  who  followed  the  Ndyakkans, 

Justice.  matters  were  apparently  managed  on  an  even  more  casual  system. 
For  some  time,  too,  after  the  British  acquired  the  country  there 
were  no  regular  courts.  Rebels  and  freebooters  seem  to  have  been 
dealt  with  by  martial  law,  and  other  criminals  were  punished  by  the 
Collector,  who  also  settled  such  civil  cases  as  were  brought  before 
him.  By  the  Regulations  of  1802  which  introduced  Lord 
Cornwallis'  judicial  system  into  Madras,  the  first  Zilla  Court  was 
established  at  Ramnad  and  the  Collector's  judicial  powers  were 
abolished.  In  the  Appendix  to  this  chapter  w^ill  be  found  a  list 
of  the  Judges  w^ho  thenceforward  administered  justice  in  the 
district.  Appeals  from  the  Zilla  Court  lay  to  the  Provincial  Court 
at  Trichinopoly.  The  former  was  soon  moved  from  Ramnad  to 
Madura.  Subsequent  changes  in  the  judicial  system  were  the 
Sftine  in  principle  ae  el&ewherC;  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  trace 


AT>MTNISTRAT10N   OF   JUSTICE.  215 

tliem  in  detail.     In  1816  district  munsifs  were  established  in  a  CIIAP.  XIIT. 
few  places  under  Regulation  VI  of   that  year.     Act  VII   of  1843        Civir. 
effected  important  alterations  in  the  sj^'stem,  the  Provincial  Courts         usnr. . 
of  Appeal  beino-  abolished  and  new  Zilla  Courts  established  with 
far  wider  powers  than  tlieir  predecessors.     The  existino-  District 
and  Sessions  Court  was  established  by  the  Act  of  1873. 

Besides  this  last  tribunal  there  are  in  the  district  two  Sub-Courts,  Existing/ 
those  of  Madura  (East)  and  Madura  (West),  the  usual  district  and  courts, 
village  munsifs  J  and  revenue  courts  for  the  trial  of  suits  under  the 
tenancy  law,  Act  VIII  of  1865. 

The  district  munsifs  are  four  in  number;  namely,  those  of 
Dindigul,  Madura,  Periyakulam  and  Tirumangalam. 

More  village  munsifs  hear  civil  cases  in  Madura  than  in  any 
other  district,  and  the  Bench  Courts  established  in  1895  under  Act 
I  of  1889  at  the  various  taluk  head-quarters  also  try  more  suits 
than  the  similar  bodies  in  any  other  Collectorate. 

!Madura  is  one  of  the  most  litigious  areas  in  the  Presidency.  Amount  of 
Including  the   Eamnad  and  Sivaganga   zamindaris,  the  ratio  of  ^it^i^ation. 
suits  to  population  is  higher  in  this  district  than  anj^iere  else 
except  Tanjore,  Malabar  and  Tinnevelly. 

The  registration  of  assurances  is  effected  in  the  usual  manner.  Registration. 
A  District  Eegistrar  is  located  at  Madura  and  there  are  eighteen 
sub -registrars.  The  latter  are  stationed  at  the  eight  taluk  head- 
quarters and  also  at  Vedasandur  in  Dindigul,  Ponmeni  and 
Solavandan  in  Madura,  Nattam  in  Meliir,  Sattirapatti  in  Palni, 
Bodindyakkanur  and  Uttamapdlaiyam  in  Periyakulam,  and  Kalli- 
gudi,  Peraiyur  and  Usilampatti  in  Tirumangalam. 

The   criminal  tribunals  are  of  the   same  classes   as   in  other      Criminat, 
districts.     Special  magistrates  exercise  powers  under  the  Towns       J^st'ce. 
Nuisances  Acfc  in  Nattam  and  Bodinayakkanur.  and  benches  with   ^i-n^unals" '^ 
second-class  powers  sit  at  Dindigul  and  Madura. 

The  district  is  one  of  the  most  criminal  in  all  Madras.  An  Crimc 
average  of  ten  years'  statistics  shows  that  tlie  number  of  persons 
who  were  convicted  in  it  of  the  graver  classes  of  crime  was  hii»-her 
than  in  any  other  Collectorate,  and  that  in  respect  to  offences 
against  the  public  tranquillity  it  stood  at  the  head  of  all  the 
districts ;  in  regard  to  thefts  was  second  among  thorn  ;  in  respect 
to  murders,  hurts  and  assaults  and  cattle  thefts,  ranked  third  ;  was 
fourth  in  other  offences  against  property  ;  and  fifth  in  culpable 
lioraicides  and  dacoities. 

The  position  of  Madura  in  these  tables  is  no  doubt  adversely 
affected  by  the  facts  that  the  figures  are  absolute,  and  not  worked 


216 


MABTJEA. 


Criminal 
castes. 


f'TTAP.  XIII.   out    proportionatoly   to   tho    popnlation,    and    tliai   incliifling    tho 

Criminai,      ]7ainnad  and  vSivaqan^a  zamindaris  tlie  district  is  one  of  tlio  most 
Justice.  •      .t       t-i       •  i  t>    j  jit  .i 
j^opulons  in  t!io  i  rosulcnej.     but  nono  tho  Joss  tlio  rosults  ai'o 

strikinof.     Dacoitios  of  ti'avollors  on  tlio  ]>uLlic  roads  used  nntil 

roeontly  to   bo  common,   but  the  gangs  v.-lrlcli  infested  tlio  most 

unsafe  of  tlio  roads,  tluit  from  Ainmayanayakkanur  to  I'eriyaaulam, 

have  now  been  Ijroken  up  and  this  class  of  crime  is  comparatively 

rare.     Special '  road  talaijaris,'  paid  from  Police  Funds,  still  patrol 

the  Dindigul-Palni  road. 

Jail  statistics  amply  prove  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
crime  is  committed  by  one  caste,  the  Kalians,  and  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  if  these  people  could  by  any  miracle  be  reclaimed 
from,  their  evil  ways  the  district  would  immediately  lose  the 
unenviable  reputation  it  now  possesses.  Some  account  of  the  com- 
munity and  its  methods  has  already  been  given  on  pp.  88-96  above. 

The  other  criminal  castes  may  be  dismissed  in  a  few  words. 
Tlie  Maravans  and  Agamudaiyans,  who  are  prominent  in  the 
Ramnad  zamindari  and  the  north  of  Tinnevelly,  commit  but  little 
crime  in  ^Afadura.  The  Kuravans  and  Valaiyans  give  some  trouble 
in  Palni  taluk,  the  former  being  addicted  chiefly  to  theft  and  the 
latter  being  daring  at  house-dacoity,  especially  on  the  Coimbatore 
border.  A  certain  number  of  wandering  gangs,  composed  of  castes 
who  are  generally  classified  as  criminal,  visit  the  district,  but  their 
share  of  the  crime  committed  is  small.  They  are  chiefly  Oddes 
(Woddahs)  from  Salem  and  Anantapur,  Valaiyans  from  Coimbatore, 
Dcisaris  from  the  Nellore  country  and  Togamalai  Kuravans  from 
Trichinopoly.  The  last  two,  especially  the  T(%amalai  Kuravans, 
are  often  prominent  at  festivals,  where  they  commit  much 
skilful  petty  theft  among  the  pilgrims.  Several  other  sub-divisions 
of  tlie  Kuravans,  such  as  those  which  practise  ear-boring  and 
basket-making,  are  common  in  the  district,  but  they  are  usually 
harmless  folk. 

As  in  the  other  southelm  districts  of  the  Presidency,  the  only 
police  force  in  Madura  in  the  days  before  tho  Company  acquired 
the  country  was  that  supplied  by  what  was  known  as  the  J;nmli 
system.  This  was  arranged  as  follows :  In  the  days  of  the 
Mayakkans,  as  has  been  explained  in  Chapter  XI  (p.  180)  above, 
the  district  was  divided  into  a  number  of  feud.al  estates  which 
were  handed  over  to  chiefs  called  poligars  on  condition  that  they 
collected  the  revenue,  sent  a  certain  proportion  of  this  to  the  royal 
exchequer,  spent  a  part  on  maintaining  a  fixed  cjuota  of  troops 
ready  for  immediate  active  service,  and  were  responsible  for  kdvali 
or  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order,  in  their  charges, 


Police. 

Previous 
Bystems. 


ADMINISTRATION    Of    JUSTICE.  217 

The  last  of  these  duties  was  usually  fulfilled  by  appointing-  a  CHAP.  XIII. 
head  Jcdvalgdr,  or  watchman,  who  was  given  land  free  of  rent,  and  Police. 
was  authorized  to  collect  certain  periodical  fees  in  money  or  kind 
from  the  inhabitants  on  the  understanding  that  he  put  down  crime 
and  made  good  any  property  which  was  stolen.  Under  this  head 
kdmlgdr  were  a  number  of  subordinate  hdvalgdrs  who  received 
similar  emoluments  and  undertook  a  similar  responsibility  in  each 
village  or  group  of  villages. 

After  the  downfall  of  the  Nayakkans,  the  system  was  less 
rigorously  enforced,  and  it  degenerated  by  degrees  into  little  less 
than  the  organized  extortion  of  black-mail. 

When  the  British  took  over  the  country  they  accordingly 
resumed  the  inams  and  emoluments  of  the  head  kdvalgdrs,  and 
themselves  took  over  their  duties  by  appointing  talaiyaris  and 
peons  to  guard  the  villagers  from  thefts.  The  system  was  a  failure. 
The  talaiyaris  were  badly  paid  and  worse  supervised,  and  the 
conflict  between  their  revenue  and  police  duties  resulted  in  the 
neglect  of  the  latter. 

The  present  police  force,  like  that  in  other  districts,  was  estab-   The  existing- 
Hshed   by   Act   XXIV  of   1859.     It  is  under  the  control  of  a  ^"'■°^- 
superintendent.     As  elsewhere,  it  includes  a  '  reserve '  of  picked 
men  at  head-quarters  who  are  better  drilled  and  armed  than  the 
main  body  and  would  be  of  use  in  case  of  open  disturbance  of  the 
public  peace. 

The  prisons  of  Madura  comprise  the  District  Jail  at  the  head-        Jails. 
quarters,  and  the  sub-jails  at  the  stations  of  the  tahsildars  and 
deputy  tahsildars  elsewhere. 

The  present  District  Jail  stands  (see  the  map  facing  p.  258)  to 
the  north-east  of  Madura  town  and  just  north  of  the  road  thence 
to  Dindigul.  The  building-  was  begun  in  1 866  with  convict  labour 
and  was  finished,  at  a  cost  of  about  Es.  65,000,  in  December  1869. 
A  proposal  to  locate  it  on  the  race-course  was  thoug-ht  to  be 
dangerous,  since  if  an  outbreak  occurred  among-  the  convicts  when 
the  Vaigai  was  in  flood  it  would  not  in  those  days  have  been 
possible  to  cross  the  river  to  suppress  it.  The  old  District  Jail 
was  in  the  building  near  the  north-west  corner  of  the  temple  which 
is  usually  called  '  Mangamm^l's  Palace,'  and  the  civil  prisoners 
remained  in  this  even  after  the  convicts  had  been  transferred  to 
their  new  quarters. 

In  August  1872  the  construction  of  separate  wards  at  the  new 
jail  for  civil  debtors  was  sanctioned,  and  these  were  completed  in 
1874-75  at  a  cost  of  nearly  Es.  20,000.  In  1882-83  separate 
wards  and  solitary  cells  for  female  prisoners  were  built.  They 
cost  Es.  10,000. 

38 


218 


HADITBA. 


CHAP.  XIII. 
Appendix. 


APPENDIX. 

List  of  Judges. 


No.              Date. 

« 

Name. 

1 

20  Oct. 

1805. 

Mr.  D.  Cockburne. 

2 

5  Jnne 

1806. 

Mr.  W.  R.  Irwin. 

3 

25  >5ept. 

1806. 

Mr.  J.  D'Acre  (Acting). 

4 

31  (Jet. 

1806 

Mr.  W.  R.  Irwin. 

5 

18  Jau. 

1808. 

Mr.  T.  A.  Oakes  (Acting). 

6 

13  May 

1808. 

Mr.  W.  R  Irwin. 

7 

2]  May 

1810. 

Mr.  E.  Powney  (Acting). 

8 

21  July 

1810. 

Mr.  G.  F.  Cherry  (Acting). 

9 

17  Aug. 

1810. 

Mr.  E.  Powney  (Acting), 

10 

15  April 

1811. 

Mr.  J.  Long. 

(No  records.) 

11 

14  Sept. 

1812. 

Mr.  W.  0.  Shakespeare  (Acting). 

12 

11  Nov. 

1812. 

Mr.  J.  Long. 

13 

6  Ang. 

1818. 

Mr.  J.  Riddell. 

14 

26  May 

1814. 

Mr.  W.  0.  Shakespeai-e  (Acting). 

15 

7  March 

1815. 

Mr.  W.  0.  Shakespeare. 

(No  records.) 

16 

17  Jan. 

J  822. 

Mr.  Q.  W.  Saunders  (Acting)". 

17 

23  Feb. 

1822. 

Mr.  W.  0.  Shakespeare. 

(No  rec 

ords.) 

18 

18  July 

1827. 

Mr.  S.  Nicholls. 

19 

31  Au?. 

1827. 

Mr.  H.  Wroughton  (In  charge). 

20 

24  Oct. 

1827. 

Mr.  S.  Nicholls. 

21 

14  Feb. 

1828. 

Mr.  W.  R.  Taylor  (Acting) 

22 

22  Dec. 

1828. 

Mr.  E.  Bannerman  (Acting). 

23 

27  March 

1830. 

Mr.  A.  E.  Angelo  (Acting). 

24 

2  June 

1830. 

Mr.  E.  Bannerman. 

25 

26  Dec. 

1832. 

Mr.  J.  C.  Scott  (Acting). 

26 

7  ilay 

1833. 

Mr.  G.  S.  Hooper  (Acting). 

27 

19  f  eb. 

1835. 

.Mr.  R.  H.  Williamscn  (In  charge). 

28 

17  March 

1835. 

Mr.  J.  C.  Scctt  (Acting). 

29 

28  July 

1835. 

Mr.  G.  S.  Hooper. 

30 

May 

1836. 

Mr.  E.  P.  Thompson  (Acting). 

31 

5  Oct. 

1837. 

Mr.  D.  R.  Limond  (In  charge). 

32 

20  Aug. 

1838. 

Mr.  T.  A.  Anstruther  (Acting). 

33 

6  Oct. 

1838. 

Mr.  W.  Elliott  (Acting). 

34 

3  July 

1840. 

Mr.  H.  Babington. 

35 

24  Feb. 

1841. 

Mr.  J.  Horsley  (Acting). 

36 

1  June 

1841. 

Mr  G.  F.  Bishop  (Acting). 

37 

6  July 

1841. 

Mr.  J.  Horsley. 

38 

16  Oct. 

1841. 

Mr.  F.  Copleston  (In  charge). 

39 

20  Oct. 

1841. 

Mr.  J.  G.  S.  Bruere  (Acting). 

40 

2  March 

1842. 

Mr.  W.  Elliott  (Acting^. 

41 

9  June 

1842. 

Mr.  W,  A.  Forsyth  (Acting). 

(No  records.) 

42 

9  Jan. 

1843. 

Mr.  W.  Douglas. 

43 

6  Sept. 

1843. 

Mr.  W.  Elliott  (Acting). 

44 

10  Oct. 

1843. 

Mr.  G.  S.  Hooper. 

45 

Deo 

1844. 

Mr.  G.  S.  Greenway. 

46 

Dec. 

1846. 

Ml-.  C.  R.  Baynes. 

*  The  entries  Nos.  1  to  44  were  prepared  from  the  records  available  in  the 
Collector's  office,  and  the  date  given  against  each  officer  is  the  date  of  the  first 
of  the  letters  written  by  him  to  the  Collector,  and  not  that  of  his  appointment. 


ADMINISTBATION    OF    JUSTICE. 


219 


juisi  Of  juages — cont. 

CHAP.  XIII 

-i     Appendix. 

No, 

Date. 

Name. 

47 

Feb.        1855. 

Mr.  A.  W.  Phillips. 

48 

14  April        1855. 

Mr.  T.  Clarke. 

49 

Oct.         1855. 

Mr.  H.  D.  Cook. 

50 

April         1856. 

Mr.  A.  W.Phillips. 

51 

18  Jan.          1858. 

Mr.  D.  Mayne. 

52 

11  March      1858. 

Mr.  R.  K.  Cotton. 

53 

17  Feb.         1864. 

Mr.  J.  D.  Goldingham. 

54 

1  March      1864. 

Mr.  C.E,.  Polly. 

55 

1  Feb.         1865. 

Mr.  J.  D.  Goldingham. 

56 

May         1865 

Mr.  C.  N.  Pochin. 

57 

Oct.         1865. 

Mr.  11.  11.  Cotton. 

58 

April       1867 

Mr.  E.  C.  (t.  Thomas. 

59 

June        1868. 

Mr.  G.  P.  Sharpe. 

GO 

28  Sept.       1868. 

Mr.  J.  H.  Daniel. 

61 

1  Oct.          1868. 

Mr.  J.  D.  Goldingham. 

62 

23  Oct.          1872. 

Mr.  P.  P.  Hiitchins. 

63 

13  March      1874. 

Mr.  F.  U.  WoodrotTe. 

64. 

30  July         1875. 

Mr.  H.  W.  Bliss. 

65 

1  Sept.        1875. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Glenny. 

66 

15  Dec.         1875. 

Mr.  P.  P.  Hutchins. 

67 

16  June         1879. 

Mr.  W.  A.  Happen. 

68 

1  Sept.        1879. 

Mr.  P.  P.  inutchins. 

69 

28  March      1881. 

Mr.  E.  Turner. 

70 

1  May          1881. 

Mr.  P.  P.  Hutchins. 

71 

6  July         1881. 

Mr.C.  W.  W.  Martin. 

72 

17  Nov.         1881. 

Mr.  E.  Turner. 

73 

28  Feb.          1882. 

Mr.  P.  P.  Hutchins. 

74 

7  Dec.         1882. 

Mr.  E.  Turner. 

76 

1  Sept.        1884. 

Mr.  T.  Weir. 

76 

10  Sept.        ]  886. 

Mr.  L.  Moore. 

77 

23  Oct.          1886. 

Mr.  T    Weir. 

78 

2  March      1888. 

Mr.  n.  T.  Ross. 

79 

1  Sept.        1890. 

Mr.  J.  Twigg. 

80 

1  Jan.          1891. 

Mr.  T.  Weir. 

81 

27  July          1891. 

Mr.  S.  Kussell  (Additional  Sessions  Judge). 

82 

5  March      1892. 

Mr.  S.  H.  Wynne. 

83 

9  Jan.          1893. 

Mr.  J.  W.  F.  Duraergue. 

84 

8  April        1896. 

Mr.  G.  E.  L.  Campbell. 

85 

22  June         1896. 

Mr.  A.  F.  Pinhey. 

86 

24  Oct.          1896. 

Mr.  S.  Russell. 

87 

28  Feb.         1S99. 

Mr.  H.  Moborly. 

88 

7  April        1905. 

Mr.  J.  Hevvetson. 

89 

9  March      1906. 

Mr.  A.  F.  Pinhey.                                                                      1 

220 


MADURA, 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


LOCAL  SELF-GOVERNMENT. 


CHAP.  XIV. 

The  Local 
Boards. 


The  Unions. 


The  Local  Board3— The  Unions— Finances  of  the  Boards.  The  five  munici- 
palities— Madura  municipality — Improvements  effected  by  it — The  water- 
supply  scheme— Drainage — Dindignl  municipality — Water-supply — Palni 
municipality — Periyaknlam  municipality — Kodaikanal  municipality. 

Outside  the  five  municipalities  referred  to  below,  local  affairs  are 
managed  hj  the  District  Board  and  the  four  taluk  boards  of 
Dindigul,  Madura,  Melur  and  Tirumangalam.  The  jurisdictions  of 
the  first  and  last  of  these  latter  correspond  with  those  of  the  divisional 
officers  of  Dindigul  and  Tirumangalam,  and  the  Madura  and  Melur 
taluk  boards  have  charge  respectively  of  the  taluks  after  which 
they  are  named.  When  the  Local  Boards  Act  of  1884  was  first 
introduced  into  the  district,  the  three  taluks  of  Dindigul,  Pakii 
(which  then  included  Kodaikanal)  and  Periyakulam  had  each  their 
own  taluk  board  ;  the  charge  of  the  Tirumangalam  board  included 
so  much  of  the  Madura  taluk  as  lay  south  of  the  Vaigai ;  and  the 
rest  of  Madura  and  aU  Melur  were  directly  under  the  District 
Board.  Early  in  1887  the  part  of  Madura  south  of  the  Vaigai 
was  transferred  to  the  care  of  this  latter  body,  and  later  in  the 
same  year  the  Madura  and  Melur  taluk  boards  were  constituted. 
The  Dindigul,  Palni  and  Periyakulam  boards  were  amalgamated 
in  1894. 

Nineteen  of  the  larger  villages  have  been  constituted  unions. 
Under  the  Dindigul  board  are  those  at  Ayyampalaiyam,  Ayakkudi, 
Bodinayakkanur,  Chinnamanur,  Gudalur,  Kalayamuttur  (Neikkara- 
patti),  Kambam,  Kilamangalam,  Melamangalam,  Uttamap^laiyam 
and  Vedasandur ;  under  the  Melur  board,  those  at  Melur  and 
Nattam  ;  and  under  the  Tirumangalam  board  those  at  Nilakkottai, 
Feraiyur,  Solavandan,  Tirumangalam,  Usilampatti  and  Vattila- 
gundu.  Of  these,  Nilakkottai  was  established  in  L'^SS,  Gudalur 
in  1901 ,  and  all  the  rest  in  1885.  As  elsewhere,  the  chief  item  in 
their  income  is  the  house-tax,  and  this  is  levied  at  the  maximum 
rates  allowed  by  the  Act  in  aU  of  them  except  Solavandan  and 
Tirumangalam  (where  it  is  collected  at  three-quarters  of  this 
maximum)  and  Peraiyur  and  Usilampatti,  in  which  only  half  rates 
are  charged.  The  incidence  per  house  is  lowest  (nine  annas  or 
less)  in  Kalayamuttur  and  Ayakkudi,  and  highest  (Re.  1-10-2)  in 


LOCAL    SELF-GOVERNMENT.  221 

the; flourishing  town  of  Bodinayakkanur.     In  1905  the  Collector  CHAP.  XJV. 
suggested  that  the  last-named  place,  sanitary  conditions  in  which     The  Local 
have  long  been  unsatisfactory,  should  be  constituted   a  munici-         0*^8. 
pality,  but  Government  vetoed  the  proposal. 

The  separate  Appendix  to  this  volume  contains  statistics  of  the  Finances  of 
receipts  and  expenditure  of  the  boards  and  unions.  Including  the  ^®  °^^  "* 
figures  for  the  Eamnad  and  Sivaganga  zamindaris,  the  incidence 
of  local  taxation  per  head  of  the  population,  both  including  and 
excluding  the  receipts  from  toUs,  and  also  the  similar  incidence  of 
the  total  local  fund  receipts,  are  greatly  below  the  average  for  the 
Presidency  as  a  whole,  or  the  level  in  the  adjoining  districts  of 
Tanjore  and  I'innevelly.  The  figure  is  brought  down  by  the 
unusually  low  incidence  in  the  country  under  the  Dindigul  and 
Tirumangalam  boards,  and  the  inference  arises  that  these  areas  are 
by  no  means  overtaxed. 

The  chief  source  of  the  receipts  is  the  land-cess,  which  is  levied 
at  the  usual  rate  of  one  anna  per  rupee  of  the  land  assessment. 
Next  comes  the  house-tax,  and  then  the  toUs,  which  are  fixed  at 
three-fourths  of  the  maximum  rates  allowed  by  the  Act.  Other 
conspicuous  items  are  the  income  from  markets,  which  is  larger 
than  in  any  other  district  except  Coimbatore,  and  that  from  the 
produce  of  the  avenue  trees,  which  is  exceeded  only  in  South  Arcot 
and  Salem. 

The  principal  objects  on  which  local  funds  are  expended  are 
(as  usual)  the  roads,  the  hospitals  and  dispensaries,  and  the 
schools.  These  have  already  been  referred  to  in  Chapters  VII, 
IX  and  X  respectively. 

The  five  municipal  towns  are  Madura,  Dindigul,  Palni,  The  five 
Periyakulam  and  Kodaikanal.  The  first  two  of  these  places  were  '^'.'rfJr^I 
originally  constituted  municipalities  on  1st  November  1866  under 
the  old  Towns  Improvement  Act  X  of  1865,  and  continued  as  such 
under  that  enactment's  successors,  the  Towns  Improvement  Act 
III  of  1871  and  the  present  District  Municipalities  Act.  The 
Palni  and  Periyakulam  municipalities  were  founded  much  later. 
A  committee  which  reported  in  1884  on  the  extension  of  local 
self-government  in  this  Presidency  recommended  that  us  a  general 
role  all  places  which  had  10,000  inhabitants  and  upwards  and  were 
also  the  head-quarters  of  a  tahsildar  or  deputy  tahsildar  should  be 
turned  into  municipalities.  Both  Palni  and  Perijakulam  came 
within  this  description  and  on  1st  April  1886,  in  spite  of  the 
vehement  protests  of  their  population,  they  were  constituted 
municipal  towns  accordingly.  Kodaikanal  was  made  a  munici- 
pality on  1st  October  1899.  It  is  much  the  smallest  in  the 
Presidency. 


222 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  XIV. 
The  five 

MDNICI- 
PALITIES. 


Madura 
municipality. 


Improve- 
ments 
effected 
by  it. 


The  water- 

supply 

scheme. 


The  medical  and  educational  institutions  maintained  by  tlie 
councils  of  these  various  towns  have  been  referred  to  in  Chapters 
IX  and  X  respectively,  and  it  remains  to  consider  their  other 
permanent  undertakings. 

The  Madura  municipal  council  consisted  in  1884  of  sixteen 
members,  of  whom  seven  were  elected  b_y  the  rate-payers  and  the 
rest  nominated  by  Government.  In  the  next  year  the  number  on 
the  council  was  raised  to  24,  of  whom  18  were  elected.  Soon 
afterwards  factions  arose,  and  by  1891  disunion  had  reached  such 
a  pitch  that  Government  deprived  the  council  of  the  power  of 
electing  its  own  chairman.  The  privilege  was  restored  in  1896. 
A  paid  secretary  to  assist  the  chairman  was  appointed  in  1898,  but 
the  step  was  not  altogether  a  success  and  in  L902  the  council 
decided  to  have  as  chairman  a  f uU-time  officer  on  a  salary  of  from 
Es.  400  to  Ks.  600.  This  arrangement  still  continues.  The 
addition  of  another  ex-officio  member  has  now  raised  the  total 
strength  of  the  council  to  25. 

The  permanent  visible  improvements  effected  by  this  body 
since  it  was  first  established  are  many.  In  1871-72  a  municipal 
office  was  provided  by  altering,  at  a  cost  of  Hs.  5,000,  an  outlying 
building  belonging  to  Tirumala  Nayakkan's  palace.  In  the  same 
year  was  put  up  the  clock  which  adorns  one  of  the  two  turrets  at 
the  east  end  of  the  palace.  In  1 873  the  then  maternity  hospital 
was  extended  at  a  cost  of  Es.  2,500  and  in  July  1876  the  branch 
dispensary,  on  which  Es.  18,000  had  been  spent,  was  opened.  In 
1884  the  causeway  across  the  Vaigai  was  put  in  thorough  repair, 
trees  were  planted  in  the  streets,  the  People^s  Park  referred  to  on 
p.  264,  was  formed  and  the  first  water-supply  project  (see  below) 
was  carried  into  effect ;  and  at  about  the  same  time  the  council 
subscribed  Rs.  10,000  to  the  bridge  across  the  Vaigai  (see  p.  156) 
which  was  opened  in  1889.  The  latest  notable  undertakings  have 
been  the  opening  of  the  dispensary  for  women  and  children  in 
1894,  the  laying  out  of  the  garden  called  the  Edward  Park  which 
was  opened  on  Coronation  Day,  and  the  provision  of  the  greater 
part  of  the  cost  of  the  erection  of  the  excellent  new  range  of 
buildings  for  the  hospital  referred  to  on  p.  172. 

The  first  water-supply  project  for  Madura  was  suggested  as 
long  ago  as  1849.  The  scheme  consisted  in  widening  the  Pallava- 
rayan  channel,  which  takes  off  from  the  Yaigai  about  4^  miles 
above  Madura,  and  leading  it  along  a  high  earthen  embankment 
into  a  reservoir  in  the  town.  The  supply  would  have  been  very 
fitful,  as  the  water  only  reached  the  channel  on  the  rare  occasions 
when  the  river  was  in  fresh.     It  was  intended  to  utilise  the  water, 


LOCAL    SBLF-OOVERNMENT. 


223 


not  only  for  drinking,  but  for  flusliing  the  side-channels  in  the   CHAP.  XIV 
streets.     An  estimate  for  Es.  28,600  was  sanctioned  in  1851.     By      The  hvr 
18$9,  Bs   20,000  had  been  spent,  but  the  work  was  still  unfinished      polities. 

and  it  was  calculated  that  Rs.  18,800  more  than  the  amount  of  the  

original  estimate  would  be  required.  In  18fJ2,  1863  and  1864 
fresh  estimates  were  sanctioned,  and  the  expenditure  eventually 
amounted  to  Rs.  51,200.  The  project,  however,  was  never  com- 
pleted. In  the  seventies  several  other  schemes  were  suggested 
or  discussed,  but  none  of  them  ever  came  to  anything.^ 

In  1884  a  new  scheme,  due  to  Mr.  Crole,  the  then  Collector, 
was  carried  out.  This  consisted  in  sinking  a  masonry  well  in 
the  bed  of  the  V^aigai  (near  the  Maya  mantapam  just  above  the 
Yaigai  bridge)  to  tap  the  copious  undej-flow  of  that  river,  and 
pumping  the  water  thence  by  steam  to  an  iron  cistern  placed  27  feet 
above  the  ground  near  the  'elephant  stone'  (seep.  267)  at  the 
southern  end  of  the  causeway.  Water  was  also  supplied  to  the 
golden-lily  tank  in  the  Minakshi  temple  on  the  trustees  of  that 
institution  paying  the  cost  of  the  pipes.  This,  the  first  regular 
water-supply  scheme  in  the  Madras  Presidency,  was  a  great 
success  as  far  as  it  went.  The  high  floods  of  November  1884  did 
some  damage  to  the  well  and  the  pipe,  but  in  the  next  year  a 
bigger  pump  was  put  down,  another  well  was  sunk  and  linked 
with  the  first,  larger  pipes  were  laid  and  another  cistern  was  put 
up  near  Blackburne's  lamp  (see  p.  267).  By  the  end  of  the 
year  1887-88  a  third  well  had  been  made  and  the  pipes  had  been 
carried  through  seventeen  streets  containing  nearly  two-fifths  of 
the  total  population  of  the  town.  The  outlay  had  amounted  to 
Es.  70,000. 

The  rapid  increase  in  the  population  of  the  town  necessitated 
still  more  water,  however,  and  it  became  evident  that  a  more 
comprehensive  scheme  was  essential.  Eventually  Mr.  J.  A.  Jones, 
then  Sanitary  Engineer  to  Government,  designed  the  project  which 
is  now  working.  This  was  sanctioned  in  1892.  The  cost  of  it 
was  Rs.  4,27,050  and  Government  made  a  free  grant  of  half  this 
sum  and  lent  the  council  Es.  1,96,000  in  addition.  The  project 
consisted  in  tapping  the  underflow  in  the  Vaigai  by  erecting  a 
barrage  wall  across  the  river  at  a  point  so  far  above  the  town  as  to 
be  safe  from  contamination,  making  a  filtration  gallery  just  above 
this  wall,  running  the  filtered  water  thus  collected  into  a  well  on 
the  bank,  and  thence  raising  it  by  steam  pumps  to  a  point  from 
which  it  would  supply  the  town  by  gravitation.  The  annual 
charges  for  the  extinction  of  the  loan  from  Government  in  thirty 

^  See  Iht  luater-supply  of  Madura  by  Mr.  J.  E.  O'fihaughnessy,  Madras,  1888. 


224 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  XIV. 
The  FiVK 

MUNICI- 
PALITIK8. 


Drainage. 


years  were  estimated  to  be  Rs.  12,868  and  for  pumping-  Es.  19,885, 
making  the  total  cost  of  maintaining  the  scheme  Rs.  32,753. 

The  work  was  completed  in  two  years  and  opened  on  1st  May 
1894.  But  long  before  it  was  finished  the  discovery  was  made 
that  the  barrage  wall  had  been  placed  by  Mr.  Jones  in  a  most 
unfortunate  spot.  This  had  been  selected  chiefly  on  engineering 
grounds,  because  it  was  believed  that  the  superficial  area  of  the 
water-bearing  strata  there  was  larger  than  elsewhere ;  but  as  a 
matter  of  fact  a  ridge  of  rocks  runs  across  the  river-bed  not  far 
above  the  barrage  wall  and  turns  the  underflow  out  of  the  bed  into 
subterranean  ways  to  the  west,  through  which  it  eventually  finds 
its  way  back  into  the  river  opposite  the  town,  but  below  the  barrage 
wall.  The  big  well  at  the  spinning-mill  near  the  railway-station 
taps  one  of  these  underground  springs  and  contains  an  extra- 
ordinary supply,  but  the  amount  available  at  the  barrage  was 
quite  unequal  to  the  demand. 

An  attempt  was  made  to  meet  this  radical  defect  in  the  scheme 
by  carrying  the  filtration  gallery  right  across  the  bed  at  an  additional 
cost  of  Rs.  22,000.  This  did  but  little  good,  so  in  February  1895 
a  collecting  channel  was  excavated  for  some  1 ,300  yards  upstream 
from  the  barrage.  This  was  filled  up  by  a  fresh  a  couple  of  months 
later.  It  was  excavated  again  in  July  in  the  same  year  and  the 
filtration  gallery  was  also  covered  with  gravel,  instead  of  sand,  to 
assist  percolation.  In  1899  the  supply  was  temporarily  increased 
in  the  dry  season  by  opening  the  sand-sluices  in  the  Chittanai 
anient  and  letting  some  of  the  Periyar  water  down  the  river,  but 
there  are  many  objections  to  the  systematic  adoption  of  this  course, 
and  after  much  discussion  an  estimate  for  Rs.  1,32,000  has  been 
drawn  up  for  cutting  a  trench  for  some  3,350  yards  up  the  bed, 
through  the  ridge  of  rocks  above  mentioned,  and  laying  in  it  an 
18-inch  stoneware  pipe.     This  is  now  before  the  council. 

A  scheme  for  the  drainage  of  that  part  of  the  town  which  is 
bounded  by  the  four  Masi  streets,  the  population  of  which  is  about 
23,000,  was  completed  in  1902.  It  was  designed  on  the  Shone 
system  and  provides  for  leading  the  sewage  into  four  ejector  stations 
serving  an  equal  number  of  separate  areas  and  actuated  by  com- 
pressed air  supplied  through  iron  pipes  from  a  central  station.  The 
sewage  thus  collected  was  to  be  passed  into  a  sealed  iron  main 
under  pressure  and  thence  through  a  detritus  tank  and  bacterial 
filters  to  a  farm  of  about  177  acres  on  which  sugar-cane  and  forage 
crops  were  to  be  grown.  The  estimates  amounted  to  6|  lakhs  and 
the  annual  charges,  including  establishment  and  provision  for  a 
sinking  fund,  to  about  Rs.  47,000.  Against  this  had  to  be  set  the 
profit  from  the  farm,  which  was  put  at  Es.  29,000  annually. 


LOCAL    SELF-aOVERNMENT.  225 

Government  considered  tliat  tlie  scheme  was  clearly  beyond  the   CIIAP.  XlV. 
resources  of  the  municipality,  and  tlie  Sanitary  Board  accordingly       The  fivk 
so  revised  it  as  to  reduce  the  cost  to  3|  lakhs.     The  reduction  was       palitikh, 

effected  by  substituting-  pumping  by  oil-engines  for  the   Shone  

system  of  raising  the  sewage  ;  by  simplifpng  the  treatment  of  the 
sewage  at  the  outfall ;  and  by  reducing  the  area  of  the  proposed 
farm.  The  Sanitary  Board  calculated  that,  adopting  these  prin- 
ciples, a  scheme  for  the  whole  town  could  be  carried  out  for  ten 
laklis  and  that  the  annual  maintenance  charges  would  amount  to 
Rs.  63,000.  Government  have  asked  the  Sanitary  Engineer  to 
prepare  detailed  estimates  for  such  a  scheme. 

The  Dindigul  council  consists  of  fourteen  members,  of  whom  Dindigul 
nine  are  elected  by  the  rate-payers.  This  privilege  of  election  was  municipality, 
conferred  in  1884  and  in  the  next  year  the  council  was  first  given 
permission  to  elect  its  own  chairman.  The  chief  permanent 
improvements  carried  out  in  the  tovni  have  been  the  construction 
of  the  market  (first  erected  in  1872  at  a  cost  of  Hs.  3,500  and 
since  added  to  at  a  further  outlay  of  Rs.  7,500)  and  the  inauguration 
of  a  water-supply  scheme. 

The  first  attempt  to  provide  the  town  with  good  water  was    Water- 
made  in  1 885  by  Mr.   Crole,  and  consisted  in  pumping  a   supply   ^^PP^J- 
from  a  well  sunk  in  a  neighbouring  tank  to  a  service  reservoir 
whence  it  was  distributed  by  pipes.     It  failed  because  the  water 
.was  of  bad  quality. 

In  1890  the  Sanitary  Engineer  proposed  a  scheme  which 
provided  for  collecting  a  supply  in  an  underground  tunnel  cut  in 
the  soft  rock  to  the  west  of  the  railway  line,  and  for  pumping  it 
thence  to  the  town.  Tlie  estimate  was  for  Rs.  71,700  and  the 
annual  working  charges  were  put  at  Rs.  5,51 1 .  Government  sanc- 
tioned this  in  the  next  year  and  gave  half  the  cost  from  Provincial 
Funds.  Work  was  begun  in  1892,  but  experiments  showed  that 
the  supply  of  water  in  the  rock  was  very  doubtful  and  Government 
therefore  ordered  that  the  tunnel  should  be  made  in  the  first 
instance  from  Provincial  Funds  and  should  only  be  charged  to  the 
council  if  it  was  a  success.  By  1894  a  tunnel  540  feet  lono-  ]iad 
been  driven  and  a  supply  estimated  at  J-,000  gallons  an  hour  was 
obtained,  and  the  rest  of  the  scheme  was  accordingly  put  in  hand. 
The  work  was  finished  in  August  1896  and  consists  of  a  g-allery 
8  feet  wide  and  5il  feet  long,  with  lateral  adits,  tunnelled  through 
soft  rock  44  feet  below  ground  level,  two  steam  pumps,  a  service 
reservoir  capable  of  liolding  91,000  gallons,  and  the  necessary 
piping  and  hydrants, 

29 


226 


MADUEA. 


CHAP.  XIV. 
The  Five 

MUNICI- 
PALITIES. 


Palni 
municipality. 


Periyakulam 
municipality. 


T]ie  yield  from  the  gallery,  liowever,  belied  its  first  promise 
and  soon  fell  to  only  6f-,000  gallons  in  the  24  hours.  It  was  at 
first  proposed  to  meet  the  diflSculty  by  extending  the  tunnel,  but 
eventually  it  was  decided  to  dig  a  new  trench  in  another  site,  the 
Odukkam  valley.  After  several  trials  had  been  made  and  several 
rival  schemes  projected,  Government  eventually  sanctioned,  in 
IDO-i",  a  proposal  to  cul  a  trench  about  20  feet  deep  and  -^00  yards 
long  in  the  valley,  nearly  fill  this  with  broken  stone  in  which  were 
embedded  three  rows  of  earthenware  pipes  one  above  the  other, 
close  the  top  of  it  with  sand,  and  lead  the  water  thus  collected  and 
filtered  to  the  town  by  gravitation.  The  estimates  amounted 
to  Hs.  51,900  and  Government  made  a  free  grant  of  half  this  suni 
and  lent  the  council  Rs.  1 6,8(^0  more  on  the  usual  terms.  The 
work  was  completed  in  1905  but  the  supply  is  disappointing. 

The  Palni  council  consists  of  twelve  members,  of  whom  four 
have  been  elected  since  1897.  The  chairman  is  appointed  by 
Government.  The  council's  chief  undertaking  has  been  to  pro- 
vide itself  with  an  office  at  a  cost  of  lis.  4,000,  but  in  addition 
a  slaughter-house  has  been  built  and  improvements  have  been 
effected  to  the  hospital  and  the  medical  officer's  quarters.  The 
present  water-supply  is  from  the  Vyupuri  tank,  into  which  the 
whole  drainage  of  the  town  flows  uninterruptedly.  Consequently 
cholera  is  common  enough,  and  is  sometimes  carried  hence  all 
over  the  country  by  the  pilgrims  to  the  Subrahmanya  shrine  in 
the  town,  ^he  richer  classes  get  water  brought  in  from  the 
Shanmuganadi.  Schemes  for  running  an  intercepting  sewer  round 
the  foreshore  of  the  tank  and  for  pumping  water  from  the  river 
have  been  suggested,  but  they  are  beyond  the  means  of  the 
council,  and  the  present  policy  is  to  endeavour  to  check  the 
pollution  of  the  foreshore  of  the  tank. 

Tlie  Periyakulam  council  is  constituted  like  that  of  Palni. 
Except  that  it  has  built  a  small  hospital  and  a  choultry,  ix,  has 
done  nothing  outside  the  usual  routine  duties.  Drinking-water  is 
obtained  from  the  Vardhanadi,  which  flows  through  the  middle  of 
the  town  and  receives  the  whole  of  the  drainage  from  either  bank. 
The  Berijam  project,  referred  to  on  page  125,  will  shortly, 
however,  render  available  a  purer  supply.  A  great  need  in 
Periyakulam.  is  a  bridge  (or  at  least  a  causeway)  across  the 
Varahanadi.  All  the  heavy  traffic  from  Bodinayakkanur  and  the 
Kambam  valley  has  to  cross  this  river,  and  is  at  present  often 
blocked  for  days  together  by  freshes  ;  while  even  when  only  a  little 
water  is  passing  down,  the  cart-bullocks  have  to  be  shamefully 
thrashed  and  ;;oaded  to  get  them  through  the  clinging  mud  of 


LOCAL  SELF-GOVERNMENT. 


227 


wMcli  the  bed  consists.  The  municipality  is  constructing  a 
suspension  bridge  for  foot-passengers  across  the  river  at  an 
estimated  cost  of  Rs.  7,100. 

The  Kodaikanal  council  consists  of  twelve  members,  none  of 
whom  are  elected.  The  drinking-water  of  the  station  is  at  present 
obtained  from  wells  and  springs.  In  1902  a  scheme  for  an  im- 
proved supply  was  worked  out.  This  included  the  construction  of 
a  storage  tank  on  tlio  Pi^mbar  (the  catchment  area  of  which  has 
already  been  reserved  by  Government  to  protect  it  from  pollution) 
by  damming  it  about  ^70  yards  above  the  Fairy  Falls,  and  the 
conveyance  of  the  water  by  a  pipe  througli  the  embankment  to  a 
cistern  jast  below  this,  thence  al^ng  an  open  channel  1,450  yards 
in  length  to  a  service  reservoir  on  a  ridge  commanding  the  place, 
and  thence  throughout  the  station,  by  pipes.  Any  surplus  was  to 
be  led  into  the  lake,  the  supply  to  which  is  often  less  than  the 
evaporation  and  leakage  through  the  bund.  The  estimate  was 
Es.  49,000  and  the  annual  charges,  including  working  expenses 
and  sinking  fund,  Es.  4,300.  Subsequently  it  was  considered 
essential  that  the  dam  should  be  of  masonry.  This  raised  the  cost 
to  Rs.  62,250.  'Ihe  municipal  council  professed  its  inability  to 
finance  the  scheme,  and  the  question  of  Government  assistance  is 
under  consideration.  The  project  would  not  command  houses  built 
either  along  the  Pillar  l?ocks  road  or  in  the  Tinnevelly  settlement, 
the  two  directions  in  which  alone  any  large  extension  of  the  station 
is  possible. 


CHiP.  XIVj 
TnK  irivE 

MUNICI- 
PALITIES. 

Kodaikanal 
municipality. 


328  MADUKA. 

CHAPTER  XV. 
GAZETTEER. 


DiNUiGUL      Taluk — Agnram  — Ambaturai — Xttdr — AyyampSlaiyam— Dindigul — 
Emakkalapuram — Eriyodu— Kaimivadi— Kiivakkapatti — Madur— Mariinuttu 

—  Palakkanuttu— Sukkanipatti-Tadikkombu  —  TaTasimadai—  Y^dasanddt. 
KoDAiKANAi-  Taluk-  Kodaikanal.  ]\[adura  Taluk—  Anaimalai — Anuppanadi 

—  Kodimangalam  —  Madura — MaDgulam  —  Pasunialai  —  Sirupalai —  Tirup- 
parankunram — Velliyakuiidam.  Melur  Taluk — Alagarkovil — Aiittapatti — 
Karungftlakudi— Kottar-patti— Melur-Nattam— Tiruvadur.  Nilakkottai 
Taluk  -  Ammayanayakkandr — Kulas4kharaiik6ttai — Mettuppatti — Nilakkot- 
tai — Sandaiyur  — Solavandan — Tiniv6dagam — Tottiyankottai — Vattilap;Dudu. 
Palni  Taluk  —  Aivarmalai  —  Ayakkudi — Idaiyankottai  —  Kalayaniuttur— 
Kirandr  — Mambarai  -  Palni — Rettayambadi  —  V61ur —  Yirupakshi.  Periya- 
KULAM  Taluk  —  Allinagaram  —  Andipatti —  Aniirriandanpatti — Hodinayak- 
kanur — Chin  nam  an  dr — Devadanapatti — Erasakkanayakkandr — Gantaniana- 
yakkanur — Gddaldr — Kambam — Kombai  —  Maigaiyaukdttai —  Periyakulam 

—  T^varam  —  Uttamapalaiyam  —  Vadakarai  —  Yi'rapandi.  Tirumangalam 
Taluk  —  Anaij-dr  —  Doddappanayakkanur  —  Elumalai— Jotilnayakkantir — 
Kalligudi — Kilakkottai  —  Kovilankulani  —  Knppalanattam — M^lakkdttai — 
Nadukkottai — Peraiydr  —  Puliyankulam — Sandaiyur  —  S6ptur -Tirumanga- 
lam— Usilampatti — Uttappanayakkandr — Yikkiramangalam. 

niNDIGUL  TALUK. 


CHAP.  XY.  DiNDiGUL  (formerly  called  the  Tadikkombu)  taluk  occupies  the 
Dindioul.  north-east  corner  of  the  district  and  consists  of  an  open  plain  of 
red  land  surrounded  on  the  east  by  the  Ailur  hills  and  the  Karan- 
damalais,  on  the  south  by  the  Sirumalai?,  and  on  the  west  by  tlie 
Lower  Palnis  and  the  little  range  of  rocky  heights  running  south 
from  the  Eangamalai  and  Karumalai  peaks.  The  taluk  slopes 
sharply  northwards  from  the  pass  between  the  Sirumalais  and 
Palnis  and  is  drained  in  that  direction  by  the  Kodavandr  and  its 
many  tributaries.  Next  to  Palni,  Dindigul  gets  less  rain  than  any 
part  of  the  district  and  it  has  practically  no  irrigation  channels. 
Consequently  most  of  the  land  is  dependent  upon  local  rain,  and  the 
tract  suffered  severely  in  the  great  famine  of  1876-78.  Nearly  a 
third  of  it  is  cultivated  with  cholam,  and  large  areas  are  also  cropped 
with  cambu  and  samai.  Dindigul  tobacco  is  well  known.  Like 
Palni,  the  taluk  is  famous  for  its  numerous  wells,  and  as  much  as 
9  per  cent,  of  its  irrigated  area  is  watered  by  them. 


OAZETTEBR.  229 

Statistics  regarding-  Dindigul  will  Le  found  in  tlie  separate  CHAP.  XV. 
Appendix  to  this  volume.  After  Peri)  akulam,  it  is  tlie  largest  of  Dindigul. 
the  Madura  taluks  and  it  contains  more  people,  and  also  more 
Musalmans  and  Cliristians,  than  any  of  them.  The  climate  is 
reputed  to  be  particularly  healthy.  Tlie  chief  commercial  and 
industrial  centre  is  Dindigul,  and  accounts  of  tliis  and  the  other 
principal  places  within  the  taluk  follow  hereunder  : — 

Agaram  :  Six  miles  north  of  Dindigul  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Kodavanar,  facing  Tadikkoiuha  ;   population  5,'3','5  ;  police-station. 

The  village  is  widely  known  for  the  festival  at  its  Muttalamma 
temple  which  occurs  in  SeptemLer-Octoljer  and  is  attended  Ly 
crowds  from  near  and  far.  The  huilding  faces  the  Kodavanar  and 
architecturally  is  not  remarkable,  but  the  ceremonies  at  the  feast 
are  curious.  This  latter  cannot  take  place  unless  the  goddess  sig- 
nifies her  approval,  which  is  revealed  by  the  chirping  of  lizards  on 
the  northern  of  the  two  great  demons,  eight  feet  high,  which  guard 
the  shrine  on  either  side.  If  the  lizards  are  silent,  no  festival 
occurs  ;  and  this  is  a  bad  omen  for  the  coming  north-east  monsoon. 
If  the  celebration  of  the  feast  is  sanctioned,  a  silver  chakram 
(quoit),  which  is  kept  in  a  box  in  the  temple  ami  Jield  in  great 
reverence,  is  first  taken,  for  several  days  in  succession,  to  a  certain 
mantapam,  where  worship  is  paid  it.  Tliree  days  before  tlie  actual 
festival,  an  image  of  the  goddess  is  made  of  clay  and  this  and  the 
box  are  escorted  to  several  different  mantapams  with  due  formality. 
On  the  Tuesday  on  which  the  ceremonies  reach  their  climax  the 
clay  idol  and  box  are  taken  together  to  a  flower-garden  across  the 
river,  the  box  returns  to  the  temple,  and  in  front  of  the  idol  sacrifices 
of  very  many  sheep,  goats  and  fowls  are  made  by  those  who  have 
taken  vows  to  do  so.  The  mud  image  is  afterwards  left  to  the 
mercy  of  the  weather  and  slowly  crumbles  away.  On  the  days 
following  the  sacrifices,  the  assembled  crowd  is  entertained  witli 
such  popular  plays  (acted  by  Kuttadis)  as  Ifan'schaju/ra  tidfakaia 
and  so  forth. 

Ambaturai  :  Seven  miles  S.S.W.  of  j)indigal  ;  population 
5,702  ;  railway -station,  it  stands  on  the  high  ground  between  the 
Palnis  and  the  Sirunuilais,  and  is  as  much  as  097  feet  above  the  sea. 
Near  it  is  one  of  thi'  highest  points  on  all  the  South  Indian  Railway 
and  the  gradients  on  either  side  of  this  are  severe.  The  village  is  a 
small  weaving  centre  and  a  depot  for  the  products  of  tlie  adjoin- 
ing Siriimalai  hills,  and  was  formerly  the  capital  of  one  of  the 
26  p^laiyams  comprised  in  the  Dindigul  country  at  the  time  of 
its  cession  to  the  Company.  The  liistory  of  this  up  to  tlien  is 
referred  to   on   pp.  70   and  183.     It   was   a  small   estate   some 


230  MADURA. 

,CHAP.  XV.  21  square  miles  in  extent,  of  whicli  eiglit  square  miles  were  on 
DixDiGUL.  tlie  Sirumalais.  In  1795  it  was  reported  to  consist  mainly  of 
cultivable  dry  land  and  to  be  paying  a  peshkash  of  1,500  cliakrams 
annually.  By  1816  it  had  been  ravaged  by  the  great  epidemic  of 
fever,  the  inhabitants  had  emigrated  in  large  numbers,  the  poligar 
had  mismanaged  it,  and  the  Collector  had  resumed  it  for  arrears. 

Attur  :  Population  8,704.  Lies  on  the  upper  waters  of  the 
Kodavanar,  ten  miles  south-west  of  Dindigul,  close  under  the 
Lower  Palnis.  The  new  Attur  ghat  up  these  hills,  now  under 
construction  (p.  156),  starts  from  near  here.  A  channel  from 
the  river  irrigates  some  750  acres  assessed  at  Rs.  4 ,200  and  is  the 
onl}'  considerable  work  of  its  kind  in  the  talnk. 

Attur  is  locally  very  celebrated  for  its  festival  to  V"andik^li- 
amman,  a  form  of  the  well-known  goddess  Kali.  Her  temple, 
curiously  enough,  contains  also  an  image  of  Muttalamma,  and  a 
feast  to  each  of  the  two  goddesses  takes  place  on  alternate  years, 
turn  and  turn  about.  That  to  Vandikaliamma  is  probably  the 
better  appreciated  of  the  two.  It  takes  place  in  the  month  of 
Panguni  (March- April)  and  the  great  day  in  it  is  the  Tuesday 
(festivals  to  Kali  are  usually  fixed  for  a  Tuesday)  after  the 
full  moon. 

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  past  two 
years  and  have  been  allowed  in  consequence  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  tha  temple. 

On  the  Sunday  preceding  the  chief  day  of  the  feast,  the  village 
potter  brings  somQ  earth  to  the  shrine  and  it  is  consecrated  and 
returned  to  him.  From  this  he  manufactures  an  image  of  K^li 
which  is  taken  round  the  village  with  all  kinds  of  music  and 
eventually  placed  in  the  temple.  The  people  assemble  there  on 
the  Tuesday  and  do  puja  and  perform  the  vows  they  have  taken 
to  the  goddess  during  the  past  months. 

On  the  I'hursday  occurs  the  great  sacrificing  of  the  dedicated 
buffaloes.  The  one  which  was  garlanded  and  put  in  the  temple  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 
lias  fasted  that  day  to  purify  himself  for  the  rite.  The  privilege 
of  actually  killing  the  animal  belongs  by  immemorial  usage  to  the 
head  of  the  family  of  the  former  poligar  of  Nilakkottai,  but  lie 
deputes  certain  Pallans  to  take  his  place,  and  they  fall  upon  the 
animal  and  slay  it.     Afterwards  twenty  or  thirty  other  buffaloes 


(JAZETTEER.  231 

(the  number  varies  with  the  number  of  people  who  have  taken  CHAP.  XV. 
vows  to  carry  out  this  rite)  are  sacrificed  on  the  same  spot.  Their  1)indk;lt.. 
bodies  are  eventually  buried  in  front  of  the  shrine. 

This  festival  is  the  only  one  in  the  district  at  which  any 
considerable  number  of  these  animals  is  thus  offered  up.  The 
ceremony  is  supposed,  to  commemorate  the  triumph  of  Kali  over 
the  buffalo-headed  demon  Mahishasura,  which  event  is  wonder- 
fully depicted  among-  the  sculptures  at  the  '  Seven  Pagodas  '  in 
Ching-leput  district  and  is  fabled  to  have  occurred  at  Mysore 
(whence  the  name  of  that  town)  where,  on  the  great  rock  overlooking 
the  place,  is  a  famous  temple  to  Kali. 

On  the  Friday  of  the  Attur  feast  the  image  of  tlie  goddess 
which  the  potter  made  is  taken  in  procession  again  and  left  in  a 
flower-garden  (compare  the  ritual  at  the  festival  at  Agaram)  wliere 
sheep,  goats  and  fowls  are  sacrificed  before  it.  These  doings, 
however,  are  rather  private  affairs  than  part  of  the  real  ceremonies. 
For  a  week  thereafter  the  temple  is  shut  up  and  puja  is  only  done 
outside  its  doors.  'I'hen  it  is  formally  purified  by  the  village 
Panchangi  Brahman  (no  Brahman  has  thus  far  had  any  hand  in 
any  of  the  rites)  and  worship  goes  on  as  before.  These  later 
doings  have  the  appearance  of  an  apology  for  the  sacrifices  which 
have  occurred. 

When  it  is  Muttalamma's  turn  for  the  festival,  no  buffalo 
sacrifices  occur,  but  otherwise  the  ritual  is  much  the  same. 

Ayyampalaiyam :  A  union  of  13,881  inhabitants  lying 
eighteen  miles  in  a  direct  line  south-west  of  Dindigul,  in  a  valley 
of  the  Lower  Palnis  belonging  to  the  Kannivtidi  zamindari  and 
watered  by  the  Ayyamp£aiyam  river. 

The  place  is  said  to  get  its  name  from  its  well-known  temple  to 
Aiyanar.  It  does  a  great  trade  with  the  Lower  Palnis  in  the  staple 
products  of  that  range.  'I  he  river  is  prettily  fringed  with  cocoanut 
and  mango  topes  and  is  crossed  by  a  dam.  Messrs.  TurnbuU  and 
Keys,  in  their  Survey  Account,  complain  that  the  wet  crops  under 
this  work  were  annually  ruined  by  elephants,  though  every  effort 
was  made  to  keep  them  awa}-. 

Dindigul,  the  head-quart '^i-s  of  i]\<^  division  and  t:duk,  is  the 
second  largest  town  in  the  district,  its  popuhvtion  numbering  25,182, 
of  whom  as  n\any  as  n,17o  arc  Musalmans  ^nearly  all  of  tlieso  are 
Kavutans)  and  3,947  are  Christians,  'llie  place  is  a  municipality 
and  the  station  of  a  tahsildar,  sub-magistrate,  district  munsif,  sub- 
reo-istrar  and  bench  of  magistrates  ;  is  a  station  on  the  railway  (39 
miles  north  of  Aladura)  ;  and  possesses  a  poHce-station,  upper 
secondary   school,  hospital,   dispensary  for   women   and  children, 


232  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.    travellesr'    bungalow,  local    fund    cliattram    and  a   weekly  Tamil 
DiNDiGi,!..     newspaper.     Its  medical  and  educational  institutions   liave    been 

referred  to  in  Chapters  IX  and  X  above,  and  its  municipality  and 

water-works  in  Chapter  XIV.  The  Roman  Catholic  and  American 
Missions  liave  established  stations  there  and  built  large  churches 
(tliat  of  the  former  body  being  an  unusually  imposing  erection) 
and  the  Goanese  Catholics  and  the  Lutherans  have  smaller  settle- 
ments. The  town  is  a  pleasant  place  picturesquely  situated  between 
the  Palnis  and  the  Sirumalais,  and  slopes  up  from  the  railway- 
station  (which  is  itself  as  much  as  924  feet  above  the  sea)  to  the 
high  ground  on  the  nortli-west  where  the  Sub-Collector's  office 
and  house,  the  district  munsif's  court,  the  American  Mission 
compound,  the  hospital  and  other  public  buildings  stand  close 
to  one  another  in  an  open  and  airy  situation  among  fine  trees 
and  amid  a  climate  which  is  considerably  cooler  and  drier  than 
that  of  Madura  and  perhaps  than  that  of  any  other  large  town  in 
the  district. 

The  industries  of  Dindigul  include  the  manufacture  of  its 
widely -known  cheroots  ;  the  making  of  brass  locks  and  safes  and 
of  brass  and  bell-metal  vessels  ;  the  collection  (for  export  to 
Madras)  of  large  quantities  of  hides  and  skins,  which  daily  pollute 
the  air  along  all  the  many  roads  leading  into  the  town ;  and  the 
weaving  of  fine  cloths  by  J^atntilkarans  and  coarser  fabrics  by 
Seniyans.  There  is  also  a  considerable  trade  in  the  locally  grown 
tobacco  and  in  the  products  of  the  Palni  hills,  such  as  cardamoms, 
plantains  and  coffee.  These  matters  have  been  referred  to  in  more 
detailinChapter  VI,  and  it  is  sufficient  to  note  here  that  the  town 
is  in  a  flourishing  condition  and  that  its  population  increased  by  as 
much  as  25  per  cent,  in  the  decade  1891-1901  and  by  no  less  than 
96  per  cent,  in  the  thirty  years  following  1871. 

Dindigul  gets  its  name  from,  and  in  olden  days  owed  its 
importance  to,  the  great  isolated,  fortress-crowned  rock  which 
stands  at  its  western  end  and  dominates  the  whole  of  it.  This  is 
called  the  Tindu-kal,  a  word  which  is  said  by  some  (there  are 
several  rival  etymologies)  to  mean  '  pillow-rock,'  from  the  supposed 
resemblance  of  the  hill  to  a  native  pillow.  It  may  be  more 
justly  likened  to  a  huge  wedge  lying  on  its  side.  It  is  about  400 
yards  long  by  300  wide  and  lies  with  its  tlnn  end  pointing  north- 
eastwards. The  top  of  the  thicker,  or  south-western,  end  is  1,223 
feet  above  the  sea  and  some  280  feet  above  the  ground  immedi- 
ately round  it.  The  hill  is  almost  absolutely  bare  of  any  kind  of 
vegetation,  and  this  gives  it  (in  some  lights)  a  particularly 
forbidding  appearance. 


OAZBXT2EB. 


233 


The  fortifications,  which  are  on  the  list  of  antiquities  conserved  CHAP.  XV. 
by  Government  and  are  in  excellent  repair,  enclose  the  w^hole  of  Dindigul. 
the  upper  part  of  it  and  are  reached  from  lihe  thin  end  of  the  wedge 
by  a  flight  of  600  shallow  steps  cut  on  tne  face  of  the  bare  rock 
there.  At  the  top  of  this  flight  is  the  one  and  only  gate  into  the 
fort,  over  which  is  inscribed,  in  Persian,  the  usual  Musalman 
profession  of  faith  and  a  prayer  to  the  Almighty  to  guard  the 
place  from  harm.  The  walls  are  of  brick  and  stone  and  run  round 
the  crest  of  the  whole  of  the  rock  except  in  one  place  at  the  thicker 
end  which  is  so  precipitous  and  overhanging  as  to  render  artificial 
protection  unnecessary. 

The  buildings  within  the  enclosure  so  made  are  neither 
numerous  nor  remarkable.  To  the  west  of  the  main  gate  are  a 
series  of  bombproof  quarters  with  barrel  roofs,  sunk  below  the 
level  of  the  walls  and  placed  practically  underground.  In  these, 
refractory  poligars  and  other  state  prisoners  used  to  be  confined. 
Above  them,  in  more  exposed  positions,  are  two  brick  erections 
with  steeply  pitched  roofs  which  appear  to  have  been  magazines 
and  are  probably  of  British  construction.  Between  these  latter 
stand  the  ruins  of  a  larger  building  which  is  said  to  have  been 
the  commanding-officer's  quarters  in  the  days  of  native  rule,  and 
just  below  them  are  some  deep  fissures  in  the  rock  which  contain 
water  in  the  driest  season  and  one  of  which  is  popularly  declared 
to  be  unfathomable.  Lying  near  one  of  these  pools,  below  a 
circular  brick  bastion  containing  the  foundations  of  a  flagstaff, 
are  two  old  iron  cannon.  On  the  very  top  of  the  hill  is  a  dilapidated, 
empty  temple  to  Abhiramiamman  which  includes  tliree  separate 
shrines,  is  of  no  architectural  interest,  but  contains  an  inscription  of 
king  Achyuta  of  Vijayanagar,  dated  1538  A.D. 

In  their  memoir  on  the  survey  of  the  '  Province  of  Dindigul,^ 
Messrs.  TurnbuU  and  Keys,  who  wrote  in  1815-16  when  the 
memory  of  such  things  was  fresher,  say  that  Tipu  removed  the 
image  of  Abhiramiamman  to  the  town  (where^  it  still  remains)  so 
that  spies  might  have  no  excuse  for  going  through  the  fortress. 
They  state  that  both  the  fortifications  on  the  top  of  the  rock  and 
the  works  beneath  it  (see  below)  were  originally  built  by  Muttu 
Krishnappa  Nayakkan  of  Madura  (1602-09)  ;  that  the  upper  fort 
was  considerably  improved  in  the  modem  style  by  Saiyad  Sahib 
(see  p.  70)  when  he  was  in  charge  of  the  country  from  1784  to 
1790  ;  and  that  it  was  thereafter  '  entirely  altered  and  systemati- 
cally strengthened  '  in  1797-98  by  the  Company.  Wilks  confirms 
their  account  of  Saiyad  Sahib's  share  in  the  matter,  and  states 
that  in  the  six  years  previous  to  17c' 0    the  fort  had  been   '  rebuilt 

30 


234  MADURA. 

CH  V.P.  XV.  with  excellent  masonrj,  on  a  new  line  of  defence,  not  in  conformity 
DiNiJiaDi..  to  the  exact  principles  of  European  science,  but  with  a  better 
attention  to  flanking-  defence.' 

In  1811,  continues  the  Survey  Account,  the  garrison  and 
most  of  the  guns  and  stores  were  removed  owing  to  the  great 
epidemic  of  fever  which  then  swept  through  the  district.  In  1813, 
the  fever  having  abated,  the  place  was  garrisoned  afresh,  fSOO  or 
900  men  being  posted  there,  and  it  is  said  that  there  were  troops 
in  the  place  as  late  as  1860.  At  the  time  Messrs.  Turnbull  and 
Keys  wrote,  the  lower  fort  on  the  south-east  side  of  the  rock  was 
defended  by  a  strong  mud  wall  faced  with  stones  and  provided 
with  eleven  bastions  and  a  deep  dry  ditch.  Of  all  this  nothing 
now  remains  except  a  shapeless  earthen  mound  or  two.  There 
was  one  entrance  to  this  lower  fort,  a  gate  near  a  small  temple, 
the  brick  ruins  of  which  are  still  standing.  Between  this  and  the 
rock  are  the  remains  of  a  two-storied  brick  and  chunam  building 
which  was  formerly  the  residence  of  Saiyad  Sahib,  but  in  1815-16 
had  been  fitted  out  as  a  hospital.  The  sepoys  were  quartered  in 
temporary  barracks.  Below  the  south-eastern  corner  of  the  rock 
was  a  '  garden  house  formerly  the  property  of  Colonel  Cuppage  ' 
and  the  remains  of  this  still  stand  in  a  tope  there. 

At  the  opposite  end  of  the  rock,  facing  the  600  steps  already 
mentioned,  is  the  old  Protestant  cemetery.  Among  the  tombstones 
in  it  (which  have  aU  been  whitewmhed  by  some  Yandal !)  are  those 
of  Harriot  Hurdis  (1802),  sister  of  the  famous  Collector  of  that 
name;  Lieutenant  Thomas  Wilson  (J 815),  adjutant  of  one  of 
the  Native  Eegiments  stationed  here  ;  Major  John  Lambe  (1828) 
of  the  Honourable  Company's  service  ;  WiUiam  Buckley  (1834), 
ensign  in  another  Native  Regiment ;  Robert  Davidson  (1841), 
Sub-Collector  of  Dindigul;  and  the  Rev.  William  Ilickey  (1870), 
a  iiiissionary  of  the  S.P.Gr.  who  was  formerly  well  known  in  this 
town.     Just  north  of  the  cemetery  is  the  taluk  cutcherry. 

South  of  the  rock,  near  a  small  mosque  and  amid  a  pretty  grove 
of  tamarinds,  stands  a  graceful,  white,  Musalman  tomb,  surrounded 
with  a  verandah  supported  by  an  arched  colonnade,  and  ornamented 
with  a  dome  and  dwarf  minarets.  A  Persian  inscription  in  this 
shows  that  it  is  the  grave  of  Amir-un-nissa  Begam,  wife  of  Mir 
Eazali  Khan  Bahadur,  the  '  Mir  Sahib '  of  history,  who  was 
husband  of  Haidar  Ah's  wife's  sister  and  renter  of  the  Dindigul 
country  from  1772  to  1782  (see  p.  70  above).  Mir  Sahib 
himself  sleeps  under  the  shadow  of  the  great  Gurramkonda  rock 
in  the  Cuddapah  district.  The  inscription  gives  the  date  of  Amir- 
un-nissa's  death  as  Hijra  1187,  which  began  on  25th  March  1773, 


GAZETTBKE.  235 

and  local  tradition  says   she  died  in  child-birth  in  Saiyad  Sdhib'a    CHAP.  XV. 
residence  above  mentioned.     There  used  to  be  an  inain  for  the  up-      DiMnrouL. 
keep  of  the  tomb,  and  the  hamlet  in  which  it  stands  is  mainly 
inhabited  by  Eavutans  and  is  known  as  Begampur. 

Between  the  fort  rock  and  the  town  stretched,  in  days  gone  by, 
the  parade-ground  (still  a  pleasant,  open  maidan)  and  the  town 
(or  '  pettah ')  was  itself  surrounded  by  a  mud  bulwark  which  has 
now  vanished.     The  Survey  Account  says  that — 

'  There  were  three  entrances  into  the  Pettah,  the  one  from 
Trichiuopoly,  Oaroor  and  Niittum  by  the  East  Gate  ;  the  other  from 
Darapooram,  Aravacoorehy  and  Pylny  by  the  North  Gate;  and  from 
Madura  and  Pereacolum,  etc.,  by  the  :?oath.  On  this  side  of  the  Town 
the  wall  runs  over  two  low  rouks  ;  the  lessor  one  to  tlie  E.  stretches 
to  the  Nuttum  avenue  by  Punnacolam,  a  small  Tank  of  irriga- 
tion which  is  appropriated  to  the  Hupi^ort  of  the  Begiimpore  Mosque 
.  .  .  .  The  road  leading  fi-om  the  East  Gate  of  the  Town  is  on 
both  sides  enclosed  by  a  few  Gentlemen's  Garden  House.s,  and  by 
the  North  Gate  stand  the  ruins  of  Dr.  King's  house,  which  was  the 
finest  building  in  its  time,  commanding  a  delightful  view  of  the 
Town  and  the  adjacent  country  for  a  few  Miles.     A  road  from  it  to 

the  East  leads  to  the   Darogah's  Cutcherry On   the 

south  of  Moat  pollium,  a  small  village  about  four  furlongs  to  the 
east  of  Dindigul,  chiefly  inhabited  by  herdsmen,  are  two  fine  Bunga- 
lows which  are  consigned  for  the  residence  and  Cutcherry  of  the 
Collector,  who  resorts  to  Dindigul  annually  for  forming  the  Jumma- 
bundy  Assessment  of  th«  Country.  The  head  Cutcherry  of  the 
Tahsildar  is  held  here,  for  wliich  a  fine  building  has  been  erected  in 
the  year  1804,  on  the  East  side  of  the  village.' 

Of  this  wall  and  its  three  gates  no  traces  now  survive.  Old 
people  in  the  town  remember  them,  however,  and  say  that  the  East 
Gate  was  some  30  yards  west  of  the  west  door  of  the  American 
Church,  and  crossed  the  road  by  the  big  tamarind  there  ;  that  the 
North  Gate  was  just  east  of  the  junction  of  the  roads  to  Palni  and 
Vedasandur  ;  and  the  South  Gate  not  far  from  the  Begam's  tomb. 
'I'he  '  Punnacolum '  (Pannaikulam )  is  now  called  the  Aramanai- 
kulam.  '  Dr.  King's  house  "  stood  just  west  of  the  present  hospital, 
across  the  road,  and  a  smaller  house  has  been  put  up  on  the  site  of 
it.  '  Moat  pollium '  (Mettupalaiyam)  is  now  known  as  Metturajak- 
kalpatti.  The  '  two  fine  bungalows  '  were  the  Sub-Collector's  old 
house  (which  stood  within  his  present  compound,  but  was  con- 
demned in  1881  and  replaced  by  his  existing  residence)  and  the 
bungalow  immediately  east  of  it,  now  unoccupied.  North  of  the 
back  gate  of  this,  across  the  road,  may  still  be  seen  the  foundations 
of  the  tahsildar' s  old  cutcherry,  built  in  1804. 


236  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.  Until  tlie    middle  cf   the    eigliteentli   century    Dindigul   fort 

DiNDiGUL.  remained  in  tlie  possession  of  tlie  Ndyakkans  of  Madura.  One  of 
Taylor's  Oriental  Historical  MSS.  says  tliat  in  the  reign  of  Muttu 
Virappa  Nayakkan  (1609-22)  one  Mulikan  came  from  Mysore  and 
besieged  it,  but  was  driven  off  by  the  chief  of  Kannivadi  and  the 
eighteen  poligars  of  Dindigul  of  whom  he  was  the  head.  In  the 
reign  of  Tirumala  Nayakkan  (1623-59)  the  Mysoreans  again 
attacked  the  place  and  were  once  more  repulsed,  this  time  by 
Eamappayya,  Tirumala's  well-known  general. 

In  1736  Chanda  Sahib  seized  the  territory  of  the  N^yakkans 
(p.  58)  and  placed  his  brother  Sadak  Sahib  in  charge  of  Dindigul. 
In  the  constant  wars  which  followed,  the  importance  of  the  fort  as 
a  strategical  point  in  the  only  pass  between  Coimbatore  and  Madura 
led  to  frequent  changes  in  its  possessors. 

During  the  troublous  times  which  ensued  upon  the  Mar^tha 
attack  upon  Chanda  S^hib  (p.  59)  Eama  Nayakkan,  an  insigni- 
ficant poligar  of  Uttamapalaiyam,  surprised  the  place. ^  This  was 
perhaps  about  1741.  Soon  afterwards  the  Mysore  Grovernment 
sent  a  force  under  Birki  Venkata  Eao  into  the  country,  and  the 
officer  then  in  charge  of  the  fort,  Mir  Im&m  UDa,  gave  it  up  t-o 
him  without  resistance  (p.  69). 

In  1755  Venkatapja,  the  Mysorean  officer  in  command  of  it, 
reported  that  the  poligars  round  about  were  very  obstreperous  ;  and 
Haidar  AU  was  sent  to  bring  them  to  their  senses.  He  used 
Dindigul  as  his  base.  It  was  his  first  important  command,  and 
Wilks  ^  thinks  that  '  this  may,  perhaps,  be  considered  as  the  epoch 
at  which  the  germ  of  that  ambition  began  to  unfold  which 
terminated  in  his  usurpation  of  the  government  of  Mysore.'  The 
extraordinary  ease  with  which  he  quelled  the  poligars  bas  already 
(p.  70)  been  mentioned,  and  for  some  years  afterwards  he  used 
Dindigul  as  a  centre  for  his  operations  against  the  Madura  country 
proper.  In  1757  he  sallied  out  from  it,  took  Solavandan  and  plun- 
dered the  country  up  to  the  walls  of  Madura ;  but  eventually  he 
was  forced  back  again  by  Muhammad  Yusuf,  Commandant  of  the 
Company's  sepoys.  In  1760  he  marched  out  and  attacked  Vattila- 
gundu,  but  was  driven  home  again  by  the  same  officer. 

In  1767  the  place  fell  for  the  first  time  into  English  hands,  the 
pettah  being  taken  by  Colonel  Wood's  detachment  by  escalade  on 
the  3rd  August  and  the  fort  surrendering  the  next  day.  The 
garrison  placed  there  then  was  left  without  provisions,  money,  or 
iiiBtruotiona  ;  and  in  the  next  year  it  surrendered  to  Haidar  again. 
'  Wilks  (MadiaB,  1869),  i,  216. 


OAZETTEBR.  237 

On  4tli  May  1788  the  place  once  more   surrendered  to  the  English    CHAP.  XV. 
(under  Colonel   Lang-),  but  was  given  back  to  Mysore  in  1784  by      Dindigdl. 
the  treaty  of  Mangalore.     Tipu  Sultan   came  to  Dindigul  in  1 788 
to  collect  arrears  of  tribute  due  from  the  poligars,  and  sequestered 
many  of  their  estates. 

In  1790,  on  the  outbreak  of  the  Second  Mysore  War,  the  for- 
tress was  besieged  by  Colonel  James  Stuart,  and,  for  the  first  time 
in  its  history,  made  a  slight  defence.  The  English  had  not  enough 
guns  nor  sufficient  ammunition.  They  silenced  the  fort's  fire  on  the 
first  day  (20th  August)  and  by  the  evening  of  the  next  had  made 
a  very  indifferent  breach.  As  their  ammunition  had  by  that  time 
almost  run  out,  Colonel  Stuart  determined  to  escalade,  and  an 
assault  was  made  that  evening.  It  was  repulsed  with  loss  (Ensign 
Davidson  and  six  other  Europeans  being  killed),  but  most  of  the 
garrison  abandoned  the  fort  during  the  night,  and  early  the  next 
morning  the  killadar  in  command  of  it  capitulated.  From  that 
time  forth,  the  place  has  remained  in  English  hands.  It  was 
formally  ceded  to  the  Company  by  Tipu  in  the  treaty  of  1792. 

Emakkalapuram :  A  small  village  of  1 ,121  souls,  lying  about 
eight  miles  south-east  of  Dindigul  near  the  iSirumalais.  Formerly 
the  capital  of  one  of  the  26  pdlaiyams  comprised  in  the  Dindigul 
province  at  the  time  of  its  cession  to  the  Company.  Family 
tradition'  says  that  the  original  grantee  of  the  estate  was  one  Kama- 
lakkayya  Nayudu,  who  (unlike  the  majority  of  his  fellows  in  this 
district)  came  from  South  Arcot,  where  he  was  the  headman  of 
Devanarapatnam,  a  village  now  within  the  Cuddalore  municipality. 
He  won  the  good  graces  of  the  Vijayanagar  king  by  taming  a 
vicious  charger  which  no  one  else  could  handle,  was  given  Cudda- 
lore as  a  reward,  afterwards  accompanied  Visvanatha  Nayakkan 
(p.  41)  on  his  victorious  expedition  into  the  Madura  country 
and  thereafter  was  put  in  charge  of  one  of  the  72  bastions  of  the 
Madura  fort  and  given  this  palaiyam  of  Emakkalapuram.  It  was 
a  small  estate  measuring  about  fifteen  square  miles,  of  which  five 
were  on  the  Sirumalais. 

Its  chequered  history  up  to  the  time  when  the  British  took  tlie 
country  has  been  given  on  pp.  70  and  183.  In  1795  Mr.  Wynch 
reported  that  the  proj^erty,  though  small,  was  in  first  rate  order — 
nearly  all  its  arable  land  being  cultivated  ;  and  that  its  peshkash 
had  been  reduced  from  550  chakrams  to  450,  which  latter  sura 
was  all  that  it  could  afford  to  pay.  About  1816,  liowever,  it  was 
resumed  for  arrears  and  annexed  to  the  adjoining  sequestrated 

^  8«9  M»okeDiie  M9S.,  ii,  141-9,  which  gives  a  hiatoiy  of  the  pilaijam. 


238  MADURA- 

CHAP.  XV.    estate  of  Madur.     The  existing-  representative  of  tlie  old  poligar's 
DiNDiGUL.     family  still  draws  a  small  pension  from  Government. 

Eriyodu  :  Twelve  miles  north-north-east  of  Dindigul,  popula- 
tion 2,266.  Now  decayed,  but  formerly  the  capital  of  one  of  the 
26  p^laiyams  included  in  the  Dindigul  province.  At  the  time 
of  Haidar's  expedition  of  1755  the  poligar  promised  to  pay  70,000 
chakrams  as  the  price  of  peace,  but  defaulted  and  had  his  estate 
sequestrated. 

The  later  history  of  the  p^laiyam  is  referred  to  on  pp.  70  and 
183.  In  1795  it  was  reported  to  be  a  '  very  fine  p^laiyam  contain- 
ing twelve  villages'  and  the  Survey  Account  of  1816  says  it 
occupied  1 1 2  square  miles  of  which  30  were  hill  country.  Its  owner 
set  the  Dindigul  Committee  of  1796  (p.  18o  )  at  defiance  and  then 
fled,  leaving  behind  him  an  irrecoverable  balance  of  3,436  pagodas. 
On  the  4th  August  1796  Government  ordered  the  estate  to  be 
forfeited.  Thereafter,  up  to  the  fall  of  Seringapatam  in  1799,  a 
detached  post  of  the  Dindigul  garrison,  consisting  of  a  company  of 
sepoys  under  a  British  officer,  was  stationed  in  the  place. 

Kannivadi :  Lies  ten  miles  nearly  due  west  of  Dindigul,  close 
under  the  Palni  Hills.  It  is  the  chief  place  in  the  zamindari  of  the 
same  name,  which  is  the  largest  in  the  district,  pays  more  than 
twice  as  much  peshkash  as  any  other,  and  includes  the  whole  of 
the  eastern  end  of  the  Lower  I'alnis  The  Survey  Account  of  1816 
says  that  in  those  days  traces  of  old  buildings  and  extensive  forfi- 
fications  showed  that  the  village  originally  stood  in  the  narrow 
valley  about  a  mile  to  the  west,  then  entirely  deserted  except  by 
wild  elephants,  and  that  in  Pannairaalaiyur,  on  the  hills  above  it 
and  approached  by  a  difficult  and  fortified  path,  were  the  remains 
of  buildings  to  which  the  zamindars  used  to  flee  when  harried  by 
the  Mysoreans. 

The  village  is  not  interesting,  but  the  estate  has  a  long  history. 
Until  it  was  bought  in  a  Court  sale  in  1900  by  its  present 
proprietors,  the  Commercial  Bank  of  India,  it  was  owned  by  a 
family  of  Tottiyan  poligars  whose  traditions  ^  go  back  five 
centuries.  Like  other  chiefs  of  this  caste,  say  these  chronicles,  the 
original  ancestor  of  the  family  (with  his  two  brothers,  the  first 
poligars  of  Yirupdkshi  and  Idaiyankottai)  fled  in  the  fifteenth 
century  from  the  northern  Deccan  because  the  Musalmans  there 
coveted  his  womenkind ;  was  saved  from  pursuit  by  two  accommo- 
dating pongu  trees  on  either  side  of  an  unfordable  stream  which 
bowed  their  heads  together  to  make  a  bridge  for  him  but  stood 

'  S«e  the  long  acoount  in  the  MackenBie  MSS.,  iii,  417  ff. 


GAIETTIBR.  239 

erect  again  as  soon  as  he  had  passed  ;  and  settled  in  this  district.  CHAP.  XV. 
A  descendant  of  his,  Appaya  Nayakkan,  won  the  good  graces  of  Dindigul. 
Visvanatha  of  Vijayanagar  (p.  41),  was  granted  this  estate  on 
the  usual  terms,  cleared  it  of  jungle  and  marauding  Vedans  and 
Kalians,  and  eventually  was  entrusted  with  the  defence  of  one  of 
the  72  bastions  of  the  new  Madura  fort.  A  later  scion  of  the  line, 
Chinna  Kattira  N^yakkan,  founded  Kannivadi.  One  night  (goes 
the  story,  which  is  still  very  popular)  he  saw  the  god  of  the 
Madura  temple  and  his  wife  strolling  in  the  woods.  She  lingered 
behind,  and  he  called  out  to  her  '  Kanni  vadi  !  '  (meaning  '  Come 
along,  girl!  '),  and  she  replied  '  Nallam  pillai'  (or,  'All  right, 
dear.').  The  poligar  accordingly  founded  the  Kannivadi  and 
Nallampillai  villages  in  commemoration  of  this  unique  experience. 
Another  chief  of  the  palaiyam  was  made  head  of  the  eighteen 
poligars  of  Dindigul  who  figure  so  frequently  in  the  old  tales  as 
the  defenders  of  this  part  of  the  country  against  incursions  from 
Mysore,  and  he  and  his  descendants  accompanied  the  Nayakkan 
rulers  of  Madura  on  many  of  their  various  military  expeditions. 

After  the  decline  and  fall  of  the  Nayakkans,  the  Kannivadi 
poligar,  like  most  of  his  fellows,  aimed  at  semi-independence.  In 
1755  (p.  70)  Haidar  Ali  marched  to  bring  them  to  order,  but 
he  was  two  months  before  he  had  cleared  away  the  jungles 
and  obstacles  which  surrounded  the  Kannivadi  stronghold.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  the  poligar  promised  to  pay  three  lakhs  of 
chakrams,  and  produced  70,000  of  them  on  the  spot.  He  was, 
however,  eventually  unable  to  find  the  remainder,  and  Haidar 
sequestrated  his  estate  and  sent  him  under  arrest  to  Bangalore. 
The  property  was  given  back  by  the  English  in  ]  783,  resumed 
again  for  arrears  by  Tipu  in  1788,  and  once  more  restored  by  the 
Company  in  1790,  when  it  formed  one  of  the  26  palaiyams  at  that 
time  comprised  in  the  Dindigul  country.  The  poligar  appears 
to  have  misbehaved  soon  after,  for  he  died  in  confinement  in 
1793.  The  chief  of  Virup4kshi  claimed  his  estate,  but  by  1795 
the  property  was  back  in  the  hands  of  the  original  family  and  was 
described  as  '  a  very  fine  little  district  in  capital  order.' 

For  many  years  thereafter  it  remained  one  of  the  fourteen 
'  unsettled  palaiyams  '  already  referred  to  on  p.  194  which  always 
paid  the  peshkash  fixed  by  Air.  Hurdis  in  1802-03,  even  though 
this  had  not  been  declared  permanent  and  though  no  sanads  had 
been  granted  for  them.  In  some  ways,  however,  its  case  was  an 
exception,  for  it  happened  to  be  under  attachment  for  arrears  in 
1817-18  when  Mr.  Eous  Peter  introduced  his  reductions  in 
Mr.  Hurdis'  assessment  rates,  and  these  reductions  were  extended 
to  it  and  prevailed  until  it  was  restored  to  the  poligar's  family  (on 


!^40  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.  his  paying  tlie  arrears  due  on  it)  in  1842-43,  and  from  then 
DiNDiGUL.  onwards  until  1862-63.  By  the  latter  year,  the  poligar  was 
deeply  in  debt  and  was  compelled  to  lease  his  property.  In  1867, 
therefore,  when  Grovernment  ordered  (p.  195)  that  sanads  should 
be  granted  to  certain  others  of  the  unsettled  palaiyams  on  their 
then  existing  peshkash,  it  was  feared  that  to  give  Kannivadi  a  sanad 
would  lead  to  the  dismemberment  of  the  heavily-involved  estate, 
and  for  this  and  other  reasons  the  case  was  held  over  to  be  further 
considered  when  the  next  occasion  for  appointing  a  new  poligar 
should  arise.  The  then  proprietor  died  in  1881,  but  the  estate  was 
still  much  encumbered  and  the  sanad  was  again  withhold.  In  1895 
the  poligar  borrowed  some  ten  lakhs,  on  a  mortgage  of  his  estate, 
from  the  Commercial  Bank  of  India ;  and  this  institution  eventually 
foreclosed,  obtained  a  decree,  and  (there  being  no  bidders)  itself 
bought  in  the  property  at  the  Court  auction  in  August  1900.  In 
19U5,  after  considerable  discussion,  a  permanent  sanad  for  the 
zamindari  was  granted  to  the  Bank  on  the  same  peshkash  which 
had  always  been  paid,  namely,  Ks.  38,080-9.  The  property  is  not 
scheduled  as  impartible  and  inalienable  in  the  Madras  Impartible 
Estates  Act,  1904. 

Kuvakkapatti :  Fifteen  miles  in  a  direct  line  nearly  north 
of  Dindigul ;  population  1,262.  Was  formerly  known  as  Palli- 
yappanayakkanur,  and  was  the  chief  village  of  a  small  palaiyam 
of  that  name  which  was  one  of  the  26  estates  comprised  in  the 
Dindigul  province  at  the  time  of  its  acquisition  by  the  Company 
in  1 790.  Palliyappa  Ndyakkan  was  one  of  the  first  owners  of  this, 
and  is  stated  in  one  of  the  Mackenzie  MSS.  to  have  built  the  mud 
fort  the  ruins  of  which  still  stand  on  the  east  of  the  village,  and  the 
temple  and  mantapam  adjoining  it.  In  Haidar's  expedition  of 
1755  the  then  poligar  surrendered  and  promised  to  pay  a  fine.  He 
broke  his  word,  and  Haidar  resumed  his  estate.  The  later  history 
of  the  property  has  been  referred  to  on  p.  183.  After  the 
Company  obtained  the  Dindigul  country,  the  poligar  was  again 
ousted  for  arrears  and  in  1795  he  was  reported  not  to  live  on  his 
property  and  to  be  much  to  blame  for  his  neglect  of  it.  One  of 
his  descendants  still  draws  a  small  allowance  from  Government 
and  his  residence  enjoys  the  courtesy  title  of  '  palace.  ' 

Madur :  Seven  miles  east  of  Dindigul,  population  1,743. 
Formerly  capital  of  one  of  the  26  palaiyams  comprised  in  the 
Dindigul  province.  Its  history  up  to  the  advent  of  the  Company 
has  been  sketched  on  pp.  70  and  183.  In  1795  Mr.  Wynch 
reported  that  it  was  in  bad  order  owing  to  the  indebtedness  of  its 
owner,  and  it  was  resumed  for  arrears  in  1796.     The  poligar  then 


aAZSTTBBB.  24l 

collected  and  armed  soiuo  peons  and  went  about  the  estate  annopng  CHAP.  XV, 
and  intimidating-  the  ryots.  The  property  escheated  on  failure  of  Dindigl-l. 
heirs  in  the  same  year.  It  was  in  a  most  neglected  state,  the  fields 
being  overrun  with  weeds  and  scrub.  It  suffered  severely  in  the 
great  fever  epidemic  of  1811  '  which  swept  away  the  greatest  part 
of  '  its  inhabitants,  and  in  I81l3  it  was  stated  to  be  '  almost 
desolated.'  East  of  the  adjoining  village  of  Ramanadapuram,  on  a 
low  rock,  is  an  ancient  inscription  which  has  long'  remained 
nndeciphered.  M.ll.Ry.  V.  Venkayya  states  that  it  records  the 
building  of  a  tank  in  the  time  of  the  Pandya  king  Maranjadaiyan, 
who  perhaps  belonged  to  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century  A.D. 

Marunuttu  :  Ten  miles  in  a  direct  line  south-east  of  Dindigul, 
population  512.  Formerly  the  chief  village  of  one  of  the  26 
palaiyams  already  several  times  referred  to.  The  history  of  this 
in  pre-British  days  has  been  given  on  pp.  70  and  l83.  In  1795 
it  was  reported  to  be  a  '  well  ordered  estate,'  but  in  1798  we  find 
the  poligar  charged  with  murder  and  other  crimes  and  fleeing 
from  justice.  Soon  after,  his  property  was  forfeited,  and  in  1816 
Marunuttu  village  was  said  to  be  desolate  except  for  a  few 
Musalmans  in  a  detached  hamlet  who  .lived  by  trading  with  the 
people  on  the  Sirumalais. 

Palakkanuttu  (more  usually  spelt  Palaganuth)  is  a  village 
of  4,848  inhabitants  in  the  Kannivadi  zamindari  15  miles  west  of 
Dindigul  on  the  Palni  road,  it  contains  a  chattram,  inscriptions  in 
which  show  that  the  part  reserved  for  Brdhmans  was  built  in  1840 
from  funds  raised  by  Division  Sheristadar  Chintamani  Venliata 
Rao,  and  the  non-Brdhman  portion  in  1813  by  the  wife  of  the 
zamindar  of  Ayakkudi.  The  travellers'  bungalow  in  the  village  is 
located  in  an  old  building  with  an  arched  roof,  half  of  which  is 
occupied  by  the  police-station.  Local  tradition  says  that  it  was 
constructed  by  the  Robert  Davidson  who  was  Sub-Collector  of 
Dindigul  from  1836  to  1837  and  again  from  1838  to  1841,  died  at 
that  town  in  the  last  of  these  years,  and  lies  buried  in  the  ceme- 
tery at  the  foot  of  the  fort  rock  there. 

Gold  has  long  been,  and  is  still,  washed  from  the  alluvium  and 
sand  of  the  red  ground  at  the  foot  of  both  sides  of  the  prominent 
hill  two  miles  north  by  west  of  the  travellers'  bungalow.  It  is 
found  in  small  particles  and  in  such  limited  quantities  that  the 
people  who  search  for  it  do  not  make  more  tlian  they  woii\i  by 
manual  labour  of  the  ordinary  kind. 

The  Rev.  C.  F.  Muzzy  of  the  American  Mission,  who  first 
drew  public   attention  to  the  matter  in  1856,^  suggested   that  if 

^  M.J.L.8.,  xTii,  101. 

SI 


342  IfADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.    moderately    doep   shafts    were   snnk  the   yield    would  probably  be 
UiNniecL.      greatly  increased,  but  local  report,  says  that  this  has  since  been  tried 
bj  more  than  one  European  without  success. 

Sukkampatti  :  Two  miles  north  of  A ilur;  population  2,439. 
Formerly  the  chief  place  of  one  of  the  26  palaiyams  of  the  Dindi- 
gul  country.  In  1755,  during-  Haidar's  expedition  against  the 
owners  of  these  ''p.  70),  this  poligar  sent  a  body  of  troops  to  the 
help  of  the  chief  of  Eriyodu,  whom  Haidar  was  attacking.  These 
were  cut  to  pieces,  and  the  poligar  was  fined  30,000  chakrams  for 
his  audacity.  As  he  did  not  pay  the  money,  Haidar  sequestered 
his  estate.  This  was  restored  by  the  English  in  1783,  resumed 
again  in  1785,  given  back  once  more  by  the  Company  in  1790,  but 
again  sequestrated  for  arrears  in  1795,  being  then  '  in  the  greatest 
disorder  .'  On  this  the  poligar,  like  him  of  Madur,  armed  some 
peons  and  went  about  for  some  tiire  harrying  the  ryots  and  pre- 
venting the  collection  of  the  Company's  dues.  The  head  of  the 
family  still  receives  a  small  pension  from  Government. 

Tadikkombu  :  About  five  miles  north  of  Dindigul,  population 
5,o01.  The  village  once  gave  its  name  to  the  head-quarter  taluk 
of  the  Dindigul  province  and  the  cutcherry  was  located  there.  It 
possesses  a  temple  to  Alagar  (Sundarardja  Perumdl)  which  con- 
tains the  best  sculpture  in  the  taluk.  Tlie  work  is  of  the  later 
N4yakkan  style  and  among  the  inscriptions  in  the  building  is  a 
record  dated  1029,  in  the  time  of  Tirumala  Nayakkan.  The  finest 
carving  is  in  the  mantapam  before  the  goddess'  shrine,  which  is 
supported  by  a  series  of  big  monolithic  pillars  about  twelve  feet 
high  fashioned  into  verj  elaborate  and  spirited  representations 
of  the  incarnations  of  Vishnu  and  so  on.  Nearer  the  shrine  is  a 
smaller  and  more  ordinary  inner  mantapam.  The  entrance  to  this 
is  Hanked  on  either  side  by  two  notable  pillars  made  of  a  handsome 
marbled  stone  and  consisting  of  a  central  square  column  sur- 
rounded by  eight  graceful  detached  shafts  all  cut  out  of  one 
stone  and  all  of  different  designs.  The  roof  of  this  smaller  manta- 
pam has  eaves  quaintly  fashioned  to  represent  wooden  rafters  and 
tie-pieces,  exactly  similar — though  smaller  and  less  carefully 
executed — to  the  finer  examples  of  the  same  artifice  to  be  seen  in 
the  temple  ai  Tiruvadur  (see  p.  290).  On  the  east  facade  of  the 
main  gopuram  is  another  instance  of  the  same  unusual  work,  while 
lying  about  in  the  temple  courtyard  are  stones  which  evidently 
once  formed  part  of  other  eaves  of  this  kind  and  are  stated  to 
have  fallen  from  the  deserted  shrine  in  the  south-  west  corner  of 
this  enclosure. 


GAZETTEER. 


243 


Tavasimadai :  Ei^yht  miles  soutli-east  of  Dindij^ul,  close  under  CilAP.  XY. 
the  Sirumalais  ;  ]:)opalation  1,003.  Once  the  capital  of  one  of  the  Dindigul. 
26  palaiyanis  of  Dindig-ul,  tlie  liistory  of  which  has  been  sketched 
on  pp.  70  and  1 83  above.  It  was  a  very  small  property  and  in 
1795  was  reported  to  be  assessed  at  a  merely  nominal  peslikash. 
In  1816  its  whole  population  numbered  only  312  souls.  Its  present 
inhabitants,  like  those  of  several  adjoining-  villages,  are  largely 
Eoman  Catholics.  Several  burial-grounds  of  this  sect  are  promi- 
nently placed  on  the  wide  margins  of  the  road  from  Kanivaipatti 
to  Dindigul. 

The  poligar  is  a  Tottiyan  and  his  family  traditions  '  tell  the 
same  story  of  the  advent  of  his  forebears  to  this  district  as  is  re- 
counted by  other  poligars  of  that  caste  and  has  already  (p.  106) 
been  referred  to. 

Tavasimadai  means  '  pool  of  penance, '  and  tlie  legend  goes 
that  the  ancestor  .of  the  family  was  doing  penance  by  a  pool  when 
his  family  god  '  Chotala '  appeared  and  told  him  to  found  this 
village  and  take  his  (the  god's)  name.  'All  the  poligars  were 
thereafter  called  Chotala,  and  the  village  so  prospered  that  one  of 
its  later  owners  was  raised  to  the  charge  of  one  of  the  72  bastions 
of  Madura.  The  existing  representative  of  the  line  draws  a  small 
pension  from  tiovernment. 

V^dasandur:  A  union  of  7,301  inhabitants,  lying  twelve 
miles  north  of  Dindigul.  Station  of  a  deputy  tahsildar  and  a  sub- 
registrar.  Popular  legends  say  that  this  part  of  the  country  was 
once  inhabited  by  Vedans,  a  lawless  set  of  people  resembling  the 
Kalians,  and  that  the  name  of  the  village  is  a  corruption  of  Veda- 
sandaiyur,  the  prefix  being  given  it  to  distinguish  it  from  several 
other  places  called  Sandaiy^r.  This  last  word  means  '  market 
village '  and  Vedasandur  still  has  the  second  largest  weekly  fair  in 
the  district.  In  days  gone  by  it  was  probably  even  more  busy  than 
now,  as  it  lay  at  the  point  of  junction  of  the  main  roads  to  Palni 
and  was  one  of  the  chief  halting-plnces  for  pilgrims  to  the  shrine 
there.  Messrs.  Turnbull  and  Keys  give  a  grapliic  description  of 
the  crowds  wliich  even  then  assembled  in  the  village,  the  warmth 
of  the  welcome  accorded  them  by  the  inhabitants  (who  hoped  to 
derive  indirect  religious  merit  thereby)  and  the  pomp  and  cir- 
cumstance with  which  the  rich  annual  gifts  to  the  Palni  god  sent 
in  those  days  by  the  Eajas  of  Tanjore  and  Pudukkottai  were 
escorted  through  tlie  town  in  gr.md  processions  accompanied  by 
music  and  dancing-girls. 

^   Maoken«ie  M88.,  ii,  159-6G  fcud  Turubull  and  Ko)b'  Survey  Actount  MS. 


244  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.  The  place  contains  tlie  ruins  of  an  old  fort  whicli  in  1815  had 

DiNDiGi'L.  '  a  high  cavalier  in  the  centre,  commanding  a  fine  prospect  of  the 
surrounding  country,'  and  inside  which  is  now  grown  some  of  the 
best  tobacco  in  the  district ;  and,  just  north-west  of  this,  a  darga 
said  to  be  erected  over  the  remains  of  Hazarat  Saiyad  Arab  Abdur 
Eahim  Auliah,  concerning  whom  many  fabulous  stories  are  told 
but  whose  fame  seems  to  be  on  the  decline. 


0A2BTT&BR.  945 


KODAIKANAL  TALUK. 


The  taluk  of  Kodaikanal,  constituted  (see.  p.  206)   in    1889,  con-    CHAP.  XV 
sists  of  the   Upper   and  Lower  Palnis,   of  which  some   description     K'odaikanai.. 
has  already  been  given  on  pp.  3-6   above.     The   only  place  in  it 
deserving  of  separate  mention  is — 

Kodaikanal :  This  sanitarium  stands  on  the  southern  crest 
of  the  Upper  Palni  plateau,  immediately  above  Periyakulam  town. 
It  averages  about  7,000  feet  above  the  sea,  the  Gr.T.S.  at  the 
Eoman  Catholic  church  (one  of  the  highest  buildings  in  it) 
being  7,209  feet  above  the  sea,  and  that  at  Tredis,  the  Uaja  of 
Pudukkottai's  house  (one  of  the  least  elevated  of  its  residences), 
being  6,8H2  feet.  The  travellers'  bungalow  at  Periyakulam,  five 
miles  from  the  foat  of  the  hills,  is  932  feet  above  mean  sea  level. 

The  European  houses  in  Kodaikanal  are  mostly  built  round  the 
sides  of  an  irregular  basin,  roughly  a  mile  and  a  half  long  by  a 
mile  wide,  which  is  situated  on  the  very  edge  of  the  precipitous 
southern  side  of  the  Palnis.  From  the  top  of  the  southern  rim  of 
this  the  plains  are  seen  almost  immediately  below\  Its  northern 
side  is  high  and  steep  ;  on  the  west  it  is  also  bounded  by  a  ridge 
of  considerable  elevation  ;  but  on  the  east  the  land  falls  rapidly 
away  to  the  Low^er  Palnis,  and  discloses  fine  views  of  that  range 
and  of  the  steep,  square-topped  peak  of  Perumdl  hill  (7,326  feet), 
rising  head  and  shoulders  above  all  his  fellows.  On  the  inner  slope 
of  the  southern  rim  of  the  basin  is  a  beautiful  hanging  wood  wliich 
is  called  the  Kodai-kanal,  or  'forest  of  creepers,^  and  gives  its  name 
to  the  place.  The  bottom  of  the  basin  was  originally  a  swamp 
with  a  small  stream  wandering  through  it.  In  1863 — at  the 
suggestion,  and  largely  at  the  expense,  of  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir 
Verej  Levinge,  then  Collector  of  Madura — this  was  formed  into  a 
lake  by  banking  up  the  stream.  Down  into  this  picturesque  slieet 
of  water,  froiu  the  sides  of  the  basin,  run  several  beautiful  wooded 
apurs  on  which  stand  some  of  the  best  houses  in  the  place.  They 
cause  the  lake  to  assume  a  shape  something  like  that  of  a  star-fish  ; 
and  thus,  though  nowhere  much  above  half  a  mile  across  in  a 
straight  line,  it  is  about  three  miles  round,  measured  along  the 
level  road  on  its  margin  which  follows  its  many  indentations. 

Above  this  '  Lake  Road,'  round  the  greater  part  of  the  sides 
of  the  basin,  are  two  other  principal  lines  of  communication — one 
^boot  half  w&y  up  the  slopes  and  called  the  '  Middle  Lake  Road ' 


346  ICABURA. 

CHAP.  XV.  and  another  still  higher  up  them  and  known  as  the  '  Upper  Lake 
Kodaikanai..  Road.'  These  three  are  connected  by  many  cross  roads.  There 
are  five  chief  routes  out  of  tlie  station.  To  the  south-west  a  new 
road  goes  to  the  '  Pillar  Roclcs '  referred  to  later ;  to  the  west,  a 
track  runs  past  the  Observatory  to  the  hill  village  of  F^umbarai, 
twelve  miles  away ;  to  the  north  a  footpath  leads  through  the 
'Tinnevelly  settlement'  to  Vilpatti,  a  village  perched  among 
impossible  precipices  not  far  from  a  fine  waterfall;  to  the  east 
'  Law's  ghat'  (begun  in  1*^75  by  Major  G.  V.  Law,  and  already 
referred  to  on  p.  155  above)  winds  down  to  'Neutral  Saddle' 
at  the  foot  of  Perumal  hill,  the  natural  boundary  between  the 
Upper  and  Lower  Palnis ;  and  to  the  south  is  the  only  practicable 
route  from  Kodaikanai  to  the  plains,  a  steep  bridle-path  twelve 
miles  long  which  passes  by  the  small  hamlet  of  Shembaganur 
directly  below  the  station  and  then  zigzags  down  precipitous  slopes 
to  the  travellers'  bungalow  at  '  Kistnama  Nayak's  tope '  at  the 
foot  of  the  hills. 

At  .Shembaganur  (properly  Champakanur,  or  '  magnolia 
village')  is  a  Jesuit  theological  college,  a  prominent  object  from 
the  bridle-path.  It  is  built  on  land  which  was  acquired  by  the 
Jesuit  Mission  at  various  dates  from  1878  onwards  with  the  idea 
of  forming  a  great  agricultural  and  industrial  school  on  these 
hills.  Cinchona  planting  and  other  agricultural  enterprises  were 
tried  and  failed,  and  eventually  the  idea  was  abandoned.  In  1886 
a  bungalow  was  built  on  part  of  the  land ;  and  in  1895  the  erection 
of  this  college  was  sanctioned  by  the  mission  authorities.  It  now 
contains  50  students  (20  of  whom  are  French)  who  undergo  a 
varied  course  of  tuition,  lasting  seven  years,  to  fit  them  for  work 
in  the  various  Jesuit  missions  in  India  and  Ceylon.  Kistnama 
Nayak's  tope  (usually  called  '  the  Tope  '  for  short)  is  said  to  have 
been  planted  by,  and  named  after,  a  relation  of  one  of  the  ministers 
of  the  Nayakkan  kings  of  Madura  who  fled  to  Periyakulam  after 
the  downfall  of  that  dynasty.  His  descendants  were  village 
munsifs  of  Vadakarai  continuously  up  to  as  late  as  1870. 

A  cart-road  goes  from  the  Tope  to  Periyakulam  (five  miles) 
and  thence  to  the  nearest  railway-station,  Ammayanayakkanur,  28 
miles  further  east.  Visitors  to  Kodaikanai  perform  the  83  miles 
from  the  station  to  the  Tope  in  bullock-transits,  and  thence  walk, 
ride,  or  are  carried  in  chairs,  up  the  bridle-path.  AU  luggage, 
supplies  and  necessaries  have  to  be  transported  up  this  latter  by 
coolies,  and  great  are  the  delays  and  inconveniences.  The  pro- 
posed Yaigai  valley  railway  from  Dindigul  to  the  head  of  the 
Kambam    valley,  and  the   Attur   ghdt  road  (both  referred  to  in 


OAZITTREB. 


247 


*  Rainfall 

0  .    of  wet 

in  inches. 

days. 

Janoury 

1-12 

1 

J'^ebruary 

1-49 

2 

March 

;'.  75 

3 

April       

5-34. 

7 

May        

t;-:}3 

y 

June 

4-lG 

9 

July        

3-78 

9 

August    .. 

r,-»8 

12 

September 

C.-tH. 

12 

Octolier 

12-GO 

IC 

November 

8-33 

H 

Decemlier 

.V67 

8 

Total 

6519 

99 

Chapter  VII  abovo)  will,  it  is  hoped,  remove  in  part  what  is  at  CHAP.  XV. 
present  the  greatest  drawback  to  the  ?anitarinni  — its  difficulty  of  Kolaikanal. 
access. 

In  point  of  climate,  Kodaikanal  is  considered  by  many  of  its 

admirers  to  rival  Ootaca- 
mund.  Tlie  rainfall,  accord- 
ing-to  the  fig-nres  of  fifteon 
years,*  is  g-reater  than  that 
of  Ootacamnnd,  but  most  of 
it  is  received  during-  the 
north-east  monsoon  wlien  the 
visitors  are  absent,  instead 
of  with  the  south-west  cur- 
rent of  June,  July  and 
Aug-ust,  as  at  Ootacaniund. 
The  mean  humidity  and  the 
mean  daily  range  of  toinjiera- 
ture  are  smaller  at  Kodai- 
kanal than  in  its  rival,  and 
the  cold  in  the  wet  months 
is  less  bleak  and  searching-.  The  soil  is  also  so  g-ravelly  that  roads 
and  tonnis  courts  quicklj  dry  again  after  a  shower.  The  place 
moreover  possesses  the  advantag-os  that  its  native  bazaar  (and  its 
cemetery;  are  not  situated  within  tlio  basin  of  the  lake  and  in  sig-ht 
of  the  residents,  and  that  it  commands  a  view  over  the  ]ilains 
which  is  comforting  to  thos^^  who  ag-ree  with  Lucretius  that  it  is 
sweet  to  watch,  from  a  safe  spot,  om^'s  neighbour  in  distress. 
Kodaikanal,  however,  is  shut  off  from  the  beautiful  wild  land  to 
the  westward  by  two  successive  high  ridges  beyond  which  few  of 
its  inhabitants  over  p('notrat(\ 

In  this  wild  country,  and  also  nearer  Kodaikanal,  are  very 
many  prehistoric  kistvaons  and  dolmens.  The  first  mention  of 
those  on  the  western,  or  Travancore,  si<le  occurs  in  tho  survey 
memoir  of  Jjieutenant  Wanl  referred  to  below,  and  an  account 
of  some  of  thp  others  will  be  found  in  the  able  illustrated  article 
entitled  'Dolmens  ot  croml'v^hs  dans  les  Palnis,"  ^  by  tlie 
Rev.  H.  Hosten,  s.J.,  of  Kurseong  (Bengal)  who  visited  8heni- 
baganur  in  1902,  and  has  very  kindly  furnislied  not(»s  of  his 
discoveries.  The  examples  he  examined  lay  cliieHy  to  the  south- 
■west  of  Perumal  hill  (especially  along  Gen(M-al  Fischer's  old  trace 
towards   A^ilpatti)    an<l   at    T^alamalai.     Others   are    indei>endently 


'  Ch.    BuleuB,   Bruxelles,    Kue    Terre-J'f ute   75, 
18W,  46-71. 


l9l»o.     i5*?e    aisu    J.A.S.13., 


348  MADUtlA. 

CHAP.  XV.  reported  to  exist  at  Machur,  Pannaikadn,  Tandikkudi,  Kamanur 
KoDAiKANAL.  and  Paclialur  in  the  Lower  Palnis.  DouLtless  there  are  many  more. 
These  monuments  present  peculiarities  not  noticed  elsewhere. 
Erected  by  preference  on  a  level  outcrop  of  rock,  each  group  of 
dolmens  (box-shaped  constructions  open  at  one  side  and  made  of 
roughly-dressed  slabs  of  stone)  is  usually  enclosed  by  rectangular 
(more  rarely,  circular)  walls  made  of  similar  slabs  set  upright  in 
the  ground;  the  dolmens  themselves  are  larger  than  usual,  an 
average  specimen  being  found  to  measure  8  feet  by  3  feet  and  its 
cap-stone  11  feet  by  6  feet;  they  are  sometimes  arranged  in 
double  parallel  rows ;  to  prevent  the  heavy  'cap-stone  from  crush- 
ing its  supports,  the  space  between  the  several  dolmens  in  each 
group,  and  between  them  and  the  enclosing  walls,  is  filled  in  to  a 
height  of  some  three  feet  with  rubble  and  earth ;  embedded  in 
this  rubble  occur  stone  receptacles,  without  tops,  made  of  four 
upright  slabs  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  square,  with  a  fifth  for 
flooring,  and  measuring  some  3  feet  each  way  and  5  feet  in  height ; 
and  some  of  the  groups  are  surrounded,  outside  the  enclosing  wall 
of  slabs,  by  small  heaps  of  stone  (about  2|-  feet  square  and  1  foot 
high)  placed  at  regular  intervals  in  the  form  of  a  square.  Searches 
within  these  remains  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  little  beyond 
small  fragments  of  red  and  black  pottery  of  five  or  six  different 
patterns  (already  observed  elsewhere  and  figured  in  Mr.  Bruce 
Foote's  catalogue  of  the  prehistorics  at  the  Madras  Museum)  and 
a  rust-eaten  sickle  identical  in  shape  with  those  found  in  some  of 
the  Nilgiri  cairns.  No  bones  were  found,  nor  any  cup-marks, 
swastika  designs,  inscriptions  or  sculptures  of  any  kind. 

Besides  these  dolmens,  kistvaens  (constructions  walled  in  on 
all  four  sides  and  floored  and  roofed  with  slabs)  occur ;  at  Palamalai 
was  found,  buried  in  the  ground  and  unconnected  with  any  other 
remains,  a  large  pyriform  urn  containing  two  small  shallow  vases ; 
and  in  several  places  are  low  circles  of  earth  and  stones,  which 
may  perhaps  have  been  threshing-floors  or  cattle-kraals. 

Hound  about  Kodaikanal  are  several  popular  '  sights.'  Many 
rapturous  descriptions  of  all  of  them  are  on  record  and  it  is 
unnecessary  to  add  to  the  list.  They  include  at  least  three  water- 
falls within  easy  reach ;  namely,  the  '  Silver  Cascade  '  on  Law's 
ghat,  foiiaed  by  the  Parappar  stream  (into  which  runs  the  rivulet 
issuing  from  the  lake) ;  the  '  Glen  Falls '  on  a  branch  of  the 
Parappar,  alongside  the  path  running  northwards  to  Vilpatti ;  and 
the  '  Fairy  Falls  '  on  the  Pambar  ('  snake  river')  to  the  south-west 
of  the  station.  '  Coaker's  Walk  '  (named  after  a  Lieutenant  in  the 
Royal  Engineers  who  was  on  duty  in  the  district  from  1870  to 


OAZETTEBB. 


249 


1872  and  made  tlie  1870  map  of  Kodaikanal)  runs  along  the  very  CHAP,  XV, 
brink  of  tlie  steep  southern  side  of  the  basin  and  commands  Kodaikanal. 
wonderful  views  of  the  plains  below.     On  clear  days,  it  is  said,  ~ 

even  Madura,  47  miles  away  as  the  crow  flies,  can  be  made  out 
from  here.  The  '  Pillar  Rocks '  are  three  huge  masses  of  granite, 
perhaps  400  feet  high,  which  stand  on  the  edge  of  the  same  side 
of  the  plateau  three  miles  further  on.  Between  and  below  them 
are  several  caves  and  chasms,  and  from  the  top  of  them  is 
obtained  a  superb  view  of  the  Aggamalai,  the  precipitous  sides  of 
the  Kambam  valley  and  the  plains  below.  Here  (and  from 
Coaker's  Walk)  the  '.spectre  of  the  IJrocken  '  is  occasionally  seeu 
on  the  mists  which  drive  up  from  below.  '  Doctor's  Delight,'  a 
bold  bluff  about  two  miles  further  on,  commands  a  panorama 
which  is  claimed  to  be  even  finer  than  that  from  the  Pillar  Hocks. 
'  Fort  Hamilton, '  9^  miles  from  Kodaikanal  and  on  this  same 
southern  side  of  the  plateau,  is  so  named  after  the  Major  Douglas 
Hamilton  of  the  2 1st  N.I.  who  was  obligingly  permitted  by 
Sir  Charles  "^Frevelyan's  Government  to  spend  part  of  1859  and 
(after  an  interval  of  service  in  Oiina)  twelve  months  in  1861-62, 
all  on  full  pay,  in  making  the  series  of  large  sketches  of  the  Palni 
Hills  which  are  still  to  be  seen  in  public  and  official  libraries,  and 
in  writing  the  two  short  reports  on  the  range  which  were  printed 
in  Madras  in  1862  and  1864,  respectively.  There  is  no  '  fort'  at 
the  place  ;  only  a  small  hut.  Its  chief  interest  lies  in  the  evidences 
which  are  visible  near  by,  and  were  first  brought  to  notice  by 
Major  Hamilton,  of  the  former  existence  there  of  a  great  lake. 
No  record  or  even  tradition  regarding  the  formation  of  this 
survives.  Judging  from  the  traces  of  its  water-line  which  still 
remain,  it  must  have  been  nearly  five  miles  long,  from  a  quarter 
to  three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide  and  from  30  to  70  feet  deep. 
It  was  apparently  formed  by  the  side  of  a  hill  slipping  down  into 
a  valley  which  rims  northwards  to  the  Amaravati  river,  and 
damming  up  the  stream  which  ran  at  the  bottom  of  it.  This 
stream  seems  to  have  eventually  cut  its  way  through  the  huge 
natural  embankment  so  formed,  and  thus  emptied  the  lake  it  had 
itself  once  filled.  The  dam  is  about  200  yards  long  and  the  breach 
in  it  is  now  about  100  yards  across  and  90  feet  deep.  Major  Hamil- 
ton (see  the  later  of  his  two  reports  above  mentioned)  wrote  with 
much  enthusiasm  of  the  possibilities  of  this  spot  as  a  site  for  a 
sanitarium  or  cantonment,  but  it  would  be  most  difficult  of 
approach.  This  latter  objection,  it  may  here  be  noted  in  paren- 
thesis, is  also  the  answer  to  the  many  critics  who  have  railed  at 
the  founders  of  Kodaikanal  for  having  placed  it  where  it  stands 

32 


250  MABCTRA. 

CHAP.  XY.  instead  of  in  one  or  other  of  tlie  many  (otherwise)  superior  sites 
KoDAiKANAL.  wliicli  doubtloss  exist  on  the  Upper  Palni  plateau.  When  the 
place  was  originated,  the  most  practicable  path  up  the  hills  was 
the  existing  bridle-road  from  Periyakulam,  and  the  first  arrivals 
naturally  wished  to  settle  as  close  as  might  be  to  the  top 
of  this. 

The  first  European  who  visited  the  plateau  and  left  any  record 
of  his  journey  was  Lieutenant  B.  S.  Ward,  who  surveyed  the  Palnis 
in  1821.  His  diary  shows  that  he  came  up  from  Periyakulam  by 
way  of  Vellagavi  (a  small  hamlet  on  the  slopes  which  is  said 
to  have  been  fortified  as  a  haven  of  refuge  by  the  former 
poligars  of  Vadakarai),  cam]3ed  on  the  25th  May  just  above  the 
falls  of  the  Pambar  which  face  the  present  bridle-path,  and  went 
through  the  Kodaikanal  basin.  He  makes  no  special  mention  of 
this  last  An  extract  from  his  memoir  on  the  Palni  and  Travan  • 
core  HiLls  ('  the  Vurragherry  and  Kunnundaven  Mountains,'  as 
he  called  them),  which  has  never  otherwise  been  printed,  was 
published  by  [Robert  Wight,  the  well-known  botanist,  in  the 
M.J.L.S.  of  October  1837  (Vol.  YI). 

In  1831  Messrs.  J.  C.  Wroughton  (then  Sub- Collector)  and 
C.  E..  Cotton  (Judge  of  the  Provincial  Court,  Southern  Division) 
went  up  from  Periyakulam  to  Shembaganiir  (their  visit  led  to  some 
slight  repairs  being  done  to  the  bridle-path),  but  Wight  himself 
was  the  next  European  visitor  to  the  range  who  has  left  any  record 
of  his  journey.  His  account  appears  in  Vol.  V  (pp.  280-7)  of 
the  M.J.L.S.  He  went  up  in  September  1836,  apparently  by 
the  steep  gh4t  from  Devadanapatti  to  the  Adukkam  pass  near  the 
peak  of  that  name.  He  mentions  Shembaganiir  but  not  the 
Kodaikanal  basin.  His  report  on  tlie  botany  of  the  range  has 
already  been  referred  to  on  p.  15. 

The  first  people  to  build  houses  at  Kodaikanal  were  the 
American  missionaries  of  Madura.  In  lSo8  so  many  of  them  had 
been  compelled  to  take  sick  leave  and  go  to  Jaffna  (their  then 
centre)  that  the  mission  actually  proposed  to  purchase  a  special 
vessel  to  carry  the  invalids  and  the  convalescents  backwards  and 
forwards.  This  idea  was  eventually  abandoned  in  favour  of  the 
suggestion  that  a  sanitarium  should  be  established  on  the  Sirumalais, 
that  range  being  chosen  on  account  of  its  propinquity  to  Madura. 
Two  bungalows  were  built  there,  but  their  occupants  suffered  so 
much  from  fever  that  in  January  1845  the  Palnis  were  examined 
as  an  alternative  site  and  in  June  of  the  same  year  two  bungalows 
were  begun  at  the  foot  of  the  Kodai-kanal,  near  the  spot  on  which 
*  Sunnyside  '  now  stands,  and  were  finished  in  October. 


GAZETTBEB.  251 

Not     long   afterwards,     Mr.    John   Blackburnc,   Collector   of    CHAP.  XV. 
Madura  between  1834  and   1847  and  the   man  who  had   done   so   Kodaikanal, 
much  for  the  improvement  of  the  revenue   system  on  these   hills 
(see  p.  20b),  built  himself  a  bungalow  about  five  miles  away  (see  the 
survey  map  of  1890)  at  the  top  of  the  Adukkam  Pass.     This  came 
t<5  an  untimely  end,  being  burnt  down  by  the   first  fire  which  was 
lighted  in  it,  but  its  foundations  can  still  be  traced.     In    1848-49 
Mr.  Thomas   Clarke  (then    Sub-Collector  and   the    author   of   an 
excellent  report  on  the  Palnis,  dated  May  185'3),  Mr.  C.  R.  Baynes 
(the  District  Judge)  and  Mr.  R.  D.  Parker  (Blackburne's  successor) 
all  built  themselves  bungalows  on  the   high  ground  just  south  of 
the  Kodai-kanal,  on  the  strip  of  cliff  overlooking  the  plains  which 
runs  from  '  Parabar  House  '  to   '  Roseneath.'      Plans   of  the  place 
in   official   records    show  that    Parker's    house    was    built   where 
Pambar   House   now   stands ;  Baynes'    was   on   the    site   of  the 
building  next  east  of  this  which  is  now  owned  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  Mission;  and  Clarke's  was  the  nucleus  of  Roseneath.     In 
this  latter  Bishop  Caldwell  lived  for  many  years  and  it  was  there 
that  he  died.     Soon  afterwards,  Captain  W.  H.  Horsely,  the  '  Civil 
Engineer,'  erected  a  fourth  bungalow  between  Baynes'  and  Clarke's, 
and  the  American  Mission  began  the  house  now  called  '  Claverack.' 
About  1852  a   Major  J.  M.  Partridge  of  the  Bombay  Army  came 
up  and  pitched  tents  at  the  bottom  of  the  lake  basin.     Tempestuous 
weather  soon  drove   him    to    erect  some  better  shelter,  and  he   put 
up  a  rough  bungalow   on  the    spot   now    called,   in    consequence, 
'  Bombay  Shola.'     He  had  one    of  the    earliest   gardens    in   the 
station  and  is  credited  with  being  the  first  to  introduce  blue-gums 
into  it.     Of  two  huge   gums  which  formerly  stood  near  his  house, 
one  still  survives  and  is  the  biggest  in  tlie  place.     He  at  one  time 
proposed  to   import  artisans  for  the  benefit  of  the   community,  and 
the  records  show  that  there  was    at   least    one   '  shop '    near   his 
residence. 

The  above  individuals  were  the  pioneers ;  their  seven  houses 
were  the  only  ones  in  the  place  in  1853,  and  even  by  1861  only 
three  more  had  been  l>nilt.  By  1854  Us.  4,500  had  been  spent 
on,  or  sanctioned  for.  tlip  Ijridle-path,  but  it  was  apparently  still 
in  wretched  order.  A  mile  of  road  liad  also  been  cut  througli  the 
Kodai-kanal  by  tlie  missionaries  and  six  uiorc  niiles  had  been  made 
elsewhere  by  other  residents.  Much  correspondence  took  place 
regarding  tlie  terms  on  wliichtho  Governuiontslionld  grant  the  land 
on  which  the  houses  stood,  it  was  finally  ordered  that  tlie  rules  for 
the  Nilgiris  should  be  applied  and  an  annual  cliarge  of  Rs.  5-4-0  bo 
made   for  the  first  kani   (1"32  acres)  occupied,  and  Rs.  2-8-U  for 


'^52  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.    every  additional  kani.     Eventually,   most  of  the   original  grants 

KoDAiKANAi-.    were  converted  into  freeholds.     At  present,  it  may  here  be  noted, 

the  rules  in  Board's  Standing  Order  No.  21  apply  to  the  grant  of 

sites   within   the  settlement  and  the   sanction  of  Government  is 

necessary  to  the  sale  of  them. 

The  first  Governor  of  Madras  to  visit  Kodaikanal — as  the  place 
now  began  to  be  named  in  official  correspondence — was  Sir  Charles 
Trevelyan,  who  went  up  early  in  1860  by  the  bridle-path  from  the 
Tope.  More  suo,  he  wrote  a  delightful  '  minute  '  recording  his 
impressions  of  the  hiLls.  He  stayed  at  Roseneath,  which  was 
still  Mr.  Clarke's  property.^  Lord  Napier  also  went  up  later  on, 
in  1871,  and  tradition  says  that  '  Napier  Villa  '  owes  its  name  to 
the  fact  that  he  stopped  there. 

In  18<'0  Mr.  Vere  Henry  Levinge  was  appointed  Collector  of 
Madura.  He  held  the  post  untU  1867  and  then  retired  to  Kodai- 
kanal, where  he  lived  (at  Panibar  Plouse)  until  within  a  few  wceka 
of  his  death  at  Madras  in  1885.  During  this  latter  period  he 
succeeded  to  tlie  family  baronetcy.  Both  as  Collector  and  after 
his  retirement  he  took  the  greatest  interest  in  the  station  and, 
as  the  inscription  on  the  cross  erected  to  liis  memory  just  above 
Coaker's  Walk  relates,  most  of  the  improvements  in  it  are  due  to 
him.  As  has  already  been  stated,  he  made  the  lake  (mainly  at  his 
own  expense)  and  he  also  completed  the  bridle-path  from  Feriya- 
kulam,  cut  the  path  to  Bambadi  Shola  along  the  southern  crest 
of  the  plateau,  constructed  several  roads  within  the  station  itself 
and  did  much  to  introduce  European  fruits  and  flowers. 

Neither  time  nor  space  permit  of  the  inclusion  here  of  any 
history  of  the  growth  of  the  sanitarium  from  that  time  forth  to  the 
present,  but  the  subject  is  one  which  may  be  commended  to  the 
notice  of  those  who  have  greater  knowledge  and  opportunities. 
A  few  isolated  facts  may,  however,  be  noted.  In  1853  the 
American  Mission  had  begun  to  build  a  church  on  their  land  near 
'  Sunnyside.'  It  was  finished  in  1856  and  an  arrangement  was 
made  by  which  the  members  of  the  Churcli  of  England  should  also 
have  the  use  of  it.  Kound  about  it,  a  cemetery  (now  closedj  was 
made.  The  earhest  tomb  in  this,  no  doubt,  is  that  of  two  children 
who  died  as  early  as  1849,  but  their  bodies  were  removed  to  the 
cemetery  from  the  grave  near  Mount  Nebo  in  which  they  were 
originally  buried.  The  church  was  replaced  in  1896  by  the  new 
building  near  the  Club,  and  shortly  afterwards  it  fell  down. 

^   For  this  and  other  items  of  interest,  I  am  indebted  to  the  Kev.  J.  E.  Tracy'i 
rtcollections  of  Kodaikanal  in  former  d&ye. 


GAZKTTJCBR.  258 

In  1863  Father  Saint  Cyr  (who  was  the  first  of  the  Homan  CirAI'.  XV. 
Catholic  missionaries  to  appreciate  Kodaikanal,  and  in  1860  had  Kopaikanal- 
bought  Baynes'  bungalow  for  his  mission)  laid  the  foundations  of 
the  existing  Eoman  Catholic  churcli.  Tlie  site  for  the  Cliurch  of 
England  place  of  worship  on  Moimt  Nebo  was  granted  to  Bishop 
Caldwell  in  1883.  In  the  same  year  an  estimate  was  sanctioned 
for  the  building  of  the  deputy  tahsildar's  office.  In  1900  the 
new  European  cemetery  nr^ar  the  ghat  patli  from  Shembaganur, 
the  first  thing  which  catches  the  eye  of  the  visitor  as  he  approaches 
this  health  resort,  was  finished.  It  is  divided  into  sections  for  tlie 
use  of  the  various  denominations. 

In  October  1899  Kodaikanal,  which  was  originally  merely  a 
part  of  the  village  of  Vilpatti  and  aft*^rwards  had  been  made  into  a 
Union,  was  constituted  a  municipality.  It  is  the  least  populous 
of  all  the  Madras  municipalities,  its  inhabitants  at  the  1901 
census  numbering  only  1,91?.  This  enumeration,  however,  was 
taken  in  March,  before  the  influx  of  tbe  hot  weather  visitors  (a 
large  proportion  of  whom  belong  to  tlie  various  Christian  missions 
in  this  and  other  districts)  and  their  numerous  following.  The 
council's  annual  income  averages  only  some  Rs.  9,000,  and  no  very 
striking  undertakings  have  therefore  been  possible.  The  fate  of 
the  proposal  to  supply  the  place  with  water  from  the  Pambar  lias 
been  referred  to  on  p.  227. 

Some  two  miles  from  the  station,  on  a  hill  above  tlie  road  to 
Pumbarai  already  mentioned,  is  the  Observatory.  Under  tlie 
scheme  for  the  re-organization  of  Indian  observatories  which  came 
into  operation  in  1899,  the  chief  work  of  the  Madras  Observatory 
was  transferred  to  this  place  (which  was  found  to  be  preferable  to 
either  Ootacamund  or  Kottagiri  on  account  of  its  more  equable 
temperature  and  greater  freedom  from  mists)  and  the  former 
Government  Astronomer,  Mr.  Michie  Smith,  became  Director  of 
the  Kodaikanal  and  Madras  Observatories.  Tlie  appliances  of  the 
new  institution  are  now  directed  to  the  prosecution  of  enquiry  in 
the  sciences  of  terrestrial  ir.agnetism,  meteorology  and  seismolocry, 
to  astronomical  observations  for  the  purpose  of  time-keeping,  and, 
chiefly,  to  the  important  subject  of  solar  physics. 


354  MADURA. 


MADUHA.  TALUK. 


CH.\P.  XV.  This  talnk  was!  formerly  called  after  the  village  of  Madakkulam, 
Mapuka.  which  is  about  four  miles  west  of  Madura.  It  lies  in  the  centre  of 
the  south-eastern  side  of  the  district  and  is  the  smallest  of  all 
the  taluks.  It  is  an  almost  featureless  plain,  drained  by  the  Vaigai. 
The  only  hills  of  note  are  the  southernmost  extremity  of  the  Naga- 
malai  and  the  isolated  Skandamalai  at  Tirupparankunram.  The 
soil  is  mostly  of  the  red  ferruginous  variety,  but  there  are  some 
black  cotton- soil  areas  in  the  south  along  the  Tirumangalam 
border.  The  most  fertile  part  is  tlaat  along  the  banks  of  the 
Vaigai. 

Madura  receives  more  rain  than  most  of  the  other  taluks  and 
also  benefits  very  largely  from  the  Periyar  water.  Consequently 
paddy  occupies  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  total  cultivated  area, 
cocoanut  groves  are  numerous,  and  the  taluk  is  better  protected  from 
adverse  seasons  than  any  other.  This  was  not  so  before  the  advent 
of  the  Periyar  irrigation,  however,  and  in  the  1876-78  famine  it 
suffered  severely. 

Statistics  about  the  taluk  will  }>e  found  in  the  separate  Appendix. 
The  density  of  the  population  is  very  much  higher  than  the  average 
for  the  district,  but  this  is  largely  due  to  the  presence  within  it  of 
Madura  town. 

The  more  noteworthy  places  in  it  are  the  following  : — 

Anaimalai  ('  elephant  hill '):  A  most  striking  mass  of  perfectly 
naked,  solid  rock,  about  two  miles  long,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide 
and  perhaps  250  feet  high,  which  runs  from  north-east  to  south- 
west nearly  parallel  to  the  Madura-Melur  road  from  the  fifth  mile- 
stone from  Madura.  It  consists  of  grey  and  pale  pink  banded 
micaceous  granite  gneiss  of  coarse  texture  and  complicated 
stratigraphy.  The  sides  are  almost  sheer  and  the  top  rounded,  and 
at  its  south-western  end  it  terminates  in  a  bold  bluff ;  so  that — 
especially  from  the  Madura  side  — it  bears  a  very  fair  resemblance 
to  an  elephant  lying  down.  Whence  its  name.  The  Madura 
sfhaki  piirdna  goes  further  and  says  it  is  in  fact  a  petrified 
elephant.  The  Jains  of  Conjeeveram,  says  this  chronicle,  tried  to 
convert  the  Saivite  people  of  Madura  to  the  Jain  faith.  Finding 
the  task  difficult,  they  had  recourse  to  magic.  They  dug  a  great 
pit  ten  miles  long,  performed  a  sacrifice  therein  and  thus  caused  a 


GA2BTTBHR.  255 

liupfe   eleplmnt  to   arise   from  it.     This   beast    they    sent   against    CHAP.  XT. 
Madura.     It  advanced  towards  the  town,  sliaking-  the  wliole  earth     ;  Mat.ur.^. 
at  everv  step,  with  the  Jains  marching  close  behind  it.     Rut  the 
Pandya  king  invoked  the  aid  of  Siva,  and  the  god  arose  and  slew 
the  elephant  with  his  arrow  at  the  spot  where  it  now  lies  petrified. 

At  the  foot  of  this  A.naimalai,  about  the  middle  of  its  northern 
side  and  surrounded  by  a  few  chattrams  and  a  lotus-covered  tank,  is 
a  temple  to  Narasinga  Peruindl,  of  which  the  inner  shrine  is  cut 
out  of  the  solid  rock  of  the  hill.  In  front  of  this  stands  a  long 
iiiantapam  and  the  piijari  declines  to  allow  Europeans  even  to  look 
into  this,  much  less  to  see  the  entrance  to  the  shrine.  Tlie  latter  is 
said  to  measure  about  six  feet  in  every  direction  and  to  liave  in 
front  of  it  two  pillars  similarly  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock.  Round 
about  the  entrance  to  it,  on  the  rock,  are  Tamil  and  Vatteluttu 
inscriptions,  one  of  which  is  dated  in  the  thirty-third  year  of  the 
Chola  king  Parantaka  I  (906-46  A.I).,  the  'conqueror  of  ]\[adura,' 
see  p.  31)  and  is  the  only  record  of  his  as  yet  discovered  in  the 
vicinity  of  Madura.^  The  long  mantapam  is  a  much  more  recent 
erection. 

A  few  yards  south-west  of  this  temple,  hidden  away  in  a  peace- 
ful spot  among  tlie  trees  which  cluster  round  the  foot  of  the  great 
bare  hill,  is  another  shrine  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock.  It  is  deserted 
and  consists  of  an  inner  recess  some  3|-  feet  by  6\  feet  in  which  are 
figures  of  Vishnu  (bearing  a  chank  shell)  and  his  wife;  an  outer 
porch  about  20  feet  long,  8|  feet  high  and  9  feet  wide  supjiorted 
on  two  square  pillars  with  chamfered  corners  and  ornamented  with 
the  conventional  lotus  - ;  and,  outside  this  again,  a  small  ])latform 
approached  on  either  side  by  a  flight  of  half  a  dozen  steps.  Within 
the  porch  are  four  figures,  two  of  which  apparently  represent 
devotees  bringing  flowers,  and  other  lesser  sculptures.  The  whole 
thing — the  shrine  with  its  two  deities,  the  porch  and  its  pillar.s  and 
sculptures,  and  the  two  flights  of  steps — are  all  cut  out  of  the  solid 
rock.  It  lias  been  called  a  Jain  shrine,  but  there  seems  to  be 
nothing  Jain  about  it. 

Still  further  south-west,  however,  near  the  top  of  the  ]>rominent 
little  wooded  spur  which  runs  down  from  the  hill,  are  undoubted 
relics  of  the  Jains  in  the  shape  of  sculptures  of  the  tirthankaras  on 
a  big  boulder.  The  boulder  must  have  crashed  down  from  tlie 
rock  above,  and  now  rests  so  poised  on  one  of  its  corners  that  its 
overhanging  portions  form  a  sort  of  natural  cave.  Tli^re  are  signs 
that  this  recess  was  formerly  improved  into  a  dwelling  (probably 

'  Go%'Crnmenc  Epigiapliist's  reijort  for  lOO-i-Uu,  pp.  4,  40,  50. 

*  Compare   tlio   rock-cut  slirine  at  Dalavanur,  South  Argot  Gattttetr,  j).  846. 


36(5  MADUBA. 

CHAP.  XV.  by  Jain  hermits)  by  the  erection  of  rude  walls,  and  the  spot  was 
Madura,  chosen  with  taste,  for  in  front  of  it  is  a  flat  rock  platform  which 
commands  the  most  beautiful  view  across  the  green  fields,  past 
Madura  and  its  temple  towers  and  palace,  away  to  the  Sirumalais 
and  the  Palnis  iu  the  far  distance.  The  Jains  had  an  eye  for 
the  picturesque.^  On  two  sides  of  the  great  boulder  above  men- 
tioned, and  well  out  of  reach  of  mischievous  herd-boys,  are  the  Jain 
sculptures.  On  the  northern  side  is  represented  a  single  tirthan- 
kara,  seated;  on  the  southern,  a  series  of  eight  others,  all  quite 
nude,  some  standing  and  some  seated,  some  with  the  sacred 
triple  crown  above  their  heads,  and  some  surrounded  also  by 
attendant  figures  bearing  chdtnaras  and  other  objects.  One  is  a 
female  figure,  seated.  The  series  occupies  a  space  perhaps  ten 
feet  long  by  two  high.  Under  it  are  eight  inscriptions  in  Tamil 
and  Vatteluttu  which  give  the  names,  either  of  the  figures,  or  of 
the  villages  which  were  commanded  to  protect  them.  Round  some 
of  them  have  been  painted  backgrounds  in  elaborate  design,  and 
the  villagers  now  worship  them  as  representations  of  '  the  seven 
Kanniraar '  (the  virgin  goddesses  so  dear  to  the  Tamil  lower 
classes)  and  call  the  spot  the  Kannimdr-kOvil. 

The  Anairaalai  may  be  climbed  from  the  western  end.  About 
half  way  up  it,  are  some  of  the  sleeping-places  cut  out  of  the  rock 
which  are  usually  called  Pancha  Pdndava  padukkai,  or  '  beds  of 
the  five  Pandavas'  (see  p.  76);  and,  further  on,  a  pool  which 
always  contains  water  and  is  called  Anaikannu  or  '  the  elephant's 
eye,'  a  big  cave  in  which  a  tiger  is  averred  to  have  lived  for  a  long 
while,  and  a  small  teppakulam- 

Anuppanadi:  Two  miles  south-east  of  Mprdura;  population 
3,770,  Buried  in  a  piece  of  waste  ground  to  the  east  of  the  village 
are  a  number  of  pyriform  earthenwaie  tombs,  consisting  of  jars 
with  detachable  lids.  They  appear  abo\  e  the  ground  singly  and 
in  groups  and  vary  considerably  in  size.  One  dug  up  by  Mr.  Rea 
(whose  detailed  report  upon  them  is  printed  in  G.O.,  No.  16(33, 
Public,  dated  I6th  December  1^87)  measured  1  foot  2|  inches  in 
diameter  by  1  foot  7  inches  deep,  while  others  were  as  much  as  3 
feet  6  inches  in  diameter.  Some  of  them  are  made  of  a  coarse, 
red  earthenware  and  others  of  thin,  glazed,  black  and  red  ware. 
In  them  were  found  human  bones  and  numbers  of  smaller  vessels. 
The  latter  are  often  glazed,  and  the  glaze  is  peculiar,  being  neither 
hard  nor  brittle,  and  rather  resembling  a  polish  than  a  true  glaze. 

'  Compare  their  hermitages  at  -^doni  and  Rayadrug,  Bellanj  Qazetteer, 
PI).  198,  301, 


aAZBTISER. 


257 


Similar  tombs  exist  in  some  numbers  near  Kulasekliarankottai  CHAP.  XV. 
in  Nilakkottai  taluk  and  at  Paravai,  five  miles  nortli-west  of  Madura  Madura. 
near  the  Vaigai.  In  some  of  those  at  the  latter  place  which  were 
opened  by  Mr.  Uea  a  quantity  of  peculiar  beads  were  found. 
Some  of  these  were  of  a  reddish,  semi-transparent  material,  marked 
with  milky  streaks ;  others  were  greenish  in  hue ;  others  of  white 
crystal;  and  most  of  them  bore  designs  in  white  inlay,  lines 
having  been  chased  on  them  and  filled  in  with  white  enamel. 

Kodimangalam  :  flight  miles  north-west  of  Madura,  between 
the  Nagamalai  and  the  Vaigai;  population  1,581.  The  Siva 
temple  here  contains  several  inscriptions,  but  when  it  was  restored 
some  years  back  the  stones  on  which  they  were  cut  were  misplaced, 
and  they  are  not  easy  to  decipher.  On  the  slope  of  the  Nagamalai 
opposite  this  village  is  a  sacred  stream  flowing  out  of  a  cow's 
mouth  cut  in  stone  into  a  small  masonry  reservoir.  Round  about 
are  a  mantapam  or  two  and  some  carved  slabs.  The  spot  is 
picturesque  and  is  faced  by  a  fine  tope,  and  on  Adi  Amavasya  day 
(the  new  moon  day  in  July- August)  many  people  gather  there. 

The  part  of  the  Ndgamalai  near  the  adjoining  village  of 
Melakkal  contains  several  remarkable  caves.  The  best  (^f  them 
(known  as  the  Vira  pudavu)  is  on  the  west  side  of  a  point  in  the 
range  which  rises  above  the  general  level.  Entering  the  mouth  of 
this,  one  descends  about  50  feet  with  the  aid  of  a  rope  and  comes 
upon  two  openings.  The  eastern  of  these  does  not  go  far,  but  that 
on  the  west  runs  for  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile  into  the  hill. 
Lights  are  required  and  souie  crawling  has  to  be  done.  At  the 
very  end  is  found  on  the  rock  a  pale  watery  paste  which  hardens 
quickly  on  exposure  to  the  outer  air.  Native  druggists  declare 
that  it  has  wonderful  curative  properties. 

About  three-quarters  of  a  mile  further  along  the  range  to  the 
north-west  is  the  sinaMerpuli  pudavu,  or  '  tiger  cave,'  and  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  further  on  again  is  the  '  hyi^na  cave.' 

Madura,  the  capital  of  the  taluk  and  district,  is  the  largest 
mufassal  town  in  the  Presidency,  its  inhabitants  numbering 
105,984  in  1901.  They  then  included  3,750  Christians  (291  of 
whom  were  Europeans,  Americans  or  Eurasians)  and  as  many  as 
9,122  Muhammadans,  but  practically  all  the  rest  were  Hindus  and  a 
large  proportion  of  these  last  were  Brahmans.  The  population 
has  more  than  doubled  in  the  last  30  years,  for  it  numbered  only 
51,987  at  the  census  of  1871,  rose  to  73,807  in  1881  and  to 
87,248  in  1891. 

Being  the  chief  place  in  the  district,  Madura  is  the  head- 
quarters  of  all  the    usual    othcers.     It   stands   on  the   main   line 

33 


'.^58  MADUtlA. 

CHAP.  XV.  of  tlie  South  Indian  Railway  345  miles  from  Madras,  and  from 
Mapura.  it  runs  the  branch  line  to  Mandapam  which  is  being  extended  to 
the  island  of  Ramesvaram  and  may  one  day  pass  across  to  Ceylon. 
It  possesses  a  travellers'  bungalow,  rooms  for  Europeans  at  the 
railway-station,  and  many  chattrams  for  natives.  The  chief  of 
these  last  is  that  opposite  the  station  which  was  founded  and 
endowed  from  funds  left  by  Queen  Mangammdil  and  is  still  called 
oy  her  name.     It  has  already  been  referred  to  on  p.   157. 

The  history  of  the  town  is  bound  up  with  that  of  the  district, 
and  has  already  been  sketched  in  Chapter  II.  The  Christian 
missions  in  it  are  referred  to  in  Chapter  III ;  its  arts,  industries 
and  trade  in  Chapter  VI  (some  account  of  the  Patnulkarans  who 
do  so  much  of  the  weaving  is  given  in  Chapter  III)  ;  its  medical 
and  educational  institutions  (including  the  ancient  Sangams)  are 
mentioned  in  Chapters  TX  and  X  respectively  ;  the  jail  in  Chapter 
XIII ;  and  the  municipal  council  and  the  waterworks  in  Chapter 
XIV.  It  is  enough  to  add  here  that  the  town  is  the  industrial, 
educational  and  religious  centre  of  the  district. 

Madura  stands  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Vaigai.  In  the 
neighbourhood  rise  three  small  but  prominent  hiUs,  which  are 
called  the  Anaimalai,  Pasumalai  and  Nagamalai  from  their  sup- 
posed resemblance  to  an  elephant,  a  cow  and  a  snake  respectively, 
and  which  are  severally  referred  to  on  pp.  254,  278  and  7. 
It  lies  low  and  the  ground  rises  away  from  it  on  all  sides  but  the 
south.  The  Gr.T.S.  on  the  south  gopuram  of  the  great  Minakshi 
temple  referred  to  later  is  4*^4  feet  above  the  sea,  but  this  tower 
is  itself  some  i  50  feet  above  the  ground,  and  the  town  is  thus  only 
about  330  feet  above  sea-level.  It  is  further  hedged  about  with 
many  plantations  of  cocoanut  palms  and  other  trees  and  is  thus  a 
hot  and  relaxing  place.  Statistics  of  its  temperature  have  already 
been  given  on  p.  13  above. 

It  consists  (see  the  map  attached)  of  three  main  parts —  the 
crowded  native  town  built  on  and  around  the  site  of  its  old  fort 
referred  to  below,  a  series  of  European  bungalows  in  large  com- 
pounds (and  many  smaller  houses)  lining  both  sides  of  the  road 
which  runs  south-eastwards  to  the  beautiful  Vandiy^r  Teppa- 
kuliun  and  thence  to  Ramnad,  and  the  new  quarter  which  has 
recently  been  established  for  the  residences  of  officials  on  the  old 
race-course  on  the  other  (north)  side  of  the  river.  This  last  is 
connected  with  the  other  two  by  a  bridge  over  the  Vaigai  which 
was  completed  in  1889  and  has  been  referred  to  above  on  p.  156. 
The  view  up  the  river  from  this  is  one  of  the  most  charming  in 
the  district.     It  is  framed  on  either  side  by  the  tall  towers  of  the 


^  ■• 


REFERENCE 
I.    Mangammal's  Chattram 

2.  Post  Office 

3.  Railway  Hospital 

4.  West  Market 
Telegraph  Office 
Municipal  Hospital 
Maternity  Hospital 
Perumal  Tennple 
Protestant  Church 
Edward  Park 
Collector's  Office 
Minakshi  Temple 

13.  "Mangammal's  Palace"*' 

14.  Elephant  Stone 
Municipal  Market 
Blackburne's  Lamp 
East  Gate  Church 
American  Mission  Compound 
R.  C.  Church 
Police  Head  Quarters  Office 


5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10 
II. 
12. 


15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 


Reg:  No.  8869 
Copies.  500 


'^* 


Exec.  Engr's  bungalow,.-:  ri- ^/i' 

_.\\-t:---'-r,"'    Q.Dist~  "Forest  Officer's  bungalow 

./^Police  Superintendent's  bungalow 

C  //"O     U     R     S     e'.'iV^* 
'  'Sengulam 


rtirjTirumala  Nayakkan's  Palace 


Former  Judges'  bungalow^Kij' 


Teppakulam  bungalow  | 

;:     MADURA      MUNICIPALITY 


♦H To  Mandapam 


Chains   10     5 


Scale  of  Miles 


10  20  30  40  50  60  70  80  Chains  or  I  Mile 


Photo-Print.  Survey  Office,  Madras. 
1906. 


aAZBTTlBR,  250 

great  temple  and  the  palms  leaning  forward  over  the  stream  ;  in  CHAT'.  X\ 
the  foreground  stand  the  little  stone  Maya  mantapam  to  whicli  the  MAl)UK^ 
image  of  Siva  is  taken  at  the  great  Chittrai  feast  mentioned  later, 
and  a  crowd  of  gaily-dressed  people  bathing  or  washing  freshly- 
dyed  cloths ;  further  off  carts  pass  slowly  across  the  old  causeway 
and  a  temple  elephant  placidly  takes  his  morning  bath ;  while 
in  the  ultimate  background  rises  the  dim  blue  sky-line  of  the 
Palni  hills. 

Of  the  old  bungalows  along  the  Kamnad  road  little  that  is 
reliable  has  been  gathered.  The  history  of  the  European  Club 
(which  possesses  a  racquet-court  and  swimming-bath)  is  referred 
to  on  p.  172.  The  house  in  the  compound  of  which  stands 
the  famous  banyan  tree  (shading  an  area  60  yards  in  diameter 
and  possessing  a  main  stem  70  feet  in  circumference)  belongs  to  a 
branch  of  the  family  of  the  Haja  of  Eamnad  and  was  for  very 
many  years  the  residence  of  the  Collector  of  the  district  and, 
afterwards,  of  a  series  of  its  Judges.  The  bungalow  facing  the 
Teppakulam  was  similarly  occupied  by  a  series  of  Collectors 
and  Judges.  It  now  belongs  to  the  Raja  of  Ramnad,  who 
bought  it  from  the  Lessees  of  Sivaganga.  They  in  their  turn 
obtained  it  from  the  family  of  Mr.  Robert  Fischer  of  Madura, 
to  whom  it  was  given  by  Rani  Kattama  Ndchiyar  of  Sivaganga  in 
recognition  of  services  performed  in  the  famous  civil  suit  about 
the  possession  of  that  zamindari  which  was  fought  as  far  as  the 
Privy  Council.  Who  originally  built  it  is  not  clear.  Its 
swimming-bath '  is  shown  by  a  tablet  therein  to  have  been  con- 
structed in  1 8 1 4  by  Rous  Peter,  Collector  of  the  district  from 
1812  to  1828,  and  official  records  show  that  he  built  at  least 
a  part  of  the  house.  'I 'he  newer  south  wing  was  added  by  Mr.  Gr.  F. 
Fischer,  father  of  Mr.  Robert  Fischer. 

Rous  Peter  is  the  best  remembered  of  all  the  old  Collectors  of 
Madura,  and  vernacular  ballads  are  still  sung  in  his  honour.  He 
lived  in  princely  style,  was  of  a  most  bountiful  disposition  (both  the 
Minakshi  temple  and  the  Alagarkovil  possess  valuable  jewels 
which  he  gave  them)  and  did  great  things  in  ridding  the  hiUs 
round  Kannivddi,  Periyakulam  and  Bodinayakkanur  (compare 
p.  315)  of  the  elephants  which  in  those  days  infested  them  and 
the  country  below  them.  I'he  people  nicknamed  him  '  Peter 
Pandya.'  He  died  in  Madura  on  6th  August  1828  and  was 
buried  in  the  heart  of  tlie  town  outside  the  tlien  Protestant 
church.  This  had  been  put  up  the  year  before  ^  (largely  at 
his  expense)  to  replace  a  small  building  which   had  been  erected 

^  Tha  Ghurth  in  Atadraa,  by  Rev.  F.  Penny  (Smith,  Elder.  1904),  667  ff. 


260  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.    by   public   subscription    about    1800 — '  a    very   plain  structure,' 
Madura.       according   to   Ward's  Survey  Account.     In    1874   it   was   pulled 

down  and  tbe  present  St.  George's  Churcli  (consecrated  in  1881) 

was  constructed  on  the  site— from  designs  by  Mr.  Chisbolm  tbe 
well-known  Grovemment  Architect — by  Mr.  Robert  Fischer 
and  bis  sister  Mrs.  Foulkes  in  memory  of  tbeir  father  Mr.  Greorge 
Frederick  Fischer  who  died  in  I8t)7  and  is  buried  beside  Rous 
Peter.  The  new  church  was  so  built  as  to  enclose  the  two  graves, 
and  these  now  lie  behind  the  altar.  The  European  cemetery 
proper  is  near  the  railway-station  and  contains  tombstones  to  many 
soldiers  and  civilians  of  the  early  days  of  the  Company's  rule. 

The  wildest  stories  about  Eous  Peter's  end  are  current  in 
Madura  and  it  has  been  stated  in  print  that  he  was  charged  with 
defalcations  and,  when  a  Commissioner  came  down  to  make 
enquiries,  committed  suicide.  Official  records '  tell  a  different  tale. 
It  appears  that  he  kept  his  own  money  and  Government's  mixed 
together  in  a  manner  which  Account  Codes  have  now  rendered 
impossible,  and  sent  to  his  treasury  whenever  he  wanted  any  cash. 
In  1819,  nine  years  before  his  death,  he  realised  that  he  had 
drawn  more  in  this  way  than  he  was  entitled  to,  and  made  cut  a 
memorandum,  the  envelope  of  which  was  marked  '  not  to  be  opened 
till  my  death,'  admittiug  this  fact  and  his  carelessness,  protesting 
before  God  his  freedom  from  any  dishonest  intent,  promising  to 
take  steps  to  mend  matters,  and  making  over  to  Government  on 
his  demise  such  part  of  his  property  as  might  ^be  sufficient  to 
make  up  any  deficit  which  should  then  appear.  His  method  of 
endeavouring  to  replace  the  missing  money  was  to  give  his  cash- 
keeper  large  sums  out  of  the  treasury  with  instructions  to  trade 
with  it  and  apply  the  profits  towards  meeting  the  deficiency  ! 

He  was  ill  for  a  week  before  his  death  and  his  Assistant  Col- 
lector was  apparently  with  him  when  he  died.  The  next  day  the 
Judge,  in  taking  over  his  papers  officially,  came  upon  the  memo- 
randum mentioned  above,  and  the  enquiries  which  resulted 
disclosed  a  deficit  in  the  treasury  of  Es.  7,79,000.  How  much  of 
this  Eous  Peter  had  himself  spent,  could  never  be  ascertained  ; 
but  much  of  it  wus  shown  to  have  been  embezzled  by  the  treasury 
officials,  who  had  taken  every  advantage  of  their  Collector's 
casual  ways.  Five  of  these  individuals  were  sentenced  to 
imprisonment — some  of  them  to  five  years  in  irons.  Rous  Peter's 
estate  was  confiscated.  It  was  worth  between  seventy  thousand 
«knd  a  lakh  of   rupees,  and  included  jewels  valued  at  Es.  10,000, 

^  E.M.C.  of  August  and  September  1828  and  lubRequent  papers. 


ajMETTBBB.  261 

plate  to  about  the    same   amount,  '  innumerable '  pictures,   and    CHAP.  XV. 
many  guns  and  rifles.  maduba. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  Vaigai,  the  first  European  houses 
reached  are  '  Fletcher's  bungalow '  and  the  '  Vadakarai  ('  north 
bank  ')  bungalow/  both  standing  close  to  the  head  of  the  bridge. 
The  former  was  built  by  the  Court  of  Wards  from  the  funds  of  the 
Sivaganga  estate  for  the  gentleman  whose  name  it  still  bears,  who 
was  tutor  to  the  then  minor  zamindar  —  the  last  of  the  '  usurper  ' 
zamindars  who  were  ousted  by  the  decision  in  the  great  suit 
already  mentioned.  It  is  at  present  the  District  Board's  office. 
The  latter  is  known  to  the  nnti\  es  as  '  Cherry's  bungalow '  and 
occupies  the  site  of  a  smaller  house  put  up  by  the  officer  of  that 
name  who  was  'Register  of  the  Zillah'  in  18U9  and  subsequent 
years  and  acted  once  as  Judge  in  1810,  It  passed  afterwards  to 
the  Sivaganga  estate,  and  the  high  wall  which  encloses  it  was 
built  by  the  zamindar  mentioned  above  when  he  resided  there 
with  the  ladies  of  his  famil}'. 

Further  north,  on  higher,  gravelly  gi'ouud,  are  the  new 
bungalows  which  have  been  erected  for  the  kludge,  Executive 
Engineer,  District  Medical  and  Sanitary  Officer,  Forest  Officer 
and  Superintendent  of  Police.  The  idea  of  moving  the  residences 
of  these  officers  from  their  former  uosatisfaciory  positions  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river  originated  with  Colonel  Kilgour,  Super- 
intendent of  Police,  in  1895  and  in  the  same  year  Groverumcnt — 
one  of  the  Members  of  which  was  then  Sir  Henry  Bliss,  a  former 
Collector  of  the  district — approved  the  proposal.  Sufficient  land 
was  acquired  round  about  the  site  to  prevent  any  future  incursion 
of  native  huts,  and  the  five  houses  were  finished  by  1902. 

It  was  at  first  proposed  that  a  residence  should  also  be  built 
in  the  vicinity  for  the  Collector,  in  place  of  the  inconvenient  (if 
interesting)  native  building  called  the  Tamakamin  which  he  now 
lives.  But  eventually  it  was  decided^  to  add  to  that  building 
instead  of  abandoning  it,  to  construct  to  the  south  of  it  new 
quarters  for  the  Collector's  office  and  its  various  branches  and  for 
the  tahsildar,  in  place  of  the  badly  arranged  native  buildings  in 
the  town  now  occupied  by  them,  and  to  erect  a  new  block  near 
the  race  course  for  the  district  and  other  civil  courts  which  are 
at  present  held  in  the  town  in  Tirumala  Nayakkan's  palace 
referred  to  below.  Madura  has  thus  an  unrivalled  opportunity  of 
laying  out  a  new  official  quarter,  and  it  only  remains  to  ensure 

»  G.Os.,  No8.  102,  Educational,  dated  llfch  February  190*,  and  456,  Public, 
dated  24th  Jane  1905. 


263  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.  that  this  18  not  invaded  by  the  usual  bazaars  and  huts.  Work  on 
Madura.       the  Tamakam  has  already  been  begun. 

Tamakamu  (or  Tamagamu)  is  a  Telugu  word,  and  means  ' 
a  summer-house,  or  building  having  a  roof  supported  on  pillars 
but  no  walls.  The  oldest  part  of  the  Tamakam,  the  present 
drawing-room,  is  just  such  a  building.  It  is  constructed  on  the 
top  of  a  square  mound  of  earth  (about  fifteen  feet  high  and  faced 
outside  with  stone)  and  its  roof  is  a  masonry  dome  21^  feet  across 
supported  on  the  crowns  of  crenulated  arches  sprung  on  to  square 
pillars,  and  surrounded  by  three  other  rows  of  pillars  with  similar 
arching  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  square  and  supporting  separate 
small  truncated  I'oofs.  Its  existing  walls  are  clearly  a  later 
addition.  The  ceiling  of  the  dome  is  of  painted  chunam,  is  exactly 
similar  in  design  to  several  of  those  in  Tirumala  Ndyakkan's 
palace,  and  represents  an  inverted  lotus  blossom.  Who  oi'iginally 
constructed  this  room  is  not  known.  Tradition  assigns  it 
impartially  to  both  'L'irumala  Nayakkan  and  Queen  Mangammdl, 
but  since  these  two  personages  are  popularly  credited  with  almost 
every  other  undertaking  in  and  about  Madura,  this  goes  for  little. 
Rumour  also  says  that  it  was  built  as  a  kind  of  grand  stand  from 
wliich  gladiatorial  exhibitions  and  the  like  might  be  witnessed. 

It  is  not  until  the  beginning  of  the  last  century  that  official 
records  throw  any  light  on  the  history  of  the  Tamakam.  In  a 
letter  to  the  Court  of  Directors,  dated  London,  2nd  June  1826, 
Sir  Alexander  Johnston  (late  Chief  Justice  of  Ceylon,  etc. — see 
Dictionary  of  Nniional  Biography)  stated  that  in  1782  his  father, 
Mr.  Samuel  Johnston,  Paymaster  at  Madura,  finding  his  house 
in  Madura  fort  very  unhealthy,  asked  the  Nawab  of  Arcot,  then 
sovereign  of  the  country,  to  let  hira  have  the  Tamakam  as  a 
residence.  The  building  is  referred  to  in  the  records  as  '  an  old 
choultry '  and  as  '  the  choultry  called  Fort  Defiance,'  the  latter 
name  being  apparently  due  to  the  fact  ^  that  it  had  been  an  outpost 
in  the  siege  of  Madura  in  1764  referred  to  on  p.  &Q,  Sir 
Alexander  said  that  when  this  application  was  made,  the  place 
'  had  been  deserted  upwards  of  a  century  and  was  ...  in 
so  desolate  and  so  ruinous  a  state  as  to  be  of  no  value  whatever' 
and  that  the  Nawab  accordingly  made  his  father  a  present  of  it. 
Mr.  Johnston  spent  five  or  six  thousand  pagodas  in  clearing  the 
jungle  round  the  building  and  turning  it  into  a  habitation,  and 
lived  there  with  his  family  till  his  transfer  to  Trichinopoly  in 

*  C.  P.  Brown's  Telugu-English  Dictionary,  citing  the  Dipika,  a,  Teluga 
dictionary  of  ]816. 

*  Yibart'i  Hiit.  of  Madras  Sngineors  (W.  H.  Alien,  1881),  84. 


aASBTTEBR.  208 

1787,  While  he  was  there  the  heart  of  the  great  Montrose,  which  CHAP.  XV. 
was  in  his  keeping,  was  stolen  by  Maravan  burglars  for  the  sake  Madura. 
of  the  silver  casket  in  which  it  was  enshrined.^  In  a  subsequent  * 
letter  to  the  Directors,  Sir  Alexander  added  that  it  had  been 
the  intention  of  his  parents  and  of  iiis  '  early  instructor  Colonel 
Mackenzie  (the  well-known  collector  of  the  '  Mackenzie  MSS.'), 
under  whose  scientific  advice  it  was  laid  out,^  to  turn  the  build- 
ing into  a  place  where  natives  might  be  instructed  in  European 
arts,  sciences  and  literature,  and  that  among  tlie  Mackenzie  MSS. 
were  two  drawings  of  it,  '  the  one  made  by  the  Colonel  before, 
and  the  other  after,  he  had  repaired  and  laid  out  the  house  for 
Mr.  Johnston.''  These  drawings  would  have  thrown  much  light 
on  the  interesting  question  of  the  extent  to  which  the  Tama- 
kam  is  indebted  to  Native  and  European  architects  respectively, 
but  they  are  not  to  be  found  among  the  Mackenzie  MSS.  either 
in  Madras  or  at  the  India  Ojffice. 

When  Mr.  Johnston  was  transferred  he  allowed  liis  friend  and 
successor  P^dr.  Vaughan  to  occupy  the  building,  which  was  then 
commonly  known  as  '  John.^ton  House.'  In  1791  he  went  to 
England,  where  he  soon  afterwards  died  without  making  any 
disposition  of  the  property. 

In  1802  Mr.  Hurdis,  then  (Collector,  obtained  from  the 
Company  a  grant  of  the  building  and  the  land  on  which  it  stood. 
His  application  describes  the  former  as  '  an  old  choultry  on  the 
top  of  which  Mr.  Hurdis  is  building  three  sleeping  rooms.  The 
body  of  the  choultry  in  good  repair,  but  the  upper  part  one  entire 
ruin.'  In  1806  he  sold  the  property  to  Government  for  2,650 
pagodas. 

In  1826  in  the  letter  already  cited,  and  again  in  1834,  Sir 
Alexander  Johnston  claimed  that  the  place  was  his  mother's 
property  and  not  Government's  (since  Mr.  Hurdis  had  no  title) 
and  stated  that  he  wished  to  recover  it  to  carry  out  tlie  educational 
scJieme  above  indicated.  The  correspondence  which  ensued  ^ 
shows  that  the  building  had  been  used  siuce  its  purchase  by 
Government  '  as  a  Court  House  either  for  the  Judge  or  Register  ' 
and  that  two  bungalows  for  the  Sadr  Amins  and  a  small  jail  (which 
was  afterwards  used  as  a  hen-house  and  the  site  of  which  is  now 
occupied  by  the  Union  Club)  had  been  built  near  it.  In  18o8 
the  courts  were  moved   to  Tirumala    Ndyakkan's   palace  and   in 

'  For  unimpeanliable  evidence  of  this  curious  fact,  see  Mr.  J.  D.  Roes'  To\i,r» 
in  India,  188G-90  (Madras  Govcrnnieufc  Press,  1891),  p.  fi;}. 

*  Latter  to  th«  Sooretarj  at  the  India  Hoaso,  No.  350,  dated  9th  Februarj 
1838. 


264  MADUBl. 

CHAP.  XV.     1 857  the  sub-judges  were  reported  to  have  lived  rent-free   in  the 
Maduka.       house  for  many  years.     One  of  them,  Mr.  Phillips,  had  '  added  a 
^     room  '  to  it.     In  1859  they  were  requii'edto  pay  a  rent  of  Es.  42. 
In  1864  the  District  Judge  was  there. 

The  Directors'  reply  (dated  31st  August  1839)  to  Sir  Alexan- 
der's claim  to  the  house  was  that,  without  admitting  his  title  as  a 
matter  of  right,  they  were  prepared  to  make  it  over  to  him'  for 
the  purpose  of  its  being  converted  into  a  place  for  native 
education.'  No  action  was  however  tak^n  on  this  until  1871, 
when  Sir  Alexander's  son,  Mr.  P.  F.  Campbell- Johnston,  suggested 
that  the  rent  of  the  building  might  be  applied  to  endowing  a 
scholarship.  Government  agreed,  and  a  deed  of  conveyance  and 
trust  was  drawn  up  founding  the  existing '  Johnston  of  Carnsalloch 
scholarships.'  These  at  first  consisted  of  the  rent  received  for  the 
building  less  the  amount  expended  in  keeping  it  in  repair,  but  the 
present  arrangement  is  that  as  i'ar  as  possible  the  annual  payment 
to  the  University  of  Madras  of  Es.  480  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  endowment  shall  be  regarded  as  a  first  charge  on  the  rent 
received . 

Thereafter  the  building  was  occupied  for  short  periods  by 
different  officers  and  then  remained  empty  for  many  years.  The 
Government  proposed  to  insist  on  the  Judge  living  there,  and  when 
Lord  Napier  vi.'^ited  Madura  in  1871  he  gave  personal  instructions 
regarding  alterations  in  it,  Mr.  Chisholm's  estimates  for  which 
amounted  to  Es.  22,000.  But  the  Judge  protested  so  strongly 
against  being  obliged  to  reside  across  the  Vaigai  that  nothing  was 
done.  In  1877  the  place  was  put  in  order  and  occupied  for  a  year 
by  the  District  Engineer.  Mr.  C.  S.  Crole  (1882  to  le86)  was 
apparently  the  first  Collector  to  reside  in  it  and  since  then  his 
successors  have  always  lived  there.  As  has  been  stated,  it  is  most 
inconveniently  arranged  and  until  the  bridge  over  the  Yaigai 
was  built  its  situation  was  equally  unfortunate,  as  when  there  were 
floods  in  the  river  the  Collector's  letters  and  papers  had  to  be  sent 
to  him  on  one  of  the  temple  elephants. 

Immediately  west  of  the  Tamakam  is  the  People's  Park,  a 
piece  of  fenced  and  planted  ground  about  7U  acres  in  extent.  It 
w^as  formed  in  1883  through  the  elibrts  of  Mr.  Crole  with  subscrip- 
tions received  from  the  Nattukottai  Chettis  and  some  of  the 
zamindars  and  wealthy  natives  of  the  district,  and  was  handed  over 
to  the  municipahty,  in  whose  name  patta  for  it  now  stands.  It 
was  formally  opened  by  Lord  Dufferin  when  he  visited  Madura  in 
December  1886.     The  part  of  it  immediately  to  the  north-east  of 


S  O    r   REG  N0.88G 

isoeV  coprES.500 


rXr^X  or  MAIMTR^  in  1757. 
liererences. 


6 .  Jbri'n^. 


r>uf  JTr^ir^, 


GAZETTEER.  265 

the  Tainakam  was  set  aside  from  tlie  outset  for  agricuUnral  expori-  fUAP.  XV. 
ir.onts  'ind.'M-  a  Farm  Committee,  vrhicli  em]iloyer|  a  trained  agrienl-  MinrRx, 
tnrist  and  erect(>d  sundry  Luildinfrs.  This  Lody  effected  littU>  of 
note  and  in  1890  it  lianded  over  ilio  land  and  Ijuihlinrrs  fo  tlie 
District  Board  to  serve  as  an  agricultural  Lranch  of  the  Teclinical 
institute.  The  soil  is  wretched  and  tlie  scheme  was  a  failure,  and 
in  1900  the  Board  gave  Lack  the  property  to  the  council.  In  1S04 
this  latter  lent  it  without  charge  to  the  Board  for  five  years  for  the 
use  of  the  Veterinary  dispensary  which  is  now  located  there. 
Tlie  Union  Club  for  native  gentlemen,  just  west  of  the  Tamakara 
compound,  was  founded  under  Mr.  Crole's  auspices  in  18S3.  The 
land  was  granted  on  patta  in  that  year  and  the  building  was 
completed  in  1884. 

Just  west  of  the  main  gate  of  the  People's  Park  is  the  hamlet 
of  Goripalaiyam  in  which  is  the  most  revered  mosque  in  the  town. 
In  this  are  two  tombs  which  are  traditionally  stated  to  be  those  of 
a  king  named  AUa-ud-din  and  of  his  brother  Shams-ud-din.  It  is 
not  clear  who  these  personages  were.  A.  long  Tamil  inscription  on 
a  pillar  within  the  building  (dated  1574-75  and  confirming  a  grant 
to  the  institution  of  six  villages  originally  given  it  by  one  of  the 
P^ndyan  kings)  calls  the  place  the  '  mosque  of  the  Delhi  Orukol 
Sultan,'  but  this  expression  is  obscure.  Ihe  cliief  peculiarity  of 
the  building  is  that  its  domed  roof — which  is  as  much  as  22  feet 
from  base  to  apex  and  69  feet  in  circumference — is  (or  is  declared 
to  be)  made  of  one  single  block  of  stone.  It  is  so  covered  with 
whitewash  that  proof  of  the  assertion  is  difficult  of  attainment. 

Eeturning  across  the  river,  one  re-enters  the  native  town.  This 
(see  the  map  above)  is  laid  out  on  an  unusual  plan,  all  the  main 
streets  running  roughly  parallel  with  the  walls  of  the  great  temple 
which  stands  in  the  centre  of  it.  Thus  there  is  a  North  Mdsi  street 
(so  called  because  the  god  used  to  be  taken  through  it  in  the  month 
of  Mdsi,  February- March)  and  also^a  South,  East^  and  West,  Mdsi 
street.  Similarly  there  are  four  Avani  streets  rather  nearer  the 
temple,  four  Chittrai  streets  just  outside  it  and  four  A.di  streets 
within  its  walls.  The  history  of  the  town  has  already  been  sketched 
in  Chapter  IT,  where  will  be  found  (p.  64)  some  account  of  the 
fortifications  which  formerly  defended  it.  A  comparison  of  the 
attached  map  of  the  place  in  1757  ^  with  the  plan  of  it  as  it  stands 
to-day  wiU  show  better  than  any  verbal  description  the  original 
position  and  extent  of  these  defences.  It  will  be  noticed  that  tlie 
number  of  the  bastions  was  72,  and  the  inference  is  that  little 
radical  change  had  been  effected  since  the  time  when  Yisvandtha 

'  Taken  from  Carubritlge's  War  in  India. 

34 


266  MADURA. 

OnAP.  XV.  Nayalckan  (see  p.  42)  first  built  the  fort  in  1559.  The  walls  were 
jrAiurA.  roughly  rectangular  and  again  ran  parallel  to  those  of  the  temple. 
At  the  four  points  of  the  compass,  and  at  the  angle  next  the  river, 
wore  gates  througli  the  ramparts.  A  picture  in  the  possession  of 
Mr.  Robert  Fischer  of  Madura — copied  from  one  in  the  India  Office 
and  representing  the  town  of  Madura  from  the  south-east  at  the 
time  of  a  siege  by  some  British  force  (probably  the  attack  of 
1763-64) — gives  some  idea  of  the  appearance  of  the  walls.  They 
were  faced  with  stone  and  crowned  with  a  loop-holed  parapet  of 
red  brick,  and  closely  resembled  those  still  standing  at  Alagarkovil. 
Outside  them  was  a  ditch  and  broad  glacis. 

They  remained  in  existence  until  the  middle  of  the  last  century 
and  are  chiefly  responsible  for  the  present  crowded  state  of  the 
town  and  the  absence  in  it  of  any  open  spaces  worth  the  name.  In 
1837  Mr.  John  Blackburne,  the  then  Collector,  proposed  to  Govern- 
ment that,  to  improve  the  health  of  the  place,  the  ramparts  should 
be  thrown  into  the  ditch  and  the  ground  levelled  by  convict  labour. 
This  was  agreed  to,  but  so  many  of  the  convicts  were  then  engaged 
in  cutting  the  Pamban  channel  that  work  went  on  very  slowly. 
In  1841,  therefore,  Mr.  Blackburne  obtained  sanction  to  a  different 
method  of  procedure.  He  marked  off  the  rampart,  ditch  and 
glacis  into  sections,  and  sold  these  by  auction  on  condition  that 
the  purchasers  lowered  the  glacis,  threw  the  ramparts  into  the 
ditch  (reserving  their  stone  facing  for  Government)  and  built  the 
new  houses  in  regular  lines  and  with  tiled  roofs.  In  doing  this 
he  arranged  that  each  section  of  land  should  as  far  as  jDossible  be 
sold  to  people  of  the  same  or  allied  castes.  Thereafter  work 
proceeded  briskly,  and  soon  the  town  was  surrounded  with  three 
new  sets  of  four  streets,  all  again  roughly  parallel  with  the  temple 
walls,  which  were  called  respectively  the  Yelividi  ('  outside  street ') , 
the  North,  South,  East  and  West  Marrett  streets  (after  the  then 
Assistant  Revenue  Surveyor)  and  tlie  North,  South,  East  and 
West  Perumal  Maistry  streets,  after  the  foreman  of  works.  Black- 
burne had  written  to  Government  that  he  intended  to  form  '  a 
handsome  boulevard '  out  of  the  new  ground.  Doubtless  his  new 
streets  were  handsomer  and  wider  than  any  others  in  the  place,  but 
he  lost  a  great  opportunity  of  making  a  really  fine  boulevard  all 
round  the  town  which  might  have  done  something  to  provide  it 
with  the  open  spaces  it  still  so  badly  needs. 

Nothing  now  remains  of  the  old  fort  except  the  west  gateway 
and  guard-rooms,  in  and  over  which  the  present  maternity  hospital 
is  built.  The  gate  itself  has  been  blocked  up  and  the  building 
otherwise  greatly  altered,  but  three  or  four  of  the  old  embrasures 
for  cannon  are  still  left.     Much  of  the  stone   taken   from   the 


SL 


KV. 


\D  TO  RAILWAY  STATIOH 


lOAD  TO  RAILWAY  STATION  .-- 


Reg:  No.3l2a 
Copies  332 


Photo-prlnU*urvey  Office,  Madras. 
1896. 


GAZETTEER.  267 

ramparts  was  used  for  strengthening  the  causeway  across  the  CIIAP.  XV. 
Vaigai.  The  stone  figure  of  an  elephant  which  now  faces  this  was  Madura. 
brought  from  the  palace  and  set  up  in  its  present  position  as  a 
memorial  of  Blackljurne's  work ;  and  with  the  same  intent  the 
'  Blackburne  lamp '  was  erected  near  the  site  of  the  old  east  gate 
of  the  fort.  The  inscription  on  this  says  that  it  was  put  up  '  by  a 
grateful  people, '  but  the  numerous  petitions  complaining  of  his 
proceedings  when  he  effected  these  improvements  had  much  to  do 
with  the  suspension  which  subsequently  was  his  lot.  He  was 
eventually  restored  to  his  post,  but  never  forgave  the  authorities. 

Troops  were  stationed  in  the  town  for  several  years  after  tlie 
fort  Wiis  demolishe.l.  Ttiey  lived  ia  temporary  barracks  put  up 
on  the  site  of  the  existing  lines  of  the  Police  Eeserve  and  it  is 
said  that  the  masonry  powder-magazine  there  was  originally 
built  for  them. 

It  remains  to  refer  to  the  three  buildings  for  which  Madura 
is  so  widely  known  ;  namely,  the  great  temple,  the  tank  called 
the  Teppakulam  and  the  palace  of  Tirumala  Nayakkan. 

The  temple,  as  already  stated,  stands  in  the  centre  of  the 
town.  Except  the  inner  shrines,  probably  none  of  it  is  older 
than  the  si.Kteenth  century.  The  origiual  building  of  the  days 
of  the  Pandya  kings  was  almost  entirely  destroyed  (see  p.  38) 
by  the  Musalman  troops  of  Malik  Kafur  in  the  invasion  of  lolO. 
The  eastern  gopuram  bears  an  inscription  purporting  to  be  of 
Pdndya  times,  but  the  script  is  modern.  The  inner  shrines  are 
mentioned  by  Manikya-Yachakar  (see  p.  290),  who  is  thought  to 
have  lived  in  the  fifth  century  of  the  present  era,  and  even  by 
Tamil  poets  who  have  been  assigned  much  earlier  dates.  These 
latter  call  the  temple  Velliamhalam,  'the  hall  of  silver' — 
probably  in  contradistinction  to  Ponnambalam,  '  the  hall  of  gold,' 
the  name  given  to  the  shrine  at  Chidambaram.  The  attached 
plan  of  the  existing  building  gives  a  clearer  idea  of  its  general 
arrangement  than  could  be  conveyed  by  any  description.  It 
will  be  seen  that — excluding  from  consideration  for  the  present 
the  Piidn  niantapam  and  Udya  gopuram  referred  to  later — it  is 
constructed  on  the  system  usual  with  the  larger  Dravidiau 
temples.  Four  high  stone  walls,  in  the  middle  of  each  of  which 
is  a  gateway  surmounted  by  pyramidal  go/niranis,  enclose  a 
nearly  rectangular  space  about  S^jO  feet  hy  7 lit)  feot  within  which 
is  a  labyrinth  of  store-house?,  cloisters,  mantapanis  and  lesser 
shrines  and  the  sacred  tank,  and,  in  the  centre,  surrounded  by 
other  walls  with  more  gateways  and  towers,  the  inner  shrines  of 
the  god  and  goddess.     The  god  is  Siva  in  his  form  Sokkandtha 


268  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV,  or  Sundara,  '  tlie  beautiful,'  and  the  goddess,  liis  wife,  is  Minakslii, 
.aial>ura.  '  tlie  fish-cjed.'  The  legend  regarding  tliom  in  the  local  sthrila 
purdna  says  that  she  was  tlie  daughter  of  a  Pandya  king  wlio, 
to  the  consternation  of  her  parents,  was  born  with  three  breasts. 
A  fairy,  however,  told  the  king  that  the  third  breast  woald 
disappear  as  soon  as  she  met  her  future  husband  ;  and  it  did  so 
when  she  first  encountered  Siva.  They  were  wedded  accordingly 
with  much  pomp.  It  has  been  suggested  that  Minakshi  may 
have  been  a  local  Dravidian  goddess  whom  the  Biahman  immi- 
grants found  to  be  too  dear  to  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  the 
country  to  be  ousted  by  any  of  tlieir  Aryan  deities,  and  that  her 
marriage  to  Siva  was  a  method  adopted  to  reconcile  and  unite 
the  old  faith  and  the  new. 

Round  about  the  temple,  outside  the  high  outer  walls,  ia  a 
neat  garden  fenced  in  with  iron  railings  which  was  laid  out  in  the 
eighties  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Crole  to  replace  the  heaps  of 
rubbish  which  then  occupied  this  space.  The  gopm^ams  are  of  the 
ordinarj^  pattern,  the  lowest  storey  consisting  of  sculptured  stone 
and  the  upper  ones  of  brickwoi-k  profusely  ornamented  with 
figures  made  of  brightly  painted  plastor  and  representing  the 
more  popular  of  the  deities,  personages  and  events  met  with  in 
the  Hiudu  sacred  books.  They  are  unusually  lofty  and  are  a 
landmark  for  miles  round.  All  of  them  have  been  repaired  of 
late  years  at  great  cost  by  the  Nattukottai  Chettis  who  have 
spent  such  large  sums  in  the  restoration  of  the  Saivite  temples 
of  this  Presidency.  The  highest  of  them  is  the  south  gopuram, 
tlie  top  of  which  is  about  150  feet  above  the  street  below  it. 
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  thus  left  unfinished,  placed  the  usual  plaster 
top  upon  it. 

Visitors  generally  enter  the  temple  by  the  Ashta  Sakti  mantapam 
('  porch  of  the  eight  saktis,'  so  called  from  the  images  of  these 
goddesses  which  form  part  of  the  pillars  inside  it)  which  (see  the 
plan)  juts  out  from  the  eastern  wall.  It  is  noticeable  that  the 
lloor  of  this  is  considerably  lower  thau  the  street.  The  level  of 
Madura  has  been  mucli  raised  in  the  course  of  ages.  When 
foundatiuns  for  new  buildings  are  dug,  debris  is  always  met  with. 
In  tlio  case  of  St.  George's  Church  this  went  down  as  deep  as 
fourteen  feet.  At  the  further  end  of  the  mantapam  is  a  doorway 
on   cither  side  of  which  are  images,   blackened   with  frequent 


GAZETTEER.  209 

oblations,  of  Ganesa  (the  elephant-licadcd  son  of  Siva)  and  CUAP.  XV, 
Subralimanya,  his  brother,  in  his  form  Slianmuga,  the  six-faced.  Madura. 
Passing-  through  the  doorway  one  enters  the  mantapam  of 
Miaaksiii  Niiyakkan,  who  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  ministers 
of  Tiramala  Nayakkan.  This  is  supported  on  six  rows  of  tall 
carved  pillars,  each  of  which  consists  of  a  single  stone.  'J  he  outer  • 
parts  of  it  are  used  as  stables  for  the  temple  elephants  and  the 
rest  is  packed  with  shops  and  stalls  where  all  kinds  of  commodities 
are  sold.  Both  here  and  in  the  Pw/u  mantapxm  these  shops  so  crowd 
the  building  as  to  cloak  its  architectural  beauties,  but  the  temple 
cash-chest  is  the  richer  by  some  Es.  17,000  annually  from  tlie 
rents  they  pay,  and  the  mtinaging  body  are  consequently  unwill- 
ing to  tarn  them  cut.  At  the  further  end  of  tlie  mantapam  is  a 
doorway  surrounded  with  a  brass  frame  covered  with  scores  oi 
small  oil  lamps.  These  are  lighted  daily  from  the  income  derived 
from  certain  villages  which  a  former  zamindar  of  Wivaganga 
presented  to  the  temple  for  this  purpose.  Eeyond  it  is  the 
Mudali  Pillai  mantapam,  which  is  usually  known  as  '  the  dark 
mantapam  '  and  is  upheld  hy  various  large  stone  figures  executed 
with  great  spirit. 

Passing  through  this  one  reaches  '  the  golden  lily  tank,'  of  the 
religious  efficacy  of  a  bath  in  which  so  many  stories  arc  told.  It 
is  surrounded  by  a  pillared  colonnade  from  one  auspicious  corner  of 
which  the  golden  tops  of  the  roofs  of  the  two  inner  shrines  can  be 
seen.  Its  walls  were  formerly  covered  with  frescoes.  These 
gradually  became  obliterated  by  damp  and  age  and  were  painted 
out,  but  parts  of  the  walls  have  been  newly  decorated  with 
representations  of  events  from  the  sacred  writings,  such  as  the  64 
miracles  which  Siva  is  said  to  have  worked  in  and  about  Madura. 
On  the  western  side  of  the  tank  is  the  little  chapel  of  queen 
Mangammal  which  has  already  been  referred  to  on  p.  55  above. 

Next  this  is  the  Kiltkaiii  ('  parrot ')  mantapam,  so  called 
from  the  screaming  caged  parrots  which  are  kept  in  it.  It  is 
upheld  by  pillars  formed  of  excellent  statues — each  cut  out  of  a 
single  great  block  of  granite — of  ydlis  and  of  the  five  Pandava 
brothers.  These  latter  would  be  more  appropriate  in  a  Vaishnava 
temple  than  in  one  dedicated  to  Siva,  and  tradition  says  that  they 
were  brought  from  a  shrine  to  Kariyamanikka  Perumal  which 
formerly  stood  immediately  south-west  of  the  Cliinna  mottai 
gupnram  but  was  demoli^niod.  Leading  out  of  this  mantapam 
is  Minakshi's  shrine,  within  wliicli  are  several  smaller  diapels  to 
Subralimanya  and  Vighnesvara.  Passing  northwards,  the  visitor 
goes  towards  Si\a's  shrine  through  a  gateway  under  the  NacluJiattv 


270  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.    ('  iniddlo ')    gapuram.     Facing    this    is    an    image    of    Ganapati 
Madura.       (Pillaiyar)  whicli  is  said  (see  Lelow,  p.  274)  to  have  been  dug  up  in 
the  great  Teppakulani. 

Siva's  shrine  contains  several  subsidiary  buildings  which  it  i? 
not  necessary  to  particularise,  a  stump  which  is  said  to  be  all  that 
now  remains  of  the  legendary  forest  of  ]cada7nba  trees  which  is 
supposed  to  have  formerly  covered  all  this  part  of  the  country, 
and  a  series  of  statues  of  the  Af'uvattmnvar,  or  63  Saivite  saints. 
In  it  are  kept  the  temple  jewels,  which  include  a  pendant  for  the 
god  given  by  a  Pdndyan  king,  a  head-dress  studded  with  pearls 
and  rubies  presented  by  Tirumala  Ndyakkan  and  a  pair  of  golden 
stirrups  which  were  the  gift  of  Kous  I'eter — a  thank-offering,  goes 
the  story,  for  an  escape  from  an  elephant  he  had  wounded.  In  the 
covered  colonnade  surrounding  the  shrine  are  little  chapels  sacred 
to  the  Sangattdr,  or  members  of  the  Third  Sangam  referred  to  on 
p.  174,  to  the  nine  planets  and  to  the  poet-saint  Tirugnana  Sam- 
bandhar  whose  exploits  are  mentioned  on  p.  297.  In  one  corner 
of  it  (see  the  plan)  is  the  Mantapanayakka  mantapam  or  '  king 
mantapam  among  mantapam s.^  It  in  no  way  now  deserves  this 
high-sounding  name,  as  it  is  quite  eclipsed  by  the  kambattadi 
{'  foot  of  the  flagstaff  ')  mantapam  which  adjoins  it  and  surrounds 
the  gilded  flagstaff  which  directly  faces  the  entrance  to  Siva's 
shrine.  This  building  was  put  up  in  the  seventies  by  the  Nattu- 
kottai  Chettis  and  is  supported  by  high  monolithic  pilLars  perhaps 
more  elaborately  chiseUed  than  anything  in  the  building.  Behind 
the  flagstaff  are  four  huge  images  of  Siva  dancing,  of  the  fearsome 
goddess  Kali  and  of  Virabhadra  in  two  different  shapes,  which  are 
again  cut  out  of  single  blocks  of  stone.  They  are  done  with  great 
spirit  and  their  numerous  limbs  and  elaborate  oruaments  and 
attributes  make  them  probably  the  greatest  triumph  of  technical 
skill  in  stone-cutting  to  be  found  within  the  temple  walls.  East- 
ward of  these  images  is  the  great  Viravasantaraya  mantapam 
which  is  said  to  have  been  built  by  Tirumala  Nayakkan's 
predecessor  on  the  Madura  throne,  Muttu  Virappa  (1609-23).  It 
is  supported  on  pillars  cut  from  single  blocks  of  granite  and  is 
roofed  with  long  slabs  of  stone.  South  of  it  is  the  Kalyana 
('  marriage  ')  mantapam.  This  has  been  restored  by  the  Chettis 
and  contains  too  much  varnished  woodwork^  to  be  pleasing  to 
European  taste.  In  it  is  conducted  the  marriage  of  the  god  and 
goddess  at  the  time  of  the  great  annual  Chittrai  festival. 

North  of  the  Viravasantaraya  mantapam  is  the  '  Thousand- 
pillared  mantapam.'  Two  shrines  built  within  it  reduce  the 
actual  number  of  pillars  (all  of  which   are  monoliths)  to  985,  but 


GAZETTEER.  271 

Fergusson  ^  considers  that  '  it  is  not  their  nurnhf  r  but  their  marvel-  CHAP.  XV. 
lous  elaboration  that  makes  it  the  wonder  of  the  place  '  and  declares  ^^ai^ura- 
that  tlie  '  sculptures  surpass  those  of  any  other  liall  of  its  class  I 
am  acquainted  with.'  It  is  supposed  to  liave  been  built  by  the 
Arya  Natlia  Mudali  referred  to  on  p.  42,  and  an  equestrian  statue 
of  him  flanks  one  side  of  the  steps  leading  up  to  it.  Jf  this  legend 
is  correct,  it  is  (next  to  the  central  shrines)  the  oldest  part  of  the 
building. 

Passing  thi'ough  the  gateway  is  the  eastern  tower,  and  crossing 
the  street,  one  enters  the  Pudu  {'  new ')  mantapam,  otherwise 
called  '  Tirumala  Nayakkan's  clioultry.'  It  was  built  by  the  ruler 
whose  name  it  bears  (who  reigned  between  1623  and  1659)  as  a 
summer  retreat  for  the  god,  and,  being  formerly  surrounded  by 
a  narrow  stone  water-course  designed  to  cool  the  air  in  it,  is  some- 
times called  the  Vasanta  {'  spring  ')  mriniapam .  It  consists  (see 
the  plan)  of  a  rectangular  porch  333  feet  long  and  1 05  feet  wide 
(measured  on  the  stylobate)  roofed  with  long  slabs  of  granite 
which  are  supported  by  four  parallel  rows  of  124  sculptured  stone 
pillars  about  20  feet  high.  These  pillars  are  all  most  richly 
sculptured  and  all  different  in  design.  Some  of  them  are 
ornamented  with  rearing  ydlis,  while  those  near  the  middle 
of  the  centre  aisle  are  decorated  with  life-size  figures  of  Tirumala 
Nayakkan  (with  his  wives)  and  liis  predecessors.  At  one  end 
is  a  porcli  made  of  polished  black  granite.  The  facjade  is  adorned 
with  more  i/dlis  or  with  groups,  all  cut  out  of  a  single  block  of 
granite,  representing  a  warrior  seated  on  a  rearing  horse  the  fore 
feet  of  which  are  supported  by  the  shields  of  foot-soldiers  slaying 
tigers  or  men.  '  As  works  exhibiting  difficulties  overcome  by 
patient  labour/  says  Fergusson,  '  they  are  unrivalled,  so  far  as 
I  know,  by  anything  found  elsewhere.'  The  whole  building  is 
perhaps  the  most  remarkable  of  its  kind  in  south  India,  but  the 
effect  of  it  is  at  present  sadly  marred  by  the  shops  and  stalls  with 
which  the  whole   centre  aisle  is  crowded. 

East  of  it  is  the  unfinished'  Rd>/a  gopuram  {' Ving  tower') 
which  Tirumala  Naynkkan  began  and  never  completed.  Native 
manuscripts  say  that  he  began  6i  others  (some  give  the  figure  as 
£6)  in  different  places,  all  at  one  and  the  same  auspicious  moment, 
but  that  many  of  them  were  never  completed.  Unfinished 
examples  very  similar  to  that  at  Madura  may  be  seen  at  Alagar- 
kovil  and  Periyakulam.  '  Beginning  a  Rdya  gopuram  '  is  a  saying 
now  applied  in  Madura  to  tlio  commencement  of  any  hopelessly 
ambitious  undertaking.  The  lowest  storey  of  this  tower  occupies 
}  Indian  and  Eastern  Architecturt  {3 ohu  Murray,  1876),  365, 


272 


MADURA. 


CIIA?.  XV.  more  tlian  twice  the  space  covered  by  any  of  the  existing  gopuramfi 
JlAniTBA.  {^,,,1  the  sculptare  on  it  is  riclior  and  cleaner  cut  than  that  on  any 
other.  Tlie  doorposts  of  tho  f^aton-'ay  through  it  are  formed  of 
monolitlis  over  50  feet  high  and  3  feet  wide,  carved  with  exquisite 
scrolls  of  foliage.  Had  it  been  finished  it  would  have  been  tlie 
finest  gopuram  in  southern  India.  Having  never  been  conse- 
crated, it  has  escaped  the  whitewash  which  has  spoilt  so  many  of 
the  other  buildings  in  the  town. 

Here  we  may  take  leave  of  tlie  great  Madura  temple.  No 
general  view  of  it  will  remain  in  the  memory,  for  there  is  no  point 
from  which  more  than  a  small  portion  of  it  can  be  seen,  and  the 
chief  impression  it  leaves  is  wonder  at  the  enormous  amount  of 
labour  spent  upon  the  immense  quantity  of  elaborate  carving  in 
granite  which  it  contains.  This  granite  is  supposed  to  have  come 
from  Tirupparankunram.  It  is  not  known  where  the  fine  grained 
black  stone  which  appears  here  and  there  in  it  and  in  TirumaUi 
Nayakkan's  palace  was  quarried. 

The  inscriptions  in  the  temple  so  far  deciphered  are  not  of 
much  interest.  On  the  inner  parts  of  it  are  some  grants  of 
Pandyan  times.  The  institution  is  managed  by  five  dharmakartas 
appointed  by  election  under  the  Eeligious  Endowments  Act, 
s  ubordinate  to  whom  is  a  manager.  A  typical  annual  budget  is 
roughly  as  under  : — 


Receipts. 

E.xpenditare. 

BS. 

RS. 

Tasdik  allowance       

15,773 

Daily      expenses       (lighting, 

Inam  villag'ea  and  land 

45,904 

food  for  the  di'ities,  oLc.)..! 

2P.637 

Rent   of  shops  and   stalls  in 

Festivals          

4,535 

the  temijle  ... 

1G,862 

Establishment             (priest.s, 

Rent  of  cocoanut  topes,  etc. 

3,385 

cooks,  sweeper.=i,   etc.,  and 

Rent    of  land   in   and  about 

revenue    officials    for    tho 

Madura  and  elsewhere     ... 

508 

care  of  the  temple's  land). 

21,547 

Offerings      in      tlie      undial 

Repairs            

5,381 

boxes            

7,245 

Legal  expenses 

3,805 

89,677 

H4,905 

Any  surplus  is  usually  laid  out  in  repairs  to  the  fabric,,  which, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  tliatthe  Nattukottai  Chettis  have  spent 
some  five  lakhs  apon  the  building,  are  stiU  urgently  needed  iu 
places. 


GAZETTEER.  273 

The  chief  festivals  arc  tlic  Ohittrai,  Teppakulam  and  Avaai-  CHAP,  XV. 
mulam  feasts.  The  first  (and  chief)  of  these  occurs  in  tlie  month  Maddea, 
of  Chittrai  (April- May)  and  celebrates  tlie  marriagw  of  >Siva  and 
Minakshi.  The  great  event  in  it  is  the  dragging  of  the  temple 
car  through  the  foiir  Masi  streets,  so  called  because  this  event 
originally  took  place  in  the  month  Masi  February-March.  A 
very  large  cattle-fair  is  held  at  the  same  time  and  the  Alagarkovil 
god  comes  to  the  town.  The  second  feast  takes  place  in  Tai 
(January-February).  The  images  of  the  god  and  goddess  are 
floated  on  a  raft  [teppam)  round  the  Teppakulam,  whicli  is  lighted 
with  thousands  of  little  lamps  for  the  occasion.  This  festival  was 
originated  bj  Tirumala  Nayakkan  after  he  had  built  the  Teppa- 
kulam, and  is  fixed  for  the  anniversary  of  his  birthday.  The 
third  feast  occurs  in  August  or  September  and  at  it  a  number  of 
the  exploits  of  Siva  are  commemorated — among  them  those  con- 
nected with  the  life  of  the  saint  Manikya-Vachakar  and  referred 
to  on  p.  290  below. 

There  are  many  other  temples  in  Madura,  but  space  docs  not 
allow  of  any-  detailed  account  of  them.  The  biggest  is  that  to 
the  Yaishnava  deitj'  Peruinal  in  the  south-west  part  of  the  towu. 
Near  it  is  a  tank  called  the  Perumal  teppakulam  to  distinguish 
it  from  the  other  ('Vandiyur')  Teppakulam.  The  outer  walls 
of  this  building  bear  several  marks  made  by  round-shot.  The 
central  shrine  was  designed  on  regal  lines,  but  was  apparently 
never  finished.  The  stone  work  in  this — especially  the  pierced 
granite  windows,  all  of  different  delicate  designs,  whicli  light  the 
passage  round  the  inner  shi-ine — is  as  excellent  as  anything  in 
Madura.  The  temple  to  kSiva  in  his  form  Nanmaitaruvar,  '  giver 
of  benefits,'  has  recently  been  repaired  at  great  cost  by  the 
Chettis.  The  Patnulkarans  [seQ  p.  lUU)  have  their  own  place 
of  worship,  in  which  priests  of  the  caste  officiate.  The  lower 
classes  largely  frequent  the  shrine  to  Mariamma,  the  goddess 
of  small-pox,  which  stands  on  the  edge  of  the  Vaudiyur 
Teppakulam.  This  is  hung  with  cradles  presented  by  women 
who  believe  themselves  to  have  obtained  childreu  by  the  grace  of 
the  goddess  and  is  decorated  with  rows  of  painted  clay  images 
of  children  whom  she  is  held  to  have  delivered  from  sickness. 

This  Teppakulam  ('  raft  tank  '),  which  has  been  several  times 
referred  to,  is  an  artificial  reservoir  made  by  Tirumala  Ndyakkan. 
It  is  filled  by  a  channel  from  the  Vaigai  and  lies  at  the  extreme 
south-east  comer  of  the  town.  It  is  almost  a  perfect  square, 
measuring  (along  the  outside  of  the  parapet  walls)  1,000  feet  on 
the  north  and  south  and  950  feet  on  the  east  and  west,  and  is  the 

35 


274  MADtJRA. 

CHAP.  xy.  largest  construction  of  the  kind  in  south  India.  The  sides  are 
W  A  DURA.  faced  all  round  with  cut  granite  and  surmounted  by  a  handsome 
parapet  of  the  same  material,  just  inside  which  a  granite-paved 
walk,  five  feet  wide,  runs  all  round  the  tank.  Flights  of  steps, 
three  on  each  side,  run  down  at  intervals  to  the  water's  edge.  In 
the  middle  of  the  reservoir  is  a  square  island,  also  faced  with  cut 
granite,  on  which,  among  green  palms  and  flowering  trees,  is  a 
small  white  temple  with  a  tower  of  the  usual  kind,  flanked,  at  the 
four  corners  of  the  island,  with  graceful  little  mantapams.  The 
whole  is  exceedingly  well-proportioned  and  graceful  in  effect.  The 
story  goes  that  this  spot  was  the  place  at  which  the  bricks  for  Tiru- 
mala  Nayakkan's  palace  were  made,  and  that  when  the  clay  for  them 
was  being  dug  out  the  stone  image  of  Ganapati  now  in  the  temple 
and  referred  to  above  was  found  buried  underground.  Realizing 
that  the  discovery  showed  that  the  spot  was  holy  ground,  the  king 
turned  the  excavations  into  this  beautiful  tank.  The  legend  at 
least  affords  an  explanation  for  the  construction  of  such  an  under- 
taking so  far  from  the  tovpn. 

The  ruins  of  Tirumala  Nayakkan's  palace  stand  near  what  was 
once  the  south-east  corner  of  the  old  fort.  The  map  of  the  town 
in  1757  already  given  shows  what  an  immense  area  the  buildings 
originally  covered.  Only  one  block  of  them  now  survives.  The 
destruction  of  them  was  begun  by  Tirumala's  own  grandson 
Chokkanatha,  who  ruled  from  l(i62  to  1682.  He  held  his  court  at 
Trichinopoly,  and,  to  provide  himself  with  a  dwelling  there,  ruth- 
lessly removed  thither  all  the  best  portions  of  his  grandfather's 
splendid  residence,  but  only  succeeded  in  constructing  a  building 
which  has  remained  quite  unknown  to  fame.  The  plan  of  1767 
shows  the  arrangement  of  the  chief  parts  of  the  original  building ; 
a  vernacular  paper  translated  on  pp.  157-9  of  Vol.  il  of  Taylor's 
Oriental  Historical  Manuscripts  gives  a  lengthy  description  of 
these  ;  the  two  drawings  made  by  DanieU  in  1794  which  are 
reproduced  in  M.  Langles'  Monuments  anciens  et  modernes  de 
I'  Uindoustan  (Paris,  1821)  show  portions  which  have  now  entirely 
disappeared ;  a  painting  in  the  library  in  the  Tanjore  palace  and 
another  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Fischer  and  referred  to  above 
show  other  similar  parts  ;  and  from  the  roof  of  the  one  block  which 
survives  may  be  seen  the  taU  Ten  Pillars,  a  small  dome  among  the 
Patnulkarans'  quarter,  and  the  site  of  the  old  Naubat  khana  (or 
band  stand)  which  were  all  once  included  in  the  original  building. 
But  these  materials  are  not  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  reconstruct 
the  palace  as  it  stood  in  the  days  gone  by.  One  thing  only  is 
certain,  namely  that,  in  spite  of  the  current  belief  to  the  contrary, 


GAZETTEER.  275 

the  Collector's  present  office  near  tlie  temple  and  the  building-    CHAP.  XV. 
called  '  Mangammal's  palace  '  where  the  taluk  cutch'Drry  and  other       Madura. 
offices  are  now  located  were  entirely  distinct  from  it. 

The  Nauhat  khana,  it  may  here  be  noted,  was  so  dilapidated 
in  the  fifties  that  the  American  Mission  declined  to  take  it  as  a 
gift ;  it  was  then  restored  by  Mr.  Greorge  Fischer  for  the  use  of  a 
school ;  and  was  taken  by  Government  in  1 858  for  the  use  of  the 
new  Znia  school.  When  the  new  building  for  this  latter  was  put 
up,  the  Naubat  khana  was  used  for  some  time  as  the  ]3olice  head- 
quarter office.  It  was  eventually  sold  as  being  past  repair  and  the 
Patnulkarans'  primary  school  now  occupies  its  site. 

The  one  block  of  the  palace  which  now  survives  consists  of  two 
oblong-  buildings  running  east  and  west  en  echelon  and  connected 
at  one  corner.  The  smaller  of  these  is  135  feet  long,  half  as  wide 
(including-  the  cloisters  on  either  side),  and  about  70  feet  in  height. 
'  It  possesses,'  says  Fergusson,  whose  book  contains  an  inadequate 
engraving  of  its  interior,  '  all  the  structural  propriety  and 
character  of  a  Gothic  building.'  The  roof  is  a  pointed  arch  of 
brickwork  strengthened  by  granite  ribs  springing  from  a  double 
series,  one  above  the  other,  of  other  pointed  arches  supported  on 
columns.  Behind  the  upper  series  of  these  arches  runs  a  gallery 
resembling  the  triforium  of  an  English  cathedral.  Tradition 
says  that  this  room  was  Tirumala's  sleeping  apartment  and  that 
his  cot  hung  by  long  chains  from  hooks  in  the  roof.  One  night, 
says  a  favourite  story,  a  Kalian  made  a  hole  in  the  roof, 
swarmed  down  the  chains  and  stole  tlie  royal  jewels.  The  king 
promised  a  jaghir  to  any  one  who  would  bring  him  the  thief,  and 
the  Kalian  then  gave  himself  up  and  claimed  the  reward.  The 
king  gave  him  the  jaghir  and  then  promptly  had  him  beheaded. 
For  many  years  this  chamber  was  used  as  the  District  Court,  and 
portraits  of  two  former  Judges,  Sir  Pliilip  Hutchins  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Weir,  still  hang  in  it.  It  is  at  present  occupied  by  one  of 
the  Sub-Courts. 

The  larger  of  the  two  buildings  is  even  more  impressive.  It 
consists  of  a  great  open  courtyard,  252  feet  long  and  151  feet 
wide,  round  which  runs  a  roofed  arcade  of  great  beauty,  su]:)ported 
on  tall  stone  pillars  4  0  feet  in  height  connected  by  foliated  brick 
arches  of  much  elegance  of  design  ornamented  with  Hindu  designs 
carried  out  in  the  fine  shell-lime  plaster  which  almost  resembles 
marble.  Round  three  sides  of  this  court,  at  the  back  of  the 
arcade,  runs  a  very  handsome  line  of  lofty  cloisters,  43  feet  wide 
and  upheld  by  three  parallel  rows  of  pillars  supporting  arches 
some  26  feet  high.  In  the  middle  of  two  sides  of  this  are  large 
domes  built  on  pillars  of  the  eanie  height  as  those  of  the  outer 


276  MADUBA. 

CHAP.  XV.  arcade,  and  an  upper  gallery  runs  all  round  it.  On  ttie  fourth 
Madcea.  side  of  the  court  the  cloister  is  much  deeper  and  finer,  being 
altogether  105  feet  wide,  supported  on  five  rows  of  huge  pillars 
and  roofed  with  three  great  domes,  the  central  and  largest  of  which 
measures  60  feet  in  diameter  and  is  73  feet  ahove  the  ground.  In 
front  of  it  stands  a  magnificent  portico,  the  pillars  of  which  are 
55  feet  high  to  the  spring  of  the  arches. 

The  vernacular  MS.  above  referred  to  calls  this  building  the 
Swarga  Vildsam  and  says — 

'  This  pavilion  is  so  constructed  as  to  cause  it  to  be  said  that  in 
no  other  country  is  theie  a  court  eq[ual  to  it,  by  reason  of  its  splendid 
ormimeuts,  their  excellence,  number,  extent,  curious  workmanship, 
and  great  beau  y.  To  the  west,  in  the  midst  of  a  great  dome-shaped 
hall,  is  a  square  building-  of  black  stone,  inside  which  is  a  chamber 
made  of  ivor3\  In  the  middle  of  this  is  a  jewelled  throne,  on  which 
the  king  is  accustomed  to  take  his  seat  at  the  great  niue-nights'  festival 
sarroxmcled  by  all  his  banners  or  ensigns  of  royalty,  and  before  wliiob 
all  kiuf;,s  are  accustomed  to  do  homage.' 

Behind  this  domed  chamber  are  tnren  other  rooms  which, 
though  small,  are  noteworthy  for  the  Jall  pillars  of  black  marble 
which  uphold  their  ronfs. 

The  whole  construction  has  been  declared  by  competent 
authority  to  be  the  larg;est  and  most  perfect  specimen  of  palace 
architecture  existing  anywhei-e  south  of  a  line  drawn  from  Bombay 
to  Calcutta. 

M.  Langles'  volume  already  referred  to  shows  that  the  palace 
was  an  absolute  ruin  before  tlie  British  acquired  the  Madura 
country.  He  says  that  it  was  utilised  as  barracks,  and  the  Survey 
Account  of  1821  states  that  part  of  it  was  occupied  then  by  a 
paper  factory  worked  by  convict  labour.  In  1S37  Mr.  Blackburne 
reported  that  it  was  used  by  tne  weavers  for  their  work,  and 
obtained  leave  to  demolish  the  great  walls  (40  feet  high,  900  feet 
long  on  the  east  and  west  and  660  feet  on  the  north  and  south) 
which  surrounded  it  and  which  threatened  to  collapse.  In  J  857 
it  was  stated  that  almost  every  part  of  the  building  was  so  cracked 
as  to  be  dangerous  aiid  that  the  only  really  safe  part  of  it  was  the 
inner  cloister.  The  courts  of  the  District  Judge,  Sub-Judge, 
Sadr  Amin  and  MunsiE  were,  however,  held  in  it  and  the  Zilla 
school  occupied  the  north-east  corner  of  the  cloisters.  The 
amount  required  to  restore  the  place  was  estimated  at  two  lakhs. 
In  IS-'jS  heavy  rain  did  much  damage  and  brought  down  the  west 
wall  of  Tirumala  Nayakkan's  bed-chamber  and  the  Judge 
reported  that  portions  of  the  building  fell  so  frequently  that 
approach  to  his  court  was  ]:)0sitivcly  dangerous  and  that  the 
Sub-Judge  and  Munsit  had  had  to  move  elsewhere. 


GAZETTEER.  277 

In  1868  Lord  Napier,  the  then  Governor  of  Madi-as,  wrote  an  crr.AP.  XV. 
emphatic  minute  on  the  necessity  of  restoring-  ancient  ruins  in  RlAnuRA. 
general  and  this  palace  in  particular,  and  Mr.  Chisholm,  the 
Governu.ent  arcliitect,  was  sent  down  to  report  on  the  possibility 
of  saving  wliat  remained  of  the  building.  His.  account  led  the 
Government  to  decide  to  repair  the  palace  to  render  it  suitable  for 
the  Revenue,  Judicial  and  municipal  offices  of  the  town,  and  a  first 
instalment  of  Ks.  10,000  for  this  purpose  was  entered  in  the 
bi'dget  for  1870-71.  Thereafter  annual  aUotmenta  were  made  for 
continuing  tlie  work.  Lord  Napier  took  the  greatest  personal 
interest  in  the  matter  and  in  1871,  after  visiting  the  place, 
recorded  an  elaborate  minute  regarding-  the  offices  which  were  to 
be  located  in  it.  By  188:^  Es.  2,V''fii}0  had  been  spent,  iron  ties 
had  been  inserted  to  hold  the  structure  together,  the  ruined 
portions  had  been  rebuilt  or  rendered  safe,  the  plaster-work  and 
painting  li;id  botn  restored  on  the  original  linos  and  the  entrance 
on  the  east  side  of  the  great  courtyard  had  been  surrounded  with 
an  ornamental  gateway.  This  entrance  had  been  cut  through  the 
solid  brickwork  in  comparatively  recent  times.  Mr.  Chisholm 
found  evidence  to  show  that  the  original  opening  had  been  on  the 
west,  behind  the  three  great  domes. 

Various  public  offices  were  then  located  in  the  restored 
portions,  and  to  accommodate  them  the  cloisters  were  partitioned 
off  into  sets  of  rooms  with  ugly  dwarf  walls  which  quite  spoilt 
their  appearance.  The  next  year  a  committee  of  local  officers 
settled  the  best  methods  of  distributino:  the  remainiuy-  available 
space  and  much  correspondence  ensued  as  to  the  desirability  of 
placing-  the  Collector's  office  in  the  building.  By  1886  a  sum  of 
Ks.  3,81,000  had  been  spent  on,  or  sanctioned  for,  the  palace,  and 
shortly  afterwards  the  Collector's  office  was  at  length  moved  into 
it.  The  space  available  was,  however,  found  to  be  quite  insuffi- 
cient and  eventually  it  was  removed  back  to  its  former  quarters. 

The  palace,  indeed,  is  in  no  way  suited  for  public  offices. 
The  ventilation  is  insufficient,  the  acoustic  projicrties  poor,  the 
lighting  bad  and  the  surroundings  insanitary  ;  while,  owing  to 
the  echoes  in  tlie  great  oourfyard,  the  noise  maile  by  the  crowds 
who  attend  the  various  courts  and  offices  renders  it  most  difficult 
to  hear  in  any  of  them.  Consequently,  as  already  stated  above, 
a  new  court-house  is  to  be  built  on  the  otiitr  side  of  the  Vaigai, 
north-west  of  the  Mysore  cliattram,  for  the  Judge  iwho  now 
holds  court  under  the  great  dome)  and  the  other  judicial  officers 
who  arc  located  in  the  ])alace ;  and  new  quarters  are  to  be 
constructed  on  a  site  to  the  south  of  the  Thuiakam  for  the 
Collector's  office   and  its  various  branches,  the  Madura  Deputy 


278  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.  Collector  and  the  talisildar.  The  only  offices  then  left  in  the 
jSIaddra.  palace  will  be  those  of  the  Registration  department.  These  will 
he  located  in  the  three  rooms  west  of  the  great  dome  and  all  the 
dwarf  walls  aud  partitions  will  be  removed  from  the  cloisters. 
This  part  of  the  old  pahice  will  thus,  after  the  lapse  of  perhaps  a 
couple  of  centuries,  be  restored  to  almost  its  original  grandeur. 

Mangulam :  Twelve  miles  north-east  of  Madura  ;  population 
8,075.  To  the  south  of  it  stands  the  Pandava-muttu  hill,  in  the 
rock  on  the  western  side  of  which  are  cut  three  small  shrines 
adjoining  one  another.  Thej  are  about  -^  feet  deep  and  7  feet 
high  and  look  as  if  thej  had  been  originally  intended  to  be 
connected  together  so  as  to  make  a  rock-cut  temple  of  the  usual 
kind.      I'here  are  no  inscriptions  or  sculptures  at  the  spot. 

A  mile  east  of  the  village  is  Kalugumalai,  on  a  rock  on  the 
top  of  which  are  some  of  the  shallow  excavations  which  (see 
p.  75)  are  called  Pancha  Pdndava  padukJcai  or  '  beds  of  the  five 
Pandavas.' 

Fasumalai  :  A  small  hill  of  quartz  rock,  standing  two  miles 
south  of  Madura,  from  which  most  of  the  metal  for  mending  the 
streets  of  the  town  is  quarried.  The  name  means  'cow  hill,'  and 
the  legend  about  the  place  in  the  Madura  dhala  purdna  says  that 
the  .Tains,  being  defeated  in  their  attempt  to  destroy  Madura  by 
means  of  the  serpent  which  was  turned  into  the  Nagamalai 
(see  p.  7),  resorted  to  more  magic  and  evolved  a  demon  in  the 
form  of  an  enormous  cow.  They  selected  this  particular  shape 
for  their  demon  because  they  thought  that  no  one  would  dare  kill 
so  sacred  an  animal.  Siva,  however,  directed  the  bull  which  is  his 
vehicle  to  increase  vastly  in  size  and  go  to  meet  the  cow.  The 
cow,  seeing  him,  died  of  love  and  was  turned  into  this  hiH. 

The  hill,  it  may  be  mentioned,  bears  no  resemblance  to  a  cow 
or  to  any  other  animal.  It  consists  of  two  rounded  heights  joined 
by  a  lower  saddle.  On  one  of  these  is  a  shrine  to  one  of  the  many 
grdmodevfjfns  at  which  sheep  are  periodically  offered  up,  and 
beneath  the  other  is  the  extensive  compound  of  the  American 
Mission,  wdthin  which  are  built  the  high  school  referred  to  on 
p.  176  above,  a  church,  a  theological  seminary  and  numerous 
subsidiary  buildings. 

Siriipalai  (or  Siruvalai)  contains  663  inhabitants  and  is 
situated  eight  miles  north-north-west  of  Madura.  It  is  the  chief 
of  the  four  villages  which  make  up  the  small  zamindari  of  the  same 
name.  This  was  one  of  the  '  unsettled  pdlaiyams  '  referred  to  on 
p.  194  above  and  no  sanad  has  yet  been  granted  for  it.  Nor, 
since  it  has  passed  out  of  the  possession  of  the  family  of  the  original 


GAZETTEER.  279 

holders,  is  it  scheduled  in  the  Impartible  Estates  Act  of  1904.  It  CHAP.  X7, 
was  sold  in  1861  in  satisfaction  of  a  decree  of  the  civil  courts  Madura. 
obtained  by  creditors  of  the  then  zaraindar,  Achyuta  {alias 
Vasuvacha)  Kama  Kavundan,  an  Anuppan  by  caste,  and  passed 
successively  to  Marudamuttu  Pillai,  Tavamuiiia  Pillai,  Mr.  T.  M. 
Scott  (a  barrister  at  Madura),  Mr.  E.  Scott  (his  son),  Father 
F.  Rapatel,  s.j.  (who  bought  it  in  1893  on  behalf  of  the  Madura 
Jesuit  Mission)  and  Chidambara  Chetti,  the  present  registered 
holder,  w^ho  purchased  it  from  the  mission  in  1900. 

Tirupparankunram :  Four  miles  south-west  of  Madura ; 
population  4,528  (largely  Kalians)  ;  a  station  on  the  main  line  of 
the  South  Indian  Ivailway.  The  village  is  built  at  the  foot  of  a 
hill  which  rises  1 ,04-8  feet  above  the  sea  and  is  called  Skandamalai, 
or  '  Subrahmanya's  hill '  from  the  famous  temple  to  tliat  deity 
which  stands  at  the  foot  of  it.  The  Musalmans,  however,  say  that 
the  name  is  properly  Sikandarmalai  after  a  fakir  called  Sikandar 
who  is  buried  at  t!ie  top  of  the  hill.  The  place  was  formerly  a 
sort  of  outpost  of  Madura,  figures  more  than  once  in  the  wars  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  and  still  contains  traces  of  fortifications. 
The  granite  of  which  the  hill  consists  is  a  handsome  variety  with 
pink  and  grey  bandings  which  is  much  prized  as  building  material, 
and  tradition  says  that  it  was  largely  employed  in  the  construction 
of  the  Madura  temple.  A  flight  of  steps,  gradually  degenerating 
into  mere  footholds  cut  in  the  rock,  runs  up  the  hill  to  the  tomb  of 
the  fakir.  About  half  way  up,  on  the  southern  face  of  the  hill,  on 
the  overhanging  side  of  an  enormous  hummock  of  bare  granite  at 
the  foot  of  which  is  a  deep  cleft  full  of  water,  are  carved,  side  by 
side,  two  panels  about  2|  feet  long  and  2  feet  wide  representing 
nude,  standing,  Jain  figures  in  the  customary  position  with  their 
hands  hanging  straight  dovm  by  their  sides  and  surrounded  by 
female  attendants,  some  smaller  figures  and  a  cobra  or  two.  They 
are  some  eighteen  feet  from  the  ground  and  must  have  been  sculp- 
tured from  a  scaffolding.     This  has  saved  them  from  mutilation. 

A  little  further  along  the  same  south  side  of  this  hummock  is 
a  small  shrine  to  Kdsi  Visvesvaralinga.  The  cleft  here  widens  out 
to  a  considerable  pool  of  great  depth,  and  on  the  rock  on  the  far 
side  of  it  are  carved  in  a  line,  in  deep  relief,  representations  of  the 
lingam  and  certain  of  the  Hindu  gods.  The  pujdri  has  to  swim 
across  the  pool  to  cover  them  with  tlie  daily  oblations  and  flowers. 
The  water  contains  numbers  of  small  fish  which  come  for  food 
when  called  by  the  bairdgis  who  frequent  this  spot. 

On  the  very  top  of  the  hill  is  the  tomb  of  tlie  fakir  Sikandar. 
It  lies  in  a  crevice  between  two  boulders  in  which  the  holy  man  is 


280  maduRa. 

CHAP.  XV.  said  to  have  lived  and  died.  In  front  of  it  is  a  new  porcli  sup- 
Maddra.  ported  by  pillars  of  JTindu  style  and  crowned  with  a  brick  dome 
and  minarets  constructed  after  the  Musalman  fashion  which  are 
still  unfinished.  The  visitors  to  the  building  are  as  mixed  as 
its  architecture,  tlie  place  being  frequented  by  both  Hindus  and 
Musalmans. 

.^t  the  foot  of  the  southern  side  of  the  hiU  is  a  rock-cut  temple 
(commonly  called  the  Umaiyandan  kovil)  which  must  once  have 
been  the  finest  of  its  kind  in  the  district.  It  measures  about  19 
feet  by  17  feet  and  9  feet  in  height,  and  at  the  west  end  o':  it  is  a 
separate  shrine  8  feet  square.  It  was  originally  supported  by  four 
pillars,  but  the  two  in  the  centre  have  now  disappeared  (probably 
through  fires  having  been  lighted  round  them)  and  the  two  outside 
have  been  disfigured  by  being  built  into  an  ugly  waU  which  now 
runs  across  tiie  face  of  the  temple.  The  place  is  dedicated  to 
Natardja  or  Siva  dancing  in  competition  with  Kali  (the  form  in 
which  he  is  worshipped  at  Chidambaram)  and  the  central  portion 
of  the  back  wall  is  occupied  by  what  must  once  have  been  a  most 
spirited  sculpture  of  the  deity,  flanked  on  either  side  by  the 
drummer  and  by  K41i.  This,  howe/er,  has  also  been  almost  entirely 
destroyed.  To  the  east  of  this  group  is  an  image  of  Subrahmanya 
with  his  two  wives  and  in  the  separate  shrine  to  the  west  is  a 
representation  of  Siva  in  the  uncommon  form  of  Ardhanarisvara, 
or  half  man  and  half  woman.  Almost  all  the  eastern  side  of  the 
temple  is  occupied  by  a  long  inscription  which  has  been  assigned  ^ 
to  king  Maravarman  Sundara  I'auuya  I,  who  (see  p.  35)  came 
to  the  throne  in  1 2 16  A.D.  It  records  the  grant  of  lands  and 
endowments  to  this  temple  in  the  sixth  year  of  his  reign.  Outside 
the  shrine,  on  the  face  of  the  rock  cliff  in  which  it  is  excavated, 
are  a  series  of  sculptures  of  rishis  and  deities. 

The  big  temple  to  Subrahmanya  stands  close  under  the  nerth- 
ern  foot  of  the  hill  and  its  innermost  shriue  is  cut  out  of  the  solid 
rock.  In  front  of  this  are  a  series  of  mantapams,  built  at  different 
levels,  one  below  the  other.  'J  he  lowest  or  outermost  of  these  is 
an  exceedingly  fine  example  of  this  class  of  work.  Its  roof  is  of 
great  stone  slabs  and  is  supported  on  48  tall,  carved,  monolithic 
pillars,  which  are  from  2J  to  24  feet  high  but  the  sculpture 
on  which  is  clogged  with  the  usual  colour  wash.  It  has  three 
aisles,  the  middle  one  of  which  (measured  from  the  inside  edges 
of  the  pillars)  is  as  much  as  24  feet  wide,  and  it  occupies  a 
total  area  116  feet  by  91  feet.  These  mantapams  are  said  to  have 
been  auilfc  by  Tirumala    Nayakkan,  and  a  statue  of  him  stands  at 

^  Ep.  Ind.,  vi,  31  i. 


GAZETTEER.  281 

the  side  of  tlie  shrine.     A  well  withia  the  temple,  called  the    CHAP,  XV. 

Satiydstkulam,  contains  water  which  is  held  in  such  repute   as  a      ^Madura. 

remedy  for  diabetes  and  other  diseases  that  it  is  carried  all  the 

way  to  Madura  and  sold  there.     The  building  contains  several 

inscriptions.     One  of  these  says  that  in  1792  A.D.  a  regiment  of 

Europeans  seized  the  town  and  were  forcing  their  way  into  the 

temple  when  the   priests,  ft-aring  that   its  holiness  would  thus  be 

destroyed,  prevailed  upon  one  Kutti  to  throw  himself  down  from 

the  gopurani,     Kutti  did  so,  the  regiment  withdrew,  the  place 

was  saved  and   Kutti  (who  evidently  survived)  was   given  a  grant 

for  his  heroic   action.     In   olden  days   it  was   a  not   uncommon. 

practice  in  Madura,  says   Blackader,^  for  the  constant   quarrels 

between  the  native  rulers  and  the  temple  priests  to  be  settled  in  a 

similar  way.     A  man  climbed  up  one  of  the  gopurams  and  vowed 

that  unless   the   quarrel  was  ended  by  a  certain  time  he   would 

throw  himself  down.     Neither  side  cared  to  be  held  guilty  of  his 

blood,   and   each   accordingly   did   all   in  its  power    to  heal  the 

breach. 

Velliyakundam  :  Eight  miles  north-north-east  of  Madura  ; 
population  l,2.->>4.  The  chief  of  the  thirteen  villages  whicli  make 
up  the  small  zamindari  of  the  same  name.  This  estate,  which  is 
some  3,300  acres  in  extent,  was  one  of  the  '  unsettled  pdlaiyams  ' 
referred  to  (p.  194)  above,  but  a  sanad  has  since  been  granted 
for  it.  It  is  not  scheduled  in  the  Impartible  Estates  Act,  1904, 
as  in  1882  it  passed  from  the  family  of  the  original  owners  by  a 
court  sale  to  the  present  registered  holder,  Mindkshi  Nayakkan. 

^  Archseoloc'ia,  xv,  463. 


se 


282  MADURA. 


WELUR  TALUK. 


CHAP.  XV.  Mi^LUK  is  the  easternmost  taluk  of  the  district  and  slopes 
Mfxi^R.  gradually  towards  the  south-east,  llie  southern  part  of  it  is  a 
flat  and  somewhat  uninteresting  plain  which  is  now  being  rapidly 
turned  into  wet  land  with  the  aid  of  the  Periyar  water,  but  the 
northern  portion  is  picturesquely  diversified  with  the  spurs  of 
the  Ailiir  hills,  the  Karandamalais,  the  Nattam  hills  and  the 
Alagarmalais,  and  is  a  pleasant  country  covered  with  tiny 
patches  of  rice-cultivation  under  little  tanks  and  wide  areas  of  dry 
crops  growing  on  vivid  red  soil  among  red,  wooded  hills.  The 
villages  here  are  usually  hidden  away  among  groves  of  fine  trees, 
especially  tamarinds,  and  on  ever)-  scrap  of  waste  land  scrub  aud 
bushes  flourish  luxuriantly.  The  soil  is  apparently  particularly 
suited  to  the  growth  of  trees,  and  the  magnificent  wlnte-barked 
figs  which  line  the  road  west  of  Nattam  are  the  finest  in  all  the 
district. 

Over  a  fifth  of  the  taluk,  a  higher  proportion  than  in  any  other, 
is  covered  with  foreat.  The  soil  is  all  of  the  red  ferruginous 
variety  and  is  the  poorest  in  the  district.  None  of  the  dry  land 
is  assessed  at  more  than  Rs.  1-4-0  per  acre  (in  no  other  taluk 
except  Kodaikanal  is  this  the  case)  and  as  much  as  nine-tenths 
of  the  wet  lanl  (a  higher  proportion  than  in  any  other  part 
of  Madura)  is  charged  as  little  as  Rs.  8-8-0  or  less.  Meliir, 
however,  receives  a  heavier  rainfall  than  any  part  except  the 
Palni  liills,  and  the  Periyar  water  reaches  most  of  the  south  of 
it;  consequently  as  much  as  two-fifths  of  the  taluk  is  cultivated 
with  paddy  and  it  is  better  protected  from  f;imine  than  any  other 
except  Madura.  The  population  has  hitherto  increased  very 
slowly,  the  proportional  growth  both  in  the  decade  1891-1901 
and  in  the  thirty  years  from  1871  to  1901  being  smaller  than  in 
any  taluk  except  Tirumangalam  ;  but  as  the  use  of  the  Periydr 
water  extends,  a  change  in  this  respect  may  be  looked  for. 

Statistics  on  other  matters  regarding  the  taluk  will  be  found 
in  the  separate  Appendix.  Below  is  some  account  of  the  more 
interesting  places  in  it : — 

Alagarkovil :  A  temple  to  Vishnu  in  his  form  Alagarsvami, 
*  the  beautiful  god  ",  which  stands  close  under  the  southern  end 
of  the  hiU  called  (after  it)  Alagarmalai,  twelve  miles  north-west 
of  Madura  town. 


GAZETTEEK.  283 

Round  about  this  teuiple,  in  days  gone  hj,  was  a  considerable    C51AP.  XV. 
fortified    town ;   and    the    remains   of    the    palace    of    Tirumala        M^lub. 
Nayakkan  which  still  stand  near  it  show  that  it  was  a  favourite 
place  of  residence  of  the  rulers  of  Madnra.     It  is  now  absolutely 
deserted  ;  owing,  it  is  said,  to  its  feverishness. 

The  spot  is  most  picturesque.  Running  out  southwards  from 
the  foot  of  the  hill  and  surrounding  not  only  the  temple  but  the 
rains  of  the  old  town  and  palace,  runs  a  high  rectangular  fort 
wall,  measuring  some  730  yards  by  400,  faced  with  stone  and 
crowned  with  battlements  of  dark  red  brick  exactly  like  those 
shown  in  the  picture  of  Madura  fort  above  (p.  265)  referred  to. 
A  stone  gateway  passes  tlirough  this,  in  front  of  which  a  broad 
street,  flanked  on  either  side  by  high  mounds  made  of  the  debris  of 
former  houses  and  by  a  rained  shrine  or  two,  runs  straight  to  the 
temple  and  the  old  palace.  Tliese  stand  close  under  the  Alagar 
hill  and  the  red  brick  of  the  main  gopuram  of  the  former  building 
contrasts  effectively  with  the  dark  green  of  the  wooded  slopes 
behind  it. 

Passing  up  this  street  one  sees  first,  on  the  western  side,  a 
carved  stone  mantapam  wliich  is  supposed  to  have  been  built  by 
Tirumala  Nayakkan  and  contains  several  life-size  statues,  two  of 
which  are  said  to  represent  that  ruler  and  his  wife.  The  '  fair 
round  belly '  for  whicJi  ho  was  notorious  is  reahstically  and 
unflatteringly  depicted.  A  little  further  up  the  street  are  the 
ruins  of  his  palace,  an  erection  of  brick  and  chuuam  which  wjis 
roofed  with  the  domed  and  vaulted  structures  used  in  the  palace 
at  Madura  and  is  consequently  in  the  last  state  of  decay.  Facing 
it  is  the  temple  car-stand  and  gorgeous  new  car.  Further  on  is  a 
big  mantapam  which  belongs  to  the  Kalians  of  this  part  of  the 
country.  It  is  lofty,  and  contains  many  excellently  sculptured 
pillars  and  a  frieze  of  well-executed  carvings  of  episodes  in  the 
various  incarnations  of  Vishnu,  but  all  these  are  clogged  up  with 
whitewash.  Westward  of  it  is  the  Udya  gopuram,  or  '  king  tower,' 
an  imposing  unfinished  mass  which  is  said,  like  its  counterpart  at 
Madura,  to  be  due  to  the  great  Tirumala,  embodies  the  best  stone- 
carving  in  all  the  place,  has  hitherto  escaped  the  whitewash  brush, 
but  is  choked  up  with  debris,  covered  with  trees,  plants  and 
creepers  and  requires  only  a  few  more  years  of  neglect  to  be  an 
absolute  ruin.  AVest  of  it  again,  is  the  Vasnnfa  manUipam  or 
'  spring  porcli,'  a  building  forming  a  hot- weather  retreat  for  the 
god  and  containing  a  square  central  mantapam  surrounded  by  a 
stone  channel  designed  to  hold  cooling  streams,  and  a  shady 
cloister  the  walls  and  ceilings  of  which  bear  frescoes  illustrative  of 
the  Yaishnava  scriptures. 


284  MADUIA. 

CHAP.  XV.  Eetracing  his  steps  to  the  Kalians'  mantapain,  the  traveller 

MfLUK.  reaches  at  length  the  Alagarkovil  itself.  This  is  surrounded 
with  a  high  wall,  over  the  main  (eastern)  entrance  through 
which  I'ises  a  ffopuraii).  In  front  of  this  entrance,  however,  is 
a  notable  peculiarity.  A  flight  of  eighteen  steps  runs  down  from 
it  at  the  foot  of  which  is  a  big  wooden  gate  which  is  sacred  to 
Karuppanasvami,  the  most  popular  of  aU  the  less  orthodox  gods 
of  the  Madura  district.  He  is  known  here  as  '  Karuppan  of  the 
eighteen  steps.'  The  gate  and  steps  are  held  in  especial  veneration 
by  the  Kalians  who  are  so  numerous  in  the  adjoining  villages. 
The  gate  is  spattered  from  top  to  bottom  with  sandal-paste ;  on 
either  side  of  it  is  a  collection  of  great  iron  bill-hooks  and  spears 
(some  of  them  12  ft.  long)  which  are  the  favourite  weapons  of 
Karuppanasvami  and  have  been  presented  to  him  in  accomplish- 
ment of  vows  by  devotees  whose  undertakings  he  has  blessed ;  and 
mingled  with  these  are  the  cradles  given  him  by  women  to  whom 
he  is  supposed  to  have  granted  otfspring.  The  gate  is  commonly 
resorted  to  when  solemn  aflfirmations  have  to  be  made.  It  is 
believed  throughout  the  taluk  that  the  man  who  swears  to  a  false- 
hood here  and  passes  through  Karuppan's  gate  with  the  lie  upon 
his  lips  wiU  speedily  come  to  a  miserable  end,  and  many  a  civil 
suit  is  settled  by  the  parties  agreeing  to  aUow  the  court's  decree 
to  foUow  the  affirmations  which  are  made  in  this  manner. 

Just  to  the  south  of  the  gate,  is  a  stone  bearing  a  modem 
(1842)  inscription  relating  how  Pachaiyappa  MudaH  (the  well- 
known  benefactor  of  Pachaiyappa's  CoUege  at  Madras  and  other 
charities)  gave  the  annual  interest  on  a  lakh  of  pagodas  for  feeding 
pilgrims  to  the  temple.  North  of  it  is  the  every-day  entrance 
to  the  spacious  Alagarkovil  quadrangle,  which  measures  90  yards 
by  50.  This  is  a  striking  place.  On  two  sides  of  it  towers  the 
wooded  hill ;  it  is  paved  throughout  with  stone ;  round  the  sides 
of  it  stand  several  Little  mantapams  and  two  old  circular  granaries 
called  Kama  and  Lakshmana,  formerly  used  to  hold  the  offerings 
of  grain  made  to  the  god ;  and  in  the  middle  of  it,  faced  by  a 
long,  much  whitewashed,  three-aisled  mantapam  of  the  Nayakkan 
period,  upborne  by  40  pillars  shaped  into  fearsome  yalis  and  other 
figures,  is  the  holy  of  holies.  This  has  an  uncommon  circular 
apse  lighted,  it  is  said,  by  windows  of  pierced  stone  all  of  different 
design.  In  it  is  kept  the  wooden  image  of  the  god,  the  processional 
image  (an  unusually  handsome  affair  heavily  plated  with  gold), 
another  image,  about  15  inches  high,  made  of  sohd  gold  and 
most  beautifully  chased,  and  the  temple  jewels,  some  of  wliich 
are    the    gift  of     Rous  Peter  (see  p.  259)  and  bear  his  name. 


OAZETTEBl.  385 

In  the   gods  bedchamber  adjoining,  stands  a  rare  and  antique    CHAP.  XV. 

bedstead,  said  to  be  tlie  gift  of  Tirumala  (whose  statue  stands  at       MEtcu. 

the  entrance  to  the  room),  which  from  all  accounts  (Europeans 

cannot,  of  course,  see  it)  must  be  nearly  unique.     It  is  said  to  be 

12  feet  long  by  10  feet  wide  and  about  15  feet  high;  to  stand  on 

a  pedestal  of  sculj^tured  black  stone,  inlaid  with  small  ivory  figures, 

supporting  four  pillars  carved  from  similar  stone  and  ornamented 

with  small  detached  shafts  and  figures  in  ivory ;  and  to  be  covered 

with    a    domed  wooden   roof   elaborately  inlaid  with  ivor\"  work 

carved  in  most  intricate  and  minute  designs. 

Of  late  years,  under  the  present  energetic  executive,  much  has 
been  done  to  bring  the  Alagar  temple  and  its  surroundings  into  the 
state  of  re]iair  which  its  considerable  wealtli  (its  income  is  some 
Rs.  16,000)  demands.  The  quadrangle  has  been  cleared  of  rubbish 
and  earth,  the  inner  rjopurain  above  the  entrance  to  the  shrine  has 
been  repaired,  the  main  cfopuy^am  is  shortly  to  be  similarly  treated, 
the  fort  wall  is  being  patched  and  a  big  teppakulam  near  the  main 
gate  through  this  is  being  rebuilt. 

On  the  hill  above  the  temple,  to  the  north  and  perhaps  two 
miles  away,  is  a  clear  and  cool  natural  stream,  called  the  Nupura 
Gangai,  which  Hows  over  a  little  waterfall  into  a  reservoir  sur- 
rounded by  a  vamnta  mantnpam  and  thence  down  the  mountain 
side  to  the  temple.  I'ipes  have  recently  been  laid  to  bring  this  to 
the  different  parts  of  the  building  and  its  surroundings  and  this 
is  a  great  boon  to  the  pilgrims  at  festivals.  No  other  water  is 
ever  used  for  bathing  the  god  (who  is  said  to  turn  black  with  dis- 
pleasure if  such  an  innovation  is  attempted)  and  when  he  makes  his 
annual  journey  to  Madura  this  water  is  always  carried  with  him. 

This  journey  takes  place  at  the  time  of  th^->  Chittrai  (April- 
May)  festival  at  Madura,  when  Siva  is  married  to  Minakshi. 
Alagar  is  carried  in  state  in  a  great  palanquin,  halts  at  each  of  the 
numerous  mantapams  whicli  line  the  12  miles  of  road  to  tlie 
town,  and  eventually  stays  for  the  festival  at  Tallakulam,  the 
village  just  north-east  of  the  Yaigai  l)ridge.  Before  he  starts,  liis 
palanquin  is  halted  at  the  gate  of  KaruppanasvamI,  who  is  held  to 
be  in  some  way  his  servant,  and  S  list  of  the  jewels  he  is  taking 
with  him  is  publicly  recited.  When  he  grts  back,  tlu^  same  list 
is  re-read  in  the  same  place  in  token  of  the  safe  return  of  tliese 
valuables.  Tho  religious  enthusiasm  exhibited  throughout  the 
whole  of  this  state  progress  needs  to  be  seen  to  be  believed. 

The  popular  story  accounting  for  tho  visit  says  that  Alagar  is 
the  brother  of  Minakshi,  comes  to  her  wedding,  arrives  too  late 
for  the  ceremony,  and  so  returns  home  in  dudgeon  without  entering 


286  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.  the  town.  This  has  no  canonical  autliority.  There  is  no  real 
Met-uk.  connection  between  Alagar's  journey  ond  the  wedding  ;  and  before 
Tirumala  Nayakkan's  reign  they  took  place  at  different  times,  the 
former  occurring  in  the  month  Ohittrai  (April-May)  and  the  latter 
in  Masi  (February-March).  Tirumala  combined  the  two  for  the 
convenience  of  the  numerous  pilgrims  by  fixing  the  wedding 
festival  in  Chittrai,  in  which  month  it  still  occurs. 

Alagarsvami  is  held  in  special  veneration  by  the  Kalians  wlio 
are  so  numerous  in  the  neighbouring  villages  and  is  often  popularly 
called  the  Kallar-Alagar.  The  men  of  this  caste  have  the  right  to 
drag  his  car  at  the  car-festival  and  when  he  goes  on  his  visit  to 
Madura  he  is  dress^^d  as  a  Kalian,  exhibits  the  long  ear  lobes  charac- 
teristic'of  that  caste,  and  carries  the  boomerang  and  club  which 
were  of  old  their  favourite  weapons.  It  is  whispered  that  Kalian 
dacoits  invoke  his  aid  when  they  are  setting  out  on  marauding 
expeditions  and,  if  they  are  successful  therein,  put  part  of  their 
iU-gotten  gains  into  the  offertory  {undt'al)  box  which  is  kept  at  his 
shrine. 

Arittdpatti :  About  midway  between  Melur  and  Alagar- 
kovil  and  a  mile  south  of  the  road  connecting  them.  Population 
1.654.  One  of  the  many  villages  which  have  been  transformed 
by  the  Periydr  water-channels,  paddy-fields  now  occupying  what 
a  few  years  ago  was  all  dry  land. 

Hidden  away  in  a  solitary  spot  in  the  long,  low  line  of  bare, 
broken,  hills  which  lies  to  the  west  of  the  village  site  and  is  called 
tlae  Perunialmalai,  is  a  neat  little  rock-cut  Siva  temple  which  faces 
west.  It  consists  of  an  inner  shrine  about  8  feet  square  and 
7  high  containing  a  lingam;  a  little  porch  in  front  of  this 
measuring  some  9  feet  by  5  and  including,  on  either  side  of 
the  entrance  to  the  shrine,  a  dvdrapdhka  (door-keeper)  carved  in 
high  relief,  standing  in  an  aggressive  attitude  and  armed  with  a 
formidable  club  ;  and  on  either  side  of  this  porch,  less  deeply 
recessed,  two  niches  containing  figures,  again  in  high  relief,  of 
Ganesa  and  of  some  individual  bearing  a  big  club  round  which 
twines  a  cobra.  The  whole  affair — shrine,  lingam,  dvdrcipdiakas 
and  images — is  all  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock,  and  the  sculpture  is 
much  better  than  in  the  usual  run  of  this  class  of  temple.  In 
front,  stands  a  detached  nandi  (Siva's  bull)  of  more  modern  date. 
There  appear  to  be  no  inscriptions  in  the  immediate  neiglibourhood. 

Karungdlakudi  :  Eight  miles  north  of  Meliir  on  the  Trichi- 
nopoly  road  ;  population  2,075.  About  a  mile  to  the  south  of  the 
viUago  are  still  left  a  few  dolmens.  Tliey  were  formerly  numerous. 
To  the  south-east  of  it,  on  the  floor  of  a  natural  shelter  made  by  an 


GAZETTEER.  287 

overhanging  rock,  are  cut  out  some  Panclia  Pdndava  paclukkai,  or    CHAP.  XV, 

'  "beds  of  the  five  Pandavas  '  (see  p.  75).     Others,  it  may  here  be        Mf  l6r. 

mentioned,  are  to  be  seen  to  the  north-west  of  Kilavalavu,  seven 

miles  south  by  east  on  the  M^Kir-Tiruppattur  road.     Karungalakudi 

also  contains  one  of  the  oddest  of  tlie  many  curious  solid  granite 

hills  which  abound  in  this  part  of  the  district — a  huge  sugar-loaf 

peak,  the  western  side  of  which  is  one  smooth,  unbroken,  bare  slope 

of  sheet  rock.     Nearly  due  west  of  the  village  site,  on  tlie  opposite 

side  of  the  road  and  on   the  top  of  a  low  hummock  of  rock,  stands 

the  prominent  temple  of  'J'iruehunai,  an  old  Saivite  shrine  which 

contains  ten  or  a  dozen  inscriptions  of  Pand)  a  timos. 

Kottampatti  :  Fourteen  miles  north  of  Melur  on  the  Trichi- 
nopoly  road  ;  population  2,126  ;  police-station,  local  fund  chattram 
and  an  ancient  travellers'  bungalow  (it  was  in  existence  in  1817) 
in  a  pleasant  compound.  Tlie  village  was  formerly  a  jilace  of 
importance  owing  to  its  being  one  of  the  stages  on  the  ]algrim  road 
to  E^mesvaram,  but  the  railway  has  now  diverte(i  tliis  and  other 
traffic  and  the  trunk  road  which  runs  past  the  place  from  Madura  to 
Trichinopoly  is  full  of  i-uts  and  hok'S  which  would  disgrace  a  village 
bandy-track. 

Iron  ore  is  moi-e  pli^ntiful  in  this  neighbourhood  than  jierliaps 
anywhere  in  the  district.  A  mile  east  of  the  travellers'  bungalow 
it  crops  out  in  the  form  of  silicate  in  a  hill  of  quartz,  the  whole  of 
which  is  coloured  by  it.^  It  is  seen  again  in  a  tank  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  west  of  the  bungalow,  and  again  four  miles  still  farther 
west  it  forms  a  hill  of  ironstone  some  50  feet  liigh  and  nearly  half 
a  mile  long.  It  then  vanishes,  Init  reapjiears  about  a  mile  to  the 
westward  again,  where  it  rises  into  a  ridge  in  a  small  hill,  forms 
several  prominent  points,  again  vanishes,  reappears  once  more  about 
a  mile  still  west  in  long  ridges,  and  forms  the  topmost  peak  of  a 
hill  some  600  feet  liigh.  The  whole  line  of  the  outcro]i  is  thus 
eight  miles  long,  in  which  distance  it  forms  an  important  jiart  of 
seven  considerable  hills  and,  where  it  has  been  excavated,  strews 
much  of  the  low  ground  with  its  fragments.  In  1855  se\'erai  native 
blast  furnaces  were  at  work  in  this  part  of  the  taluk  extracting  the 
metal  from  iron  ore  and  iron- sand. 

About  a  mile  to  the  north-east  of  Kottampatti,  through  dense 
groves  of  cocoanut  and  other  fruit  trees,  runs  the  Polar,  a  jungle 
stream  of  some  local  im})ortance.  Four  miles  beyond  it,  a  striking- 
object  from  the  village,  rises  the  steep  scarp  of  Pirdniualai  hill  in 
the   Sivaganga   zamindari.     At  the  foot  of  this  is  a  well-known 

'  The  account  which  follows  is  basod  on  pp.  119-20  of  Dr.  Balfour's  Report 
on  Iron  ores  (Madras,  1855)  which  in  its  turn  was  founded  on  material  contributed 
b^  th»  R«T.  C,  F.  Muzrj  of  th«  American  MiBBion  ftt  Madura, 


288  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.  temple  to  Subrahmanya  and  two  other  shrines,  all  of  which  contain 
MiLUR.  ancient  inscriptions,  and  also  a  rich  math  in  charg-e  of  a  non-Brahman 
Fanddra-sannadhi ;  and  on  the  top  of  it  are  five  or  six  sacred  pools, 
a  stone  niantapam,  a  Alusahnan  place  of  worship  strongly  built 
of  big  bricks,  the  ruins  of  masonry  fortifications  and  a  long  iron 
cannon  of  curious  design. 

M61ur :  Eigliteen  miles  north-east  of  Madura  on  the  road  to 
Trichinopoly ;  population  10,100 ;  union ;  head-quarters  of  the 
taluk  and  so  the  station  of  the  tahsildar  and  stationary  sub- 
magistrate  and  of  a  sub-registrar ;  a  centre  of  the  American 
Mission  ;  weekly  market ;  travellers'  bungalow,  police-station, 
local  fund  chattram.  The  Periyar  project  has  brought  new  life  to 
the  town,  which  is  now  a  rising  agricultural  and  commercial 
centre. 

It  is  known  to  history  as  the  head-quarters  of  the  turbulent 
Kalians  of  the  '  Melur-nad,'  whose  exploits  are  referred  to  in  the 
account  of  the  caste  on  p.  93  above,  and  Muhammad  Ylisuf  Khan 
established  a  fort  there  to  overawe  them.  All  trace  of  this  has  now 
vanished,  bat  AVard's  Survey  Account  shows  that  it  stood  round 
about  the  present  travellers'  bungalow,  to  the  north-east  of  the 
village.  After  the  English  took  control  of  the  district,  a  detachment 
of  native  infantry  was  kept  in  Melur  for  some  years,  and  perhaps 
the  bombproof  buildings  there  and  at  Kottampatti  which  are  now 
used  as  travellers'  bungalows  are  relics  of  this  occupation.  In  the 
compound  of  the  former  stands  the  finest  banyan  in  the  district — ■ 
perhaps  in  the  Presidency — a  huge  tree  which  shades  a  roughly 
circular  space  some  75  yards  in  diameter  and  which  has  a  much 
taller  and  thicker  top  than  its  well-known  rival  in  Madura. 

Nattam  :  Twenty-three  miles  north-north-east  of  Madura  by  a 
road  which  in  bygone  years  was  the  main  route  to  Trichinopoly 
but  is  now  in  very  second-rate  order.  Population  7,796;  union; 
station  of  a  sub-registrar  who  is  also  a  special  magistrate  under  the 
Towns  Nuisances  Act ;  travellers'  bungalow  (at  Velampatti,  half  a 
mile  to  the  west) ;  police-station.  In  the  eighteenth  century  the 
village  possessed  a  fort  and  was  a  regular  halting-place  between 
Trichinopoly  and  Madura,  and  it  appears  frequently  in  the  histories 
of  the  wars  of  that  period.  It  was  then  the  head-quarters  of  a 
zamin  estate.  This  escheated  to  Government  at  the  beginning  of 
the  last  century  for  lack  of  legal  heirs.  There  are  ruins  of  old 
wells  and  buildings  to  the  west  of  the  village.  The  place  used  to 
be  notorious  for  its  fever,  but  is  now  healthy  enough  and  boasts  a 
thriving  manufacture  of  oil  (some  of  it  made  in  iron  mills  of 
European  pattern)  from  ground-nut  and  gingelly  seed. 


GAZETTEEB.  28d 

The  village  gives  its  name  to  the  scattered,  stony  '  Nattam  CHAP.  XV, 
hills '  which  surround  it,  and  to  the  '  Nattam  pass  '  which  leads  to  MiLtJB. 
Madura  hetween  the  Alagarmalais  and  the  eastern  spurs  of  the 
Sirumalais.  Both  these  were  formerly  great  strongholds  of  the 
'  Nattam  Colleries'  (Kalians)  who  figure  so  prominently  in  Orme's 
history.  In  1755  the  expedition  under  Col.  Heron  which  had 
been  sent  to  quiet  Madura  and  Tinnevelly  (see  p.  62)  met  on  its 
return  with  a  most  serious  reverse  in  this  Nattam  pass.  Orme 
describes  the  place  as  '  one  of  the  most  difficult  and  dangerous 
defiles  in  the  peninsula  '  as  it  '  continues  for  six  miles  through  a 
wood,  impenetrable  everywhere  else  to  all  excepting  the  wild 
beasts  and  Colleries  to  whom  it  belongs.'  The  advance  party  of 
-the  expedition  saw  no  enemy  in  this  pass  and  so  went  on  and  halted 
at  Nattam.  The  main  body  followed  and  had  got  well  within  the 
defile  when  one  of  the  gun  tumbrils  stuck  in  the  mud.  This 
blocked  the  other  tumbrils,  the  three  guns  of  the  rear  detachment 
of  artillery  and  all  the  baggage,  which  was  at  the  tail  of  the 
column.  Col.  Heron  foolishly  allowed  the  rest  of  his  men  to 
proceed,  and  they  were  soon  two  miles  ahead  of  the  blocked 
portion.  This  latter  was  guarded  by  only  100  men,  of  whom  only 
25  were  Europeans. 

The  Kalians  now  burst  upon  this  small  body  from  all  sides. 
The  guns  opened  fire  on  them,  but  they  '  nevertheless  maintained 
the  attack  for  some  time  with  courage  and  with  a  variety  of 
weapons  ;  arrows,  matchlocks,  rockets,  javelins  and  pikes ;  every 
one  accompanying  his  efforts  with  horrible  screams  and  howlings.' 
EventuaUy  they  pushed  right  down  to  the  road,  stabbed  the 
bullocks  which  drew  the  tumbrils  and  broke  open  these  vehicles. 

In  them  they  found  what  was  probably  the  cause  of  the  whole 
attack — some  little  brazen  idols  which  the  expedition  had  taken  from 
the  temple  at  KovUkudi,  six  miles  east  of  Madura.  '  The  confused 
outcries  of  the  enemy  were  on  a  sudden  changed  to  one  voice,  and 
nothing  was  heard  on  all  sides  but  continual  repetitions  of  the  word 
steamy,  meaning  gods,  which  expression  they  accompanied  with 
violent  gesticulations  and  antic  postures,  like  men  frantic  with  joy.' 
Bat  the  recovery  of  the  idols  did  not  end  the  fight,  and  it  was  not 
until  dark  that  the  section  got  through  the  pass  to  the  main  body 
of  the  detachment ;  and  then  only  with  the  loss  of  many  men  and 
more  followers  and  the  whole  of  its  baggage  and  stores.  Col. 
Heron  was  recalled  to  Madras,  court-martiaUed,  and  cashiered. 

Tiruvadur :  Six  miles  south  of  Melur;  population  2,499. 
Picturesquely  situated  on  a  fine  tank,  across  which  is  a  beautiful 
view  of  the  Alagar  hills.  The  road  runs  along  the  embankment  of 
this.     On  top  of  one  of  the  sluices  stands  an  unusual  stone  image 

37 


290  MADUEA. 

CHAP.  XV.  of  a  centanr-like  being  wliicli  is  supposed  to  protect  tlie  tank. 
Uiitvi.  Close  und^r  the  embankment,  beliind  a  slirine  to  Pid^ri,  is  a  small 
building  made  of  old  stones  bearing  fragments  of  inscriptions, 
wliicli  marks  tlie  place  wbere  one  Venkammal  committed  sati  on 
the  pyre  of  lier  murdered  husband.  This  meritorious  deed,  say 
the  people,  has  ever  since  brought  prosperity  to  Tiruvddur. 

The  tank  flanks  the  north  and  west  sides  of  the  village  and  these 

were  further  strengthened  in  former  days,  by  a  stone-faced  rampart 

topped  with  a  red  brick  parapet  similar  to  that  at  Alagarkovil 

(p.  283)    and   protected    by   semi-circular    bastions.      Extensive 

remains  of  these  are  still  standing.     AVithin  these  fortifications  is 

the   village  and    its    old    Siva   temple.      This  latter  contains  an 

architectural  freak  which  is  not  uncommon  in  this  district  but  is , 

nowhere   carried  out  in  so   bold  a   manner.     The  wide   stone  eaves 

of  the  imposing  ruined  mantapam  just  within  the   gateway   (the 

sculpture  throughout  which  is  unusually  good)  are  made  of  hugo 

blocks  of  granite,  some  six  feet  long,  the  upper  sides  of  which  are 

fashioned   into  a    most  graceful  double    curve    while   the    under 

portions  are  carved,  at  immense  expense  of  time  and  energy,  to 

represent  long,    thin  wooden    rafters  radiating    from    a    central 

point  above  the  building  and  strengthened  by  purlins  executed  in 

complete  relief.     Similar  eaves   surround  the  porch  to  the  south  of 

the  inner  shrine  of  this  temple  and  (until  it  was  recently  repaired) 

were  also  to  be  seen  in  another  mantapam  in  the  north-east  corner 

of  the  inner  enclosure.     The  remains  of  these  last  are  lying  about 

the  temple  courtyard. 

Tiruvddur  was  the  birth-place  of  the  famous  Saivite  poet- 
saint  Mdnikya-Vachakar  ('  he  whose  utterances  are  rubies  '),  the 
author  of  the  sacred  poems  known  as  the  Tinivdchakam.  The 
site  of  his  house  is  still  pointed  out  and  there  is  a  shrine  to  him 
within  the  temple.  lie  is  thought  by  some^  to  have  lived  as  early 
as  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century,  and  the  current  traditions 
regarding  his  life  are  known  and  repeated  throughout  the  Tamil 
country.  A  Brdhman  by  caste,  he  rose,  it  is  said,  to  be  Prime 
Minister  to  the  Pandya  king  of  Madura.  But  his  mind  turned 
ever  to  higher  matters  and  a  crisis  was  at  last  reached  when  he 
handed  over  to  a  holy  guru  (who  was  really  Siva  in  disguise)  the 
whole  of  an  immense  treasure  with  which  his  royal  master  had 
sent  him  out  to  buy  horses  for  the  cavalry.  The  tale  was  carried 
to  the  king,  who  instantly  summoned  Mdnikya-Ydchakar  to  the 
capital.     Siva  bade  him  go  as  directed  and  assure  his  master  that 

^  Christian  College  Magaaine,  N.S.,  i,  144  ff.  Dr.  Pope's  Tiruvaragam 
(Clarendon  Press,  1900)  gives  a  translation  of  his  jjoems  and  the  main  events  of 
his  life. 


ga7:ettrer.  291 

the  horses  wouhl  shortly  arrive  ;  and  then,  in  one  of  those  fits  of  CHAP.  XV. 
playfulness  which  so  endear  him  to  his  adherents,  the  deity  trans-  M^l^r. 
formed  a  number  of  jackals  into  splendid  horses  and  himself  rode 
at  their  head  into  the  town  of  Madura.  The  Pandya  king's 
displeasure  vanished  at  the  sight  and  Mdnikja-Vachakar  was 
forgiven ;  but  the  same  night  the  supposed  liorses  all  resumed 
their  original  sliapes,  escaped  from  the  royal  stables  and  ran 
howling  through  the  Madura  streets  back  to  their  native  jungles. 
Mjinikya-Vachakar  was  thrown  into  prison,  but  Siva  again  inter- 
vened and  sent  a  mighty  flood  down  the  Vaigai  which  threatened 
to  overwhelm  the  capital.  The  whole  population  was  turned  out 
to  raise  an  embankment  to  keep  back  the  waters  and  every  man 
and  woman  in  the  place  was  set  to  build  a  certain  section  of  this. 
One  aged  woman  could  not  complete  her  task  quickly  enough,  so 
Siva  assumed  the  guise  of  a  labourer  and  set  himself  to  help  her. 
At  that  moment  tlie  king  came  along  to  inspect  the  work  and, 
seeing  this  section  behindhand,  struck  the  supposed  cooly  with  his 
stick.  Now  Siva  is  the  world,  and  when  lie  was  struck  every  man 
and  woman  in  the  world — tlio  king  liimself  included — felt  the  blow ; 
and  the  king  thus  knew  that  Siva  was  on  the  side  of  Mdnikya- 
Vdchakar  and  at  once  released  his  minister. 

Mdnikya-Yachakar  thereafter  renounced  mundane  affairs, 
travelled  round  as  an  ascetic  to  the  more  famous  shrines  of  the 
south,  singing  their  praises  in  the  polished  verses  which  are  even 
now  recited  in  thorn,  settled  at  length  near  Chidambaram,  and 
finally  attained  beatitude  within  the  shrine  of  the  great  temple 
there. 

In  Madura  his  memory  is  kept  green  at  the  festivals  at  the 
Mindkshi  temple.  Every  year  at  the  Avanimulam  feast,  the 
story  of  the  jackals  is  acted  and  a  live  jackal  is  brought  into  the 
temple  and  let  loose  with  much  ceremony ;  and  the  people  go 
in  a  body  to  a  spot  on  the  banlc  of  the  Yaigai  near  the  munici- 
pal waterworks  and  similarly  enact  the  story  of  the  raising  of 
the  dam,  one  of  the  temple  priests  taking  the  part  of  Siva  and 
shovelling  earth  and  another  representing  the  Pandya  king  and 
striking  him. 


292  MADURA. 


NILAKKOTTAI    TALUK. 


CHAP.  XV.  This  new  talnlc  is  surrounded  witli  liills.  It  is  bounded  on  tlie 
Nilakk6xtai.  greater  part  of  its  northern  and  eastern  sides  hj  the  Siruraalais  and 
the  Alagarnialais,  and  on  much  of  its  southern  and  western  frontiers 
by  the  Nagamalai,  the  end  of  the  Andipatti  range  and  a  corner  of 
the  Lov.er  Palnis.  It  is  also  well  watered.  The  country  round 
Vattilagundu  is  irrigated  by  the  almost  perennial  Manjalar,  and 
the  Vaigai  runs  all  along  the  southern  part  of  the  taluk.  The 
important  Peranai  and  Chittanai  dams  across  this  latter  river  are 
both  situated  within  the  taluk,  and  much  of  the  southern  part  of  it 
is  irrigated  by  the  Periyar  water  which  the  former  of  them  renders 
available  for  cultivation. 

Detailed  statistics  for  Nilakkottai  are  not  yet  available.  The 
more  interesting  villages  in  it  are  the  following  : — 

Ammayanayakkanur :  Four  miles  east  of  Nilakkottai  and 
786  feet  above  the  sea.  Contains  a  chattram,  a  travellers'  bungalow 
and  a  railway  rest-house,  and  is  the  station  at  which  passengers 
for  Kodaikanal  alight — bullock-tongas  taking  them  thence  to 
Krishnama  Na yak's  tope  at  the  foot  of  the  ghat^ — and  the  point 
of  export  for  the  produce  of  the  Kannan  Devan  Hills  in  Travancore. 
Tlie  battle  fought  here  in  1736  (see  p.  58)  decided  the  fate  of  the 
Nayakkan  dynasty  and  delivered  its  territories  into  the  hands  of 
Chanda  Sahib. 

The  village  is  the  chief  place  in  the  zamindari  of  the  same 
name,  which  pays  the  fourth  largest  peshkash  in  the  district  and 
includes  the  plateau  and  the  western  slopes  of  the  Sirumalai  hiUs. 
Family  tradition  ^  says  that  the  original  ancestor  of  the  zamindar's 
family  was  one  Makkaya  Nayakkan,  wlio  was  owner  of  a  palaiyam 
in  the  Yijayanagar  country  and  commanded  one  of  the  detachments 
which  accompanied  Visvanatha's  expedition  thence  to  Madura 
in  1559  (see  p.  41).  For  his  services  he  was  granted  this  estate 
and  put  in  charge  of  one  of  the  72  bastions  of  the  new  Madura 
fort.  His  property  appears  originally  to  have  included  villages 
round  Vedasandlir  and  some  rights  over  the  palaiyam  of  Palliyap- 
panayakkanur    (Klivakkapatti),   but    when   the    Mysoreans  took 

^  Full  details    regarding    distances,   cliargee,   baggage    and   arrangements 
generally,  will  be  found  in  the  South  Indian  Kailway  Guide. 
*  In  one  of  the  Mackenzie  MSS, 


GAZETTEER.  293 

Dindig-ul  the  former  were  detaclaed  and  the  latter  was  made  CHAP.  XV. 
independent.^  During  Ilaidar's  operations  of  1755  against  the  Nilikkottai. 
Dindigul  poligars  (see  p.  70)  the  owner  of  Ammayanayakkanur 
assisted  him  and  so  escaped  the  punishment  which  overtook  most  of 
his  fellows.  The  estate  was  however  sequestrated  for  arrears  by 
Tipu  in  1788,  but  restored  by  the  Company  in  1790.  In  3  796  the 
poligar  gave  trouble,  declining  either  to  pay  up  his  arrears  of 
peslikash  or  to  keep  the  road  to  Madura  free  of  dacoits,  and  the 
forfeiture  of  his  proport}-  was  proposed. 

The  subsequent  history  of  the  family  has  been  largely  a 
chronicle  of  debt,  mismanagement  and  litigation.  In  1846  the 
property  was  leased  to  M.  Faure  de  Fondclair,  who  built  the 
bungalow  the  ruins  of  which  stand  a  little  to  the  north  of  the 
railway-station,  started  the  planting  of  coffee  on  the  Sirumalais,  but 
(according  to  a  report  by  the  Collector)  dealt  so  oppressively  with 
the  ryots  there  that  several  of  the  hill  villages  were  deserted  and 
much  land  went  out  of  cultivation.  He  died  in  1853  (he  is  buried  in 
the  Roman  Catholic  church  at  Madura)  and  in  1856  his  claim  against 
the  estate  was  cleared  oft  and  the  property  leased  again  to  a  Chetti 
of  Devakkottai."  In  1870  another  lease  to  one  Adimulam  Pillai 
was  executed,  but  this  was  afterwards  set  aside  by  the  courts.  A 
permanent  sanad  was  granted  for  the  zamindari  in  1873.  A 
subsequent  gift  of  the  estate  to  his  wife  made  by  a  later  zamindar 
in  1891  was  set  aside  in  1894  by  the  High  Court,  which  declared 
the  property  inalienable  and  impartible.^  The  present  proprietor, 
Ramasvami  Nayakkan,  succeeded  in  1905.  A  decree  for  ]^  lakhs 
has  been  passed  against  him  and  a  receiver  has  been  appointed 
to  take  charge  of  the  estate. 

'  A  peculiar  custom  called  ddydiH  pattam  regulates  the  succession 
to  this  palaiyam.*  On  the  demise  of  the  palaiyagar  for  the  time 
being,  the  estate  devolves,  not  on  his  heir  according  to  the  Mitakshara 
law,  which,  in  the  absence  of  a  special  custom,  governs  this  part  of 
southern  India,  not  on  the  eldest  son  according  to  the  rule  of  primoge- 
niture, which  obtains  in  the  other  palaiyams  in  the  district  owned  by 
persons  of  the  Kamblar  fTottiyan)  caste,  but  on  the  ddyddi,  or  cousin, 
of  the  deceased  palai3agar  who  is  ponior  in  ago  and  who  is  descended 
from  one  of  the  three  brothers  who  originally  formed  a  joint  Hindu 
family.  These  three  brothers  were  named  (1)  Petala  Nayak,  (2)  Cha- 
kala  Nayak,  and    (3)   Chinnalu  Nayak,  and  of  the  three   branches 

^  Historical  memorandum  of  1796  in  thn  Collector's  recordB. 

2  Eccords  in  O.S.  No.  13  of  1892  on  the  file  of  the  West  Sub-Court  of 
Madura. 

3  T.L.R.  (Madias),  XVIII,  287  ff. 
*  Ibid.,  289. 


294 


MADIIRA. 


GHAP.  XV.    Rpringing  from  tlipm  the  second  is  now  extinct.     Thus- the  class  of 
NiLAKKdrTAi.  kindred  in  -which  the  heir  has  to  he  found  is  that  of  the  descendants 

of  the  two  branches,  and  the  person  to  be  selected  as  palaiyagar  from 

that  class  is  the  one  who  is  the  oldest  or  senior  in  years.' 

This  curious  custom  is  accounted  for  bv  ilio  following-  tradition  : 
One  of  the  poligars,  named  Ponniya  Nayakkan,  died,  leaving  a  wife 
Kistnammal  and  an  infant  son  Lakkayya.  Hearing-  that  her  late 
husband's  brother,  Kamayya  Nayakkan,  was  ]ilotting  to  murder  her 
and  her  child  and  seize  the  estate,  Kistnammal  had  him  assassinated. 
His  -wife  Errammal  was  OTorcomo  with  grief,  committed  saii  on 
his  funeral  pyre,  and  2:)ronounced  a  hideous  curse  against  any  direct 
descendant  who  should  thenceforth  succeed  to  the  estate.  The 
stone  slab  bearing  representations  of  a  man,  a  woman  and  a  child 
"which  stands  within  the  little  enclosure  a  couple  of  hundred  yards 
north-east  of  the  railway-station,  is  said  to  mark  the  spot  where 
the  sati  was  committed  and  is  still  paid  periodical  reverence  by 
the  zamindar's  family. 

KulaS^kharankottai :  Population  3,023.  Lies  nine  miles 
south-east  of  Nilakkottai  at  the  foot  of  the  southernmost  spur  of 
the  Sirumalais.  On  this  spur  are  two  curious  cavities  in  the  rocks, 
ojDening  one  out  of  the  other,  which  have  at  some  time,  for  some 
unknown  purpose,  been  roofed  with  a  large  mass  of  concrete  and 
so  formed  into  two  chambers.  The  villagers  have  always  held 
that  there  was  hidden  treasure  in  these,  and  an  old  man  who  was 
90  years  of  age  in  1887  related  to  the  then  Collector,  Mr.  E.  Turner, 
how  sixty  years  before  he  and  some  others  had  dug  down 
into  them,  AVhen  they  entered,  the  foremost  of  the  party  fell 
down  and  died,  and,  thinking  that  he  had  been  killed  by  a  devil, 
they  gave  up  the  enterprise.  Mr.  Turner  reported  the  story  to 
Government,  who  directed  him  to  examine  the  place  with  the 
Archaeological  Superintendent.  An  entrance  was  dug  into  the 
chambers  and  the  toe-ring  and  bones  of  the  man  above  referred  to 
(who  had  doubtless  been  suffocated  by  the  foul  air  of  the  place) 
were  found,  but  nothing  else. 

Mettuppatti  :  A.  village  of  488  inhabitants  belonging  to  the 
Ainmayanayakkanur  zamindari  and  lying  six  miles  south  of 
Nilakkottai,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Yaigai.  The  Peranai  dam 
(near  which  is  a  Public  Works  department  bungalow)  lies  partly 
within  its  limits  and  partly  in  Pillaiyarnattam. 

About  a  mile  north  of  Mettupatti  is  a  hill  called  Siddharmalai 
('sages'  hill^)  on  the  top  of  which  is  a  very  ordinary  Siva  shrine. 
A  path  running  from  this  down  the  southern  side  of  the  hill  leads 
to  some  odd  sculptures  representing  a  pair  of  feet,  a  balance ,  a 


GAZETTEER.  295 

trident  and  otlier  oLjects  enclosed  in  a  rectangalar  border,  above  CHAP.  XV. 
wliich.  is  an  inscription  as  yet  undecipbered.  Tbe  spot  ia  known  Nilakk^ttai. 
locally-  as  the  Pancba  Pandava  padam,  or  '  feet  of  the  five 
Pandavas.'  A  little  west  of  it  are  five  '  Pandava  beds  '  of  the 
usual  description,  round  about  which  are  more  inscriptions.  Near 
the  Kannimar  kovil,  lower  down  the  hill,  is  cut  upon  the  rock  a 
figure  of  an  armed  man  which  is  f)opnlarly  declared  to  represent 
Karuppanasvami  and  is  reverenced  accordingly  by  the  local  Kalians. 
Tradition  says  that  this  hill  was  once  the  abode  of  sages  and 
recluses  and  that  they  cut  these  unusual  figures  about  it. 

Nilakkottai :  A  union  of  5,2G9  inhabitants  ;  head-quarters 
of  the  tahsildar  of  the  taluk  and  of  a  sub-registrar ;  contains  a 
chattram. 

The  place  was  the  chief  village  of  the  estate  of  the  same 
name  which  was  one  of  the  2o  pdlaiyams  of  the  Dindigul  province. 
According  to  one  of  the  Mackenzie  MSS.^  the  founder  of  the 
palaiyam  came  from  the  Vijayanagar  country  before  the  time  of 
Visvanatha  Ndyakkan  and  built  the  mud  fort  from  which  the 
village  is  named  and  the  remains  of  which  still  stand  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  south  of  it.  His  successors  (sculptures 
of  some  of  whom  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  Ahobila  Narasimha 
shrine  in  the  village)  strengthened  this  fort,  built  temples  and 
assisted  the  Nayakkans  of  Madura  in  their  military  expeditions. 
The  history  of  the  estate  after  Dindignl  became  a  province  of 
Mysore  has  already  been  referred  to  on  pp.  70  and  183. 

After  the  Company  acquired  the  country,  the  poligar  (Kulappa 
Nayakkan)  fell  iuto  arrears  with  his  tribute,  and  in  1795  his  estate 
was  accordingly  resumed.  He  then  openly  rebelled  and  on  11th 
December  1798  attacked  the  Nilakkottai  fort  (one  of  the  strongest 
in  all  the  Dindigul  country)  with  a  force  of  six  or  eight  thousand 
Kalians  from  the  Anaiyiir  country  armed  with  '  small  jingalls, 
matchlocks,  spears,  cudgels  and  bludy:cons.''  Messrs.  TurnbuU 
and  Keys  (one  of  whom  was  inside  the  fort  at  the  time)  give 
a  graphic  account  of  the  affair  in  the  Survey  Account.  The  fort 
was  garrisoned  with  a  company  of  sepoys  under  a  subadar  and 
300  sibbandi  peons  under  the  tahsildar,  a  Musalman.  After  some 
hours'  hard  fighting,  they  succeeded  in  putting  the  attackers  to 
flight.  The  same  night  three  more  companies  of  sepoys  arrived 
from  Dindigul,  and  the  next  day  the  Collector  and  another 
company  from  Madura.  These  pursued  tlie  poligar,  but  failed  to 
catch  him.  A  reward  of  Es.  1,000  was  then  put  upon  his  head, 
but  with  no    better  success.     Three   years  later,   however,  the 

1  Vol.  II,  21G. 


296  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.  poligar,  dressed  as  a  mendicant,  presented  himself  before  tlie 
Nilakk6ttai.    Collector,  threw  himself  at  his  feet,  and  hesought  the  protection 

of  the  Company.     The  Collector  procured  for  him  an  allowance  of 

.30  pagodas  a  month  and  permission  to  reside  in  his  former  capital. 
In  1805  the  then  Collector  (Mr.  Parish)  made  over  to  him  a  large 
sura  which  had  accrued  to  the  estate  during  his  absence  from  it, 
and  with  this  he  bought  back  his  old  property  and  Vattilagundu 
as  well.  Seven  years  later,  however,  the  peslikash  on  these  was 
again  in  arrears  and  they  were  once  more  resumed.  The  poligar 
was  granted  an  allowance  and  a  descendant  of  his,  who  lives 
within  the  mouldering  walls  of  the  old  fort,  still  draws  a  pension 
from  Government. 

Sandaiyur :  Ten  miles  in  a  direct  line  south-west  of  Nilak- 
kottai ;  population  460.  Formerly  the  chief  village  of  the  estate  of 
the  same  name,  which  was  one  of  the  26  p^laiyams  of  Dindigul.  The 
history  of  this  property  up  to  the  time  when  the  Company  acquired 
that  province  has  already  been  referred  to  on  pp.  70  and  183.  The 
poligar,  Gopia  Ndyakkan,  afterwards  gave  considerable  trouble. 
In  1795  he  laid  claim  to  the  palaiyam  of  Devadanapatti,  the  owner 
of  which  had  just  died,  declined  to  pay  any  peshkash  unless  his 
claim  was  admitted,  raised  nearly  200  armed  peons  and  plundered 
Vattilagundu  and  Ganguvarapatti.  The  Collector  accordingly 
seized  his  estate  and  it  was  shortly  afterwards  formally  sequestered. 

Solavandan :  A  union  of  13,556  inhabitants  standing  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Vaigai  twelve  miles  north-west  of  Madura  ; 
sub-registrar's  office ;  railway-station.  The  union  includes  the 
two  villages  of  Mullipallam  and  Tenkarai  which  adjoin  one  another 
on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river. 

Solavandan  is  said  to  mean  '  the  Chola  came  '  and  the  old  name 
of  the  village  is  shown  by  inscriptions  to  have  been  Cholantaka- 
Chaturvedimangalam,  the  first  part  of  which  means  '  destruction 
to  the  Cholas.'  Hence  tradition  has  it  that  the  town  was  the 
scene  of  a  defeat  of  the  Ch61as  by  the  P4ndya  kings  of  Madura, 
but  when  this  occurred  is  not  clear.  The  numerous  inscriptions  of 
Pdndya  rulers  in  the  Perumdl  temple  at  Solavandan  and  in  the 
Mulanatha  shrine  at  Tenkarai  seem  to  show  that  the  village  was  a 
favourite  with  those  monarchs.  In  1566  Yisvanatha's  minister, 
Arya  Nayakka  Mudali  (see  p.  •2),  brought  a  number  of  his  caste- 
men  (Tondaimandalam  Vellalas)  from  near  Conjeeveram  and  settled 
them  ia  Solavandan,  building  for  them  300  houses,  a  fort  and  a 
temple  and  providing  them  with  a  guru,  slaves,  artisans  and 
Paraiyans.  Their  descendants  are  even  now  found  in  considerable 
numbers  in  the  place  and  are  chiefly  congregated  in  a  portion  of 
it  which  is  still  called  Mudaliy^rk6ttai,  or  '  the  Mudahyar's  fort.' 


GAZETTEEE.  297 

In  later  times,  during-  the  wars  of  the  eighteenth  centarj,  the  CHAP,  XV. 
fort  here  became  of  importance,  since  it  commanded  the  road  Nilakk6ttai. 
between  Madura  and  Dindigul.  In  1757  Haidar  Ali  of  Mysore 
marched  out  of  the  latter  town,  took  this  place  without  opposition 
and  marched  up  to  the  walls  of  Madura,  plundering  as  he  went. 
He  was  soon  afterwards  beaten  back  by  Muhammad  Yiisuf,  the 
Company's  Commandant  of  sepoys,  and  the  latter  subsequently 
strengthened  Solavandan  to  prevent  a  repetition  of  his  incursion. 

Besides  commanding  the  Madura-Dindigul  road,  ^561avandi,n 
was  for  centuries  an  important  halting  place  for  pilgrims  travelling 
to  Ramesvaram.  Queen  Mangammdl  built  a  chattram  here  for 
these  people  and  endowed  it  generously.  It  still  exists  (see 
p.  157)  and  bears  her  name,  but  now  that  the  pilgrims  usually  go 
by  rail  direct  to  Madura  it  is  no  longer  as  much  used  as  in  the 
old  days,  and  part  of  its  income  has  been  diverted  to  the  main- 
tenance of  a  chattram  opposite  the  Madura  railway-station. 

Nowadays  Solavanddn  is  chiefly  known  for  its  numerous  plan- 
tations of  cocoanuts  and  the  richness  of  its  wet  lands.  These 
spread  for  a  long  distance  on  either  side  of  the  railway  and  are  a 
prominent  object  from  the  train  as  one  approaches  Madura  from 
the  north.  The  advent  of  the  Periydr  water  has  made  them  more 
valuable  than  ever  and  they  command  very  high  prices.  In  the 
tanks  among  them  is  the  best  snipe-shooting  in  the  district. 

Tiruvedagam  :  On  the  left  bank  of  the  Vaigai,  twelve  miles 
north-w^est  of  Madura  ;  population  1,488. 

The  name  is  said  to  mean  '  the  place  {agam)  of  the  sacred  {tiru) 
leaf  {eduY,  and  the  Madura  sthah  purdna  tells  the  following  story 
accounting  for  it  :  Kubja  ('  the  hunchback  ')  Pandya,  king  of 
Madura  (the  Ferhja  Purdnam,  see  p.  29,  calls  him  Nedumdran) 
became  a  Jain  and  persecuted  all  his  Saivite  subjects.  Hia  queen, 
however,  remained  in  secret  a  fervent  adherent  of  Siva,  and 
through  her  means  Tirugndna  ^ambandhar,  the  famous  Saivite 
poet-saint,  was  induced  to  visit  the  city.  The  king  was  afflicted 
at  this  time  with  a  serious  fever  which  none  of  his  Jain  priests 
could  remedy,  and  at  last  he  was  induced  to  send  for  the  priest  of 
the  rival  religion.  He  was  cured  by  Tirugndna  Sambandhar  not 
only  of  his  fever,  but  also  of  his  hunchback,  and  ho  changed  his 
name  accordingly  to  Sundara  ('  the  beautiful')  Pandya,  became  a 
Saivite  again,  and  decreed  the  death  of  all  Jains.  But  these 
latter  prevailed  on  him  to  first  agree  to  a  trial  of  strengtli  between 
them  and  Tirugndna.  Prayers  of  the  two  faiths  were  written  on 
palm-leaves  and  thrown  into  a  fire,  but  the  Jain  texts  were  all 
consumed  and  the  Saivite  scriptures  remained  untouched.     Prayers 

38 


^98  MAt)URA. 

rilAP.  XV.  were  then  similarly  ^Niitten  on  other  palm-leaves  and  thrown 
JJiLAKKoiTAi.  into  the  Vaigai  to  see  which  would  first  sink.  Those  of  the  Jains 
quickly  disappeared,  but  tliose  of  Tirugndna  floated  away  up- 
stream, against  the  current,  until  they  were  out  of  sight.  This 
confirmed  the  king's  determination  to  have  done  with  the  Jains, 
and  he  impaled  all  who  declined  to  Lecome  converts  to  Saivism. 
Afterwards  a  search  for  Tirugn4na's  leaves  was  made,  and  they 
were  found  in  a  grove  of  bilva  trees,  where  also  a  lingam 
was  for  the  first  time  discovered.  The  king  accordingly  built 
a  temple  on  the  spot  and  round  about  it  grew  up  the  present  village 
of  Tiruvedagam. 

'  Tirugndna  Sambandhar's  math  '  in  Madura  town,  a  prominent 
building  to  the  south-east  of  the  temple,  is  said  to  be  built  on 
the  site  of  an  older  math  in  which  the  saint  stayed  during  this 
affair  and  to  have  been  afterwards  called  by  its  present  name 
in  celebration  of  this  victory.  It  is  now  presided  over  by  non- 
Brdhman  Pandara-sannadhis,  who  appoint  their  own  successors, 
and  on  its  walls  are  the  portraits  of  a  long  series  of  these 
individuals  ;  but  tradition  says  that  it  was  once  a  Brdhman  institu- 
tion. In  it  is  a  small  shrine  dedicated  to  Tirugndna,  before  which 
the  odumrs  morning  and  evening  recite  the  sacred  verses  of 
the' saint. 

Tottiyankottai :  Six  miles  west  south- west  of  Nilakkottai, 
population  190.  Once  the  chief  village  of  another  of  the  26 
pdlaiyams  already  several  times  mentioned  (see  pp.  70  and  183), 
It  was  eventually  resumed  again  by  the  Company,  apparently  for 
arrears.  As  the  name  of  the  place  implies,  the  poligar  was  a 
Tottiyan  by  caste.  The  estate  always  suffered  from  its  compara- 
tive propinquity  to  the  marauding  Kalians  of  Anaiyur  in  the 
Tirumangalam  taluk  ;  one  of  its  chiefs  had  once  to  flee  from  them 
and  in  1816  the  poKgar  lived  shut  up  in  his  fort  to  be  secure 
from  them. 

Vattilagundu  (fl//asBatlagundu)is  a  union  of  10,665  inhabi- 
tants lying  seven  miles  west  of  Nilakkottai  at  the  junction  of  the 
road  from  Dindigul  with  that  between  Ammayandyakkanur  and 
Periyakulam.  It  is  a  regular  place  of  halt  on  the  journey  from 
the  railway  to  the  latter  and  the  PaLui  hills,  and  contains  a  local 
fund  chattrani  and  a  travellers'  buugalow.  The  latter  looks  west- 
wards over  a  stretch  of  rich  paddy  land  and  up  to  the  Kodaikanal 
cKifs,  aud  is  one  of  the  pleasantest  halting-places  in  the  district. 
The  wet  fields  in  these  parts  are  watered  by  channels  from  the 
Manjalar,  which  is  an  almost  perennial  stream,  and  the  rice  called 
'  Yattilagundu  sambd '  is  so  much  prized  that  the  crop  is  said  to 


GAZETTEER.  299 

be  sometimes  bouglit  in  advance  before  ever  the  seedlings  are    CHAP,  xv, 
planted.  Nilakkottai, 

Vattilagundu  formerly  boasted  '  a  considerable  fort,'  the  twelve 
bastions  and  five  gates  of  which  were  still  standing  when  the 
Survey  Account  of  1815-16  was  written.  In  17o0  this  was  the 
scene  of  some  sharjD  fighting  between  Haidar  All's  troops  from 
Dindigal  and  the  forces  of  the  Compajiy  in  Madura  under 
Muhammad  Yusuf,  the  l^ommandant  of  the  sepoys.  The  latter 
captured  the  pla>ce  in  July,  making  a  breach  with  cannon  and  then 
storming  it,  but  were  themselves  at  once  attacked  by  reinforcements 
from  Dindigul.  Their  detachments  outside  the  walls  were  driven 
back  after  six  days'  hard  fighting,  and  subsequently  the  fort  itself 
fell  after  a  stubborn  resistance.  Shortly  afterwards  Muhammad 
Ylisuf  in  his  turn  was  reinforced  from  Madura,  and  he  set  himself 
to  win  back  the  place.  He  was  completely  successful,  driving  the 
Dindigul  forces  out  of  their  camp,  capturing  their  artillery  and 
reoccupying  Vattilagundu. 


300  MAT1T7HA , 


PALNI  TALUK. 


CHAP.  XV.  'j'fjjg  lifs  in  tiie  nortli-west  corner  of  the  district  and  45  per 
Palni.  cent,  of  it  is  made  up  of  zainindaris.  It  was  formerly  called  the 
Aiyampalle  taluk.  Along  the  whole  of  its  southern  houndary  run 
the  Palni  hills,  and  it  slopes  northwards  away  from  these  and  is 
drained  by  the  three  parallel  rivers — Shanmuganadi,  Nallatangi 
and  Nanganji — which  flow  down  from  their  slopes.  'J'he  wet 
land  under  the  first  of  these  is  some  of  the  best  in  the  district 
and  as  much  as  8  per  cent,  of  the  irrigated  fields  of  the  taluk 
are  assessed  as  highly  as  Es.  7-8-0  and  over  per  acre.  Palni  con- 
tains some  patches  of  black  soil,  but  red  earth  occupies  a  higher 
proportion  of  it  than  of  any  other  taluk  except  Melur.  This  land 
is  much  of  it  infertile,  and  nearly  one-half  of  the  dry  fields  are 
assessed  at  as  little  as  12  annas  and  under  per  acre.  Also,  the 
taluk  receives  less  rain  than  any  other.  Consequently  in  bad 
seasons  it  is  poorly  protected  and  it  suffered  severely  in  the  great 
famine.  In  ordiuary  years  it  is  saved  by  its  numerous  wells, 
which  water  as  much  as  nine  per  cent,  of  its  irrigated  area  and 
the  cultivation  under  which  is  carefully  conducted,  and  only  9-g- 
per  cent,  of  the  assessed  land,  a  smaller  figure  than  in  any  other 
taluk,  is  unoccupied.  The  chief  crop  is  cholam,  which  is  grown 
on  nearly  a  third  of  the  total  cultivated  area,  and  next  come 
horse-gram  and  the  smaller  millets. 

Statistics  relating  to  the  taluk  are  given  in  the  separate 
Appendix.     Below  are  accounts  of  its  chief  towns  and  villages  :  — 

Aivarmalai,  'the  hill  of  the  five,'  is  a  prominent  height,  1,402 
feet  above  the  sea,  which  rises  abruptly  from  the  surrounding 
country  nine  miles  west  of  Palni  and  is  crowned  by  a  little 
shrine  to  Ganesa.  The  people  say  it  was  a  resting-place  of  the  five 
Pdndava  brothers,  and  hence  its  name.  Ou  the  north-east  side  the 
rock  of  which  it  consists  overhangs  and  foiJii  a  natural  shelter 
160  feet  long  and  13  feet  high.  This  has  i^ow  been  bricked  up 
and  formed  into  shrines  for  such  popular  deities  as  Draupadi  and 
so  on  ;  but  it  was  doubtless  originally  a  Jain  hermitage,  for  above 
it,  on  the  face  of  the  overhanging  rock,  in  a  long  horizontal  line 
about  30  feet  from  end  to  end  and  arranged  in  six  groups,  are  cut 
sixteen  representations  of  the  Jain  tirthankaras,  each  some 
eighteen  inches  high,  which  constitute  the  best  preserved  relic  of 


GAZETTEER.  301 

tte  Jains  in  tlii.s  district.  Some  of  the  tirtliankaras  are  standing,  CEAP.  XV. 
others  are  seated;  some  have  a  hooded  serpent  above  their  heads,  Pai-ni. 
others  one  on  either  side  ;  some  have  the  triple  crown  above  their 
heads,  others  nothino-  at  all ;  some  are  supported  on  eacli  side  by  a 
person  bearing  a  chdmara  (Hj-whisk),  olhers  are  unattended. 
Round  about  them  are  cut  several  short  Yatteluttu  inscriptions, 
parts  of  which  are  defaced  by  lamp-oil.  Tlie.i!e  have  not  so  f.-ir 
been  translated. 

Ayakkudi  :  Four  miles  east  of  Palni.  A  union  of  14,725 
inhabitants  and  the  chief  village  of  the  zamindari  of  the  same 
name.  This  latter,  which  includes  a  considerable  area  on  the 
Palni  hills,  is  the  second  largest  in  the  district,  and  the  pro- 
prietor of  it  is  also  owner  of  the  large  estate  of  Kettayambddi. 

According  to  the  traditions  of  his  family  ^  his  original  ancestor 
(like  those  of  other  Tottiyan  zamindars  of  the  distinct,  see  p.  106) 
quitted  the  northern  Deccan  in  the  fifteenth  century  and  came  south 
into  the  territories  of  Yijayanagar.  There  he  was  granted  a 
pdlaiyam  near  the  well-known  temple  of  Ahobilam  in  the  present 
Anantapur  district,  since  when  Ah6bilani  (often  corrupted  into 
Obila '  and  the  like)  has  been  a  common  name  in  the  family. 

One  of  his  descendants  accompanied  the  expedition  of  Visva- 
natha  (p.  41)  to  .Madura  and  was  granted  this  estate  and 
appointed  to  the  charge  of  one  of  the  72  bastions  of  the  Madura 
fort.  He  built  Palaya  (•'  old')  Ayakkudi,  and  Puda  ('  new') 
Ayakkudi  was  founded  some  time  afterwards.  His  successors 
built  forts  and  villages,  cleared  the  forest,  kept  the  wild  elephants 
from  molesting  pilgrims  to  Palni,  brought  the  Kalians  and  other 
marauding  peoples  to  order,  constructed  tanks  and  temples,  and 
accompanied  the  Nayakkans  of  Madura  on  their  vaiions  military 
expeditions. 

When  the  Company  acquired  tlie  Dindigul  province  the  estate 
was  in  some  way  an  appanage  of  the  Palni  pdlaiyam,  and  in  1  794 
the  two  poligars  were  engaged  in  open  hostilities.  In  1795 
Ayakkudi  was  ordered  to  be  detached  and  separately  assessed,  and 
in  consequence  the  Palni  poligar  openly  rebelled  and  Ayakkudi 
began  arming.  The  latter  chief  was  eventually  arrested  and  con- 
fined in  the  Dindigul  fort.  In  179G  the  estate  was  handed  back 
to  the  family,  and  ten  years  later  the  then  head  of  it  purchased 
Rettayambadi  at  a  sale  for  arrears  of  revenue. 

Both  properties  were  included  for  many  years  among  the 
'unsettled  pdlaiyams '  of  the  district  (see  p.  lOi).     They  were 

^  Mackenzie  MSS.,  Local  Records,  vol.  42,  449,  and  \Vil8on,  4i7. 


302  MADTJKA. 

CHAP.  XV.  managed  by  the  Court  of  Wards  from  1851  to  1860  during-  the 
Palni.  minority  of  the  then  proprietor  Janakirdma  Ndyakkan.  He  died 
in  18G8  and  his  paternal  uncle,  Muttakondama  Nayakkan^  suc- 
ceeded. In  1872  this  man  turned  ascetic  and  resigned  the 
property  to  his  eldest  son,  Ahobila  Kondama.  The  next  year 
this  latter  was  granted  a  pernianeut  sanad  for  this  estate  and  for 
Uettayambadi.  Thereafter,  he  rapidly  fell  deeply  in  debt  and  in 
1879  he  leased  the  property  to  the  Chettis  for  nineteen  years. 
Later  on  he  transferred  the  estates  to  a  nephew ;  but  a  son 
(Ahobila  Kondama  Ndyakkan)  who  was  subsequently  born  to  him 
contested  the  transfer  in  the  courts  and  was  eventually  placed  in 
possession  by  a  decree  of  the  Privy  Council  in  1900.  The  prop- 
erty has  since  been  again  mortgaged  (with  possession)  to  a 
^    Chetti. 

The  customs  at  the  succession  of  a  new  lieirare  curious.  When 
the  zamindar  is  on  his  death-bed  the  heir  is  bathed  and  adorned 
with  flowers  and  jewels,  is  taken  to  the  dying  man,  and  receives  at 
his  hands  the  insignia  of  ownership.  He  then  goes  in  a  pro- 
cession with  music  and  so  on  to  a  mantapam,  where  he  holds  a 
levee  and  is  publicly  pranounced  the  rightful  successor.  He  is 
not  permitted  to  see  the  corpse  of  his  predecessor  nor  to  exhibit 
any  sign  of  grief  at  his  death. 

Idaiyankottai  :  Lies  on  the  northern  frontier  of  the  taluk 
and  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Nangdnji  some  21  miles  by  road  from 
Dindigul;  population  3,044.  In  1815  remains  of  its  old  fort,  a 
construction  about  200  yards  square  defended  by  sixteen  bastions, 
were  still  visible  close  to  the  river. 

It  is  the  chief  village  of  the  impartible  zamindari  of  the  same 
name.  According  to  the  family  traditions  among  the  Mackenzie 
MSS.,  the  original  ancestor  of  this  family  (like  those  of  several 
others  of  the  zamindars  of  tliis  district)  came  to  Madura  with 
VisvanAtha  (p.  41)  and  for  his  services  was  granted  this  estate  and 
placed  in  charge  of  one  of  the  bastions  of  the  Madura  fort.  The 
history  of  the  estate  m  the  eighteenth  century  has  already  been 
referred  to  on  pp.  70  and  183,  from  which  it  will  be  seen  that  it 
escaped  the  numerous  resumptions  and  restorations  which  were 
the  usual  lot  of  its  fellows,  and  was  one  of  the  four  of  the  26 
palaiyams  of  Dindigul  which  were  not  under  attachment  at  the  time 
that  the  Company  acquired  that  province  in  1 790.  It  formerly 
belonged  to  the  district  of  Aravakurichi  in  Coimbatore,  and  was 
added  to  Dindigul  by  Haiftir  Ali. 

In  1792  the  then  poligar  gave  the  P'ngiish  some  trouble, 
setting  out  to  plunder  in  the  Coimbatore  district,  and  Mr.  Hurdis 


GAZETTEEE.  503 

wa5  oLlig'ed  later  on  to  resume  tlie  estate  for  arrears.  These  were  CHAP.  X7. 
afterwards  paid,  and  the  estate  was  restored.  Thereafter  for  many  Palm. 
years  it  was  one  of  the  '  unsettled  palaiyams '  of  the  district  and  it 
was  not  g'ranted  a  permanent  sanad  until  1871,  when  Muttu 
Venkat4dri  Nayaldcan  was  the  projirietor.  This  man  died  in  1872 
and  his  son  Lakshmipati  followed  him  and  held  the  estate  until 
his  death  on  3rd  October  1902.  His  son  and  heir  was  then  a  minor 
fourteen  years  old,  and  the  estate  was  accordingly  taken  under  the 
management  of  the  Court  of  Wards,  which  is  still  administering  it. 

Kalayamuttur :  Three  miles  west  of  Palni  on  the  Udamalpet 
road  ;  population  5,491^. 

In  1856,  63  gold  coins  of  Augustus  and  other  Eoman  emperors 
were  found  in  a  small  pot  buried  in  the  ground  near  the  Shanmu- 
ganadi  here.  ^  A  mile  west  of  the  village,  on  the  southern  side  of 
the  road,  are  a  few  kistvaens  of  the  usual  kind  and  size  in  fair 
preservation,  and  there  are  eight  more  to  the  north  of  Chinnakala- 
yamuttur,  on  either  side  of  the  road.  These  latter  are  propitiated 
by  the  villagers,  especially  in  cases  of  difficult  labour;  they  are 
daubed  with  the  usual  red  and  white  streaks  of  paint  and  in  front  of 
them  are  some  of  the  little  swings  which  are  so  often  placed  before 
shrines  in  gratitude  for  favours  received. 

Kiranur  :  Ten  miles  north  of  Palni  ;  population  3,973. 
A  prosperous  village  lying  in  the  valley  of  the  Shanmuganadi  and 
inhabited  largely  by  Ravutans,  who  grow  betel  under  the  river 
channel,  trade  with  the  Coimbatore  district  and  keep  several  of  the 
bazaars  in  Ootacamund.  It  is  an  ancient  place,  and  the  inscriptions 
on  the  Siva  temple  to  the  east  of  it  record  grants  by  Ch6la  kings 
who  flourished  as  long  ago  as  1063  A.D. 

Mambarai  :  A  small  impartible  zamindari  of  only  three 
villages  which  lies  on  the  northern  frontier  of  the  taluk  21  miles 
north-east  of  Palni.     There  is  no  village  of  the  name. 

According  to  one  of  the  Mackenzie  MSS.,  the  original  ancestor 
of  the  zamindar's  family,  about  whose  prodigious  personal  strength 
several  fabulous  talcs  an^  narrated,  was  granted  the  pdlaiyam 
by  Visvandtha  Nayakkan  (see  p.  42 j  and  afterwards  accompanied 
the  later  Ndyakkan  ruler.s  of  Madura  on  several  of  their  military 
expeditions. 

The  •  estate  once  belonged  to  the  Aravakuriclii  district  of 
Coimbatore,  but  was  transferred  by  Haidar  AH  to  Dindigul  and 
formed  one  of  the  2G  pdlaiyams  comprised  in  that  province  when 
it  was  acquired  by  the  Company  in  1790.  Its  history  up  to  that 
year  has  been  referred  to  on  pp.  70  and  183. 

'  M.J.L.S.,  xvii,  lu. 


304  MADUBA. 

CHAP.  XV.  Thereafter  it  remained  for  a  long  while  one  of  the  'unsettled 

VAhST.  pdlaiyaras  '  of  the  district,  and  it  was  not  granted  a  permanent 
sanad  until  ]87^.  The  present  proprietor's  name  is  Venkatardma 
Ndyakkan  and  he  lives  in  Attapanpatti.  He  succeeded  in  1888  on 
the  death  of  his  father,  Kumdra  Kathirava  Ndyakkan,  in  August 
of  that  year.  As  he  was  then  only  eight  years  old,  the  estate 
remained,  until  he  attained  his  majority,  under  the  management  of 
the  Court  of  Wards. 

Palni  :  Head-quarters  of  the  taluk  and  a  municipality  of 
17,168  inhabitants.  The  proposals  which  have  been  made  regard- 
ing the  improvement  of  the  water-supply  of  the  place  are  referred 
to  in  Chapter  XIV.  The  town  is  loiown  throughout  the  south  of 
the  Presidency  for  its  temple  to  Subrahmanya  referred  to  below. 
It  is  the  head-quarters  of  the  tahsildar  and  stationary  sub-magis- 
trate and  of  a  sub-registrar,  and  contains  a  hospital,  several 
chattrams,  and  a  travellers'  bungalow  belonging  to  the  temple 
authorities.  It  has  always  been  a  great  centre  of  trade  with 
Coimbatore  on  the  one  side  and  the  Palni  Hills  on  the  other. 

Palni  is  one  of  the  most  charmingly  situated  places  in  all  the 
district,  standing  1 ,068  feet  above  the  sea  on  the  edge  of  the  great 
Vydpuri  tank  and  looking  across  this  towards  the  mouths  of  the  two 
largest  valleys  in  the  Palnis  and  the  bold  cliffs  which  separate  them. 
Framing  the  eastern  side  of  this  beautiful  prospect,  rises  the  steep? 
rocky  hill  (450  feet  high)  on  the  top  of  whi(!h  is  built  the  famous 
temple  to  Subrahmanya  in  his  form  Dandayudhapani,  or  '  the 
bearer  of  the  baton.'  Round  this  hill  runs  a  sandy  road  adorned 
at  intervals  with  many  mantapams,  several  of  which  contain  great 
stone  images  of  the  peacock,  the  favourite  vehicle  of  Subrahmanya. 
Up  it,  is  built  a  winding  flight  of  stone  steps  on  which  are  cut  the 
names  and  footprints  of  many  devotees,  and  which  is  flanked  at 
frequent  intervals  by  mantapams  and  lesser  shrines,  and  crowded  in 
typically  oriental  fashion  with  pilgrims  passing  up  and  down  to  the 
temple,  beggiug  ascetics  smeared  with  holy  ash,  a  few  gorgeous 
peacocks  and  many  most  impudent  monkeys.  A  story  is  told^ 
about  Queen  Mangammdl  of  Aladura  and  these  steps.  One  day 
when  she  was  going  up  them,  she  came  upon  a  young  man  who, 
perceiving  her,  retreated  in  confusion.  She  called  out  graciously  to 
him  Zrunkol !  or  ''  Pray  wait !'  and  he  and  his  sons'  sons  thereafter 
always  took  this  word  as  their  name.  At  night  the  path  is  lighted 
at  intervals  with  lamps  (a  favourite  form  of  showing  devotion  to 
the  god  is  to  maintain  one  of  these  for  a  certain  period)  and  the 
effect  from  below  is  most  picturesque. 

^  Indian  Antiquary,  x,  365. 


GAZETTEER.  305 

Arcliitecturally,  tlie  building  on  the  top  of  the  rock  is  not  CHAP.  XT. 
noteworthy,  there  being  no  sculpture  in  it  which  is  above  the  Palni. 
ordinary.  It  consists  of  the  usual  outer  wall  enclosing  a  central 
shrine  surrounded  by  smaller  buildings  and  entered  from  the  west 
by  a  gateway  beneath  a  brick  and  plaster  gopuram.  The  best 
reward  for  the  climb  is  the  view  of  the  great  Palni  Hills  and  the 
rich  cultivation 

Spread  like  a  praying-carpet  at  the  foot 

Of  those  divinest  altars. 
The  fading  of  the  evening  light  of  a  quiet  October  day  across 
the  green  rice-fields,  the  groves  of  palms  and  the  vast,  silent  range 
beyond  is  a  memorable  sight.  The  belt  below  the  hills,  though  very 
fair  to  the  eye,  is  exceedingly  malarious;  and  Aiyampalle  (which 
of  old  gave  its  name  to  this  taluk)  and  Balasamudram  (once  the 
fort  and  residence  of  the  poligar  of  Palni  referred  to  later)  are  now 
entirely  deserted,  their  fields  being  tilled  by  people  who  live  in 
Palni  and  return  home  every  evening. 

The  sthala  furdna  of  Palni  gives  the  widely  known  legend 
regarding  the  founding  of  this  temple  :  Agastya,  the  famous  rishi, 
created  the  hill  Sivagiri  on  which  the  shrine  stands  and  the  neigh- 
bouring, slightly  lower,  eminence  now  called  Idumbanmalai ;  did 
penance  on  them  for  some  time  ;  and  then  went  to  Mount  Kail^sa 
to  visit  Siva.  On  his  return  to  his  home  at  the  southern  end  of 
the  Western  Grhats,  he  sent  his  demon-servant  Idumban  to  bring 
these  two  hills  thither.  Idumban  fixed  them  to  either  end  of  a 
Ixdoadi  (the  pole  by  which  burdens  are  slung  acro.ss  the  shoulder) 
but  when  he  began  to  lift  them  he  found  that  Idumbanmalai  went 
up  in  the  air  while  Sivagiri  remained  immovable.  Tliinking  the 
latter  must  be  too  heavy  lie  put  two  big  boulders  (still  to  be  seen) 
on  the  top  of  the  former  to  make  the  balance  better.  Sivagiri, 
however,  was  still  immovable,  so  he  went  to  it  to  see  what  was 
the  matter. 

Meanwhile,  on  Mount  Kailasa,  Siva  had  offered  a  pomegranate 
to  whichever  of  his  two  sons,  Subrahmanya  and  Ganesa,  could 
travel  round  the  world  the  quicker.  Subrahmanya  mounted  his 
peacock  and  set  olf  at  a  great  pace,  bnt  Ganesa  (whose  elephant- 
head  and  portly  figure  handicapped  him  heavily  in  euch  a  contest)  ' 
took  thought  and  then  walked  slowly  round  his  father  and  claimed 
that  as  Siva  was  all-in-all  he  had  by  so  doing  travelled  round  the 
world  and  won  the  fruit.  Siva  admitted  his  contention  and  gave 
him  the  pomegranate.  Subrahmanya  eventually  completed  his 
journey  and  was  very  wroth  when  he  heard  how  he  had  been 
outwitted.     His  father  attempted  to  console  him  l»y  saying  Palani 

39 


306  MADUEA. 

CHAP.  XV     '  thou  art  thyself  a  fruit,'  (whence  the  name  of  this  town)^  tut  he 
Palni.        went  angrilj  away  to  Tiruvavinangudi  (near  the  foot  of  Sivagiri, 
where  there  is  now  a  considerable  temple)  and  later  on  to  Sivagiri 
itself. 

When  Idumban  went  to  this  hill  to  see  why  it  would  not  move, 
Subrahmanya  was  there  and  was  much  annoyed  at  being  disturbed. 
He  accordingly  slew  Idumban.  Agastya,  however,  hurried  up  and 
at  his  intercession  the  god  restored  the  demon-servant  to  life  and 
promised  that  in  future  the  first  worship  on  the  Jiill  should  always 
be  performed  to  him.  This  is  still  done — at  the  little  temple  to 
Idumban  which  stands  about  half  way  up  the  steps  leading  to  the 
top  of  Sivagiri. 

This  story  in  the  sthala  purdna  explains  why  pilgrims  to  this 
Palni  temple  very  generally  bring  with  them  a  Mvadi  on  their 
shoulders.  The  custom  has  since,  however,  been  copied  at  many 
other  shrines  to  Subrahmanya.  The  tale  also  shows,  what  is  in 
other  ways  clear,  that  the  Tiruvavinangudi  temple  is  older  than 
that  on  Sivagiri.  This  latter  is,  indeed,  a  comparatively 
modern  erection.  A  MS.  in  the  Mackenzie  collection,  which  is 
confirmed  by  local  accounts,  states  that  a  Canarese  non-Brahman 
Udaiyar  first  set  up  a  small  shrine  on  Sivagiri,  and  that  for  some 
time  he  conducted  the  worship  in  it.  Eventually,  in  the  time 
of  Tirumala  Nayakkan,  he  was  induced  by  that  ruler's  general 
Ramappayya,  who  visited  this  town,  to  hand  over  to  the  Brahmans 
the  actual  performance  of  the  puja,  and  was  given  in  return  certain 
duties  of  superintendence  and  a  right  to  receive  certain  annual 
presents  and  to  shoot  off,  at  the  Dasara  festival,  the  arrow  which 
symbolises  Subrahmanya' s  victory  over  Idumban.  His  descendants 
have  ever  since  performed  this  rite.  Many  of  them  are  buried  at 
the  foot  of  the  steps  leading  up  to  the  hill.  The  present  heir  of 
the  family,  Bhoganatha  Pulippani  Patra  Udaiyar,  is  a  minor. 

The  Tiruvavinangudi  shrine  is  now  being  completely  rebuilt 
by  the  Chettis,  and  the  new  sculpture  in  it,  executed  in  the  fine- 
grained granite  quarried  on  Idumbanmalai,  is  excellent.  There  is 
also  good  modern  stone-work  in  the  Siva  temple  in  the  middle  of 
the  town  itself,  but  much  of  this  has  been  pitiably  defaced  by  the 
greasy  oblations  which  have  been  poured  over  it. 

Pilgrims  come  to  the  shrine  on  Sivagiri  from  all  over  the 
Presidency  and  especially  from  the  West  Coast.  As  has  been 
said,  they  usually  bring  kdvadis  with  them.  Milk  and  other  offer- 
ings are  carried  in  sealed  vessels  on  either  end  of  these,  and  the 
former  is  duly  poured  over  the  god's  image.  Fanciful  stories  are 
current  telling  how  the  milk  keeps  sweet  for  days  and  weeks  on  the 


GAZETTEER. 


307 


journey  when  "brought  for  this  sacred  purpose,  and  how  fish  cooked    OflAP.  XV. 

for  the  god  when  the   pilgrim  sets   out  leap   alive  from  the  sealed        Palni. 

vessels  when  thej  are  opened  for  the  first  time  before  the  shrine. 

Messrs.  Turnbull   and   Keys'    Survey   Account  of    1815-16  says 

that  in  those  days  if  by  any  chance  the  T»iilk  and  so  on  brought  up 

in  the  sealed  kdradts  were  foundlnot  to  be  fresh,  it  was  held  to  be 

a  sign  of  the  impiety  of  the  pilgrim,  who  was  expected  to  atone  by 

severe  bodily  penance.      Penances  are  still  in  fashion  at  the  shrine. 

Pilgrims  occasionally  take   a   vow    to  wear    a  '  mouth-lock '  for 

several  days  before  going  to  the  temple.     This  instrument  consists 

of  a  piece  of  silver  wire  which  is  driven  through  both   cheeks, 

passes  through  the  mouth  and  is  fastened  outside,  in  fi-ont  of  the 

face.     Another  similar  ordeal   consists  in  passing  a  small  skewer 

through  the  tip  of  the  tongue. 

Curiously  enough,  Musalmans  also  believe  in  the  eflScacy  of 
prayer  to  this  shrine.  Kavutans  go  to  the  little  door  at  the 
back  (east)  of  it  and  make  their  intercessions  and  offer  sugar  in 
the  mantapam  immediately  inside  this.  They  explain  their  action 
by  saying  that  a  Musalman  fakir,  called  Palni  Bava,  is  buried 
within  the  shrine. 

Palni  was  formerly  the  capital  of  an  extensive  estate  of  the 
same  name  which  was  one  of  the  26  palaiyams  included  in  the 
Dindigul  province  at  the  time  of  its  acquisition  by  the  Com- 
pany in  1790.  According  to  one  of  the  Mackenzie  MSS.,^  the 
original  founder  of  the  family  was  a  relation  of  the  ancestor 
of  the  Ayakkudi  poligar  and  came  with  him  from  Ahobilam 
in  Anantapur.  '  Sinnoba  '  (/.e.,  Chinna  Ahobilam)  is  a  name  of 
frequent  occurrence  in  the  family.  He  was  given  an  estate  by 
Visvanatha  Nayakkan  and  put  in  charge  of  one  of  the  72  bastions 
of  Madura.  He  founded  the  fort  of  B^lasamudram,  just  south  of 
Palni,  which  was  thereafter  the  residence  of  the  family,  and  he  and 
his  successors  did  much  for  the  extension  of  the  Palni  temple  and 
the  improvement  of  the  country.  The  more  recent  history  of 
the  palaiyam  has  already  been  referred  to  on  pp.  70  and  183 
above.  During  his  expedition  of  1755  Haidar  Ali  plundered 
it  of  everything  valuable  and  compelled  its  owner  (who  had  fled) 
to  agree  to  pay  a  fine  of  1,75,000  chakrams.  After  the  British 
took  the  country  the  then  poligar,  Velayudha  Nayakkan,  gave  a 
great  deal  of  trouble.  In  1792  he  was  plundering  in  the  Coimbatore 
district  ;  in  1794  he  was  engaged  in  open  hostilities  with  his 
neighbour  Ayakkudi,  who  was  in  some  way  dependent  upon  him  ; 
and  in  the  next  year  he  took  umbrage  at  a  proposal  of  Government 

^  Local  }tecoid8,  vol.  42,  499,  aud  Wilson,  417. 


308  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.  to  detacli  this  latter  estate  and  assess  it  separately,  and  was  reported 
Pai.ni.  to  have  armed  1,000  men  and  to  be  marching  on  Bodinayakkanur. 
On  the  7th  October  1795  Captain  Oliver  surprised  and  captured 
him  in  his  fort  at  Balasamudram  ;  and  the  achievement  was  con- 
sidered of  such  importance  that  Oliver  and  his  detachment  were 
thanked  in  general  orders  and  the  jemadar  of  the  party  was 
promoted  and  given  a  gold  medal  inscribed  '  Courage  and  Fidelity. 
By  Grovernment,  7th  October  1795.'  ^ 

A  week  later  the  poligar,  nothing  abashed,  wrote  the  Collector 
an  indignant  letter  complaining  that  Captain  Oliver  had  attacked, 
wounded  and  confined  him,  just  because  he  wouldn't  pay  his 
reshkash.  In  November,  however,  the  Collector  was  warned  that 
a  plan  was  afoot  to  kidnap  him  and  keep  him  in  confinement  as 
9.  hostage  for  Yelayudha's  release  ;  in  December  Captain  Oliver 
reported  that  the  poligar's  Aiyangar  '  pradhani  '  (chief  minister) 
had  attacked  him  in  Palni  with  800  men  ;  and  in  the  next  month 
this  man  had  to  be  driven  off  by  a  force  from  Dindigul  under 
Colonel  Cnppage.  In  1796  the  estate  was  forfeited  for  this  rebel- 
lion, and  Vela yudha  was  confined  on  the  Dindigul  rock  and 
subsequently  deported  to  Madras,  where  he  eventually  died.  But 
as  late  as  1799  Yirupakshi,  Kannivadi  and  other  poligars  were 
conspiring  to  reinstate  his  son,  Yyapuri,  as  chief  of  Palni. 

Kettayambadi  :  A  zamindari  lying  to  the  west  of  Palni 
town  and  including  a  considerable  area  on  the  slopes  of  Palni  hills. 
According  to  one  of  the  Mackenzie  MSS.^,  the  original  founder 
of  the  family  (who  were  Tottiyans  by  caste)  fled  (with  the  ancestors 
of  the  Palui  and  Ayakkudi  poligars)  from  the  Musalmans  of  the 
north,  because  these  wanted  to  marry  the  girls  of  his  caste,  and 
took  service  under  the  Vijayanagar  kings.  Like  the  founders  of 
other  zamindaris  in  this  district,  he  afterwards  accompanied  Vis- 
vanatha  on  his  expedition  against  Madura  and  for  his  services  was 
granted  an  estate.  Plis  son  did  much  for  the  temple  on  Aivarmalai 
above  mentioned^  clearing  the  way  up  to  it,  establishing  a  water- 
pandal  for  the  refreshment  of  pilgrims  and  granting  the  inam 
(still  in  existence)  for  the  upkeep  of  the  worship  in  it.  His 
successors  built  Old  Eettayambadi  and  New  Hettayambadi  (to 
the  south  of  Pappanpatti),  both  of  which  have  now  disappeared. 
The  later  history  of  the  estate  has  [already  been  referred  to  on 
p.  183.  It  was  in  some  way  dependent  upon  the  Palni  palaiyam 
and  in  1795  it  was  paying  an  annual  tribute  to  the  poligar 
thereof.     When  Palni  was  forfeited  for  rebellion  in  1796,  it  was 

^  Wilson's  History  of  the  Madras  Army,  ii,  249. 
^  No.  17-5-52. 


QAZETTEEH.  309 

accordingly  placed  under  ilie  nianageniont   ot'  tlie  Collector.     Ten    cilAT.  X' 
years  later  it  escheated  for  failure   of  heirs   (other  accounts  say        Palni. 
it  was  resumed  for  arrears)  and  was  sold.     It  was  hought  by  the 
then   poligar  of  Ayakkudi  and  still   belong's  to   his  descendants. 
But,   like   the  rest  of  his  property,  it  has  now  been  leased  to  the 
Ohettis.     A  permanent  sanad  for  it  was  granted  in  1873. 

V61lir  :  A  village  of  4,224  inhabitants  lying  about  ten  miles 
east  of  Palni,  which  gives  its  name  to  a  small  zamindari  which 
was  granted  a  permanent  sanad  in  November  1871  but,  since  it 
was  not  in  existence  prior  to  the  passing  of  Regulation  XXY  of 
1802,  has  not  been  scheduled  as  impartible  and  inalienable  in  the 
Madras  Impartible  Estates  Act,  1904.  The  present  owner  of  the 
estate,  whose  name  is  Pcrumal  Nayakkan,  lives  in  Sattirapatti  (a 
hamlet  of  Velur  which  contains  a  sub-registrar's  office,  a  chattram 
and  a  bungalow  belonging  to  the  zamindar  in  which  travellers 
are  permitted  to  halt)  and  is  commonly  known  in  consequence  as 
'  the  Sattirapatti  zamindar.'  The  history  of  the  property  lias 
already  been  referred  to  on  pp.  195-6.  In  1806  it  was  sold 
for  arrears  and  was  bought  by  tlie  ancestor  of  the  present 
holder. 

Virupakshi  :  Lies  13  miles  east  ot  Palni  on  tlie  bank  of 
the  Nangdnji  ;  population  1,911.  It  possesses  the  biggest 
weekly  market  in  the  district,  people  from  the  adjoining  Lower 
Palnis  flocking  to  it  in  large  numbers  and  exchanging  the  produce 
of  their  villages  for  the  necessaries  whicli  the  hill  country  does 
not  provide.  Adjoining  the  market  is  the  Forest  rest-house,  and 
in  front  of  this  stands  a  shrine  to  Karuppan  which  is  equipped 
with  even  more  than  the  usual  number  of  pottery  horses,  etc.,  and 
of  wooden  swings.  Close  by,  a  road  two  miles  long  leads  to  the  foot 
of  the  Palnis  and  from  the  end  of  this  a  much-used  path  runs  up 
the  slopes  to  Pachalur  and  other  hill  villages.  Another  path 
branches  oft'  to  tlie  two  falls  of  the  Nauganji  [Kil  tahkuttu  and 
Mel  tahkuttu,  as  they  arc  called)  the  upper  of  which  is  so  promi- 
nent from  the  main  road  to  Palni.  They  are  worth  seeing.  The 
lower  one  is  only  some  30  feet  high,  but  the  force  of  the  water 
flowing  over  it  is  strikingly  indicated  by  the  big  pot-holes  on  its 
brow  and  the  deep  pool  below.  Eound  about  it  are  several  little 
ruined  temples  to  the  seveu  Kannimdr  (virgin  goddesses)  and 
other  deities,  which  are  almost  overgrown,  now,  with  jungle. 
Above  it,  the  river  is  turned  into  a  channel  ingeniously  carried, 
by  blasting  and  walling,  along  the  steep  side  of  the  hill  and 
thence  to  the  Perumalkulam.  Alongside  this  cliaunel  runs  the 
path  to  the   higher  fall.     This  is  a  wild  spot.     The   river  winds 


310  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.  down  a  deep  wooded  cleft  in  the  great  hills  and  at  length  tumbles 
Palni.  over  a  sheer  cliff  of  solid  rock  150  feet  high  into  a  very  deep 
rock  pool.  The  cliff  consists  of  a  black  stone  which  is  oddly 
marbled  with  white  streaks,  has  been  curiously  chiselled  in  several 
places  by  the  great  force  of  the  water,  and  the  clefts  in  which  are 
tenanted-  by  many  wild  bees  and  blue  pigeons.  Beneath  it,  are 
more  rocks,  marbled  in  several  colours  and  worn  to  a  glassy 
smoothness  by  the  river.  Even  when  little  water  is  passing  over 
it,  this  fall  is  worth  a  visit  and  when  the  Nanganji  is  in  flood  the 
scene  must  be  most  impressive.  As  the  only  good  path  leads  up 
the  bed  of  the  river,  it  would  not  then  however,  be  an  easy  place 
to  approach. 

Virupakshi  was  once  the  chief  village  of  one  of  the  26  palaiyams 
which  made  up  the  Dindigul  province  when  it  came  into  the 
possession  of  the  Company  in  1790.  The  ruins  of  the  '  palace  '  of 
the  old  poligars  may  still  be  seen  to  the  east  of  the  road  already 
mentioned  which  runs  to  the  foot  of  the  hills.  Captain  Ward's 
Survey  Account  and  one  of  the  Mackenzie  MSS.^  give  the  early 
history  of  their  family.  The  founder  of  it  was  one  of  the  Tottiyans 
who  fled  to  Vijayauagar  in  the  circumstances  already  narrated  on 
p.  106  above,  came  to  Madura  with  Visvanatha's  expedition,  and 
was  granted  an  estate  for  his  services.  A  later  head  of  the  family 
assisted  Tirumala  Nayakkan  of  Madura  against  the  Musalmans 
and  was  granted  the  following  assortment  of  rewards,  which 
compares  oddly  with  the  unsubstantial  honours  accorded  to 
present-day  warriors  :  '  An  ornament  for  the  turban  ;  a  single- 
leaved  golden  torie  or  diadem  ;  a  necklace  worn  by  warriors  ; 
a  golden  bangle  for  the  right  leg  ;  a  chain  of  gold  ;  a  toe-ring  of 
gold  ;  a  palanquin  with  a  lion's  face  in  front  ;  an  elephant  with 
a  howdah  or  castle  ;  a  camel  with  a  pair  of  naggars  of  metal ;  a 
horse  with  all  its  caparisons ;  a  day  torch  ;  a  white  ensign  ;  a 
white  umbrella  ;  an  ensign  with  the  representation  of  a  boar ;  a 
green  parasol  ;  white  handkerchiefs  to  be  waved  ;  white  fleecy 
flapping  sticks/ 

Another  of  the  line  had  a  vision  telling  him  that  the  pool 
below  the  Kil  talakuitu  was  a  favourite  bathing-place  of  the 
seven  Kannimar,  and  so  he  bailt  the  shi'ine  to  them  there. 
He  also  made  the  Perumalkulam^  and  doubtless  the  ingenious 
channel  to  it  already  mentioned.  His  descendants  founded 
Pachalur  and  other  villages  on  the  hills  and  effected  many  similar 
improvements. 

^  Local  Records,  vol.  42,  495,  and  Wilson,  417. 


GAZETTEER.  311 

[n  1755  Haidar  attacked  the  place  because  the  poligar  was  CHAP.  XV. 
in  arrears  with  his  tribute,  and  imposed  a  fine  of  75,000  chak-  Palni. 
rams  upon  it.  The  later  liistorj  of  the  estate  has  already  been 
referred  to  on  pp.  70  and  183.  Narrated  in  detail,  it  would 
be  found  to  consist  chiefly  of  resistance  to  the  authorities  and 
quarrels  with  the  neighbouring  palaiyams.  After  the  Company 
obtained  the  country  the  poligar,  Kuppala  Nayakkan,  grew 
particularly  contumacious.  In  1795  he  claimed  possession  of 
Kannivadi,  the  owner  of  which  had  just  then  died,  and  rejected 
the  Collector's  customary  presents  and  barred  his  march  into  this 
part  of  the  country.  The  next  year  he  annexed  22  villages  to  which 
he  had  no  right.  With  the  weakness  which  characterised  its  deal- 
ings with  the  poligars  in  those  days.  Government  not  only  did  not 
punish  him  for  this,  but  actually  said  he  might  keep  the  mesne 
profits  up  to  the  date  when  he  (at  last)  handed  them  back.  This 
leniency  did  not  cause  him  to  mend  his  ways  and  in  1801  Colonel 
Innes,  who  then  commanded  at  Dindigul,  had  to  march  against 
him  in  force.^  On  the  21st  March  Virupakshi  and  two  adjoining 
strongholds  were  taken  without  loss  and  the  poligar  fled.  On 
the  27th  his  horses,  baggage  and  elephants  were  seized  at  Vada- 
kadu  (on  the  hills  to  tlie  east  of  Virupakshi)  and  on  the  4th 
May  he  himself  was  captured.  Ward's  Survey  Account  says 
that  he  and  his  accomplices  were  hanged  on  a  low  hill  near  Deva- 
danapatti  (7  miles  east  of  Periyakulam)  on  gibbets  the  remains  of 
which  were  still  visible  at  the  time  when  he  wrote  (1821).  The 
Mackenzie  MSS.  say  the  hanging  took  place  in  Virupakshi 
and  that  22  members  of  the  family  were  confined  on  the 
Dindigul  rock.  The  palaiyam  was  forfeited.  Some  descendants 
of  the  poligar  still  draw  an  allowance  from  Grovernment. 

'   History  of  Madras  Army,  Hi,  30-2. 


312  MADURA. 


PERIYAKULAM  TALUK. 


KULAM. 


CHAP,  XV.  This  was  once  called  tlie  Tenkarai  taluk.  It  is  the  "biggest  in 
Periya-  Madura,  Lut  much  of  it  consists  of  hill  and  forest  and  more  than 
half  (a  higher  proportion  than  in  any  other  taluk)  is  made  up  of 
zamindaris.  It  lies  in  the  south-western  corner  of  the  district  and 
its  limits  correspond  with  those  of  the  beautiful  Kambam  and 
Varushanad  valleys  referred  to  on  page  6  above.  A  long,  narrow 
strip  of  country,  running  north-east  and  south-west,  is  completely 
shut  in  by  the  Pahiis  and  the  Travancore  hills  on  the  north  and 
west,  and  by  the  Varuslianad  and  Andipatti  range  on  the  east. 
Down  the  centre  of  this  run  the  Suruli  and  the  Vaigai,  and  the 
Periyar  water  which  now  flows  into  the  former  of  these  has 
conferred  great  prosperity  upon  the  southern  part  of  the  taluk, 
much  fresh  land  being  brought  under  wet  cultivation  and  two  crops 
being  grown  on  existing  rice-land  where  only  one  was  forjnerly 
possible.  Over  two-fifths  of  Periyakulam  (a  higher  proportion 
than  in  any  other  taluk  except  Tirumangalam)  is  covered  with 
black  soil,  but  the  land  rises  rapidly  away  from  the  rivers  in  the 
centre  of  the  taluk  and  these  higher  portions  consist  of  red  land 
which  can  only  be  irrigated  from  wells.  Some  of  this  (that  round 
about  Andipatti,  for  example)  is  dotted  with  boulder-strewn 
granite  hills  rising  out  of  wide  expanses  of  dry  crops,  and  bears 
the  most  striking  resemblance  to  parts  of  the  Mysore  plateau.  At 
present  cholam  occupies  a  larger  area  than  paddy,  and  over  a  fifth 
of  the  assessed  land  (a  higher  percentage  than  in  any  other  taluk) 
is  unoccupied.  The  density  of  the  population  is  also  lower  than 
anywhere  else,  but  this  is  largely  due  to  the  existence  within  the 
taluk  of  so  much  hill  and  forest,  and  the  proportional  increase  in 
the  number  of  the  inhabitants  both  in  the  decade  1891-1901  and 
in  the  thirty  years  ending  with  1901  was  higher  than  in  any  other 
part  of  the  district.  The  recent  opening  out  of  the  neighbouring 
"^Cravancore  hills  to  the  cultivation  of  tea,  coffee  and  cardamoms 
has  doubtless  had  much  to  do  with  this  growth,  as  the  estates 
export  their  produce  through  this  taluk  and  draw  most  of  their 
labour  and  supplies  from  it. 

Statistics  regarding  Periyakulam  aj)pear  in  the  separate 
Appendix  to  this  book.  The  more  interesting  places  in  it  are  the 
following  .•  — 


KUUAM. 


GAZBTTEEE.  315 

Allinagaram  :  Eight  miles  south-west  of  Periyakulam  on  CHAP.  XV. 
the  road  to  Uttamapalaiyam ;  population  6,430.  Less  than  two  Pkrita- 
miles  south  of  it  the  Teniyar  and  Suruli  meet,  and,  after  flowing 
together  another  two  miles,  join  the  Vaigai.  ALout  a  mile  south 
of  the  village,  at  the  junction  of  the  main  road  with  the  lesser  lines 
leading  to  Bodinayakkaiiiir  and  Usilampatti,  is  the  rapidly  rising 
village  of  Teni,  which  ten  years  ago  consisted  of  little  besides  the 
chattram  originated  by  the  Tevaram  zamindar  which  is  still  its 
principal  building,  but  now  possesses  the  biggest  weekly  market 
in  all  the  taluk. 

Andipatti  :  Ten  miles  in  a  direct  line  south-east  from  Periya- 
kulam on  the  road  from  Teni  to  Usilampatti ;  population  7,899  ; 
contains  a  chattram,  a  dispensary  and  a  Siva  temple  of  some 
celebrity  in  which  are  inscriptions.  It  has  given  its  name  to  the 
range  of  hills  to  the  east  of  it,  but  otherwise  is  not  interesting. 
The  land  on  all  sides  of  it  is  under  dry  cultivation,  a  paddy-field 
being  a  rarity. 

Anumandanpatti :  Two  miles  south-west  of  Uttamap£aiyam, 
on  the  road  to  the  Periyar ;  population  2,692.  About  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  south-east  of  tlio  village  and  east  of  the  read,  in  the 
middle  of  a  small  grove,  stands  a  sculptured  stone  slab  which  is 
called  annamdrhal,  or  'the  brothers'  stone.'  It  is  between  three 
and  four  feet  high  and  bears  a  representation  of  two  armed  men. 
Facing  it  is  a  second  stone  on  which  are  a  few  Tamil  letters, 
almost  obliterated.  The  villagers  say  that  the  brothers  were  two 
Maravans.  They  found  out  that  their  sister  was  carrying  on  an 
intrigue  with  a  man  of  another  caste,  lay  in  wait  for  her  as  she 
was  coming  back  from  visiting  him,  and  slew  first  her  and  then 
themselves.  The  stone  facing  the  sculptured  slab  is  supposed  to 
represent  the  sister.  The  stones  are  now  regularly  worshipped 
and  on  the  trees  around  tliem  are  hung  bundles  of  paddy  placed 
there  by  grateful  ryots  as  a  thanksgiving  for  good  harvests. 

Bodinayakkanur :  Lies  fifteen  miles  in  a  straight  line 
south-west  of  Periyakulam  at  the  mouth  of  a  deep  valley  between 
the  Palnis  and  the  Travancore  Jlills  clown  which  flows  ihe  almost 
perennial  Teniyar.  It  is  a  union  of  22,209  inhabitants  and  the 
head-quarters  of  a  sub-registrar  (who  is  also  a  magistrate  under  the 
Towns  Nuisances  Act)  and  of  the  zamindari  of  the  same  name. 
The  town  is  a  rapidly-growing  place,  the  population  having 
increased  by  20  per  cent,  in  the  decade  1891-1901  and  by  69  per 
cent,  in  the  thirty  years  following  1871.  This  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  through  it  passes  the  track  which  goes  north-westwards  up 
the  narrow  valley  of   Kottakudi  to  the  foot  of  the  Travancore 

40 


314 


MADURA. 


CHAP.  XV.    hills  and  to  tlie  bottom  of  the  wire  ropeway  wliicli  has  been  erected 
Perita-       ]^y  f,he  important  company  which  has  opened  out  so  much  land 

'^^'       for  tea,  coffee,  and  cardamoms  on  the  Kannan  Devan  hills  in 

Travancore.  All  the  produce  of  these  estates  passes  down  the 
ropeway  and  through  Bodinayakkaniir  to  the  railway  at  Amma- 
yanuyakkanur,  and  nearly  all  the  grain  and  other  necessaries 
required  for  the  numerous  labourers  and  staif  on  the  properties 
goes  up  to  the  hills  by  the  same  route.  A  proposal  to  constitute 
the  town  a  municipality  has  been  negatived,  see  p.  221. 

"^1  he  B6dinayalckan6r  estate  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  in  all 
the  district.  According  to  the  traditions  of  the  family,  its  original 
founder,  a  Tottiyan  named  Chakku  Nayakkan,  emigrated  to  this 
part  of  the  world  from  Gooty  in  Anantapur  district  early  in  the 
fourteenth  century,  to  avoid  the  Musalmans  of  the  Deccan  who 
were  then  passing  soutliwards.  A  long  list  of  his  many  successors 
is  stiU  preserved.  He  is  reputed  to  have  first  come  to  the  notice 
of  the  powers  in  this  country  by  slaying  a  ferocious  wild  boar  for 
the  destruction  of  which  the  Raja  of  Travancore,  who  then  ruled 
in  these  parts,  had  long  in  vain  offered  a  large  reward.  He  over- 
came it  in  single  combat  and  brought  it  half  alive  and  half  dead 
to  the  Kaja,  who  was  so  delighted  with  his  prowess  that  he  gave 
him  many  presents  and  marks  of  honour,  and  conferred  this  estate 
upon  him  on  condition  that  100  pons  should  be  paid  each  time  the 
succession  devolved  on  a  new  heir.  This  sign  of  vassalage  has 
survived  down  to  modern  times,  and  whenever  a  new  zamindar  of 
Bodinayakkanur  succeeds,  he  sends  a  present  of  money  to  the 
Maharaja  of  Travancore  and  receives  in  return  a  gold  bangle  and 
other  gifts.  On.  the  last  of  these  occasions  (in  1879)  an  elephant 
was  added  to  these. 

Chila  Bodi  Nayakkan,  who  is  said  to  have  come  into  the 
property  in  1487,  similarly  attained  fame  by  his  personal  strength 
and  bravery.  He  overcame  one  Malla  Khan,  an  athlete  who  was 
champion  of  all  the  Vijayauagar  territory,  and  the  then  king 
conferred  many  fresh  honowrs  upon  him  and  directed  that  his 
estate  should  be  known  thenceforth  as  Bodinayakkanur.  After 
Visvanatha  (p.  41)  had  conquered  the  Madura  country,  the  then 
poligar,  Bangaru  Muttu,  was  appointed  to  the  charge  of  one  of  the 
bastions  of  the  new  foi-t  at  its  capital.  He  was  of  a  devout  dispo- 
sition and  did  much  for  the  Siva  temple  at  Periyakulam,  building, 
among  other  additions,  the  porch  which  is  still  called  the  Bodina- 
yakkanur mantapam.  Another  of  the  line  who  is  still  remembered 
is  the  Eaju  Nayakkan  who  succeeded  in  1642.  A  representation  of 
him  is  sculptured  iu  the  local  Subrahmanya  temple  and  his  portrait 


GAZETTEER. 


315 


appears  ia  tlie  eutranco  liall  of  tlie  zamindar's  palace.  He  was  so 
devout  that  wlien  a  lilind  girl  went  to  tlie  goddess  Minakslii  at 
Madura  aud  prayed  to  have  lier  vision  restored,  that  deitj  gave  her 
back  the  sight  of  one  eye  and  told  her  to  go  to  Eaju  Nayakkan 
to  get  the  other  cured.  The  poligar's  faith  was  such  that  he  was 
able  to  work  this  miracle,  and  he  was  ever  afterwards  known  as 
Kan-kodutta  Raju,  or  '  Raju  the  eye-restorer.' 

These  ancient  fables  are  merely  a  specimen   of  more  which 
might  be  added  to  show  the  antiquity  of  the  family  and  the  esti- 
mation in  which  it  once  was  held.     Its  subsequent  doings  have 
sometimes  been  less  exemplary.     After  the  Dindigul  country  fell 
into  the  power  of  Mysore,  the  then  poligar  refused  to  pay  tribute 
and  in  17o5  he  was  attacked  by  Haidar  Ali  and  forced  to  flee. 
His  estate  was  confiscated.     Its  later  history  up  to  the  acquisition 
of  the  Dindigul  country  by  the  Company  in  1790,  when  it  formed 
one  of  the  26  Dindigul  palaiyams,  has  already  been  referred  to 
on  p.  183.     In  179')  the  then  poligar,  Tirumala  Bodi  Nayakkan, 
aided  by  his  neighbour  of  Yadakarai,  resisted   the    Collector's 
march    through   this    part   of    the    district   and   fired  upon  his 
peons.     He    was  reported  to  have    armed  over  600  men.     He 
subsequently  repented  and  was  restored  to  favour  and  in  1807 
we  find  his  son  helping  Eous  Peter  (see  p.  259)  in  his  elejihant- 
shooting  expeditions  and  being  presented  in  return  with  a  gold 
jewel  and  an  elephant-calf.     Thereafter  the  estate  remained  for 
many  years  one  of  the  '  unsettled  palaiyams  '  referred  to  on  p.  19-J. 
In  the  fifties  of  the  last  century  the  then  poligar,  Bangaru  Tiru- 
mala  Bodi,   built   the   existing   most    effective  anient  across  the 
Teniyar,  and  he  also  made  the  tank  which  bears  his  name  and  the 
zamindars'  present  palace.     He  died  in  October  1862,  lea^dng  an 
infant  son  Kamarnja  Pandya,  and  the  estate  was  under  the  Court 
of  Wards  until  the  boy  attained  his  majority  in  October  1879. 
He  was  granted  a  permanent  sanad  for  his  property  in  1880.     He 
is  remembered  for  the  great  graft  mango  topes  he  planted  along 
the  banks  of  the  Teniyar.     After  his  death  in  1888  his  widow 
Kamulu  Ammal,  the  present  zamindarni,  succeeded. 

In  1889  Kandasdmi  Nayakkan,  her  husband's  cousin,  filed  a 
suit  claiming  the  zamindari.  In  consideration  of  his  relinquish- 
ment of  his  pretensions,  the  village  of  Bhutipuram  was  granted 
him,  and  this  was  separately  registered  and  assessed  in  1897.  In 
1896,  in  somewhat  similar  circumstances,  the  village  of  Domba- 
cheri  was  ordered  by  the  courts  to  be  separately  registered  and 
assessed.  Other  litigation  as  to  the  possession  of  the  zamindari 
is   still  proceeding.     Until  a  few  years  ago  the]  property  was 


CHAP.  XV. 
Pekita- 

KDLAM. 


316  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.    mortgaged  witli  possession  to   Mr.  .Robert  Fisclier  of   Madura, 
but  it  has  now  been  redeemed.     In  1900  the  zaraindarni  gave  the 

IDLAM.  ° 

town  its  present  liospital. 

Chinnamantir  :  Twentj-two  miles  south-west  from  Perlja- 
kulam  along  the  road  to  Uttamapalaijaui ;  a  prosperous  union  of 
10,270  inhabitants.  It  is  said  to  get  its  name  from  a  Cliinnama 
Najak,  who  flourished  in  the  time  of  Queen  Mangammal  of 
Madura  and  founded  the  place  and  brouglit  Bi-ahmans  to  it. 
Brahmans  are  still  prominent  among  its  inhabitants.  So  are 
Musalmans,  and  tliey  have  a  fine  new  mosque.  Much  land  to  the 
west  of  the  village  is  grown  with  paddy  irrigated  from  a  channel 
from  the  Suruli  river.  Half  a  mile  to  the  north-west,  among  some 
more  rice-fields  and  surrounded  by  a  grove,  is  the  Eajasimhesvara 
teniple,  in  which  there  are  several  inscriptions  as  jet  undeciphered 
and  the  car  festival  at  wliich  is  largely  attended.  It  is  said  to 
have  been  founded  by  a  Pandya  king  named  Eajasimha,  who 
fled  hither  to  escape  a  Musalman  invasion  of  his  territories. 

D^Vadanapatti  :  Seven  miles  east-north-east  of  Periya- 
kulam,  on  the  road  to  Ammayanayakkanur ;  population  6,310; 
travellers'  bungalow.  It  lies  close  under  the  Murugumalai  spur 
of  the  Palnis  and  from  it  runs  the  easiest  path  to  the  fine  fall  of 
the  Manjalar  on  that  range.  The  place  is  widely  known  for  its 
temple  to  Kamakshi  Amman,  the  peculiarity  about  which  is  that 
its  shrine,  which  must  never  be  roofed  with  anything  but  thatch, 
is  always  kept  closed,  the  worship  being  done  in  front  of  its 
great  doors.  The  pujari  (a  Tottiyan  by  caste,  who  possesses  a 
copper  record  purporting  to  be  a  grant  to  the  temple  by  Tirumala 
Nayakkan)  is  declared  to  have  a  vision  telling  him  when  the  roof 
needs  repairs  and  he  then  fasts,  enters  the  shrine  blindfolded 
and  does  what  is  necessary. 

Devadanapatti  was  once  the  chief  village  of  one  of  the  twenty- 
six  palaiyams  of  Dindigul  the  history  of  which,  up  to  the  acquisition 
of  the  province  by  the  Company  in  1790,  has  already  been  referred 
to  on  p.  183.  It  was  ownerless  for  many  years,  was  claimed 
by  the  poligar  of  Sandaiyiir  in  1795  and  escheated  to  Govern- 
ment soon  after  for  want  of  heirs.  The  remains  of  the  poligar's 
old  fort  may  still  be  traced  about  a  mile  to  the  north  of  the 
village  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Manjalar. 

Erasakkanayakkanur :  Four  miles  east  of  Uttamapalaiyam, 

on  no  main  road  ;  population  7,079.     Chief  village  of  the  zamindari 

of  the  same  name,  which  includes  a  considerable  area  at  the  foot 

f  the  slopes  of  the  High  Wavy  Mountain.     The  correspondence 


Gazetteer. 


3lt 


regarding  the  bonndary  dispute  connected  with  part  of  this  will  be    CHAP.  XY. 
found  in  Gr.O.,  No.  1287,  Kevenue,  dated  20th  November  1882,       Periya- 
and    the    previous    papers.     The    zamindari   was    one    of   the   26        kolam. 
palaiyams  of  Dindigul  the  history  of  which  has  been  alluded  to  on 
pp.  70   and  18-S.     After  tlie  Company   acquii'ed  that  province  it 
was  foy  many  years  one  of  tlie  '  unsettled  palaiyams, '  see  p.  194. 
Between  1858   and   1863  it  was  under  the  management  of  the 
Court  of  Wards.     The  present   proprietor  is  the  widow  of  the  last 
holder  and  is  named  Akkalu  Ammnl. 

Gantamanayakkanur :  A  zamindari  which  includes  the 
south-east  corner  of  the  taluk  and  the  beautiful  Taruslianad  valley. 
It  was  one  of  the  26  palaiyams  of  Dindigul,  and  after  the  country 
was  acquired  by  the  Company  continued  for  many  years  as  one 
of  the  '  unsettled  palaiyams.'  Hardly  anything  seems  to  be 
on  record  about  its  early  history,  but  a  fragment  among  the 
Mackenzie  MSS.  states  that  its  founder  came  from  the  Deccan  and 
was  placed  in  charge  of  one  of  the  bastions  of  Madura  by 
Visvanatha  Niiyakkan. 

So  mucli  of  it  consists  of  unprofitable  JriLls  that  it  has  never 
been  in  a  particularly  flourishing  condition.  In  1795  the  Collector 
reported  that  it  was  '  in  very  bad  order ' ;  Ward's  Survey  Account 
of  1821  notes  that  several  of  the  villages  lying  near  the  hills 
(Rajadani  and  Teppampatti  for  example)  showed  signs  of  having 
once  been  better  off,  and  mentions  the  constant  ravages  of  the 
elephants  in  parts  of  the  estate:  in  1862  the  Collector  said  that 
the  poverty  of  the  soil,  the  unhealthiness  of  the  country  and  the 
incapacity  of  the  proprietor  had  resulted  in  the  ryots  being  heavily 
in  arrear  with  their  assessments  and  at  open  enmity  with  their 
landlord;  and  finally  in  April  1896  fifteen  of  the  twenty-one 
villages  of  tlie  estate  (the  pcslikash  on  which  was  Rs.  10,663  out 
of  a  total  of  Rs.  13,415)  were  sold  in  execution  of  a  decree 
obtained  by  the  Commercial  Bank  of  India  and  were  purchased 
by  the  Court  of  Wards  on  behalf  of  the  minor  zamindar  of 
Ettaiyapuram  in  Tinnevelly.  In  1897  these  were  separately  regis- 
tered and  assessed  under  the  name  of  the  Vallanadi  sub-division  of 
the  estate.  Vallanadi  (otherwise  called  Gantamandyakkanur)  was 
the  capital  of  the  property,  and  the  zamindar  has  accordingly 
removed  his  residence  to  Teppampatti.  Ward's  Survey  Account 
says  that  in  the  hills  east  of  this  village  in  a  narrow  vaDey  is  a 
stream  called  Mavuttu  {'  the  mango  spring '),  which  flows  down 
from  a  ruined  temple  over  a  fall  about  100  feet  high,  and  has  the 
property  of  '  petrifying '  articles  placed  in  it.  The  liead  waters 
f  the  Suruli  are  stated  to  possess  a  similar  power. 


318 


MADUEA. 


CHAP.  XV. 
Periya- 


The  Varustianad  ( '  rain  country ')  valley  is  so  called  from  tlie  old 
village  of  that  name  wliicla  stands  almost  in  tlie  middle  of  it,  buried 
in  the  jungle,  on  the  right  bank  of  a  fine  bend  in  the  Vaigai  river 
there.  In  1 821  there  were  still  some  30  families  living  in  this  place, 
but  it  is  now  practically  deserted  except  that  a  Ravutan  who  is  the 
renter  of  the  forest  produce  of  the  valley  lives  there  with  his  coolies 
for  part  of  the  year.  Local  tradition  declares  this  desolation  to  be 
the  result  of  a  curse  pronounced  by  a  shepherd  who  was  cruelly 
ill-treated  by  a  former  zamindar,  but  the  malariousness  of  the 
place  is  sufficient  to  account  for  it.  The  ruins  of  old  Yarushanad 
include  the  remains  of  a  temple,  a  stone-faced  tank,  a  stone  oil-mill, 
a  stone  trough  ten  feet  long  and  several  curious  stone  pillars 
(mdlai)  similar  to  that  referred  to  in  the  account  of  M argaiyankottai 
below,  and  also  several  neglected  tanks  and  a  breached  anient. 
North  and  north-east  of  them,  similarly  overrun  with  jungle,  lie 
the  ruins  of  Narasingapuram,  another  deserted  village,  and  its 
mouldering  fort. 

Gudalur :  A  union  of  10,202  inhabitants,  lying  about  S8  miles 

south-south-west  of  Periyakulam  and  five  from  the  head  of  the 

Kambam  valley.     East  of  it  is  a  Forest  rest-house.     Many  of  its 

people  belong  to  the  Canarese-speaking  caste  of  Kappiliyans.     In 

former  days,  it  is   said,  the  town  was  much  larger  than  it  is  now, 

and  foundations  of  ruined  houses  are  often  dug  into  in  its  outskirts. 

Ward's  Survey  Account  of  1821   says   that  the  village  was  then 

'  almost  in  ruins  '  and  contained  only  30  families.     This   place  and 

Xambam  (see    below)  were   of  old  respectively  the   chief  villages 

of  two  estates   which  were  included  in  the   2fi   palaiyams  of  the 

Dindigul  province.     When   Haidar   Ali   of   Mysore    marched  in 

1755  to  reduce  the  refractory    Dindigul    poligars   to   order,   the 

owners  of  these  two  properties  came  to  his  camp  and  agreed  to 

pay  their  arrears.     Both  of  them  broke  their  promises  and  fled ; 

and  their  palaiyams  were  consequently  confiscated  and  ever  after 

remained  part  of  the  Sirkar  land.     When  the  Company  acquired 

the  Dindigul  country  in  1790,  the  Ea  ja  of  Travancore   declared 

(see  p.  184)  that  both  estates  belonged  to  him,  and  a  great  deal 

of  correspondence  and  trouble  occurred  before  he  at  last  handed 

them  over.     It  appears  that  the  ancestors  of  the  present  chief  of 

Piiniyar  in  Travancore  held  the  Gudalur  palaiyam,  and  the  Alagar 

temple  in  the  town  is  said  to  have  been  built  by  them.     When, 

last  year,  it  was  re-opened   after  the  completion  of  the  recent 

extensive    repairs  to  it,  the    present  chief   came   down   for  the 

kunibhdbh ishekam  ceremony. 

Kambam:  A  union  of  12,737  inhabitants  six  miles  south- 
south-west   of   Uttamapalaiyam    on  the    road    to    the    Periyar ; 


QAZETTEEE.  319 

travellers'    bungalow.     A    large    proportion   of   its  people   are    CHAP,  xv. 
Canarese-speaking  Kappiliyans.     Local  tradition  says  that  the       Peuiya- 
Anuppans,   another  Canarese  caste,  were  in  great  strength  here        ^ulam. 
in  olden  dajs,  and  that  quarrels  arose  between  the  two  bodies 
in  the  course  of  which  the  chief  of  the   Kappiliyans,   Eamachcha 
Kavundan,  was   killed.     With  his  dying  breath  he  cursed  the 
Anuppans  and  thenceforth  they   never  prospered  and  now  not 
one  of  them  is   left  in   the  town.     A  fig   tree  to  the   east  of  the 
village  is  shown  as  marking  the  place  where  Eamachcha's  body 
was  burned ;  near  it   is    his  tank,    the    Eamachchankulam ;  and 
under  the  bank  of  this  is  his  math  where  his  ashes  were  deposited. 
Not  far  off  is  the  new   cattle  shed   which  the   Kappiliyans   have 
built  for  the  breeding-herd  already  referred  to  on  p.  20  above. 

The  early  history  of  Kambam  is  similar  to  that  of  Gudalur 
already  sketched  above.  The  Puniyar  chief  is  said  to  have  built 
the  two  dilapidated  temples  which  stand  in  the  ruined  fort  to 
the  east  of  the  town  and  are  now  being  repaired.  One  of  these 
was  originally  founded,  goes  the  story,  because  a  goddess 
appeared  there  to  a  wandering  bangle-seller.  She  asked  him  to 
sell  her  a  pair  of  bangles  and  he,  taking  her  for  an  ordinary 
mortal,  slipped  two  on  her  wrists.  To  his  amazement  she  then 
held  out  her  other  two  arms  and  asked  for  a  second  pair  for  them, 
and  he  then  realized  who  his  customer  really  was. 

At  the  northern  end  of  the  place,  west  of  the  main  road,  are 
two  stones  beariug  representations  of  armed  men.  They  are 
apparently  memorials  to  departed  heroes,  similar  to  the  lirakals 
so  common  in  the  Deccan.  One  of  them  has  been  surrounded 
with  a  brick  building  and  a  visit  to  it  is  said  to  be  a  good  remedy 
for  malaria.  Close  by  are  two  kistvaens.  In  the  fields,  stands 
a  group  of  five  little  shrines  which  are  said  to  mark  places  where 
satis  were  committed. 

Kombai :  Four  miles  north-west  of  Uttamapalaiyam,  close 
under  the  great  wall  of  the  Travancore  hills  which  here  shuts  in 
that  side  of  the  Kambam  valley;  population  G,211.  The  well- 
known  Kombai  (or  '  poligar ')  dogs  came  originally  from  here  and 
can  still  with  some  difficulty  be  obtained.  No  one  takes  much 
interest  in  breedinfjc  them  now,  but  old  papers  say  that  in  days 
gone  by  the  poligars  of  this  part  of  the  country  valued  a  good 
dog  so  highly  that  they  would  even  exchange  a  horse  for  one. 
On  the  small  hill  south  of  the  village  which  is  crowned  by  a 
conspicuous  banyan  stands  a  little  shrine  near  an  immense 
overhanging  rock, 


320  MADUEA. 

CHAP.  XV.  The   village  gave  its  name  to  an  estate  wliicli  was  one  of  tlie 

Periya-  26  palaiyams  of  Dindigul  referred  to  on  pp.  70  and  183  above. 
KULA.M.  j^g  earlj  history  is  unknoven.  Unlike  the  majority  of  their 
confreres  in  this  district,  who  are  Telugu  Tottiyans  by  caste,  its 
poligars  were  Canarese  Kappiliyans,  and  there  is  a  vague  tradition 
that  they  came  from  the  Mysore  country  via  Conjeeveram.  There 
are  many  members  of  their  caste  in  the  neighbourhood  still.  After 
the  Company  acquired  the  Dindigul  province  the  then  poligar, 
Appaji  Kavundan,  became  troublesome,  and  in  May  1795  he 
was  stirring  up  disturbances  in  this  Kambam  valley.  Eventually 
the  estate  was  resumed  and  an  allowance  was  granted  to 
the  dispossessed  proprietor.  A  descendant  of  his  still  draws  a 
pension. 

Margaiyankottai :'  Four  miles  north-north-east  of  Uttama- 
palaiyam ;  population  2,929.  East  of  it,  under  a  small  brick 
mantapam,  is  perhaps  the  best  executed  of  the  many  '  nidlrxi  stones  ' 
which  are  common  in  these  parts  and  are  memorials  of  the  dead 
erected  by  the  T6ttiyans.  Mdlai  means  '  garland ',  and  the  name 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  floral  tributes  are  (or  should  be)  periodically 
placed  upon  such  stones.  Most  of  them  are  slabs  with  carving 
«  on  only  one  side,  but  this  one  is   square,  and  each  of  its  four 

sides  bears  three  sculptured  panels  one  above  the  other. 

Eound  these  mdlai  slabs  is  a  sort  of  Tottiyan  mausoleum,  a 
plain  slab  being  erected  whenever  a  member  of  the  family  dies. 
In  a  small  grove  in  Uttappanayakkanur  in  Tirumangalam  taluk 
is  one  used  only  by  the  Tottiyan  zamindars,  in  which  are  placed 
the  memorial  slabs  of  the  zamindars  of  that  village  and  also  of 
Doddappanayakkanur,  Jotilnayakkanur  and  Elumalai. 

Near  the  Margaiyankottai  mdlai  stone  is  a  sati  stone  of  the 
pattern  usual  in  this  district,  representing  the  husband  and 
the  devoted  wife  seated  side  by  side,  each  with  one  leg  tucked 
under  them  and  the  other  hanging  down. 

Periyakulam  :  A  municipality  of  17,960  inhabitants;  head- 
quarters of  the  tahsildar  and  of  a  district  munsif,  a  sub-magistrate 
and  a  sub-registrar ;  contains  a  bungalow  belonging  to  the 
Bodinayakkanur  estate  which  Europeans  may  occujiy  with  per- 
mission, and  a  chattram.  Tlie  place  is  most  picturesquely  situated 
on  the  palm-fringed  banks  of  the  Varahanadi,  with  the  great  wall 
of  the  Palnis  immediately  north  of  it.  It  is  an  important  centre 
for  the  trade  of  that  range,  the  foot  of  the  bridle-path  to 
Kodaikanal  being  only  five  miles  to  the  north  of  it.  The  scheme 
for  supplying  it  with  water  has  been  referred  to  on  p.  226  above. 


KULAM. 


GAZETTEER.  321 

The  town  consists  of  three  villages,  Tenkarai,  Vadakarai  and  CHAP.  XV. 
Kaikulankulam,  of  which  the  first  (as  its  name  implies)  is  on  the  Perita- 
south  bank  of  the  river  and  the  other  two  on  the  north.  All  these 
are  overcrowded  and  intersected  only  by  narrow  lanes,  and  the 
town  has  a  bad  name  for  cholera.  In  1882  a  fire  swept  through 
the  huddled  liouses  and  burnt  800  of  them  with  all  their  contents, 
the  heat  and  smoke  preventing  any  chance  of  saving  property  in 
such  cramped  quarters.  New  building-sites  have,  however,  been 
recently  acquired  by  the  municipality  to  the  east  and  south  and 
are  being  sold  as  need  arises.  There  are,  however,  two  pleasant 
roads  in  the  place;  namely,  those  which  run  westwards  to  the 
hills  on  either  side  of  tlie  river.  The  northern  of  these  passes 
through  some  excellent  topes  and  the  other  runs  along  the  bank 
of  the  picturesque  river,  past  the  more  open  quarter  where  the 
public  offices.stand,  to  the  Siva  temple  (which  contains  inscriptions 
of  Chola  times),  the  Periyakulara  ('big  tank')  which  gives  the 
place  its  name  (by  the  north  corner  of  the  embankment  of  which 
stands  perhaps  the  biggest  tamarind  in  the  district),  and  the 
Chidambara  tirtham,  a  small,  comparatively  modern,  stone-faced 
tank  supplied  through  a  cow's  mouth,  which  is  a  popular  place 
for  the  morning's  bath. 

T^varam:  Seven  miles  north-west  of  Uttamapiilaiyam,  popu- 
lation 10,293.  Chief  village  of  the  small  zamindari  of  the  same 
name,  the  present  holder  of  which  is  Bangaru  Ammal,  daughter  of 
the  last  proprietor  and  a  Tottiyan  by  caste.  This  was  another 
of  the  20  palaiyams  of  Dindigul  referred  to  on  pp.  70  and  183. 
After  the  Company  acquired  that  country  it  remained  for  many 
years  one  of  the  '  unsettled  palaiyams  '  mentioned  on  p.  194,  but 
it  was  eventually  granted  a  sanad. 

Uttamapalaiyam  :  Lies  twenty-eight  miles  south-south-west 
of  Periyakulam  down  the  Kambam  valley  road  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  Suruli,  the  bridge  over  which  was  built  in  1893  ;  a  union 
of  10,009  inhabitants ;  station  of  the  deputy  tahsildar  and  of  a 
sub-registrar ;  travellers'  bungalow.  The  name  means '  best  estate  ' 
and  is  declared  to  have  been  given  to  the  place  bj  the  Pandava 
brothers  (less  venturesome  authorities  say  by  Ilaidar  Ali  of  Mysore) 
in  recognition  of  its  excellent  position  and  climate  It  is  the 
first  large  town  down  the  valley  which  is  benefited  by  tlic  Periyar 
water,  and  since  this  was  let  into  the  Suruli  the  i>!aco  has  rapidly 
increased  in  wealth,  importance  and  size.  The  growth  in  tlo 
population  in  the  ten  years  ending  with  1901  was  22  per  cent,  and 
in  the  30  years  from  1871  to  1901  as  much  as  57  per  cent. 

4i 


322  MADUKA, 

CHAP.  XV.  'JMie  Kalahastlsvara  temple  in  tlio  town  is  said  to  get  its  name 

Pkriya-       from  the  fact  that  a  fervent  devotee  of  the  well-knov.'n  shrine  at 

■        Kjilahasti  in  North  Arcot  was  iuformed  in  a  vision  that  he  need  no 

longer  continue  to  travel  the  long  journey  to  that  place,  since  the 
god  could  Le  worshipped  at  this  spot  with  equal  efficacy,  lie 
accordingly  founded  and  named  this  temple.  An  inscrijDtion  in 
tlie  building  testifies  to  a  gift  to  it  by  Queen  Mangammal  and 
the  authorities  possess  a  copper  grant  in  its  favour  made  by 
the  last  of  the  iS'ayakkans,  the  Vangaru  Tirumala  referred  to  on 
p.  56  above.  Near  its  main  entrance  is  a  stone  slab  on  which  is  cut  a 
figure  of  Garuda  (the  celestial  kite  and  enemy  of  all  serpents),  two 
crossed  triangles  with  a  circle  in  the  middle  of  them,  and  certain 
mystic  letters.  People  who  were  bitten  by  snakes  are  declared  to 
have  formerly  derived  much  benefit  from  walking  thrice  round 
this  and  striking  their  foreheads  against  tlie  circle  after  each 
circumambiilation,  but  a  baiidgi  moved  the  stone  to  see  if  there 
was  any  treasure  hidden  under  it,  and  its  virtue  has  since 
departed. 

At  tlie  Draupadi  shrine  there  is  an  annual  fire- walking 
ceremony.  Curiously  enough^  a  Braliman  widow  is  the  only 
person  who  is  allowed  to  give  the  idols  their  annual  cleansing. 
Near  the  building  is  a  raantapam  said  to  have  been  erected  by  a 
Italian  who  came  to  rob  it  but  was  struck  blind  as  he  approached. 
South  of  the  town,  west  of  the  main  road  and  perhaps  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  from  the  travellers'  bungalow,  are  two  sati  stones. 

Just  north  of  it,  on  the  flat  face  of  one  of  a  series  of  huge 
boulders  near  the  Karuppan  temple,  is  one  of  the  best  series  of 
sculptures  of  nude  Jain  tirthankaras  to  be  found  in  the  district. 
They  are  arranged  in  two  rows,  one  above  the  other,  and  there  are 
long  Vatteluttu  inscriptions  round  about  them.  In  the  upper  row 
are  eleven  figures,  two  about  eighteen  inches  high  and  the  others 
rather  smaller.  Some  are  standing  and  others  are  sitting  in  the 
usual  cross-legged  contemplative  attitude ;  some  have  hooded 
serpents  above  their  heads  and  some  the  trijDle  crown ;  some  are 
unattended  and  others  have  smaller  figures  on  either  side  of  them. 
In  the  lower  row  are  eight  more  figures  of  a  very  similar  descrip- 
tion. The  space  covered  by  the  whole  series  is  some  twenty-one 
feet  by  ten. 

Vadakarai  ('north  bank')  now  forms  part  of  that  portion 
of  Perivakulam  municipality  wliich  lies  north  of  the  Varahanadi,  but 
it  was  once  the  chief  village  of  a  palaiyam  of  the  same  name. 
According  to  one  of  the  Mackenzie  M  SS  ,  the  original  founder 
of  this  was  Eamabhadra  Nayaka,  a  Balija  by  caste,  who  came 


KUr.AM. 


GAZETTEER,  323 

from  the  Yijajanagar  country  with  Ndg-ama  Navakkan  (p.  41).    CRAP.  X7. 

Ho  scorns  to  have   been    greatly  trusted,   as  lie   was   appointed        Perita- 

to   act   for   the    latter   while    lie    was  awaj  on  a   jnlgrimage    to 

Benares;  subsequently  helped  to  arrange   niattors   between   him 

and  his  son  ;  and  was  eventually  made  collector  of  the  revenue  of 

Madui-a.     Later  on  he  showed  mucli  personal  bravery  in  an  attack 

on    the  fort  of    Kambam,   pFpssing    forward  notwithstanding  a 

wound  in  the   face   and  being  the  first  to   plant  a  flag  on  the 

ramparts.     For  this  exploit  he  was  granted  the  Vadakarai  estate. 

A  successor  of  his  was  subsequently  given  chai'ge  of  one  of  the  72 

bastions  of  Madura.     One  of  the  best  remembered  of  the  poligars 

who  followed  is  the  Mochi  Nayaka  who  succeeded  in  15  '9.     He 

is  said  to  have  obtained  an  addition  to  his  estate  by  his  prowess  in 

shooting  an  arrow   across   the   Tejipakulam   in    Madura  in   the 

presence  of  Tirumala  Nayakkan  and  all  his  court,  an  achievement 

which  none  of  the  other  poligars  could   equal.     The  event  is  still 

annually  celebrated  in  Vadakarai   by   a   general    beat  for  small 

game  (known  as  '  Mdchi  Nayak's  hunt')  followed  by  a  visit  to  his 

tomb  in  Kaikulankulam.     A  later  Mdchi  Nayaka  is  stated  in  the 

Mackenzie  ]\1S.  to  have  helped  Tirumala  Ndyakkan  about  1638 

against  the  rebellions  Setupati  of  Earanad  referred  to  on  p.  48 ; 

and  his  paternal  uncle  and  successor  Nar.iyanappa  Nayaka  is  said 

to  have  assisted  Chokkanatha  Nayakkan  in  his  expedition  against 

the  Tanjore  Najakkan  mentioned  on  p.  50. 

When  the  Mysoreans  threatened  Dindigul  (p.  G9).  the  then 
poligar  of  Vadakarai  summoned  a  council  of  his  commanders  to 
devise  measures  of  defence.  It  was  not  a  success,  as  (Jantama- 
nayakkanlir  said  that  Vadakarai  was  taking  too  much  u]>on  him, 
and  invad<^d  his  property  and  cut  off  his  head  (whence  the  two 
families  still  decline  to  dine  together),  but  tradition  has  it  that  the 
Mysore  people  bore  the  matter  in  mind  and  confiscated  the 
Vadakarai  estate  when  they  eventually  captured  the  country. 

Tlie  subsequent  history  of  the  palaiyam  lias  already  been 
referred  to  on  pp.  70  and  183.  In  1750  its  owner  assisted 
Bodinayakkanur  in  opposing  the  Collector's  march  through 
this  part  of  the  district.  In  1859  it  was  resumed  for  anrars 
of  peshkash  and  the  poligar  was  granted  an  allowance  which 
descends  to  tlie  eldest  son.  He  had  considerable  jiroperty 
independently  of  the  pdlaiyam  and  when,  in  1881,  his  ?on  died, 
leaving  an  heir  (the  present  liolder,  M.R.Ry.  V.  Eamabhadra 
Nayudu)  who  was  a  minor,  the  Court  of  Wards  managed  his 
estate  until  he  attained  his  majority  in  December  1S94.  He  has 
since  distinguished  himself  as  a  patron  of  education,  a' protector  of 


KCLAU. 


324  MADURA. 

CHAP.  XV.    the  T.eautiful  topes  planted  by  his  forebears  in  the  neighbourhood, 
PsRiYA.       an  experimenter  in  scientific  awricultare,  and  the  chairman  of  the 
Periyakulam  municipal  council. 

Virapandi  :  Tlurteen  miles  soutli-soutli-west  of  Periyakulam  ; 
population  3,960.  On  liigh  ground  about  a  mile  to  the  south 
of  it,  overlooking  an  anient  and  bridge  (built  in  1893)  across 
the  Suruli,  and  commanding  beautiful  views  of  the  Palnis  and 
Travancore  hills,  stands  a  travellers'  bungalow.  The  land  near 
the  river  is  a  sheet  of  rice-fields,  but  the  high  ground  in  the  east 
is  some  of  the  most  barren  in  the  district.  The  Siva  temple, 
which  is  of  no  architectural  merit,  is  dedicated  to  Kannesvara 
Udaiyar,  '  the  lord  protector  of  eyes,' and  the  story  goes  that  it 
was  built  because  Yira  Pandya,  a  Pandya  king  of  Madura  who 
was  blind  in  one  eye,  had  a  vision  that  if  he  built  it  his  sight 
would  be  restored.  The  king  afterwards  lived  for  some  time  in 
the  village  and  it  obtained  its  present  name  in  consequence. 

The  Mariamman  shrine  near  the  bridge  over  the  Suruli  is 
famous  throughout  the  taluk,  and  at  its  annual  festival  great 
crowds  assemble  and  very  many  fowls  and  goats  are  offered  up. 
Ward's  Survey  Account  of  1821  says  that  in  those  days  hook- 
swinging  took  place  at  it.  Another  village  in  the  district  where 
this  ceremony  was  once  regularly  performed  is  NaUamaram  in  the 
south  of  the  Tirumangalam  taluk.  The  last  swinging  there 
occurred  only  a  dozen  years  ago. 


MANGA  (.AM. 


GAZETTEER.  335 


TIRUMANGALAM  TALUK. 


This  lies  in  the  centre  of  the  southern  side  of  the  district  and    CHAT.  XV. 

is  hounded  on  the  west  by  the  Yarushandd  and  Andipatti  range         Tjku- 

and  on  the  north  and  north-east  by  the  Nagamalai.     It  drains 

south-eastwards  into  the  Cundar.     It  is  an  uninteresting,  level 

plain,  broken  only  by  a  few  isolated  granite  liills,  of  which  over 

three-fifths  (a  far  higher   j)roportion  than  in  any  other  taluk)  are 

covered  with  the  fertile  black  cotton-soil.     Cotton  is  accordingly 

the  chief  crop  of  the  taluk  and  occupies  over  a  quarter  of  the 

cultivated  area.     Thirty  per  cent,  of  the  dry  land  in  Tiruraanga- 

1am  is  assessed  at  as  much  as   Es.  2  per  acre  and  another  22   per 

cent,   at   Ee.    1-8-0,   while  of  no  other  taluk  in  the  district  is 

more  than  5  per  cent,  assessed  at  Ee.  1-8-0  or  over.     Only  10 

per  cent,  of  the  assessed  area  is  unoccupied.     On  the  other  hand 

there  are  practically  no  i negation  channels  in  the  taluk  and  very 

few  wells ;  and  consequently  much  less  of  it  is  protected  against 

adverse  seasons   than  is  the  case  in  any  other  part  of  the  district. 

The  taluk  suffered  severely  in  the  great  famine   of  1876-78  and 

between  the  censuses  of  1871  and  1881   its  inhabitants  decreased 

by  over  15  per  cent.     The  growth  in  the  population  in  the  period 

between  1871  and  1001  was  smaller  than  in  any  other  part  of  the 

district  and  in  the  decade  1891-1901   the  number  of  the  people 

remained  practically  stationary. 

Anaiyur:  Three  and  a  half  miles  east  of  Usilampatti. 
Formerly  a  village  of  note,  it  is  now  only  a  hamlet  of  Katta- 
karuppanpatti.  A  considerable  Siva  temple  (which  in  general 
plan  resembles  on  a  larger  scale  that  at  Vikkii'araangalain  referred 
to  below)  and  crumbling  walls  and  hou.«es  to  the  west  of  this 
testify  to  the  byegoue  importance  of  the  place.  The  name 
means  '  elephant  village  '  and  the  story  goes  that  Indra's  celestial 
white  elephant  (which  was  turned  into  an  ordinary  biack  one  for 
trampling  under  foot  a  garland  given  Indra  by  a  rishi)  recovered 
its  colour  and  high  estate  by  bathing  in  the  golJen-lily  pool 
attached  to  the  temple  hero,  lived  in  the  village  afterwards  and 
eventually  died  within  the  shriao.  The  temple  is  consoqnently 
dedicate!  to  Airavatesvara,  or  '  Siva  of  the  white  elephant.'  In 
1877,  it  is  said,  some  fragments  of  ivory  wore  unearthed  within 
tJie  building  and  served,  in  popular  estimation,  to  put  the  story 
beyond  the  possibility   of  question.     Anaiyur  was  formerly  iv 


326  MADT'RA. 

C'lAP.  XT.  great  strongliold  of  tlie  western  Kalians,  and  figures  prominently 
'^'^^-  in  this  conncctioa  in  the  old  reports.  The  country  round  about 
it  IS  still  largel}'  peopled  with  this  casto. 

Doddappanayakkanur  :  Chief^  village  of  the  zamlndari 
of  the  sauie  nanio  ;  stands  in  the  Anlipatti  piss  through  the 
Andipatfci  hills  ;  popiilatio.i  6,534.  The  zamiudari  consists  of  two 
villages  some  20,000  acres  in  extent,  of  which  over  11,000  acro3 
are  made  up  of  forest  oa  the  Doddappanayakkanur  hill,  3,445 
feet  in  elevation.  It  was  one  of  the  'unsettled  palaiyams ' 
referred  to  on  p.  194,  but  a  sanad  was  eventually  granted  for  it. 
The  present  proprietor,  Kalirasvami  Doddappa  Nayakkan,  suc- 
ceeded to  the  estate  on  the  death  of  his  father  on  15th  November 
1004,  and  is  a  minor  under  the  guardianship  of  his  mother. 
The  property  is  \erj  heavily  in  debt,  but  has  not  yet  been 
actually  mortgaged. 

Elumalai  :  Twenty  miles  west  by  north  of  Tirumangalara, 
near  the  foot  of  the  Andipatti  hills  ;  population  5,414.  It  is  the 
principal  village  of  the  small  zamindari  of  the  same  name.  This 
was  purchased  from  the  last  holder,  Errachinnamma  Nayakkan, 
by  the  present  proprietor  Vadaraalai  Tiravanada  Sundaradasa 
Tevar  (who  is  a  relation  of  the  zamindar  of  Settur  in  Tinnevelly 
district  and  lives  in  that  village)  and  was  registered  in  his  name 
in  May  1895.  As  it  has  passed  from  the  family  of  the  original 
owners,  it  is  not  scheduled  in  the  Impartible  Estates  Act,  1904. 
Nor  has  any  sanad  apparently  been  granted  for  it. 

Jotilnayakkanur :  Seven  miles  south  by  west  of  Usilam- 
patti;  population  1,413.  Chief  village  of  the  small  zamindari  of 
the  same  name,  which  contains  two  villages  about  o,.5(>0  acres 
in  extent  of  which  3,600  acres  are  forest.  This  was  one  of  the 
'unsettled  palaiyams'  referred  to  on  p.  194,  but  a  sanad  was 
eventually  granted  for  it.  The  zamindars  are  Telugu  Tottiyans  by 
caste  and  their  family  name  is  Jotil  Nayakkan.  The  present 
proprietor,  Gurun^tha  Jotil  Nayakkan,  is  a  minor  under  the 
guardianship  of  his  mother  and  succeed'^d  on  the  death  of  hii 
father  in  October  1902. 

Kalligudi:  Nine  miles  south  by  west  of  Tirumangalam ; 
population  3,270  ;  sub-registrar's  office,  railway-station  and  local 
fund  chattram.  The  place  is  a  centre  for  cotton,  which  is  grown 
on  the  black  soil  round  about  it.  In  the  low  hills  to  the  west 
of  it  a  very  beautiful  granitoid  gneiss  is  quarried,  which  is  pale 
greyish  or  pinkish- white  in  colour  and  banded  with  laminns 
consisting  mainly  of  rather  pale  red  or  pink  garnets  of  small  size 
with  a  few  spangles  of  mica. 


GAZEITEEJJ.  327 

Kilakkottai:   Tlirco  miles  soutli  by  ca-t  of  Tiriniian;.'a!am  ;     CHAP.  XV. 
population  OlJU.     Chief  villag-e  of  the  small  zamindari  of  the  name,  Tiru- 

which  is  only  some  1 ,750  acres  in  extent.  This  was  anotlier  of  the  "'^^"'^''^'^' 
'  unsettled  palaiyams  '  and  a  sanad  was  granted  for  it  in  187*2.  It 
is  not  Eclieduled  in  the  Impartible  Estates  Act  as  it  has  passed 
from  the  family  of  the  original  proprietors.  In  1886  it  was 
registered  in  the  joint  names  of  Sutajipa  Chetti  and  Muttu  Ra  vutar 
Kavundan,  who  owned,  respectively,  two-thirds  and  one-third  of 
it.  Subsequently  the  former  sold  his  share  to  the  latter,  and 
the  wliole  estate  was  registered  in  this  latter's  name  in  October 
1894.  The  property  has  since  passed  to  one  Anndmalai  Chetti  of 
Devikottai. 

Kovilankulam :  Twenty  miles  in  a  direct  line  from  Tiru- 
mangalam  in  the  extreme  south  of  the  taluk;  population  2,180. 
West  of  it  is  a  slab  of  black  stone  on  which  is  carved  an  image  of 
one  of  the  Jain  tirthankaras  about  01  feet  high  and  2  feet  broad. 
The  figure  is  represented  sitting  in  the  usual  cross-legged  con- 
templative attitude  and  is  worshipped  by  the  villagers. 

Kuppalanattam  :  Eleven  miles  due  west  of  Tirumangalam  ; 
population  920.  Noteworthy  for  more  Jain  antiquities.  On  the 
northern  face  of  the  hill  called  Poigaimalai,  about  a  mile  south- 
west of  the  village,  is  a  natural  cave  at  the  entrance  of  which  are 
carved  in  relief  on  the  rock  a  series  of  Jain  tirthankaras.  They 
are  in  three  groups.  The  first  contains  four  figures  measuring 
about  2  feeb  by  1|-  feet  represented  in  the  usual  sitting  position, 
with  triple  crowns  above  their  heads  and  attendants  on  either 
side.  The  second  group  is  made  up  of  three  standing  figures  and 
one  seated,  which  measure  about  four  inches  by  three  inches  and 
are  again  adorned  with  the  triple  crown.  The  third  group  com- 
prises a  standing  image,  about  a  foot  liigh,  with  an  attendant  on 
either  side  of  it.  The  place  is  called  the  Samanar-kovil  or  '  Jains  ' 
temple  ',  but  the  images  are  regularly  worshipped  and  are,  indeed, 
so  smeared  with  oil  that  the  details  of  them  can  with  difficulty 
be  made  out.  On  the  top  of  the  Poigaimalai  is  an  insignificant 
Vishnu  shrine. 

Melakkottai :  Two  miles  south  by  west  of  I'irumangalam  ; 
population  1,007.  Chief  village  of  the  small  zamindari  (about 
1,800  acres  in  extent)  of  the  same  name.  This  was  another  of  the 
'unsettled  palaiyams ',  but  a  sanad  was  granted  for  it  in  1872. 
The  zamindars'are  Canarese  Anuppans  by  caste,  and  their  family 
name  is  Surappa  Ivavundan.  'J  lie  present  proprietor,  Immadi 
Achurama  Surappa  Kavundan,  succeeded  to  the  estate  in  1874 
and  in  1898  mortgaged  it  to  K.  Eanga  Eao,  a  Brahman  landholder 
of  Madura. 


lAVCiALAM. 


328  MADUKA. 

C  n  A  i'.  XV.  Nadukkottai  :  Two  miles  soutli  of  Tirumangalam ;  population 

TiKC-  2C3.  Cliiof  village  of  another  small  zamindari  (about  2,000  acres 
in  extent)  wliicli  was  alsp  one  of  tlie  '  unsettled  pdlaiyams.'  The 
zamindars  are  again  Anuppans  by  casts  and  their  family  name  is 
Periya  S6rappa  Kavundan.  The  estate  is  now  leased  to  the  same 
gentleman  wlio  holds  Melakk6ttai. 

P6raiyiir :  Seventeen  miles  south-west  of  Tirumangalam ;  a 
union  with  a  population  of  3,540  ;  sub-registrar's  office  and 
chattram.  It  is  the  chief  village  of  the  zamindari  of  the  same 
name.  'J  his  estate  and  ^andaiyur  and  Saptur  referred  to  below 
were  transferred  from  the  Tinnevelly  district  in  1859  and  their 
liistory  differs  somewhat  from  that  of  the  other  zamindaris  in 
Mad.ura.  The  Tinnevelly  palaiyams  were  permanently  settled 
early  in  the  last  century,  the  peshkash  ranging  from  5  i  to  57  per 
cent,  of  the  computed  income  of  the  larger  estates  and  from  41 
to  49  per  cent,  of  that  of  the  smaller  ones  in  which  the  expenses 
of  management  were  relatively  heavier.  Further  details  will  be 
found  in  the  Appendix  to  the  well-known  Fifth  Report  of  the 
Committee  on  the  affairs  of  the  East  India  Company. 

Peraiyur  is  the  second  largest  zamindari  in  the  taluk,  compris- 
ing 80  villages  with  an  area  of  about  21  square  miles.  The 
proprietors  are  Telugu  Tottiyans  by  caste  and  their  family 
appellation  is  Tumbichi  Nayakkan.  The  hill  near  Pei-aiyur  which 
goes  by  this  name  is  called  after  them.  The  present  holder, 
Nagayasvami  Tumbichi  Nayakkan,  succeeded  in  1889. 

Puliyankulam :  Thirteen  miles  south-south-west  of  Tiru- 
mangalam ;  population  1,160.  Chief  village  of  the  small 
zamindari  known  as  Madavanayakkanur,  alim  Puliyankulam,  nlia% 
Madavandyakkanur-Puliyankulam.  This  comprises  three  vil- 
lages and  is  about  2,700  acres  in  extent.  It  was  another  of  the 
'unsettled  palaiyams'  and  was  granted  a  sanad  in  1872.  The 
proprietors  are  Tottiyans  by  caste  and  their  family  name  is 
Madava  Nayakkan.  The  present  proprietor  has  leased  the  estate 
to  oneKantimatinatha  Pillai  of  Tinnevelly. 

Sandaiyur !  Twenty  miles  south-west  of  Tirumangalam ; 
population  1,881.  Chief  village  of  the  zamindari  of  the  name, 
which  comprises  fifteen  villages  aggregating  about  8,700  acres  in 
extent.  This  was  one  of  the  three  estates  transferred  from 
'J'innevelly  and  mentioned  in  the  account  of  Peraiyur  above.  A 
sanad  was  granted  for  it  in  1804.  The  then  zamindar  having 
protested  against  tlie  peshkash  proposed,  the  estate  was  taken 
under  Grovernmcnt  mauagement  for  some  time  in  order  that  its 
capabilities  might  be  ascertained  with  accuracy.  The  present 
holder,  Krishnasvami  Kulappa  Nayakkan,  succeeded  in  1898.     . 


UiNGALAU 


dAZEXTEES.  329 

Sa>ptur:  About  22  miles  west-south-west  of  Tirumangaiaiu  ;     OHAP.  XT. 
population  2,649.     The  chief  village  of  the  zamindari  of  the  same         Tiro- 
name,  which  is  the  largest  in  the  taluk  and  comprises  an  area  of 
about  123  square  miles  including  a  large  portion  of  the  eastern 
slopes  of  the  Varushanad  hills. 

Until  1859  the  estate  belonged  to  the  Tinnevelly  district,  and 
(as  already  stated  in  the  account  of  Peraiyur  above)  its  history 
differs  from  that  of  other  Madura  zamindaris.  In  1795  ^  the  then 
poligar,  who  went  by  the  family  name  of  Kamaya  Nayakkau, 
withheld  his  tribute  and  committed  other  irregularities  and  his 
estate  was  accordingly  taken  from  him  and  managed  by  the 
Collector.  He  fled  to  the  neighbouring  hills  and  from  thence  so 
intimidated  and  harassed  the  inhabitants  of  the  palaiyam  and  the 
officials  who  were  administering  it  that  in  1799  Mr.  Lushington, 
Collector  of  Southern  Poligar  Peshkash,  with  the  concurrence  of 
Government,  offered  a  reward  for  his  capture.  He  was  seized  in 
July  1800  and  after  a  formal  trial  by  a  special  board  of  officers, 
was  convicted  and  executed  in  October  of  the  same  year.  The 
estate  continued  for  some  years  more  under  the  Collector's 
management  and  in  1803  was  restored  to  the  late  poligar's  son, 
to  whom  a  sanad  was  granted,  on  a  fixed  peshkash. 

lu  January  1886,  on  the  death  of  the  then  zamiudar,  the 
property  was  placed  under  the  Court  of  Wards  owing  to  the 
minority  of  the  heir.  This  boy  died  at  Madras  of  an  hereditary 
taint  on  the  last  day  of  1887  and  was  succeeded  by  liis  younger 
brother  R.araasv4mi  Kamaya  Nayakkan.  The  latter  came  of  age 
in  1902  and  was  then  placed  in  possession  of  the  property,  which 
he  now  holds.  The  zamindari  is  admittedly  impartible  (see  the 
case  reported  in  I.L.R..,  XVII  Madras,  424)  and  has  been 
scheduled  as  such  in  the  Impartible  Estates  Act,  1904. 

Tirumangalam  :  Head-quarters  of  the  taluk  and  a  union  of 
8,894  inhabitants  ;  stands  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Guudar 
thirteen  miles  by  road  south-west  of  Madura,  is  a  station  on  the 
railway  and  possesses  a  sub-registrar's  office,  local  fund  dispen- 
sary, travellers'  bungalow,  chattrams,  a  large  weekly  market  on 
Fridays  and  a  station  andchurch  of  the  American  Mission.  The 
Madura  Minakshi  Ginning  and  Pressing  Co.  erected  a  factory 
here  to  deal  with  the  local  cotton  (for  the  export  ot  which 
Tirumangalam  is  a  centre),  but  it  was  a  failure  and  is  to  be  sold. 
Arya  Natha  Mudali   established  a  number   of  Tondaimandalans 

^  See  Mr.  Luihington's  letter  in  the  Fifth  Koport  ol  the  Select  Committee  on 
the  affairs  of  the  East  India  Company, 

42 


Tiao 

MilX»ALi.a 


310  MADVXA. 

CHAP.  XV.  Vell^la*  here  at  tlie  same  time  as  he  founded  the  similar  oolonj  at 
Solavandan  referred  to  in  the  account  of  that  place  above,  and 
several  families  of  this  caste  still  live  in  the  town.  The  anti- 
quities of  the  place  include  seven  nameless  sati  stones  of  the  usual 
pattern  (some  placed  in  small  masonry  buildings)  among  the 
dry  fields  just  north-west  of  the  travellers'  bungalow;  a  few 
pyriform  tombs  (similar  to  those  mentioned  in  the  account  of 
Anuppanadi  above)  at  Senkulam,  about  a  mile  to  the  north-west 
of  the  town  ;  and  a  small  mantapam,  called  the  nagard  (drum) 
mantapam.  This  last  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  a  series  which 
Tirumala  Nayakkan  established  all  along  the  road  from  Madura 
to  his  palace  at  Srivilliputtur,  and  j)rovided  with  drummers  to  pass 
the  word  as  soon  as  the  god  at  Madura  had  had  his  meals,  so 
that  Tirumala  could  begin  his  own. 

Usilampatti  :  Seventeen  miles  north-west  of  Tirumangalam ; 
a  union  of  6,335  inhabitants  and  the  head-quarters  of  the  deputy 
tahsildar  and  a  sub-registrar ;  contains  a  good  chattram.  The 
Wednesday  market  here  is  the  most  important  in  the  taluk  and 
the  second  largest  (next  to  that  at  Virfipdkshi)  in  all  the  district. 
It  is  held  in  a  large  tope,  on  one  side  of  which  a  good  range  of 
stalls  has  been  erected,  and  is  attended  by  people  from  as  far  off 
as  Solavandan,  Tirumangalam  and  Periyakulam.  The  town  is  a 
comparatively  modern  place,  and  owes  its  new  importance  to  its 
being  the  deputy  tahsildar's  station  and  possessing  this  large 
market. 

Uttappanayakkanur :  Five  miles  north  of  Usilampatti; 
population  3,828.  Chief  village  of  the  small  zamindari  of  the 
name,  which  is  about  26  square  miles  in  extent.  This  was  one 
of  the  '  unsettled  palaiyams  '  referred  to  on  p.  194,  but  was 
granted  a  sanad  in  1880.  It  was  under  the  management  of  the 
Court  of  Wards  from  186t3  to  1879,  The  present  proprietor, 
Muttukrishnasvami  Uttapa  Nayakkan,  is  the  brother  of  the  last 
holder  and  succeeded  in  1897. 

Vikkiramangalam  :  Fourteen  miles  in  a  direct  line  north- 
north-west  of  Tirumansfalam  ;  population  2,596.  In  its  hamlet 
Kovilpatti  stands  a  ruined  Siva  temple  which  contains  some  of 
the  best  stone-carving  in  the  district  and  is  on  the  list  of  build- 
ings conserved  by  Government,  In  this  are  several  inscriptions, 
translations  of  some  of  which  have  been  published,^  but  they  do 
not  show  the  age  of  the  building.  The  lingam  is  usually  kept 
in  a  private  house  in  the  village  and  is  only  placed  in  the  shrine 

'   B««  r«pori  of  kke  GoT«riimeni  Epigr&phisi  for  169i. 


aAlKTTBBK.  381 

on  special  occasions.     The  whole    of   the    outer  walls  and  basd    CHAP,  xr, 
of  this   shrine  are   sculptured   with   much    elegance    of    design  Tibu- 

and  minuteness  of  detail  and  it  is  surrounded  on  botli  sides  and     '''^^"^^*"' 
beliind  with  o.  prdkdra  (arcade)  supported  ou  twelve  well-carved 
pillars.     In  front  of  it  is  a  portico  upheld  by  four  piers  and  a 
mantapam  containing  twelve  more  in  three  rows  of  four  each. 


333 


INDEX. 


Note, — The  italic  letters  in  brackets  printed  immediately  after  the  names  of  nlacos 
etc.,  refer  to  the  squares  of  the  map  in  the  pocket  within  which  the  places,  etc.,  will  be 
found. 


A 


Abdul-wahab  Khan,  Gl. 
Abhiramiamman,  233. 
Abiral  Khan  Sahib,  G7. 

Abkari,  21]. 

Acacia  arabica,  134. 

Acacia  leucophlsea,  134. 

Acacia  melanoxylon,  140. 

Acacia  planifrons,  137. 

Achyuta,  king  of  Vijayanagar,  40,  233. 

Achyuta  Kama  Kavundan,  279. 

Acrocarpus  fraxinifolius,  138.' 

Adam's  Bridge,  158. 

Adimtilam  Pillai,  293. 

Adina  cordifolia,  140. 

Aditya  Karikala,  31. 

Adi-vettai,  91. 

Administration,  of  land  revenue,  179-209  ; 
of  jastioe,  214-219. 

Adnkkam  pass  {Cd),  250,  251. 

Agamudaiyans,  21G. 

Agaram  (X>c),  229. 

Agastya,  305,  306. 

Agastyamalai,  32. 

Aggamalai  {Bd),  138,  139,  249. 

Agriculture,  112-121,  144. 

Agriculturists,  economic  coudition  of,  130. 

Ahobila  Kondama  l^ayakkau  (two  poligars 
of  this  name),  302. 

Ahobila  i^arasimha  shrine,  295. 

Ahobilam,  43,  301,  307. 

Ailur,  hills,  9,  137  ;  village  {Ec),  158. 

Airavadanallur  (ii'el,  151. 

Airavatesvara,  325. 

Aivarmalai  {Be),  300,  308. 

Aiyampalle,  anient,  125  ;  former  taluk, 
206,  300;  village  {Gc),  305. 

Aiyanar,  85,  102,  231. 

Aliil,  140. 

Akkalu  Ammal,  317. 

.\!agar  temple,  at  Tadikkombu,  242 ;  and 
Giidalur,  318.    See  also  Alagarkovil. 

Alagarkovil  {Fd)  temple,  84;  weapons 
presented  to  Karuppan  at,  85 ;  shaving 
of  children  at,  86  ;  ex  voto  offerings  to, 
8G  ;  inams  to,  198  ;  jewels  given  l>y  Rous 
Peter  to,  259  ;  unfinished  gopuram  at, 
271  ;  visit  to  Madura  of  god  from,  273, 
285;  described,  282;  sacred  to  Kalians, 
286. 


Alagarmalais  {Fd),  described,  9  ;  geology 
of,' 15;  bison  on  the,  23;  forests  on, 
137  ;  view  from  Tiruvddiii-  of,  289. 

Alagia-nachiamma,  86. 

Alagiri  Nayakkan,  51. 

Alam  Khan,  60,  61. 

Albert  Victor,  Priuce,  157. 

Albert  Victor  hospital,  171. 

Albizzia  amara,  137,  142. 

Alkaline  soils,  115. 

Alla-ud-din,  37,  2G5. 

Allinagaram  {Cd),  11,  159,  313. 

Amai-avati  river,  tributaries  of,  10  ;  irriga- 
tion from,  124;  drainago  area  of,  125; 
ruined  bridge  across,  157;  valley  run- 
ning to,  249. 

Amayappa  Kone,  92. 

Ambalakdran,  94. 

Ambattans,  145. 

Ambaturai  {Dc),  history  of  palaiyam,  70, 
183  ;  weaving  at,  145  ;  proposed  road  to, 
156  ;  desci'ibed,  229. 

Ambtir,  60. 

American  Mission,  history  ot,  77  ;  its  work 
awiong  the  Pulaiyans,  105 ;  medical 
institutions  maintained  by,  I7l  ;  first  to 
reintroduce  systematic  education,  175; 
educational  institutions  of,  176-178; 
periodicals  issued  by,  178 ;  its  church 
at  Dindigul,  232;  sanitarium  at  Kodai- 
kanal  established  by,  250,  251;  its 
church  at  Kodaikanal,  252  ;  its  work  at 
Pasumalai,  278  ;  Meliir,  288;  and  Tiru- 
mangalam,  329. 

Amir-un-nissa  IJegam,  234. 

Ammayanayakkaiiur  village  {Dd],  quartz 
veins  near,  15  ;  Yangfiru  Tirumala 
defeated  at,  58 ;  Valaiyans  at,  98 ; 
railway-station  at,  152,  246 ;  route  to 
Kodaikanal  from,  156 ;  tramw.ay  pro- 
posed from,  159;  described,  292. 

Ammayauayakkandr  zamiudari,  Sirumalais 
included  in,  8 ;  historj  of,  70,  183 ; 
forests  of,  134,  136,  137  ;  sanad  granted 
to,  195  ;  described,  292. 

Ampthill,  Lord,  131. 

Ampthil]  Downs,  139. 

Amrat  Mahal  cattle,  22. 

Ainusemeuts,  83. 

Anaikunnu  pool,  256. 

Auaimalai,  15.  254. 

Anaiyui-  (De),  Kalians  of,  93,  184,  196,  326; 
de«cribed,  326. 


334 


IMDIX . 


Xndipatti  {Ct),  hill  r&ng*  near,  6,  1S6 ; 
land-gronse  near,  22  ;  irrigation  minor 
basin  at,  1J4,  125;  forest  near,  136; 
dispensary  at,  173  ;  former  taluk,  184 ; 
described,  313, 

Andro'pogon  citratum,  141. 

Andropogon  Wightiana,  18. 

Andropogon  zeylanicus.  18. 

Anicnts,  124,  125,  315. 

Annamalai  Chetti,  327. 

Annamdrkal ,  313. 

Anogeissus  latifolia,  138,  140. 

Antiquities  of  the  district,  24,  233,  247, 
256,  288.     See  also  Jains. 

Anumandanpatti  (-Be),  313. 

Anuppanadi,  channel,  167 ;  ■village  {Ee), 
210,  256. 

Annppans,  73,  109,  319,  327,  328. 

Anvrar-nd-din,  59,  60. 

Appaji  Kavnndan,  320. 

Appiji  Pillai,  186. 

Appaya  Nayakkau  of  Kanniv&di,  239. 

Aquilaria  agullocha,  140. 

'  Ar  '  leaf,  29. 

Arai-UtUdai,  197,  200. 

Aramanaiknlam  tank,  235. 

Aravakurichi  district,  302,  303. 

Ai'dha-maniyam,  197,  200. 

Ardhanarisvara,  280. 

Arittapatti  (FrZ),  286. 

Aritiyur,  sub-divieion  of  Nattukdttai 
Chettis,  100. 

Arkonam,  31. 

Arrack,  153,  211. 

Arts  and  industries,  144-151 . 

Arunachala  Chetti,  M.E.Ej.  A.  L.  A.  E., 
172. 

Arundinella  mesophyUa,  18. 

Aruppukottai,  97. 

Arya  Natha  Mudali,  42,  43,  271,  296,  329. 

Arya  Nayakka  Mudali.     See  Arya  Natha 

^  Mudali. 

Asari,  99. 

Asoka,  26. 

Assessments,  rates  of,  116,  122. 

Attapanpatti  (D6),  304. 

Attu-kal-pdshanam ,  108. 

Attur,  dam,  125;  ghat,  5,  156,  230,  246; 
village  (Dc),  86,  230. 

Augustus  Csesar,  26. 

Aurangzeb,  53. 

Auvaiyar,  28,  81. 

Avdrum  leaves,  115. 

Avenues,  54,  155,  221. 

Avakkudi  (Cc),  Kuunuvans  helped  by  the 
Voligar  of,  103;  forests  of,  134,  136; 
dupatis  made  at,  145  ;  sequestered  by 
Saiyad  SShib,  183  ;  hostilities  of  Palni 
poligar  irith,  185,  307  ;  rebellious  atti- 
tude of,  185;  sanad  granted  to,  195; 
crude  saltpetre  made  near,  211  ;  union, 
220;  chattr-'.m  built  by  poligar  family 
of,  241  ;  described,  301  ;  Eettajambadi 
purchased  by  poligar  cf,  309. 

Ayyampalaiyam,  river,  12  ;  anicut,  135  ; 
Tillage  (Pd),  156,  220,  331. 


Babul,  134. 

Boighayat  land,  188. 

Bairdgis,  213. 

Balasamndram  (Cc),  305,  307,  308. 

Balfour's  Report  on  Iron  ores,  287. 

Balijas,  151,  322. 

Ballads  in  honom*  of  Eous  Peter,  259. 

Bamboos,  151. 

Bangalore,  48,  110. 

Bangaru  Amnial,  321. 

Bangaru  Muttu  Nayakkan,  314. 

Bangaru  'I'irumala  Bodi  Nayakkan,  315. 

Bangles,  151. 

Banyan  tree,  259,  288,  319. 

Barley,  5. 
j    Basavanua,  110. 
I    Basavis,  104. 

Basins,    distribution  of   irrigation   worka 
among,  124. 

Basket-making,  151. 

Bastions  of  the  Madura  fortifications,  42, 

Batlagundu.     See  Vattilagundu. 

Baynes,  Mr.  C.  E.,  251,  253. 

Beans,  117. 

Beddome,  Colonel,  16,  132. 

Bees,  wild,  31C. 

Begampur,  150,  235. 

Bell-metal  vessels,  151. 

Bench  courts,  215. 

Bengal  gram,  118. 

Berijam  project,  125,  226. 

Beschi,  76. 

Betel-vine,  79,  113,  114,  198,  303. 

Bhang,  213. 

Bhogauatha  Pulippani  Patra  Udaiyar,  S06. 

Bhtitipuram  estate  (Bd),  315. 

Bijapnr,  46,  51,  53. 

Birki  Venkata  Eao,  69,  181,  23G. 

Bishoj^ric  of  Tvichinopoly,  77. 

|;ison,  23 

Black  gram,  118. 

Blackader's  Archseologia,  281. 

Blackburne,  Mr.  John,  roads  improved   bj, 
154  ;     distributes    famine    relief     from 
Madura    temple    fnnds,    162;  ryotwari 
system    introduced    into    hill     villages 
by,  205 ;  memorial   lamp   to,  228,  267 
bungalow  built  at  Kodaikanal  by,  251 
his     improvenients     to     Madura,    266 
demolished      the     walls     of     Tirumala 
Nayakkan'a  palace,  276. 

Blackwood,  136,  137,  138,  140. 

Blanket-making,  145 

Bliss,  Sir  Henry,  261 . 

Bloomstrand,  Eev.  Th.,  79  note. 

Blue  gum,  140,  251. 

Board  of  Assumed  Eevenne,  69. 

Bodiuayakkanrir  (Ed),  schools  at,  81,  178; 
jungles  in,  134,  136  ;  trade  centre,  152; 
road  to,  155  ;  proposed  railway  through, 
159;  hospital  at,  172;  resumed  by  Tipu 
but  restored  by  the  English,  183  ;  poligar 
opposes  the  Collector,  185 ;  sanad 
granted  to,  195, 196  ;  special  magistrata 


1  VUBX. 


iM 


at,  215  ;  «ub-registrar  at,  J15  ;  anion, 
220;  miiniciinility  proposed  for,  221  ; 
elepliants  in  the  liills  near,  250;  Palni 
polijrar  marches  against,  308  ;  described, 
313;  poligar  assisted  by  Vadakarai 
chief,  323. 

Bogari  tax,  190. 

Bombay,  silk  from,  I4(i  ;  salt  from,  210. 

Bombay  Gazetteer  (i,  pt.  2),  29  note. 

Bommayya,  107. 

Bommi,  85. 

Boskanna,  110. 

Botany,  15. 

Bonnciaries  of  the  district,  1. 

Bonrne,  Dr.  A.  G.  and  Mrs.,  16. 

Bow,  28. 

Brahmans,  their  education  under  Nayakkan 
rule,  175  ;  land  granted  free  to,  199  ; 
toddy  shops  owned  by,  212  ;  their  part 
in  the  Attvir  festival,  231  ;  numerous  in 
Madura  town,  257  ;  and  in  Chinnamanur, 
316. 

Brass  vessels,  151. 

Bridges,  154,  156,  222,  226,  258. 

Bridle-paths,  5. 

Brocken,  spectre  of  the,  249. 

Buckley,  Williavp,  234. 

Buffaloes,  81,  86,  151,230. 

Building-stone,  15. 

Bullocks,  107,  123,  179,  100. 

Burma,  31,  100,  146.     ■ 

Burnell,  Dr.,  2,  168. 


Cabinet-making,  178. 

Calcntta,  146. 

Caldwell,  Bishop,  on  the  antiquity  of  the 
Pandya  kingdom,  26;  its  wealth  and 
magnificence,  37 ;  its  connection  with 
the  Vij ay anagar  power,  39;  the  authority 
of  the  writings  on  the  Nayakkan  period, 
40;  Tirnmala  Nayakkan's  palace,  49; 
the  character  of  Jfdyakkan  rule,  58;  the 
end  of  Muhammad  Yusnf,  67;  and  on 
the  administration  of  the  Committee  of 
Assigned  Revenue,  68  ;  house  occupied 
at  Kodaikanal  by,  251  ;  land  for  church 
at  Kodaikanal  granted  to,  253. 

Caldwell,  Sir  James,  126. 

Calliand,  Captain,  63. 

Cambu,  staple  food,  83  ;  area  under,  113, 
114;  methods  of  cultivation  of,  117, 
118, 119  ;  standard  dry  grain,  203. 

Campbell,  Captain  E.  A.,  8,  149. 

Campbell,  Major  Charles,  07. 

Campbell-Johnston,  Mr.  P.  F.,  264. 

Canals,  irrigation  from,  121,  123. 

Canarese,  73,  145. 

CanoB,  Bishop  A.,  77. 

Cardamom  Hills,  3. 

Cardamoms,  on  the  Lower  Palnis,  4,  111, 
138;  on  the  Sirumalais,  8,  114;  minor 
foreit  produce,  lil  ;  export  of,  161. 


Carnatio,  68,  69,71, 

Carter,  Mr.  Vandyke,  170. 

Cassm  auricnlata,  115,  141. 

Caste  disiaites,  214. 

Castes,  87-111,  152,  216. 

Castor,  117,  150. 

Catalogue    Raisonn6   of    Oriental    Manu- 

scripts,  40. 
Cattle,  on    the    Palnis,  4  ;    described,  20 ; 
penning  of,  81 ;  jallikats  with,  83  ;  theft 
of,  90 ;  fair  at    Madura,   273  ;  breeding 
of,  319.  * 

Causeways,  157,  222. 
Cauvery  i-ivcr,  10. 
Cedar  tree,  138. 
Cedrela  ioona,  138. 
Cemetery,  at  Dindigul,    231;  Kodaikanal, 

252,  253  ;  and  Madura,  260. 
Ceylon,  invaded  by  the  Pandvas.  30; 
conqnered  by  Rajaraja,  31;  invaded  by 
Parantaka  I,  31;  revolts  against  the 
Cholas,  32;  regains  its  independence, 
32;  takes  part  in  the  struggle  for 
Pandya  throne,  .33-34;  defeated  by 
Kulottunga  III,  34;  invaded  by  Jata- 
varman  Sundara-Pandya  I,  30;  con- 
quered by  Kumara  Krishnappa  Nayak- 
kan, 43 ;  emigration  to,  72,  130,  102, 
163  ;  Jaffna  Mission  in,  77;  stolen  cattle 
sent  to,  90;  Nattukottai  Chettis  do 
business  in,  100;  proposed  railwar  to. 
158.  ' 

Chakala  Nayak,  293. 
Cbakkiliyans,  80,  107,  230. 
Chakku  Nayakkan,  314. 
Chalakyas  of  Badami,  29. 
Chalukyas,  Western,  31. 
Champakanur(r<i),  246. 
Champenois,  Monsignor,  76. 
Chanda  Sahib,  bis  expedition  to  the  south, 
57-58 ;    taken  captive    to    Satara,   59 ; 
regains  his  liberty  and  again    marches 
south,  60;  made   Nawab   of  Arcot,  60 ; 
te.mple  lands  seized  by,  108 ;  places  his 
brother  in  charge  of  Di'ndigul,  23(5 ;  wins 
battle  at  Ammayanayakkanur,  292. 
Chandlftr,  Rev.  J.  S.,77  noto;  and  J.  E.,78. 
Chandragiri,  44. 
Cbai'nockite,  15. 
Chattram  lands,  197,  200. 
Chattrama,  157,  241,  258,  313. 
Chaturagiri  (Cf),  7. 
Cltdvadi  nf  the  village,  81. 
Chay-root,  147. 

Ch^ras,  origin  of,  25 ;  defeated  by  Nedun- 
cheliyan  II,  27  ;  emblem  of,  28  ;  Ugra- 
peru-valuti  friendly    to,    28  ;  their  rela- 
tions with  Pallavns  and  Chalakyas,  29  ; 
revolt  against  tlie  Cholas,   32;' Pandya 
king  defe;ited  by,  38. 
Cheroots,  149,  151. 
Cherry's  bungalow,  261. 
Chester,  Rev.  E.,  78,  172. 
Chester  hospital,  172. 

Chettis,    4,     162.     8e«     also    Nattuk6tt»i 
Chettis. 


336 


INDEX. 


Chidambara  Chetti,  279. 

Chidambaram,  2G7,  280,  2-Jl. 

Chikka  D6va  Raya,  52. 

Chila  Bodi  Nayakkaa,  314. 

Chinna  Kambalattar,  103. 

Chinna  Kattira  Nayakkan,  239. 

Chiuna  tjliyam  Parivarams,  102. 

Chinnakalayamuttnr  {Be),  25,  303. 

Chinnalu  Nayak,  293. 

Chinnama  Nayak,  316. 

Chinnamaii'cLr,  anient,    123 ;  village   {Be), 

159,  220,  316. 
Chisholm,  Mr.,  260,  264,  277. 
Chittanai  dam,  12,  42,  124,  125. 
Ghlnroxylon  Swietenia,  137,  142. 
Chddas,  26. 

Chokkalinga  Nayakkan,  42. 
Cbokkanatha  Nayakkan,   42,  49,  50,  274, 

323. 
Cholam,  grown  for  fodder,  20  ;  staple  food, 
83;  area  under,    113,    114;  methods  of 
cultivation,    117,     il8 ;    standard    dry 
grain,  203. 
Cholantaka-Chaturvediraangalam,  296. 
Ch61a-Pandyas,  32,  33. 

Chclas,  origin  of,  25  ;  mentioned  in  As^ka's 

inscriptions,  26 ;    defeated    by    Nednn- 

oheliyan  II,  37  ;  saciilice  performed  by, 

28 ;  emblem  of,  28  ;  their  relations  with 

Pallavas  and  Clialakyas,    29  ;  subject  to 

Pandyaa,  30  ;  their  subsequent  rise,  30  ; 

defeated  by  Rashtrakdtas  and  Pandyas, 

31 ;  regain  their  power,  31,  32  ;  take  part 

in  the  straggle  for   Pandya  throne,  33  ; 

their  power  reduced,  33  ;  decline  of  their 

power,   34;  conquered  by  Mara\arman 

Snndara- Pandya  I,  35 ;  end  of  the  power 

of,  36  ;  dispossess  the  Pandya  king,  41 ; 

their  king  said  to  have  oppressed  Nattu- 

kottai    Chettis,    100 ;  defeated    by  the 

Pandyas  at  Solavandan,  296. 

Ch616ndr asimha-chaturv6dimangalam,  31  • 

Cholera,  162,  163,  168,  226,  321. 

Chotala,  243. 

Choultries,  endowed  by  Navakkan  rulers, 

154. 
Ghtistian  College  Blagazine,  28,  290,  note. 
Cliristians,  75-9,  176. 
Chrome  tanning,  141,  150. 
Church  at  Madura,  259. 
Churches,  77,  78,  79. 
Cigar-making,  149. 
Cinchona,  246. 

Circumcision  amongst  Kalians,  94. 
Civil  justico,  214. 

Clarke,  Mr.  Thomas,  205  note,  251,  252. 
Climate,  13,  247. 

Coaker's  Walk,  at  Kodaikanal,  248. 
Cockburn,  Mr.  M.  D.,  110. 
Cock-fighting,  83. 
Cocoanut,  toddy  from,  211. 
Coffee,  on  the  Palnis,  4,  5,   114,    138 ;   on 
the  Sirumalais,  8,  114,  149,  293;  cnriuj; 
of,  150  ;  export  of,  151. 
Coimbatore  district,  146. 
Coinage,  163. 


Coins,  of  the  Pandyas,  28  ;  of  Rajaraja, 
31  ;  of  Maravarman  Sundara-Pindya  I, 
35 ;  Roman,  303. 

Collectors,  list  of,  208. 

College,  theological,  246. 

Colleges,  176. 

Colleries,  88. 

Colombo,  146. 

Combs  made  at  Palni,  151. 

Commercial  Bank  of  India,  238,  240,  317. 

Commission  of  1796,  185,  206. 

Committee  of  Assigned  Revenue,  68,  69. 

Comoiin,  Cape,  32. 

Conjeeveram,  capital  of  the  Pallavas,  29  ; 
and  Ganga-Pallavas,  30 ;  taken  by  the 
Ch4ras,  38;  Kappiliyans  halted  at,  108, 
320  ;  wax-printing  at,  148  ;  Jains  of, 
254  ;  Vellaks  from,  296. 

Contract  distillery  supply  system,  211. 

Coomaraswami,  Hon.  P.,  28. 

Coorg,  31. 

Cope,  Captain,  61. 

Coriander,  118. 

Cotton,  Mr.  C.  R.,  250. 

Cotton  and  Silk  Supply  Associations,  8. 

Cotton,  experiments  with  exotic,  8;  cul- 
tivation of,  113,  114,  118,  336;  weaving 
of,  145  ;  spinning  of,  149  ;  export  of  raw 
and  manufactured,  151. 

Cows  used  for  ploughing,  20. 

Cranganore,  Archbishop  of,  75. 

Crime,  89-93,  165,  215. 

Criminal  castes  and  gangs,  216, 

Criminal  Tribes  Act,  92. 

Criminal  tribunals,  215. 

Crole,  Mr.  C.  S.,  223,  225,  264,  265,  268. 

Crops,  statistics  of,  113. 

Cuddalore,  237. 

Cuddapah  district,  170. 

Cuppage,  Colonel,  234,  308. 

Cyclone,  166. 


Dacoity,  90,  216. 

Dagger  marriage,  107. 

Daggupad,  213. 

Dalbergia  laUfolia,  136,  140. 

Dalbergia  pcmiculata,  140. 

Damalcheruvu,  59. 

Dammar,  tax  on,  205. 

Dandayudhapani,  304. 

Dauiell,  drawings  by,  274. 

Dasaris,  216. 

Date  trees,  211. 

Daulatabad,  110. 

Davidson,  Mr,  Robert,  234,  241 ;  Ensign 

237. 
Ddyddi  pattam,  293. 
De  Britto,  John,  76,  181. 
De'  Nobili,  Robert,  75,  168,  175, 
Density  of  population,  72, 
Deputy  Collectors,  129,  207,  213, 
Deputy  tahsildars,  206, 
D^va  Baya  II,  40, 


1 V  n  E  X 


337 


D.'vadriiiapatti  (Cd),  eatnrapt  of  tlie 
Manjilai"  noir,  12;  proposal  iMJlway 
f-lirough,  15'.>;  resumR  I  p'il;iiva:n  of, 
"183;  rl.iiiiicd  l)y  Sand  liyiir  p'ilii;ar,  IS'), 
2'.Hj  ;  '•sclioatcd  for  want  of  hi-lrs,  I'J  !•  ; 
K'l.'i'p  'iliHt  to  Kodaikiiiial  ffoin.  il'iO  ; 
Virupakslii  jioiijar  hanged  nonr,  311; 
(k'Sci  il>«'<l,  Mil"). 

Dovagiii,  110. 

Devanampatnam,  '2'-'7. 

Divaru  am,  2<>. 

Dovila,  87. 

riharapnratn.  1'"':',  211. 

Dharmakattu  Kappilivans,  lOS. 

Dlioll,  117. 

Dindii,'ul  Committee  of  1700.  IS."),  2^38. 

Dindicrul  rocW,  232-234,  308,  311. 

I'indigul  taluk,  228. 

Dindi>ul  taluk  board,  220. 

Diiidigul  town  {Ec),  climate  of,  13  11 ; 
bpsioy,'ed  by  Mysore  troojis,  4>;  Chanda 
Sahib's  brother  appointed  governoi'  of, 
.'38  ;  VaTiv:'n-u  Tiiumala  defeated  at,  58  ; 
liistory  of  tlie  country  round,  (ii)  ;  sur- 
rendered to  ( 'oli)ne!  Lang,  70  ;  restored 
to  Tipu,  70;  taken  hy  Colonel  Stuart, 
71  ;  Patnalk'Arans  numerous  in,  74',  110  ; 
Homan  Catholic  church  at,  77 ;  American 
]\Iission  at,  78  ;  R^vutan  stieet^  in,  70  ; 
Lutheran  Mission  at,  79  ;  buffjlo  sacri- 
fices in,  F6  ;  irrigation  minor  basin  at, 
121',  12o  ;  tanniii;^  at,  137,  loO  ;  weaving 
at,  145;  cheroot  trade  at,  149;  hides 
and  skins  exported  at,  150,  151  ;  locks 
and  safes  of,  3  5  ">,  1 51  ;  bellraetal  vessels 
made  at,  151  ;  trade  centre,  152  ;  road 
througlt,  155;  railway  lines  ])roposed 
from,"] 58,  159;  rainfall  at,  IKO;  famine 
near,  IHl,  164  ;  hosjiital  at,  172  ;  schools 
at,  177,  178;  early  revenue  liistory  of 
the  coiintry  round,  181-190  ;  bench 
court  at,  215;  district  inunsif  at,  215; 
sub-resistrar  at,  215;  municip  ditv,  221, 
225  ;  fiescril)ed,  23'. 

Diseases,  108-171,  281. 

Dispensaries,  171,  17',  173. 

Oistiilery  at  TaidimaMur,  211. 

District  and  Sessions  Court,  215. 

District  Hoar.!,  220. 

District  Jail,  5'\  2!  7. 

District  muiisifs,  215. 

District  Ixegistiar,  215. 

Divisional  charges.  2O0. 

Doctor's  Delight,  13S,  249. 

Doddappannya'skan'ir  estate,  130,  195,  32'>, 
320. 

Dodoiisai  rK-T')xa,  115. 

Doiis  of  Kombai    3! 9. 

Dolmens,  25,  247,  2H0. 

Douiba-heri  estate  (li-).  315. 

Donibans,  82,  S3. 

Dommara^,  151 . 

Drainage  seheine  foi'  ^la  bira,  22  t. 

Draup.adi,  80. 

Dre.ss,  79,  82,  103. 

Dry  cultivation,  1UV121, 


Duck,  22. 

DufTerin,  Lord.  201. 
Diip'itir.,  115. 
D\eiir.'-.  117. 


E 

Ears,  s' retching  tin   lo'jcs  of,  82. 

Eirth  salt,  210. 

Economic  condition  of  ngriculturij-ts,  130. 

Education,  74,  174-178. 

Edward  Tark,  222. 

Ekoji,  51,  181. 

F.lx.,carpii.-\  13?. 

Elaivankudiyar,  80. 

Ela-tndhi.",  131,  213. 

Eleetricitv,  geuerati  ^n  frjui  ilie  IVrIv<'.r 
fall  of,  128. 

Eleplinrit  s+oue,  2  23,  207. 

Elephants,  forinerlv  nuiuerou?!,  22  ;  in  the 
IliKh  Wavy,  IfO";  ravage's  of,  231,  317; 
petrified,  251;  CiUaeior's  letters 
carried  bv,  2  >4  ;  story    of    In  Ir.i'.^,  325. 

Elliott.  Mr.'Wiiliam,  8. 

Elliott  lale,  8. 

Bliunnlai,  320,  326. 

Emakkalapuram  (Ec),  70,  183,  237. 

Emigration  to  Ceylon,  72,  13(1,  102,  103. 

Epijrapliia  IndicaAii),  20  note  ;  (iiil,  44 
note;  (iv),  38  note;  (v),  30  note;  (vi), 
88  note,  280  note. 

Eiasakkanayakkannr  (Be),  restored  by 
Sarya  NarAy.m  Muda.li,  70;  forests 
in,  130;  resumed  by  Tipu,  but  restored 
liv  the  Enslish,  183 ;  sanad  granted 
to,  195  ;  described,  310. 

Eiiyoda  {Eh),  pHlai3ani  resumed  by 
fcjaiyad  Sahib,  70,  183;  forfeited  for 
re'oellion,  194;  described,  238;  cliiuf 
h(>!ped  by  Sukkampatti  poligar,  242. 

Eiiacliinnamma  Niiyakkan,  320. 

I'h-rantnal,  291. 

Eruttukarar,  8(.t. 

Ettaiyapnrani,  48,  317. 

En,yeHia  A'  noitiaiut,  139. 

European  Club  at  Ma.lurj,  172,  259. 

Ex  voto  offerings,  BO. 

Exports,  151. 


'  Fairy  Ealls'  waterfall,  2t8. 

Fa'nines  and  scarcities,  in  the  days  of  the 

Nayakkan",  59,  52  ;  area  prjlejted  from, 

121  ;  reocnt,  10l-i(>0. 
Farm-labour,  141. 
Fauna,  20. 
Ferguseon's    Li.iian  und   Eiu-'e>n  .'rr'ntec- 

ttire,  271.  275. 
Fernandet,  Father,  75,  70. 
Ferry,  157. 
Ferry  t.ix,  179. 
Fever,  4,  108,  109,  23S. 
Fifth    Report  of    the   (^oaimi^tee  on    liie 

affairs  of  ilie  K.I.Co.,  32S,  329  njte. 

43 


888 


IKDBX 


Firp-T\'allvin,s,  SO,  8G,  822. 

Fischer,  Col.  J.  F.,  I.0G ;  Mr.  George 
Frederick,  250,  2U0,  275;  Mr.  Kobeit, 
elejihant-,  tusks  in  the  possession  of,  23  ; 
I'craiiai  dam  suit  brought  by,  130 ; 
bungalow  fit  Madiir.i  given  to,  259; 
church  at  M;KiinM  built  by,  200;  pictui'o 
of  Madura  in  tlie  [j'jsscssion  ol',  26('),  274  ; 
JJodinJyakkanur  estate  moi'tgagcd  to, 
316. 

Fish,  28,  279,  307. 

Fletcher's  bungalow,  201. 

Floods,  157,  IGl,  ir.O. 

Flora,  15,  133. 

Florican,  22. 

Fodder,  20,  118. 

Fondclair,  M.  Eniile  de,  -I,  8  ;  If.  Faure  de, 
8,  293. 

Food,  83. 

Foote,  Mr.  Bruce,  9,  14  note,  24,  248. 

Foreign  liquor,  211. 

Forest  settlement,  135. 

Forefts,  8,  132-143. 

Fort  Defiance,  2G2. 

Fort  Hamilton,  249. 

Forts  at,  Alagarkovil,  283  ;  Balasamudram, 
307;  Devadanapatti,  31(3 ;  Dindigul,  233; 
Idaiyankottai,  302  ;  Melur,  288  ;  Nara- 
Fingaparam,  318;  Nattam,  288; 
Nilakkottai,  295  ;  Solavandan,  296,  297 ; 
Vattilagundu,  299  ;  V^dasanddr,  244. 

Fonlkes,  Mrs.,  260. 

FuUarton,  Colonel,  67,  OS,  181. 

Funeral  ceremonies  of,  Idaiyans,  97; 
Kalians,  95  ;  Kammalans,  99;  Kappili- 
yans,  109  ;  Kusavans,  102  ;  Nattukuttai 
(^hettis,  100  ;  Paliyans,  106  ;  Tuttiyans, 
108  ;  Yalaiyans,  98;  Vannans,  101. 


G 


Gall-nut,  137,  133,  139,  141. 

Game,  22. 

Ganesa,  300,  305. 

Ganga-Pallavas,  ."50. 

Gangai-konda-Cliol  I,  32. 

G  ingas,  30. 

Gangu\arpatti  (C/),  ghat  road  to,  155,  156; 
plundered,  290. 

Gaiija,212,  213. 

Gantanianiyakkanur,  ^jirushaTiad  valley 
annexed  by  poligar  of,  C>  ;  restored  by 
Surya  Narayana  Mudali  and  resumed  by 
Mfr  Sahib,"  70;  Jangles  in,  13 1,  136; 
i-esumed  by  Tipa  but  restored  by  the 
English,  183  ;  satiad  granted  for,  195,  1 96; 
described,  317  ;  invaded  i)j'  Vadakarai 
]/oligar,  323. 

Garlands  worn  by  warriors,  29. 

Garlic,  5,  114,  151. 

Garnier,  Father,  77. 

Gass,  Mr.,  134. 

Gazula  Balijas,  151. 

Geology,  14. 

Ghee-tax,  179,  190. 


Gingee,  45,46,  50,  5i. 

Glngeliy,  113,  114,  150. 

Ginger,"  4,  205. 

Gin:iing  of  coft(,n,  119. 

Girls'  schools,  178. 

(Ueaytinqn  J'luin    ancient     Tamil    literatuye, 

28  note." 
'  Glen  Falls'  waterfall,  218. 
Gnei^sic  rocks,  14,  326. 
Goa,  Archbishoyj  of,  77. 
Goanese  Catholics,  232. 
Goals,  22,  137,  142,  143. 
Godfrey,  Mr.,  170. 
Golconda,  45,  53, 
Gold-washing,  15,  241. 
Gooty,  314. 

Gdpalasvami  hill  (BJ),  15. 
Gopia  Nayakkau,  296. 
GopinathaSvami  hill,  86. 
Gdripalaiyam  {Et),  2(;5. 
Gi'ain  brokers,  152. 
Grain  measures,  152. 
Grazing  fees,  134,  141. 
Great  Southern  India  Eailwny,  134. 
Gregory  XV F,  Pope,  77. 
Growth  of  jiopulation,  72. 
Giidalur    (-B/),    I'csumcd    palaiyam,     183 ; 

claimed     by     Travancore,      184,     185  5 

union,  220  ;  described,  318. 
Gujarati,  74,   110. 
Gundan  shola,  139,  140. 
Gnndar  river,  10,  124,  166. 
Gnntiir  famine,  162. 
Gurramkonda  rock,  234. 
Gui'unatlia  Jdtil  Nayakkan,  32C. 
Gurunatlian,  101. 


Eafta  decasidnam,  197,  198. 

Haidar  Ali,  invades  the  Country  round 
Madura,  GC>  ;  the  Carnatic,  68 ;  and 
the  Dindigul  country,  70,  236  ;  famine 
following  the  invasion  of,  161;  Dindigul 
country  leased  bj',  181  ;  confiscates 
Kambam  and  Gddalur  palaiyams,  184, 
318;  his  dealings  with  Eriyodu,  238; 
Kannivadi,  239  ;  Palliyappanayakkanur, 
2-10;  SukkAmpatti,  242;  and  Aiuinaya- 
n^yakkant'ir,  293  ;  takes  Solavandan, 
297  ;  and  Vattilagundu,  293;  transfers 
Idaiyankottai  and  Manibarai  from  Ara- 
vaknrichi  to  Dindigul  district,  302,  P.O'.i  ■ 
jilundcrs  Palni,  307  ;  attacks  V'irupakshi, 
.311  ;  and  Bddinaj'akkanur,  315;  name  of 
Utramapalaiyam  given  by,  321. 

Halebid,  34. 

Hamilton,  Major  Douglas,  249. 

Hampe,  38. 

Ilardwiciia  binafa,  137. 

Ha' rington,  Mr.  William,  185. 

Harvey's  steam  mill,  149. 

Hatchet  tax,  205. 

Havell,  Mr.,  82. 

Havelock,  Sir  Arthur,  171. 


INDEX. 


339 


Uazarafc      Saiyad     Aval)     ALiiur     Kaliiiu 
Auliah;  rlarga  of,  2-14. 

lleiirpel.  Mr.  J.,  UO. 

llcuiiiigway,  Mr.  F.  Iv..  25  note: 

Tlemiticnjits  Itijlocriua,  23. 

Hoirijvclru^-s,  212. 

Wcrou,  Coi.,  G2,  88,  181,  2SiJ. 

llickey,  l{ev.  William,  2.34. 

Hides  and  skins.  1-50. 

'  High  Wavy  '  mountain (.B/),  7,  U,  140,  ylG. 

Hill  villages,  sot-tlenient  of,  205. 

Hills,  3-iO. 

Hindn  rermanont   b'lm'l,  l.'Jl. 

Hiiidcs,  80-111,  176. 

Hindustani,  7!'. 

Histoiy  of  the  district,  2o   71. 

Hodg-3  .n,  Mr.,  IIH. 

Hoisington,  ftlr.,  78. 

Honey  tox,  179,  190,  205. 

Hook-.!iwinging,  321. 

Horse-gTam,113,  111.  118. 

Iforsely,  Capt.->iu  W.  U.,  2.51. 

Hcsi'itals,  171,  172,  3lu. 

Hosten.  Ucv.  H.,  247. 

House-tax,  179,  189,  220,  221. 

Houses,  5,  81. 

Hoysala  Ballalas,  34,  35,  36. 

Hultzsch,  Dr.,  27  note. 

Humidity,  1  I-. 

Hnrdis,  Harriot,  234. 

Hnrdiy,  Mr.  Thomas  Dowyer,  chattrani 
inauis  resumed  by,  158;  the  collector- 
ship  of,  186  ;  his  repoits  on  the  Hindi. ul 
country,  194,  197  ;  his  settlement  of 
the  district,  197-201  ;  and  of  tlie  hill 
villages,  205  ;  list  of  inains  compiled  by, 
206;  tomb  of  the  sister  of,  234;  ob- 
tains grant  of  ihe  Tamakam,  263; 
Idaiyankdttai  estate  resumed  by,  302. 

llutchins.  Sir  Philip,  275. 

Hytcna  cave,  257. 


Ibn   Batuta,  28  note. 

Idaiyankottai  (D6),  not  resumed  by  llaidar 
or  Tipu,  70,  183  ;  plundering  raids  of 
poligar  of,  184;  resumed  for  arrears, 
194  ;  sanad  granted  to,  19.5  ;  poligars' 
relationshij)  to  Kannivadi  family,  238; 
described,  302. 

Idaiyans,  92,  IK".. 

Idumban,  305,  306. 

Idumbanraalai,  305,  •Wk 

Idylls,  ten  Tamil,  28. 

llaiyattakudi,  sub-division  of  Nail  uk.'ittai 
Chetti.'i,  100. 

Iluppaikudi,  100. 

Imam  nlhi,  I\Iir,  {',9,  236. 

Iiiiliunin,   1  17. 

Iinrcadi  Ac^lnnaiua  Si'uappa  Kavumhtn, 
327. 

Impartible  Estates  Act   (1901),  196. 

Import",  151. 

Inams,  157,  186,  197,  2U0,  206, 


Income-tax,  213. 

Indian  Antiqii.arii,  (v),  106  ;  (^iii),  29  note  ; 

{x),  304  iioU!;  (xv),  110;  (.\x),    2u  ujto. 
Indigo,  11 5,  147. 
Indigo-vats,  179,  189. 
Iniustiius,  144-15).,  232. 
Inheritance,  among   Idaiyan^,  97;  in  the 

e-tates     of   Ammayanayakkanur,     293  ; 

Ayakkudi,   302;    and    Hudinayakkatuir, 

314. 
Innos,  Colonel,  311. 
Inscriptions  at,  Aivarmalai,  301  ;  Alagar- 

kovil,    5:84;       Anaimalai,       255,      256; 

Andii)atti,    313;      Chinnamanur,      316; 

Dindigiil,  233,  234;   Goripalairam,    265; 

Kalahasti,    31;     Ki'ranui-,   303;    Koilai- 

kanal,       i;52 ;        Kodimangal  im,       257; 

Kovilpatti,      330;     Madura,    2';7,    272; 

Maudasor,    110;      Pdlakkandttn,    211; 

Periyakulani,     321;      Piianraalai,     288; 

ItRinanadapurani,       211  ;    Siddharmalai, 

295  ;    Solavandan,     29() ;     Su.dii'ndr.am, 

31;     Tadikkombu,    242;     Tanjore,    30; 

Tiruchunai,      287  ;    Tirup]iarankunram, 

280,    2SL;  Tirtvaddr,   290;  Uttamapa- 

laiyan,  322. 
Inscriptions   of,   Achyuta,    !o,    233  ;   Iieva 

Kaya  II,  40;   Kulottunga  1,  32  ;    Kulot- 

tunga     III,       34;     Mangammal,     322; 

Marar.jadaiyan,        2+1  ;       Maravarman 

Sundara-Pandya   1,35,    280;   N'andivar- 

man    Pallavamalla,  30;    Narasimhavar- 

maji    I,     29;  Parantnka     I,    31,    255; 

Pulakeiin     II,    29;     Kajadhiraja    1,32; 

liaj^ndra   Deva,   32;  Sinihavislinu,  29  ; 

Tirumala  Nayakkan,  44,  242. 
Iron,  ore  of,  9,  15,  287;  smelting  of,   137, 

179,  189  i  import   of,  151;  oil    mills  of, 

288. 
Irrigation,  in  the  district,  121-13J  ;  on  f  ho 

Palnis,  4,  6,  205. 
Irrigation  cess,  125. 
IrnnM,  304. 
Irwin,  Mr.  Eylcs,  68. 
Ixora  jyarvijlora,  142. 


Jackals,  19,  291. 
Jails,  217. 

Jains,  29,  74,  25  l,  278,  297  ;  tlieii'   antiijui- 
ties,  75;  at  Aivarmalii,  300  ;  Anaimalai, 
255;    Kovilankulam,  327;     Kujipalanat- 
tam,      327:     Tiriipparankunriun,     279; 
Uttamapalaiyam,  322. 
Jakkamma,  lo7. 
Jallikat,  20,  8  5,  9l». 
James,  Father,  77. 
.laiiakinimi  Nayakka-i,  30.\ 
I    Jati  KavnnJaii,  lOS. 
'    .lavudi  hill^:,  2i:!. 

JoUicufc.  83. 
]    Jemaul  SSalu'b,  63, 

{    Jervis' jN"arratu'e  o/ ((  Joi.rney  to  Ihe  Falli 
of  the  Caxwenj,  23. 


uo 


INDEX 


Jfsuil  Mis.sii.in  of  Ma'iiira,  TT)  77,  -7!'. 
Jesuit  priests,    Irtti.Ti.-  ol'.  Hou  La    MUsicv 

rill  Madnri'. 
J-snii  tliLMilogiciil  coU'.'g-e,  2io. 
J(>wt<!lcry,  82'!^  9. j,  lU;i. 
J!Htha.iii,  197,  lUf'. 
Julmsion,  Sir  Alexandci',  2;)2-2fit. 
Johnston,  Mr.  S.itnuel,  2(32,  203. 
.Tohiistoii     of     Carusalloch      scholarslii|)S, 

2i;4. 
Jones,  Mr.  J.  A..  223. 
Jotiln-iyalckamir  (Dc),  195,  320,  32(J. 
Jonvnal   of  tiie   Asiatic  Society  ol:  Bengal 

(xiv),  -8  not''. 
Judges,  list  of,  218. 

Jang-lo  cmscwanoy  'epartment,  133,  135. 
Justice,  adiuiuisti-ation  of,  2;'l-2i;). 

K 

Kadirasvaini  DotMap;)  i  Nayakkan,  32(!. 

K'ldu.lLhi,  U!.- 

K;e  iipfer,  .Mr.,  17<>. 

Kaikoian.'!,  1  l-.j,  'AC^. 

K-iiknlaiikulRm  ('.'d),  321,  323. 

Kaih^sa  pmlai'u,  2 1. 

Kaittijankoltai  (/'.'6),  25. 

Kakatiyas,  3G. 

Kal  Tachclians  (stone  nia.sous',  'MK 

Kaiahasti,31,  ^22. 

Kalahastisvara,  322. 

Kal  am  croiif,  115 

KalayamuUur  (6t),  25,  20  note,  220,    303. 

Kales  Dewar,  30. 

Kali,  230. 

Kalkatti  Jdaiyans,  90. 

Kalian?,  cows  used  for  ploughing  by,  20  ; 
their  ravage.',  GO,  iH-t,  li'O,  1^1;  pre- 
caations  taken  froui  fear  of,  81  ;  dre&s 
of  the  women  of,  82  ;  jahikit  cuttle  of, 
83;  popular  gods  of,  85,  280  ;  described, 
88-90;  economic  condition  of,  130  ;  ni'm 
oil  used  by,  150;  oanli-salc  made  by,' 
210;  crime  of.  216,  275;  numerical 
Bf.reiigth  of,  279,  28+ ;  their  strrjiigliolds 
at  W6ldr,  2SS  ;  N^ttam,  289;  and 
Anaivur.  295,  298,  320,. 

Kabar-Alagar,  198,  2S0. 

Kalligiidi  (DO-  -l-',  =^20. 

Kiluynnialai,  278. 

Kalvarpatti  {Uh),  25. 

Kalyani,  31. 

Kautakshiamman,  ',;9,  316. 

Ivaniahikkayya  Nayudu.  237. 

K.Tmandalanadi  river,  lO. 

Kaman'ir  ((>;'>,  218. 

Kamaraja  I'andya  Ni'.yakUan,  315. 

Kamaya  N-iyikkin,  329. 

Kam^yya  Nayakkan,  29-J-. 

Kambulat,tar,  loC  ;  Chinria.  103. 

Kambatn  \-a!ley.  scenery  of,  5  :  (irainaj<e  of, 
11;  climate  of,  IJ;  cat  i  li'-breeding  in, 
20;  forests  in,  1:52,  lJ3,  13;',  139,  111, 
112;  road  to,  155;  malarial  fever  iu, 
169;  disturbances  in,  185;  troops 
Stationed  iu,  197. 


KaUibain  \illage  (/•'/),  (.'i(.'|iliiin!s  cau^i  t 
near,  23;  ])i  eliisioric  Ijuviril  ))lacps  in, 
25  ;  Visvaiiatha's  expedition  a^'ainst,  -l."  ; 
timber  d.'pot  at,  13^;  resinned  paLiiyan>, 
183;  foroicr  la  uk,  184;  clainjed  by 
Travancoro,  184,185;  union,  220;  Oe- 
scrilied,  31";   attack  on  ilie  f  rt  of,  323. 

Kambliyan,  97. 
K(io;el<i  powder,  147. 

Karamalans,  99. 
Kampaiia  Udaiyai-,  38. 
Kamudi,  10,  107. 

Kanulu  Am  i.al,  315. 

Kanakasabhai  Pillai,  Mr.  V.,  20,  27,  83,  175. 

Kanapjiei-,  28. 

Kandasami  Nayakkan,  315. 

Kangayam,  103. 

Kangu  ValaiyuK.s,  97. 

Kaniyarabadi,  213. 

Kan  kodntta  Haju  Nayakkan,  31.'>. 

Kannan  D5van  Hills,  tea  and  coffee 
ciiltiva'ion  in,  73  ;  cardamoms  cx|)"ried 
fio-n,  151  ;  their  pu'oduce  pas.^ea  ihioiigh 
Ijodinayakkanuj-,  152;  and  Ammaya- 
nayakkanur,  29:i ;  aerial  ropeway  to, 
155,314. 

Kannans  (brass-smiths',  99,  151. 

Kannapatti,  151. 

Kaunes\  ara  UdaiN  ar,  324. 

Kannin-ir.r,  86,  250,  309,  310. 

Kanni\an  (Be),  forests  of,  134,  130  ; 
dupatifi  madpin,  145  ;  dispensary  at,  173  ; 
history  of,  183  ;  claimed  by  Yiviipaksbi 
poligar,  185;  sanad  x  raiited  for.  195, 
100  ;  not  included  in  the  Impartible 
Estates  Act,  196;  its  chief  drives  cff 
Mulikan  of  Mysoi-e,  230  ;  described,  238  ; 
e'cphants  ii  the  hills  near,  259;  poligar 
conspires  to  I'cinstate  Palni  poligar,  308; 
c'.aiiued  by  the    Virupakshi  poligar,  311. 

Kantimatinatha  Pillai,  328. 

KapadajiTiiain,  28,  174. 

Kappiliyan.s,  cattle  breeding  of,  20; 
Canarese  spoken  by,  73  ;  desciibed,  108  ; 
numerous  in  Gddalur,  318;  and 
Kambam,  319 ;  caste  of  poligar  of 
Kombai,  320. 

Kar  paddy,  115. 

Karadi  Valaiyans.  97. 

Kai-ai-katti  Valai)an8,  97. 

Karaikkal,  58. 

Karalvapatti  (I'd),  210. 

Karakkat  Vellalans',  5. 

Karandamalaia,  8,  133,  137. 

Kavi}amanikka  Pcrumal,  209. 

Karumalai  (D6),  9. 

Karuuialaiv-jn,  Pulaivan  deity,  lu4. 

Karungfilakudi  (i''rf),'25,  280,287. 

Karuppansvjimi,  rhih-tidia  <'onnected  with 
the  v.or.ship  o-',  S!  ;  god  of  the  Kallaus, 
8'i,  93;  his  shiines  at,  Alagarkovil,  284, 
285  ;  ]\ietttii)pai(  i,  295  :  Virup.iikfhi,  309; 
and  I'tramapalaiyaiu,  322. 

Kiisi  \'isvesvarahnga,  279. 

Kattakaruppanpatti  {De),  325. 

Kattama  Nachiyav,  Kani  of  Siva«;anj;a,  25, 


INDEX. 


Ml 


h'alluhiiliGq'ii  villagfs,  VJS. 

Knvodi,  305,  W^. 

Kaviil-ais,  t»l,  !V2.  217. 

Kavali  system,  21(>. 

Kfival  Villi,  179. 

Kaverif'attaiiani,  'J'.K 

Kavuiidan,  l(iS,  lUH. 

Kavcn  lanadi,  irrigaliuii  from,  121. 

Ivayal,  o'rl,  :s7. 

Ki'yam,  147. 

Korosine  oil,  151. 

Klian  &ahil)'s  palliv(/.-<(d,  ()7. 

Khansa,  ()7. 

Kli.itii.  74,  110. 

Kiclliofii,  Prul'pssor,  :>  t. 

Kilakkdttai  (Ee),  Ui.5,  I'.n;,  :y^7. 

Kilariaopalara  {Cd),  2'M. 

Kilavalavu  (Fd),  'J.f>7. 

Kilg'onr,  ('olonel,  2Gl. 

Kiikudi,  91. 

Kdiiod  Kalians,  \).',. 

Kin":,  Dr..  28.j. 

Kiranur  (C'/>),  liC'o. 

Kistnauiri  Nayak"s  (ope  {'-'d),  15'J,  3in. 

Ristnaranial,  l:!»k 

K'istvaen3,  21,  217,  303,  31'.t. 

Kcd<u  crojis,  115. 

Koinikatiai  taluk,  200,  245. 

Kodaika!ial  town  (Cd),  position  of,  5  ; 
temperature  reeordt^d  at,  13;  meteorite 
found  near,  15;  flora  of,  10;  eauitariutn 
at,  78,  16S;  forests  on,  139;  blue  g'trni 
and  blackwood  plaritatiotjs  at,  14(i; 
ghat  road  from,  155;  rainfall  at,  lOO; 
hospital  at,  172;  sub-registrar  at,  215; 
municipality,  221 ,  227  ;  dcsoiibcd,  245  ; 
route  through  Auiniayanayakkandr  to, 
29i^ ;  bridle-i)ath  from  Periyakulain  to, 
320. 

Kodai-ianol  Avood,  245. 

K<5ddngi  Nay^kkan,  lOG. 

Kodavanar  river,  10,  124. 

Kodimangalam  (£c),  257. 

Kokkulani  (Ee),  14,  15. 

K61anku])pam  Pulaiyans,  104. 

KoHans  (tjlacksiniths),  99. 

Kollegal,  140. 

Ki5uibai  (Bf),  h;story  of  the  palai3-au],  70, 
183;  Parivarama  of,  102;  forests  near, 
139  ;  di&turbanoes  oau-ged  by  the  poligar 
of,  185  ;  described,  319  ;  dogs  of,  319. 

Kdnan,  90. 

Kondrauginialai  (r>''),  9. 

KotKjnnod  cattle,  20. 

Koppernnjinga,  3  1. 

Korai  grasH,  22,  151. 

Kuramhii.t,  125. 

Korkai,  25,  28,  ;!1. 

Korkaiyali,  2S. 

ICdtlai  dam,  125. 

Kdttainialai  (/>.'),  '">. 

Kotfakudi  (/;«!).  155,  159.  3^3. 

Kofiaiiipatii  {Fa),  15,  287,  288. 

Kottai  u,  32. 

Kdvilankulam  {Ef),  327. 

KoTilkudi  (i>),  02,  289. 


Kdvilpatti  temple  (Dd),  .I.TO. 

Kiisiina,  26,  97. 

Kiishna  K:jya,  40. 

Krishnappa  Mayakkau,  12. 

Krishnasvami  Kulnppa  Nayakkan,  328. 

K)itiniauadi,  124. 

Kulija  Paudya,  V97. 

Kuhl^ii  Khan,  Monuo!  emiiorov.  37. 

Kiidal  Alagarsvaiiii,  198. 

Kud.i-haval  fees,  91. 

Kudii-aimalai  {(.'e),  7. 

Kiikal  shola  (Be).  138,  139. 

Kulalan,  101. 

Kulappa  Nayakkan,  295. 

Knlasekhaia,  Jatavarm.in,  ."io. 

Kulasi'khara  1,  Maravarman,  35,  lH',, 

Kulas''''kliava  II.  Mara  vai man,  35. 

Kula.s.'kliarankdttai  (Dd),  25,  257,  294. 

Kulasakhara-Pandya,  33.  3  t, 

Kuliuji  loaves,  1 15. 

Kuluttniiga  I,  32. 

Kuldttonga  III,  .'J^. 

Jvumara  Gujjta,  IRi. 

Kumjira  Karliiiaya  Nayakkan,  3oi. 

Kuti'ara  Ki-islmajjpa  Nayakkan  (two  rulers 

of  that  numeX  42,  43.' 
Kumara  M-.ittu,  47. 
Kumara  Pillai,  180. 
Xumbakdnam,  140,  1  18. 
Kunniir  (G'cZ),  125,  157. 
Knnnnvans.  4,  5,  103,  105. 
Knppala  Nayakkan,  311. 
Kuppalaiiattam  {De),  327. 
Kuppusvanii  Navudu,  14',». 
Kuril  I,  27,  174,  175. 
Kuravai)3,  82,  83,  151,  21G. 
Kurubas,  73,  145. 
Kuruvaniith  (^4/),  l.';». 
Kuruviturai  (Dd),  198. 
Knsavans,  85,  101. 
KusavapalaiyaoQ,  210, 
Kutti,  iSl, 
Kuvakkapatti  (E6),  183,  240,  292. 


La  ilisxion  dn  Miydure,  an  authority  ou 
tho  Nayakkan  period,  41 ;  on  Tirumala 
Nayakkan,  45,  48  ;  on  the  curious  rnraour 
of  1(;53,  48;  letters  from  1606  to  1673 
lost,  51  ;  on  tho  state  of  Madura  conntrr 
in  1078,  52;  haters  from  10S7  to  1099 
lost,  51;  letters  cease  from  1704,  56; 
on  the  history  of  the  Catholic  Mission, 
75;  jcfcrenco  in  it  to  famines,  lOi  ; 
cholera,  ItJS  ;  and  the  state  of  education, 
175;  on  the  native  reronuc  svsteojs,  180, 
181. 

Lal.bais.  1.50. 

Lac,  147,  151. 

Lace,  148. 

Lnjerstrxmi'i  i.iIi.k  ciujj.i.  140. 

Lake,  at  Kodaikanal,  215;  at  Fort  Haniii- 
ton,  249. 

Lakkayya,  294, 


342 


INDEX 


Ti:il<sliiiii();it.i  Kayakkiin,  'A(^2. 

Lamljp,  Maior  John,  23  t. 

J.an'.-ccps,  220. 

Land  lU- venue  aduiinistratiun,  l~'J~'209. 

Landslips,  19. 

Lang,  Golonol,  70,  237. 

Langlt>3'  Monumevtn  ancients  et  modernex  de 

V  Hindonxtan.  274,  276. 
Lankapiirti-Dandanatha,  33,  3-1-. 
Lata,  110. 

Law,  Major  G.  V.,  155,  150,  246. 
Laws  Cliiat,  5,  139,  155,  2-16. 
Leatlipi-  trade,  79. 
Fieipzig  Lutheran  Mission,  79. 
Jjeuion-grass,  141.  150. 
Leo  X [II,  Pope,  77. 
Lessees,    of   Kamnad    zamiridari,    130;    of 

Sivaganga  zamirdari,  13(1,  171. 
Lcvingc,  Sir  Vore  Hcnrv,  .-2,  171,  172,  245, 

252. 
Limestone,  15. 
Lingayats,  152. 
Lingayya  Nayakkan,  42. 
Liquid  measures,  153. 
Litigation  in  tlie  district,  215. 
Local  Boards.  220. 
Loom  tax,  179,  189. 
Lower  Palnis,  described,  3  ;  forests  on.  13-1, 

138;  ga,ll-nui-.  areas  on,  ill ;  coffee  caring 

on,  150  ;  sago  palm  toddy  of,  211. 
Lower  secondary  schools,  178. 
Lushington,  ^Ir.,  329. 
Lutheran  Mission,  79,  232. 


M 


Machi  Nayaka,  323. 

Machur  (C'c),  248. 

]\Iackenzie,  Colonel,  2G3. 

Mackenzie  MSS.,  on  the  iS';iyakkan  period, 
40;  Tottiyaus,  106;  Emakkalapurani, 
237;  Kaimiradi,  238;  Palliyappanayak- 
kaniir,  240  ;  Tnvasimadai,  243  ;  Tama- 
kam  bungalow,  203 ;  Ammayanayakka- 
nur,  292  ;  Nilakkottai,  295  ;  Ayakkudi, 
301 ;  Idaiyankottai,  302 ;  Mambarai, 
303  ;  Pahii,  301'.,  307  ;  llettayanibadi, 
308;  Virupakshi,  310,  311  ;  (lantama- 
nayakkanur,  317;  Vadakarai,  322,  323. 

Mackenzie,  Mr.  A.T.,  127. 

JIcLeod,  Mr.  Alexander,  09,  IS:'.,  190; 
Captaiu  William,  185. 

Madakkulam  (A'e),  85,  206,  251. 

Madava  Nayakkan,  328. 

Madavanayakkanur  zamii.dari  (D/).  328. 

Madavanavukkaniir-Pulivankulam  (jf^/). 
328. 

Itfadras,  oxjiorts  to,  1  15,  14i],  15tl  ;  iinjiorts 
from,  151,  211,  213;Palni  poligar 
deported  to,  308. 

Madras  Journal  of  Lttcrdture  and  Scienrp, 
(1837),  15;  (1858).  10;  (1887-88),  28; 
(1889-90),  28:  (v),  250;  (vi),  250; 
(xiii),  2'^ ;  (xvii),  26,  303  j  (xij),  133. 


Madras  Qioarlerhj  Missiunary  Jvurnal,  105. 
106. 

JIadiir    palaiyam    (Ec),    secinestercd    for 
arrears    of    revenue,    69;  resumed    by 
Saiyad   Sahib,   70,    183;  escheated   for 
want    of    heirs,    194 ;  Emakkal;ipuram» 
annexed  to,  238  ;  described,  210. 

Madura  College,  177. 

Maiura  foot,  169. 

IVladura  taluk,  251. 

Madura  taluk  hoard,  2:iO. 

Madara  town  {Ec),  origin  of  name  of,  2; 
Vaigai  flows  near,  11;  temperature 
recorded  at,  13;  cattle  market  at-.,  20; 
nujukeys  of,  23  ;  mosquitoes  of,  23  ;  chief 
city  of  the  Pandyas,  28,  37;  taken  by 
Kulas^khara-Pandya,  23  ;  occnjiiid  by 
l~inghalese  ti'oops,  33  ;  taken  by  Kulot- 
tunga  111,34;  sacked  by   Malik   K;ifur, 

37  ;  Masalman   dynasty   established  at, 

38  ;  Chera  king  crowned  hiniielf  at,  38  ; 
threatened  by  Mysore  troops,  47  ; 
capital  movod  back  by  Tirumala  to,  49  ; 
his  iniprovemcuts  to,  49;  attacked  by 
the  Musalnians,  50 ;  ta'jen  by  the 
Mysore  forces,  52  ;  recovered  from  the 
Mysoreans,  53  ;  cam. on  from  TraTancoie 
mounted  on  the  ramparts  of,  55  ;  serious 
riot  in,  56;  Chanda  t^aliib's  brother 
appoint  d  governor  of,  58  ;  siege  in  1751 
of,  (lO  ;  Mayana  governor  of,  61  ;  Captain 
Calliaud's  attacks  on,  63-66 ;  Muham- 
mad Yusnf  besieged  in,  66 ;  and  hanged 
near,  67  ;  Patnulkarans  numerous  in,  74, 
109  ;  stltcdapurana  of,  74,  174,  254,  208, 
278,  297 ;  Catholic  Mission  of,  76,  77  ;  and 
cliurch,  orphanages  and  niinnery  at,  77  ; 
Ameiican  Mission  in,  78;  Lutheran 
Mission  work  at,  79  ;  centre  of  Brahma- 
nism,  84 ;  fees  paid  to  Kilkudi  Kalians 
at,  91;  steam  spiuning-mill  at,  119, 
149  ;  forest  d6pot  at,  142 ;  weaving  at, 
140;  red  dye  of,  147;  wood- carving  at, 
150;  exports  from,  151;  chief  trade 
centre,  152;  road  through,  155; 
Mangammal's  chattram  at,  157,  158, 
297;  railway  at,  158;  rainfall  at,  160; 
ftorra  near,  166  ;  unwholcsomeness  of, 
168;  cholera  propagated  from,  168; 
medical  institutions  in,  171 ;  saugams 
at,  174,  175 ;  education  in,  176-178 ; 
early  revenue  history  of  the  country 
round,  181,  3  96  201;  deputy  tahsildars 
in,  206;  arrack  warchoaso  in,  211; 
cocoanut  jialms  near,  212  ;  zilla  court 
moved  to,  214;  bench  couit  at,  215; 
district  munsif  at,  215  ;  i-egistration 
oificers  in,  215  ;  municipality,  221,  222- 
•^25;  described,  257-278;  Alagar- 
avanii  taken  to,  285;  Tirugnana 
R-imbnndhar's  ma/h  in,  298. 

Mailura  IMinakshi  Ginning    and    Pressing 

Co.,  329. 
Jladurai.     Soe  Tuudura. 
Madurai-kanji,  28. 
iladurai  Viran,  85. 


INDEX 


843 


Wngnmai,  101.  111. 

Mahavamsa,  tho  C'oylon  clir^nicle,  30,   .33, 

Mahfnz  Khan,  50,  62,  63.  CC,  181. 

Maliifihasura,  231. 

Mi'ikk-Hv;!  Nayaklvan.  20?. 

Mi^lai  filoiies   1(>8,  ol»,  300. 

JIalaivalis  of  Mu-  Kalia};!!!  lii'ls,  10-3. 

Malaria,  6,  S,  1(50,  318,  310. 

Malay  Archipelago,  31. 

Malik  Kafur,  37,  ^d". 

Malikhaiia  allowanre,  191. 

Tilalla  Khan,  311. 

Mallaii  IJao,  80. 

Mdllofu!^  FhiUppiner^si.'',  117. 

MAmharai  (Db),  70,  183,  195,  303. 

Mamkudi  IMn.rutanar,  28. 

I^lanaar,  Gulf  of,  32. 

Mpnabliaranan,  32. 

Slanalur  estate,  1  jO. 

ilanamadura,  108. 

Manapfirai,  20,8-'). 

Monavc'ripat,  198. 

Mnn'Jai  of  the  village.  80. 

iMaiulapam,  158. 

INlantlasor,  110. 

Mandiyaman  Pulalyan?,  101. 

Mangalore,  treaty  of,  70,  237. 

i\langaramal,    rule   of,    42,  54;    palace  of, 

55,  217,  275;  chapel  built  by,  55,   2(30; 

Patuiilkarans'    status    investigated   by, 

111;    choultries     of,     lo*,     ]  .')7.    207; 

avenne.s  attributed  to,    155  ;  Tamakam 

built  by,  202;  an  anecdote  about,  304; 

Chinnamandr    founded  in  the  time  of, 

316;     her      gift     to     Uttaiiiapalaiyam 

temple,  322. 
Mangulam  (-Fd),  278. 
M&nikya-Vachakar,  267,  273,  200. 
Maiiimeijalai,  27. 
Maiiiyakaran,  102. 
Mnnixiams,  107,  100. 
IManjalar  river,  12,  124.  298,  310. 
Manjaiualais,  137. 
Manjapatti  valley,  138, 
hfnnnadi.'^,  103.  205. 
Iklannaikkudi,  30. 
ilansioii  House  Fun:1,  l(j5. 
Manures,  on  tiie  Palnis,  (i ;   on  wet   land, 

li5;  on   dry  land,    117.    118,    120;  fur 

Ptriyjir  land.--,  141,  112. 
Maranjad.nij-an,  241. 
Marat  has,  52,  55,  50,  181. 
Maratlii,  175. 
Mara  vans,  53,  90,  21(;. 
Marchaud,  67. 
Iklarco  P.d  I,  30.  37. 
Margaiyankottai   (Be),  25,  320. 
Martro.'-a.  20,  150. 
Marianiman,  80,  2V3,  324. 
Markets,     152,    221;    at     Dindigul.     225; 

Tirumangalani,   329;   Ufiilanipatti,   330; 

V^dasandur,      243;     Vii'upakshi,      309. 
Marrett,  Mr.,  2G0. 
Marriage     customs     of    Am-ippans,     109; 

Llaiyans,    90  ;  Kalians,    04,95;    Kam- 


malans,  09;  Kappiliyars,  108;  Kimnn- 
vnni5,  103;  Kusavans,  101  ;  Xattnkotiai 
Cliet'.is,  lOU;  Paliyang,  lOfi;  Pariva- 
ranip,  102:  I'atniilkarans.  lid;  Pulai- 
yauf),  101;  lii'ivutans,  79;  T'''tiiy:ins, 
]07  ;  Valaivaus,  08;   Vannuns,  KM. 

Martin,  Mr.  C.  W.  W.,  101;   Fatlirr,  U;8.' 

Mmiidaniullu  Pillai,  270. 

Marungapnri,  20. 

Marunuttu  (/.'c),  7<>.  183,  211. 

Maternity  hosfjital,  172. 

Maths  at.  Palni,  00;  Piranmalai,  It'O, 
288;  Pailarakudi,  100;  Madura,  208; 
and  Kambani,  310. 

Mathnra,  2. 

M^ttur,  100. 

Mat-weaving,  151. 

Mavuttn  Btream,  317. 

Maya  mantapani,  223,  250. 

ifayana,  01 . 

Mayandi,  Pulaij^an  deity,  104. 

Means  of  coramnnicaticjn,  151-150. 

Measures,  152. 

M6dakkarans,  151 . 

Medical  institutions,  78,  171. 

Medical  school,  172. 

Medow.s,  General,  183. 

Medus,  100. 

Megasthencs,  20. 

Mehay,  Father,  77. 

Melagiidah'ir  reserve  (R/).  140. 

Melakkal  (Ec).  257. 

Melakkottai,  195,  327. 

]M61amaogalaQi  (CV^,  140,  151,  178,  220, 

Melnad  Kalians,  93. 

M61ur  poligar,  ()8. 

M61ur  taluk,  200,  282. 

Melur  taluk  board,  220. 

Meliir  town  {Yd),  American  Missii^n  work 
in,  7S ;  fort  estaltlished  at,  88  ;  Captains 
llumley  and  Oliver  encamjiod  at,  89; 
troops  stationad  in,  89,  106;  Kalians 
of,  92,  93;  road  through.  155;  rainfall 
at.  IGO  ;  dispensary  at,  173;  ecl.ool  at, 
178;  sub-registrar  at,  215;  union,  220; 
described,  288. 

Melurnad  Kalians,  03 

Memccylon  cdxde,  117. 

Mt'ir,oh:<  of  tho  Geological  Survey  of 
India  (xx),  14,  24. 

Mengel,  Mr.',  110. 

Metal- work,  150,  178. 

Meteorite,  15. 

M6ttii  Na\akkan,  100. 

Mottyiial.-iivara,  235. 

M6ttuppatii  (/W),  294. 

Mettiirajakkali'atti,  235, 

Kinakshi   (Quccn-P.egent),  42,  50-58. 

Minakshi  Xayakkan,  269,  281. 

i\liiidkslii  temple,  razed  to  the  ground  by 
the  i\lu>almans,  38;  ihousanil-pillared 
mantapam  in,  43;  shrine  to  Madurai 
Viran  in,  85;  possessed  women  brought 
to,  87  ;  Knhjdnn  laahal  at,  150  ;  inam  to, 
198;  idols  removed  to  Manamadura, 
198;  ami  brought  back  to  Madura,  190  j 


U4 


IK  Dr:x 


land  l)elonn'in»  to  tlic  e^tiililislimpnt  of, 
190;  hei.^ht  of  tha  [loimrnrn  of.  258; 
jewels  j;iven  ))>'  Kous  J'ctfr  to,  2on ; 
la-e.-rlbci],  ■i<»7-273  ;  granite  f:oni 'f  iriiii- 
p;ii':iiikunr;ini  nsril  lor.  27!)  :  rf»ii\.'i's  vo- 
litin).;fo  i\I.''uiikva-\'Hcli'ik-rs  lifful,  2'.il. 

jMineralH,  15. 

Minor  basins,  ui'^t' ilml  ion  nf  iiTi;iition 
woiks  amonir.  12I-. 

:\Iir  Imam  Ulla,  f.O,  231!. 

IMu-  Ra/.ali  Kha'n  liali'i  iiir,  2;!1. 

MirSalilb,  70,181,  l:)2,  23  1-. 

Miracles  of  Tiri;j^::ana  Sainb  indhar.  2!/7. 

Modachi,  ir.S. 

iloioura,  2G. 

Mohnrrum,  80. 

Mongoose,  19. 

Monkey  s,  23. 

Montrose,  heart  of,  263. 

Morari  llao  of  Gooty.   50,  100. 

Mordcdihi,  1G8. 

Mosquitoes,  23. 

jMonnt  Nebo,  252,  253. 

Monsset,  Father.  77. 

Mouth-lock,  307. 

Mudaliyarkottai,  20f>. 

Muhammad  Ali,  early  lii-story  of,  59,  GO; 
1.1s  title  to  the  sovereignty  of  Jfaliira, 
02;  his  assignment  of  the  Caruatie  to 
the  Company,  OS ;  treasonable  corre- 
spondence of,  71. 

Muhammad  J5arki.  02. 

Muhammad  Yiisuf  Khaui  his  history, 
62-67  ;  his  treatment  of  the  Kalians,  88, 
288;  Madura  country  rented  to,  181; 
treatment  of  temple  lands  by^,  100 ; 
checks  the  advance  of  H.tidar,  230,  207  ; 
takes  Vattilagundii,  209. 

iluhammadans.     See  Musalmans. 

Mulbei-ry  trees,  experiments  with,  8. 

Mulikaii,  230. 

Miillaivar.  32. 

Mullipallam  (D.?),  25,  116,  2<J6. 

Munaar,  155. 

Municip'jlities,  1G9,  171,  221-227,  253. 

Munro,  Sir  Thomas,  172,  ISO,  1S6. 

Munsifs,  district  and  villag-e,  215. 

Miiuukattu  Kippiliyans,  108. 

Muaur,  13S. 

Miippan,  07. 

Jlurugamalai  (CVZ),  316. 

Mii.'3alin3n3,  their  mode  of  acr|uirini>-  land 
on  the  Palnis,  4;  ru'ers  of  Ma'tjar,  28 
note  ;  their  influence  in  ihe  Fandya 
realm,  37  ;  their  invasion  of  southern 
India,  37  ;  dynasty  at  Madura,  38  ; 
again  supreme  in  the  district,  46  ;  deal- 
ings of  Tirumala's  snccessors  with, 
50,  51  ;  invade  tlie  south  ia  1731-,  57  ; 
their  authority  re-established,  59  ; 
described,  70  ;  lace  manufacture  of,  l^S  ; 
literacy  of,  176  ;  revenue  system  of,  181  ; 
toddy  shops  own;^d  by,  212  ;  shrino  at 
.Skaud.amalai  of,  279;  pray  to  the  I'aini 
Bhrino,  307  ;  numerous  at  Chinnamanlir, 
3L6. 


Mu=!iiivar,  80, 

-Muttal'amma,  2:i0,  2;0,  231. 

Muttamnidl,  51-,  }-6. 

Muttra.  2. 

Mottu  Alikadri  Nayikkan,  1-2,  .',0. 

Mi:t(u  Aru'a  I'iilai.  126. 

Miittu  Iriilapi.a  I'iUai,  196. 

Mutfukondama  Nayakkan,  302. 

Mutlu  Krisliuappa  Xayakkan,  42,  4J,  233. 

Muttukrisiuiasvami  Utlapa  Xayakkan,  330. 

Muttu  Kavutar  Kavutidan,  327. 

Muttu  Veukaiadri  Xayakkan,  3o3. 

]\Iuttti  Vi'rappa  Nayakkan  (^two  ruler.-^  of 
that  name),  42,  44,  236,  270. 

Muz/.y,  llev.  C.  if'.,  2tl,  2s7. 

Mycetoma,  169. 

Mylapo)-e,  76,  77. 

Mysore,  coffee  seeds  obtained  fioin,  8; 
bullocks  of,  20;  fid<dit3'  of  the  ruler  of, 
45;  hunil)lcd  by  the  Musalmaus,  46; 
atid  by  Tirnmala,  47  ;  its  forces  invade 
Madura,  52;  and  Tiichinopoly,  55  ;  raw 
silk  imported  from,  146  ;  its  dealiii^^s 
with  Dindigul  province,  ISl,  ISl,  184, 
2,36,  237;  Kali  temple  in,  231  ;  home  of 
Kombai  t)oligars,  320. 


N 


Nabi  Khan,  61. 

Nadukkuttai  estate  (Ee),  105,  328. 

Nagama  Nayakkan,  41,  323. 

Kagamalais,  7,  14,  257. 

Nagird  innitapam,  330. 

Nagayasvami  Tumbichi  Nayakkan,  328. 

Nakk'iran,  28. 

Nnllamaiam  (D/),  324. 

Nallarapillai,  230. 

Nallatangi  river,  11,  124. 

Nallur  {i:b).  212. 

Xaatagiri  Kaja,  60. 

Xambis.  1(^1 . 

NandagijpalasTami,    Kappi'ivan   king  bull, 

21. 
X'ai.ganji  rivor,  11,  12K  309. 
Nan/-j,i  tai-(i.n  payijiii,  18.1. 
Nan  niadak-kidal,  28. 
Nantnu'taruvar,  tem2)le  to,  273. 
Nan-tnaran,  27. 
Napier,  Lord,  252,  26 1,  277. 
NarasiLnhivarimn  I,  29. 
Narasiuga  Perumal  tenip'e,  255. 
Narasingapurani,  ruins  of,  (>,  3iS. 
N^arayanappa  Nayaka,  323. 
Narhjaii  \rdd:]y,  1!6. 
Natal,  100. 

Native  Christians,  145. 
Nattam  hills,  9,  137,  169,  289. 
Nattam  Khan,  107. 
Nattam  pass,  62,  8S,  289. 
Nattam  village  (/W),  oil-inilU  of  European 

pattern    at,    150;    dispensary    at,    173  ; 

sub-registrar  at,  215  ;  sjiecial  magistrate 

at,    215;    union,    220;    described,    288; 

former  zamin,  288  ;  '  C'oUeries  '  of,  2b9- 


INDBX. 


345 


Nattdinmaikftran,  90,  09,  104. 

Nattarasankottai,  100. 

Nattnkottai  Chetlis,  di'scrihefl,  i);i  ;  choap 
credit  duo  to,  131  ;  tinanciors  of  the 
district,  152  ;  support  tlie  Albert  Victor 
hospital,  171 ;  pithasalos  maintained  by, 
178  ;  income-tax  ])aid  by,  213  ;  sub- 
scribed to  the  People's  Park,  2G4 ;  templos 
repaired  by,  268,  270,  ;OG. 

Natural  divisions  of  the  district,  2. 

Naubat  kliana,  177,  27i'>. 

Nawab  of  Arcot,  57,  58,  59,  262. 

Nayakkan  (caste  title),  10(>. 

Nayakkan  dx'nasty,  rule  of,  -lU-oS  ;  weavers 
and  horJsmen  introduced  by,  73  ;  roads 
in  the  time  of,  lo-i;  education  under, 
175;  taxes  collected  by,  179,  180. 

Neduinaran,  29,  297. 

Nedunal-vadai,  28. 

Nedun-cheliyan  I,  27. 

Nedun  cheliyau  II,  27. 

Neikkarapatti  (C'c),  220. 

Nellikuppam,  151. 

Nellore,  3<i,  37. 

Nelson's  Madura  Country,  37-44  passivi, 
51,  55,  179  note,  197. 

Nenbeig,  Mr.,  149. 

Neutral  Saddle,  3,  138,  139,  155,  156,  246. 

New  Rettayambadi,  3U8. 

Newspapers,  178,  232. 

Nilaiyiir  channel,  124. 

Nilakk.')ttai  palaivam,  70, 183,  194,  230,  205. 

Nilakk.ittai  taluk,  206,  207,  292. 

Nilakkottai  town  {Dd),  r  ras.s  and  bcll- 
metal  vessels  made  at,  15 L  ;  market  at, 
152;  rainfall  at,  160;  dis|Hnsaiy  ;  t, 
173;  suh-registrar  at,  215;  nuiou,  220; 
described,  295. 

Niltriri  ibex,  23. 

Ni'm  oil,  150. 

Nizam  of  Haidarabad,  57,  5b,  6U. 

Kunnery,  77. 

Nupura  Gangai,  285. 


Obsprvatory  at  Kodaikanal,  253. 

Occupations,  74,  144  151. 

Octroi  duties,  180. 

Oddes,  210. 

Odukkam  valley,  226. 

Oil-making,  150,  288. 

Oil-mills,  taxes  on,  179,  189. 

Old  Eettayambaili,  308. 

Oldenlnndla  umhellain,  147. 

Oliver,  Captain,  89,  185,  308. 

Ootacam\md,  247. 

Opium,  21  :i,  213. 

Oriental  Mcntuncriptfi,  Taylor's  Cutaloijvp 
of,  40 ;  Historical,  40,  236,  274. 

Orissa,  31 . 

Orme's  Historv  of  In  il  est  an  on,  Minaksbi's 
relatione  with  Cbauda  Sahib,  57  ;  siege 
q£  Madura  in  1761,  GO;  Mabfuz  Khan'8 


renting  the  Madura  country,  62  ; 
Muhammad  Yusuf's  expedition  of  1756, 
62  ;  Caplain  CuUiaud's  attacks  on 
.Madura  (1757),  61  ;  Kalians,  88,  89,  95 
m>te,  289. 

Orphanai^es.  77. 

U'Shauglinessy,  Mr.  .1.  E.,  223  note. 

Ottaiyui-,  94. 


Pachaiyappa  JIudali,  284. 

Pachaiyiir,  124,  12.'). 

I'achnlfir  {Cc),  248,  300,  310. 

Pedal  %<ett(i  stJiulftnyal,  lOl. 

Padarakndi,  100. 

Paddy,  on  the  Palnis,  4,  6 ;  area  under, 
113,  114;  methods  of  oulti\ution  of, 
114-116;  ex|iort  of,  lal  ;  standard  wet 
grain,  202. 

Padiyur  (Ec),  86. 

Padmasale?,  146. 

Pagauattam  (Lb),  212. 

Pages,  Pev.  ,J.,  76  note. 

Palaganuth,  15,  241. 

Palaivam,  197,  200. 

Palaiyamparavu  anient,  125. 

Palakkanuttu  (Dc).  15,  241. 

Palamalai  (Cd),  247,  248. 

Phlamcottah,  34. 

hiloni,  305. 

I'alar  liver,  10,  287;  initiation  froip,  124, 
125,  1:^6;  former  bridge  across,  157. 

Palaya  Xyakkudi  {Cc),  301. 

Palghat,  159. 

Paliyans,  6,  7,  105. 

Pallans,  cheris  for,  80  ;  dress  of  the  women 
of,  82  ;  plays  acted  liy,  83  ;  engaged  iu 
transport  of  li((uor,  212;  their  share  ia 
the  i-ttiir  festival,  2S<). 

Pallar  tax,  189. 

Pallavaravan  channel,  222. 

Pallavas,  29,  30. 

Palliyappa  Nayakkan,  240. 

Palliyappana\  akkanur.  183, 194,  240,  29S. 

Palmyra,  leaves,  29;  toddy,  211  ;  jaggery, 
2;i.  212. 

Palni  Bava,  307. 

Palni  liills,  described,  3  ,•  geology  of,  15  ; 
botany  of,  15;  antiquities  of,  25; 
Knnnuvans  of.  103  ;  special  crojis  culti- 
vated on,  1  II  ;  plantain-growing  on 
132  ;  Colonel  Jk'd dome's  visit  to,  132; 
forests  of.  133,  134,  136,  138  ;  roads  into, 
155;  malarial  fever  at  tlie  foot  of.  169; 
settlement  of  villages  on,  205  ;  adminis- 
trotive  ••  rrangements  fur,  206  ;  view  of, 
305. 

Palni  poligar,  his  estate  resumed,  70.  183, 
186;  his  jihindering  raids,  184,  .85; 
bis  rebellious  attitude,  185,  Sul  ;  e.-^tate, 
forfeited  for  relellion,  194;  histoiy  of, 
307;  Kettayambadi  dependeni  on,  308. 

Palni  taluk,  300. 

44 


346 


INDEX 


Paliii  town  (Cc),  old  trade-route  to,  5  ; 
Amei'ican  Mission  work  in,  7>^  ;  Musal- 
nians  go  to,  !SU  ;  temple  at,  8i  ;  ex  coto 
offerings  at,  8<> ;  feast  at  the  Mariamman 
temple  in,  8G  ;  liuPfalo  sacrifices  in,  80  ; 
math  of  the  Idaiyans  at,  9(j  ;  irrigation 
minor  basin  at,  124,  125;  teak  plant- 
ation near,  140 ;  weavinii'  at,  145,  146; 
basket-making  at,  151 ;  exports  from, 
151 ;  combs  made  at,  151  ;  saltpeti-e 
manufat'ture  at,  151,  211  ;  road  to,  155; 
proposed  railway  lines  through,  15>S  ; 
rainfall  at,  160;  eho'era  propagated 
from,  IGS ;  hospital  at,  172  ;  lower 
secondary  school  at,  178;  sub-re?istrar 
at,  215;  municipality,  221,  226;  do- 
scribed,  304  ;  sthala  purdna  of,  305. 

Pamban,  158,  163. 

Pambar  river,  12,  227,  248,  250. 

Pancha  Pandava  padam,  295. 

Fcnicha.  Pandava  padukkai,  75,  256,  278, 
287,  295. 

Paneharamkatti  Idaivans,i)6,    '.)7. 

Pandae,  26. 

Pandaia,  26. 

Pandara-sannadhi,  298. 

Pandava-miittu  hill,  278. 

Pandavas,  300,  321. 

Pandion,  26. 

Pandyas,   25-41,  43. 

Panidas,  26. 

Fanmoln  land,  189, 

Pannuikadu('.'c),  4,   138,248. 

Pannaimalaiviir  (Dc),  238. 

Panri-malai,  3. 

Paper  factory,  276. 

Pappanpatti  (/ic),  308. 

Papparayan,  98. 

Paraipatti,  86. 

Paraiyans,  80,  145,  212. 

Parakrama-Pandya,  33. 

Parakrama-Paudya  .Vrik6sarideva,  Jad- 
lavarman,  35. 

Parakrama-Pandya,  Jatavarman,  35. 

Pardkrama-Pandya  Kulasekiiara,  Jatila- 
varman,  35. 

Parakrama-Pandya,  Maravarman,  35. 

I'arantaka  I,  30,  255. 

Parappar  stream,  248. 

Paravai  (-Ee),  25,  257. 

Paravas,  75. 

Parent -tongue,  73. 

Parish,  Mr.  George,  190,  194,  195,  201, 
296. 

Parivarams,  102. 

Parker,  Mr.  Robert  Deane,  132,  193,  251. 

Paramagudi,  43. 

Partridge,  Major  J.  M.,  251. 

Pasi-katti  Valaiyans,  97. 

Pasture,  144. 

Pasumalai,  geology  of,  14;  American 
Mission  work  in,  78,  171,  176,  178; 
described,  278. 

Pdthatalas,  178. 

Patna  Chetti  tax,  190. 

Patnam,  138. 


PatnuH,  74,  110. 

Patndlkaraiis,  hingunge  spoken  by,  7i  j 
taxation  for  caste  jjurposes  among,  81  j 
dress  of  the  women  of,  82  ;  described, 
109  ;  weaving  of,  145,  146,  147 ;  school 
m'iintained  by,  177 ;  their  temple  at 
Madura,  273. 

I'aftadu  flvii,  21- 

Pattavayas,  110, 

P(ittupatt)t,  27. 

Patvegars,  110. 

Pegmatii  e,  15. 

Fen  lukkum^kki  Idaiyans,  96. 

Peimycuick,  Colonel, 'l:i5,  126,  127. 

Pennkonda,  44. 

People,  the,  72,  111. 

People's  Park  a'  Madura,  222,  264. 

Peraiyur,  196,  215,  220,  3^8. 

Peranai  (Dd),  Periyar  water  passes 
through,  12,  123;  constructed  by  Visva- 
natha  N'ayakkan,  42;  described,  128; 
suit  roga.r ding,  130;  proposed  channel 
to  Tiramangalam  taluk  from,  131  ; 
position  of,  i94. 

Pi'iiplus  Maris  Erythrxi,  28. 

Peri\a  nianishan,  101. 

Periija  Piiron.im,  29,  297. 

I'eriya  Surappa  Kavundan,  328. 

Periya  Uliyam  ParivSrams,  102. 

Peri^'a  Virappa  Nayakkan,  42. 

Periyadanakk4ran,  109. 

iV'riyakulam  talnk,  181',  312. 

Periyakulam  town  (C'd',  bridle-path  to 
Kodaikanal  from,  5  ;  Varahanadi  flows 
near,  12  ;  American  Mission  work  in,  78; 
irrigation  minor  basin  at,  124,  126 ; 
weaving  at,  116  ;  saltpetre  manufacture 
at,  151  ;  brass  vessels  made  at,  151  ; 
bangles  made  at,  151;  road  through,  155; 
proposed  railway  through,  159  ;  rainfall 
at,  160  ;  hospital  at,  172;  school  at,  178; 
distiict  munsif  at,  215;  sub-registrar  at, 
215  ;  municipality,  221,  226  ;  travellers' 
bungalow  at,  245;  elephants  in  the 
hills  near,  259 ;  Tinfinished  gopuram 
at,  271  ;  additions  to  Siva  temple  at, 
314;  described,  320. 

Periyar  lake,  155. 

Periyar  project,  cattle  insufficient  in  area 

,  under,  20  ;  growtli  of  population  from, 
72,  73;  cultivation  under,  114;  de- 
scribed, 126-130  ;  assessments  on  area 
affected  by,  202 ;  special  Deputy  Col- 
lector for,  207. 

Periyar  river,  11,  12. 

Peri3'ar  tunnel,  140. 

Permanent  settlement,  187,  188. 

Persian  inscriptions,  233,  2.34. 

Perum&l  hill  {Cc),  245,  247. 

Pernmal  Maistry,  266. 

Perumal  Nayakkan,  309. 

Perunial  shola,  139. 

Perumalais  {Ed),  137. 

Perumalkulam,  309,  310. 

Perumalmalai,    286. 

Petala  Nayak,  293. 


INDEX 


347 


Peter  Pandya,  259. 

Peter,  Mr.  Jlons,  collectorship  of,  192  ; 
assessments  reduced  by,  201  ;  reduces 
peshkash  of  Kannivadi,  239  ;  acconnt  of, 
259-261  ;  his  presents  to  Madura 
temple,  270;  and  to  Alagarkovil,  284; 
elephant  shooting  expeditions  of,  315. 

Petrifaction  of  objects  by  wat^-,  11,  .317. 

Phillips,  Mr.,  264. 

Pi'chi  Pulaiyans,  101. 

Piddri  shrine,  290. 

Pigeons,  blue,  310. 

Pillaivali  estate,  150. 

Pillaiyarnattam,  294. 

PillaiTarpatti,100. 

Pillar  Rocks,  227,  246,  249. 

Pilluvari,  land,  189  ;  tax,  205. 

Piravialaii^dd  Kalians,  93. 

Piranmalai,  100,  287. 

Plantains,  on  the  Lower  Palnis,  4,  114  ;  on 
the  Sirnmalais,  8,  114  ;  ^rown  on  wet 
lands,  116  ;  and  in  cleared  forest  land, 
132,  138;  export  of,  151;  rates  of 
assessment  for,  205. 

Plantations,  140. 

Pliny,  26. 

Plough-tax,  179,  205. 

Podiyil  mountain,  32.  ■ 

Podun&ttu  Idaiyaus,  96. 

Poigaimalai,  327. 

Police,  216. 

Poligar  system,  42,  180,  216. 

Polyandry,  95. 

Pon-Amai-avati,  33. 

Pondioherry,  77,  150. 

Pongu  tree,  106,  108. 

Ponikcidii,  tax,  189,  205. 

Ponm6ni  (£e),  215. 

Ponnammal,  86. 

Ponniya  Nayakkan,  294. 

Poppy  heads,  212. 

Population,  72,  162,  166. 

Porandalar,  124,  125. 

Porvippu.  tax,  189,  200. 

Porupp^i  villages,  197,  199. 

Prehistoric  peoples,  24. 

Proctor,  Mr.  George,  68. 

Proprietary  Estates  Village  Service  Act, 
207. 

Provincial  Court  of  Appeal,  214,  215. 

Pterocarpus  Marsu^ium,  138, 140. 

Ptolemy,  26,  28. 

Public  health,  168-173. 

Pudu  Ayakkudi  {Cc),  301. 

Pudu  mantapam  at  Madura,  3,  49,  271. 

Pnd\ikk6ttai  State,  known  as  Tondamana, 
33 ;  it  s  part  in  the  war  of  Ranmad 
Buccession,  56 ;  boiling  oil  ordeal  in, 
107  ;  new  Tamil  sangam  supported  by 
the  Raja  of,  175 ;  salt  arrangements 
with,  210;  arrack  and  toddy  made  in, 
211,  212;  supply  of  opium  and  ho'np- 
drugs  to,  213  ;  house  at  Kodaikanal  of 
the  Raja  of,  215. 

Pblaiyans,  4,  103,  104. 

Pulak^Bin  II,  29. 


Full  piidavu,  cave,  257. 
Pnliyankndiyar,  80. 
Pulivankulani  (D/),  195,  328. 
Pum'barai  (Cc),  5,  17,  19,  216. 
Puniyar  chief,  318,  319. 
Punnacolum  tank,  235. 
Purananiiru,  27. 


Quartz,  14,  15. 
Quilon,  31,  37. 


Q 


R 


Ragalapuram  {Ec),  25. 

Ragi,  83,  113,  114,  118. 

Railway  cess,  159. 

Railways,  158. 

Rainfall,  13,  160,  247. 

Raja  of  Hamnad,  130,  259. 

ll&jadani  (Ce),  317. 

Rajadhiraja  I,  32. 

Rajadhiraja  If,  33. 

Rajaraja   I,   31. 

Rajaraja  HI,  34. 

Rajaraja-Pandi-nadu,  31. 

Rajasimha  Pandya,  316. 

Rajendra  Chola  I,  31. 

Raj^ndra  Chola  III,  36. 

Rajendra  Deva,  32. 

Rajendra  Idaiyans,  OG. 

Raju  Nayakkan,  314. 

Rama  Nayakkan,  23(5.^ 

Ramabhadra  Nayaka,  322. 

Ramabhadra  Nayudu,  M.R.Ry.  V.,  178, 
323. 

R^machcha  Kavundan,  319. 

Ramanadapuram  (Ec),  241. 

Ramappayya,  236,  306. 

Ramasvami  Kamaya  Nayakkan,  329. 

Ram^svaraui,  mosque  founded  by  Malik 
Kafnr  at,  37  ;  pilgrim  roads  to,  43, 44, 
157  ;  cholera  propagated  from,  168. 

Ramnad,  56,  187,  214. 

Ranga  of  Vijayanagar,  45. 

Ranga  Krishna  Muttu  Virappa  Nayakkan, 
42,  53. 

Ranga  Rao,  K.,  327. 

Rangamalai  (Db),  9. 

Rangoon,  130. 

Rapatei,  Father  F.,  279. 

Raahtrakdtas  of  Malkhcd,  31. 

Rasf:ums,  198. 

Ratnasvanii  Nadar,   M.R.Ry.  T.,  211. 

Ravikkai,  82. 

Ravutans,  described,  79;  dupatin  made 
by,  145;  engaged  in  tanning,  I  GO; 
mats  woven  by,  151  ;  trade  of,  152  j 
literacy  of,  176  ;  numerous  in  Dindigal, 
231 ,  235  ;  and  Kiranur,  303  ;  their  offer- 
ings to  the  Palni  shrine,  307. 

Rdya  qofiurao),  49,  271. 

Rea,  Mr.,  256,  257. 

Receiver  of  Assigned  Revenue,  68. 

45 


846 


INDEX 


Beeo'^dB  of  the  Geological  Sui  vej  ot  India 

(xii),  24  note. 
Rees'  Tours  in  India,  263  note. 
Registration,  215. 
Religions,  74. 
Religious  life,  84. 
Renting  83-stem,  183,  184. 
Reserved  forests,  area  of,  135. 
Rettayambadi  zamindari,  forests   of,  136; 

Beqaestered    by     Saiyad    Sahib,    183   ; 

eBcheated   for   want  of   heirs,    194;  its 

present,  state,  195,  301,  308. 
Revenue  collections,  190. 
Revenue  courts,  215, 
Revenue     Settlement.     See    Survey    and 

Settlement. 
Rice,  83,  113. 
Rinierpest,  20. 
Rirers,  10. 
Road-cess,  154. 
Road  ralaiyaris,  216. 
Roads,  154. 

Rock-cut  temple  at  Arittapatfci,  286. 
Rockefeller,  Mr.,  177. 
Roman   Catholic   churches,  232,  245,   253, 

293. 
Roman  Catholic  Mission,  76,  178. 
Roman  Catholics,  82,  243. 
Roman  colony  at  Madura,  26 
Root,  Miss,  78. 

Ropeway  from  Kottakudi,  ].'i5,  314. 
Rous  Peter,  Mr.    See  Peter,  Mr.  Rous. 
Rnmley,  Captain,  89. 
Eumleysvami,  89. 
Ryotwari  settlement,  192,  201. 
Ryves,  Major,  126. 


S 


Sadak  S4hib,  236. 

Saduragiri  (£)/),  7. 

Safdar  Ali  Khan,  57,  59. 

Sago  palms,  211. 

Saint  Cyr,  Father,  263, 

St.  George's  Church  at  Madura,  260. 

St.  Mary's  estate,  150. 

Saivism,  84. 

Saiyad  Sahib,  his  management  of  the 
Dindigul  country,  70,  181,  183;  his 
collections  from  Tadikkombu,  192  ;  his 
improvements  to  Dindigul  fortifications, 
233  ;  his  residence,  234,  236. 

Salem  district,  146. 

Salicornia  Indica,  147. 

Baliyans,  145,  146. 

Salt,  151,  210. 

Saltpetre,  151,  210. 

Samai,  83,  113,  114,  118. 

Samhd  paddy,  115,  299. 

Samuddyain  funds,  81. 

Sanads  granted  to  unsettled  palaivams, 
195,  304,  309,  327,  328,  329. 

Sand-grouse,  22. 

SandaiyQr,  original  name  of  V6da»andtii- 
243. 


8andaiy6r  {Dd,  Nilakkdttai  taluk),  history 
of,  70,  183,  194  ;  poligar  claims  D6va- 
dAnapatti,  185,  31(j ;  described,  296. 

Saudaiylir  (Tirumangalam  taluk),  196, 
212,  32y. 

Sangams,  174,  178. 

Sangattar,  270. 

Sankaralingachari  Brothers,  161. 

Sankaiidrug  province,  70,  183. 

Sanskrit,  176. 

Santdji,  52. 

Sanydsikidam,  281. 

Saptur,  136,  173,  196,  329. 

Satappa  Chetti,  327. 

Satdra,  59. 

Sati,  Muttammal's  attempt  to  commit,  64; 
formerly  common  among  Tdttiyana, 
107;  Kappiliyau  women  who  com- 
mitted, 109;  committed  by  Venkam- 
m6.1,  290 ;  and  Errammal,  294 ;  com- 
mitted  near  Kambam,  319;  Margaiyan- 
kdttai,  320 ;  Uttamapalaiyam,  322  ;  and 
Tirumangalam,  330. 

Satinwood,  137,  142. 

Sattan,  86. 

Sattangudi  (De),  145. 

Sattirapatti  {Ca),  173,  215,  309. 

S&tttir  taluK,  118. 

Saurashtra  sabha,  111. 

Saurashtras,  110. 

Scenery,  10. 

Schleichera  trijuga,  140. 

Scott,  Mr.  E.,  279;  Mr.  T.  M.,  28  uot«, 
279. 

Sedans,  73,  145,  146. 

Sembatti  {Dc).  156,  159. 

Seminary  at  Pasumalai,  78. 

S6na  I,  30. 

Sender  Bandi,  36. 

SenduraiCJ'c),  86. 

S^nivans,  73,  145,  146. 

Senkulam  (Ee),  25,  330. 

S^rvaikaran,  104. 

Sessional  school,  178. 

Settindyakkanpatti  {Ec),  86. 

Settlement,  of  inams,  206.  Also  *•• 
Survev  and  Settlement. 

S6tt6r,  3"26. 

S^tupati  High  School,  177-8. 

S^tupatis  of  Ramnad,  history  of,  44 ; 
grow  insubordinate  to  Madura,  45,  48, 
323  ;  help  Tirumala  against  Mysore,  47, 
48  ;  assume  independence,  51  ;  domestic 
outbreaks  in  their  country,  53 ;  defy 
Tanjore  and  Madura,  55  ;  disputes  re- 
garding succession  and  division  of  the 
kingdom,  56  ;  treatment  of  Kalians  by, 
88 ;  idols  of  the  Minakshi  temple  re- 
moved to  the  territory  of,  198. 

Seven  Pagodas,  231. 

Sewell's  For^jotten  Empire,  S8  note,  110  j 
Lists  of  Antiquities,  26  note,  29,  39,  40. 

Shams-ud-din,  265. 

Shauana,  81,  162,  212. 

Shanmuga  Chetti,  M.R.Ry.  P.L.R.  M.,  178. 


INDEX 


349 


Shanmiipanadi  river,  described,  11;  irri- 
gation from,  122,  124;  ruined  bridge 
across,  157 ;  water  brought  to  Palni 
town  from,  226;  Roman  coins  found 
near,  303. 

Sheep,  22, 

Shembagandr  (Cd),  156,  246,  250. 

Shop  tax,  179,  189. 

Sihbandi,  197,  199. 

Sihbandi  poruppu,  197,  199. 

Siddharmal-i,  294. 

Sikandar,  279. 

Bikandarinalai  (JEe),  279. 

Silaimalaipatti,  151. 

Silappiidigdram,  27. 

Silk,  146,  149,  151. 

'Silver  Cascade'  watsrfall,  248. 

Eimhavishnn,  29. 

Sinndba,  307. 

Sirnmalais,  coffee  seeds  from,  4 ;  described, 
7;  quartz  on,  15;  flora  of,  15,  17,20; 
bison  formerly  on,  23;  pujaris  to  the 
gods  of,  98  ;  cultivation  of  special  crops 
on,  114;  coffee  cultivation  on,  134,  149, 
293;  forests  on,  134,  136,  137;  coffee 
curing  at,  150  ;  lemon-gmss  oil  made  on, 
150  ;  exports  from,  151  ;  avoided  bj'  the 
railway  line,  158;  malarial  fever  on,  3  69; 
proposed  sanitarium  on,  250;  included 
in  Ammayanayakkaniir  zammdari,  292; 
coffee  planting  started  ou,  293. 

Sirnpalai  (Ed),  109,  195,  196,  278. 

Siruvalai,  278. 

Siva,  miracles  of,  255,  278,  291. 

Sivaganga,  56,  58,  68,  259,  269. 

Sivagiri,  305,  306. 

Sivaji,  52. 

Sivakasi,  50. 

givarak6ttai  (Ef),  124. 

Sivaritri,  93. 

Skandamalai.     See  Tirupparankunram. 

Small-pox,  54,  163,  169. 

Smith,  Mr.  Miohie,  263;  Mr.  R.,  126. 

Snipe,  22,  297. 

Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel, 
79,  105. 

Soils,  5,  12. 

Sokkanatha,  267. 

Solar  physics  observatory  at  Kodaikanal, 
253. 

S61avandan  (Ed),  snipe  near,  22 ;  irrigation 
minor  basin  at,  1:^4,  125;  saltpetre 
manufacture  at.  151;  Mangamraal's chat- 
tram  afc,  157,  158;  dispensary  at,  173; 
Bohool  at,  178;  suL-registrar  at,  215; 
union,  220 ;  taken  by  Haidar,  236  ;  de- 
scribed, 296. 

S6magiri  (Fd),  9. 

86m6svara,  36. 

South  Indian  Inseriptiont,  27,  30. 

ScMtth  IndMin  Mail,  178. 

South  In^iian  Bailway,  134,  142,  158,  178. 

Special  magistrates,  215.  288,  313. 

Spencer  &  Co.,  Messrs.,  149. 

Spinning  mill  at  Madura,  142. 

Spring  ofaanneU,  124,  126. 


Srinivasa  Rao,  Birki,  69,  70. 

Si'irangain,  35,  36,  43. 

Srivakabha  Ativirarama,  Jatilavarmau,  85. 

Sn'vallabha,  Jatilavarman,  35. 

Stamps,  213. 

Statues,  43,  280,  2.S3. 

Stokes,  Mr.  H.  J.,  134. 

Storms,  161,  166. 

Strabo,  26. 

Straits  Settlements,  100. 

Straw,  118. 

Stuart,  Colonel  James,  71,  237. 

Sub-Collector,  additional,  207. 

Sub.  Courts,  215. 

Sub-jails,  217. 

Sub-registrars,  215. 

Subbaiyar,  Mr.  P.,  164. 

Subrahmanya  temples,  5 ;  at  Palni,  60,  304 ; 
TirupparanUunram,  ^SO;  Piranmalai, 
288  ;  and  B6dinay8kkanur,  314. 

Succession,  among  Id;iivans,  97  ;  to  the 
estates  of  Ammayanayakkaniir,  293  j 
Xyakkudi,  302 ;  and  Bddinayakkan6r, 
314. 

Suchindram,  31. 

Sugar,  151. 

Sugar-cane,  113,  114,  116. 

Sukkampatti  (Eb),  70,  183,  194,  242. 

Sundara,  268. 

Sundara-Pand;a,  32,  297. 

Sundara- Parid^^a  I,  .Jatavarman,  35,  36. 

Sundara-Pandya  II,  Jatavarman,  35,  36. 

Sundara-Pandya  I,  Maravarman,  35,  280. 

Sundata-Pandya  II,  Maravarman,  35,  38. 

Sundara-Pandya  III,  Maravarman,  35. 

Sundararaja  Perumal,  242. 

Surakkudi,  100. 

Surappa  Kavnnd  in,  327. 

Suruli  ri\e)',  described,  11 ;  irrigation  from, 
122,  124,125;  Periyar  water  supplied  to, 
128  ;  sources  of,  140  ;  bridges  acioss,  157, 
321 ;  meets  Teniyar  near  Albnagaram, 
313 ;  petrifying  power  of  its  head  waters, 
317. 

Survey  and  Settlement,  by  Mr.  Ilurdis  in 
1800,  187;  reclaBsification  sanctii  ned 
and  carried  out,  192  ;  of  Madura,  200  ; 
of  1885-89,  201-205. 

Sirs  a  Narayana  Mudali,  70. 

Sivatga  Vilasain,  276. 

Siuarnadaya  tnxes,  189,  201. 

Swatantrams,  184,  189,  198. 

Sweet  toddy,  212. 


Tachanalldi-  distillery,  211. 

Tnchchans  (carpenters),  99,  161. 

Tadampatti  (Ed),  158. 

Tadik\omtju  (Dc),  temple  at,  84  ;  weaving 

at,   146;    former   taluit,    184,   206,228; 

collections    by   the    renters    fri>m,    192 

described,  242. 
Talaiyiris,  217. 
Talattuk(5vil  anioai,  126. 


350 


IN  DEX 


Talik<?ta,  44. 

Tallakulam  (Ee),  24,,  285. 

Taluk  boards,  220. 

Talaks  and  chief  towns,  I. 

Tamakam,  49,  261-264, 

Tambirakanal,  138. 

Tambirdn  viddu,  20. 

Tamil,  chiefly  spoken,  73  ;  spoken  by  the 
Ravutans,  79  ;  Parivarams,  102;  Kunnu- 
vans,  103 ;  Puluiyans,  10-i  ;  Paliyans,  105; 
and  Tdttivaus,  106;  cultivation  of,  175, 
176. 

Tamils  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  27,  83, 
175  note. 

Tan-aranu-ndd,  93. 

T&ndikkudi  (Cc),  138,  156,  173,  248. 

Tanjore,  itiscriptions  near,  30;  captured 
by  JMaravarman  Sundara-Pandya  I,  35  ; 
Nayakkan  ruler  of,  45,  46,  50;  taken  by 
Musalmans,  50,  57,  58 ;  ohange*?  in  the 
rulers  of,  51-2  ;  Zulfikar  Khan  exacts 
tribute  from,  54  ;  women's  cloths  export- 
ed to,  146  ;  painting  of  Tirumala  Nayak- 
kan's  palace  in,  274. 

Tank  Restoration  Scheme,  126. 

Tanks,  121,  123. 

Tanning,  150. 

Tasdik  allowances,  158. 

Tat^ans  (goldsmiths),  99. 

Tattooing,  82. 

Tatva  Bodagar,  75. 

Tavamutjia  Pillai,  279. 

Tavasiraadai  (J5c),  70,  183,  243. 

Taylor.  Rev.  \V.,  40,  5i,  23G,  274. 

Teak,  136,  137,  138,  140. 

Teal,  22. 

Technical  Institute  at  Martura,  150,  178, 
265. 

Telagii,  73,  102,  106,  110. 

Temperature,  13. 

T6m,  river,  11,  313,  315  ;  village,  159,  313. 

Tenkarai,  channel,  125  ;  former  taluk,  208, 
312;  hamlet  of  Solavandan  (Dd),  146, 
198,296;    and  of  Periyakulam,  321. 

Teppakulams  at  Madura.  49,  273.  323. 

Teppampatti  (Ce),  317. 

Terkundd  Kalians,  93. 

Terminalia  chebuLa,  137,  141. 

Terminaliu  tomentosa,  137. 

Tdr-dliyam,  179, 

T6van,  102. 

T6varam  palaiyam  (-Be),  resumed  by 
Haidar  and  restored  by  Mir  Sahib,  70; 
forests  of,  136 ;  resumed  by  Tipu  but 
restored  by  the  English,  183 ;  sanad 
granted  for,  195;  chattram  originated 
by  the  zamindar  of,  313;  described,  321. 

Thurston,  Mr.  E.,  106,  150  note. 

Tiger  shola,  139. 

Tillainayakam  Pillai,  Mr.,  164. 

Timmarasanayakkanur  (Ce),  145,  146. 

Tindn  kal,  232. 

'  Tinnevellies,'  119. 

Tinnevelly  district,  quieted  by  Visvanatha 
Nayakkan,  43  ;  immigration  of  Idaiyans 
from,  96 ;  Kammalan  guru  in,  99  ;  Pali- 


yans of,  106  ;  women's  cloths  exported 
to,  146;  demand  for  lace  in,  148 ;  salt 
imported  from,  151;  estates  transferred 
from,  328.  329. 

Tinnevelly  Settlement,  227,  246. 

Tipn  Sultan,  his  dealings  with  the  Dindi- 
gul  country,  70, 181, 183,  237  ;  his  death, 
71, 187  ;  removes  the  image  of  Abhirami- 
amman,  233  ;  resumes  Kannivadi  for 
arrears,  239  ;  sequesters  Ammayana- 
yakkanur  estate,  293. 

Tirnchuli,  167. 

Tiruchunai  temple,  287. 

Tirugnana  Sambandhar,  29,  74,  270,  297  ; 
math  in  Madura  of,  298. 

Tirumal  {£/),  15. 

Tirumala  Bodi  Nayakkan,  315. 

TirumalA  NAyakkan,  rule  of,  42,  44-49 ; 
headman  ot  western  Kalians  appointed 
by,  94 ;  Podnnattu  Idaiyans  given  an 
asylum  by,  96  ;  choultries  endowed  by, 
151;  famine  in  the  time  of,  161 ;  his 
palace,  177,  222,  274-8  ;  plough-tax 
collected  by,  179  ;  land  granted  to  tem- 
ples by,  198  ;  Dindigul  besieged  in  the 
reign  of,  236  ;  inscription  of,  242  ;  con- 
struction of  the  Tamakam  assigned  to, 
262  ;  his  presents  to  the  Madura  temple, 
270 ;  choultry  built  by,  271;  his  addi- 
tions to  the  Minakshi  temple,  271-2 ; 
Teppakulam  constructed  by,  273; festival 
in  it  fixed  for  the  birth -day  of,  273  ;  man- 
tapams  built  at  Tirupparankunram  by, 
280;  his  works  and  statue  at  Alagar- 
kovil,  283;  his  pre-eut  to  Alagarkovil, 
285  ;  arranges  for  pAja  in  Sivagiri 
temple,  306;  rewards  giveu  to  Virupa- 
kshi  poligar  by,  310;  grant  of,  316; 
his  connection  with  Vadakarai  poligare, 
323;  wagrtr*' ma«toj)arns  established  by, 
330. 

Tirumala  Pinnai  T^van,  94,  96. 

Tirumangalam  taluk,  206,  32&. 

Tirumangalam  taluk  board,  220. 

Tirumangalam  town  {Ee),  Gnndar  flows 
through,  10 ;  American  Mission  work 
in,  78  ;  irrigation  minor  basin  at,  124  ; 
bangles  made  at,  151  ;  road  through, 
155  ;  rainfall  at,  160;  dispensary  at,  173 ; 
seminary  at,  176;  school  at,  178  ;  district 
muns'f  at,  215  ;  sub-registrar  at,  215  j 
union,  220  ;  described,  329. 

Tirumanimuttar  river,  10,  126,  157. 

Tirupparankunram    {Ee),   geology   of,  14 
building-stone    of,     15 ;    snipe    at,     22 
Muhammad     Yusuf   camps    near,    63 
Hindus  go  to  the    Musalman   tomb  at, 
SO  ;  temple  at,  84,  198;   ex  voto  offerings 
at,  86  ;  granite  for  Madura  temple  from, 
272  ;  described,  279. 

Tirupp  .ttiir,  100. 

Tiruppirambiyam,  30. 

Tirnppur,  159. 

Tiruvachukam,  290. 

Tiruvadur  (Fe),  15,  289,  2f»0. 

Tiravalluvar,  27,  174. 


INDEX 


351 


Tiruv^vinangudi  temple,  96,  300. 

Tirnv^dagnm  (Ee),  7i,  1518,  297. 

Tobacco,  113,  114,  119,  244. 

Todd,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  78. 

Toddy,  96,  211. 

Tdgamalai  Knravans,  216. 

Tolls,  221. 

Tombf3,  pyriform,  25,  2.')6,  257,  330. 

Tondamana,  33,  34. 

Tope  tax,  189. 

Tora,  9. 

T6ttiyank6ttai  (Dd),  183,  298. 

Tottiyans,  103,  lOG,  316. 

Towns  Nuisances  Act,  215. 

Toys,  151. 

Tracy,  Rev.  J.  E..  28  note,  78,  252:  Rev. 
W  ,  78. 

Trade,  151-2. 

Trade-roates  on  the  Palnis.  5. 

Training  schools,  178. 

Travancore  State,  aggrossions  and  sab- 
jugati07i  of,  4U;  Mangammal  suhdues  a 
rebellion  in,  55  ;  Muhammad  Yusuf 
makes  war  with,  60  ;  stolen  cattle  sold 
by  Kalians  in,  90  ;  site  of  Periyar  dam 
and  lake  in,  127  ;  timber  from,  134,  143; 
demand  for  lace  in,  148  ;  Kambam  and 
Gudaldr  claimed  by,  184,  185,  318  ;  salt 
arrangements  with,  210 ;  arrack  and 
toddy  made  in,  211,  212  ;  supply  of  opi- 
um and  hemp-drugs  to,  213;  rewards 
the  chief  of  BodinayakkanAr,  314. 

Travellers'  bungalows,  157  ;  at  Palakka- 
ndttu,  241  ;  Periyakulam,  245,  320  ; 
Kistnama  Nayak's  tope,  246  ;  Kott&m- 
patti,  287;  Vattilagnndu,  298;  Palni, 
304 ;  V61ur,  309  ;  Virapandi.  324. 

Treasure,  hidden,  291. 

Tree-tax  system,  211,  212. 

Trevelyan,  Sir  Charles,  252. 

Trichinopoly,  taken  by  Visvanatha  Nay- 
akkan,  43  ;  fortifications  strengthened 
by  Tirumala,  45  ;  Tirumaha's  palace  re- 
moved by  (Jhokkanatha  to,  49,  274 ; 
attacked  by  the  Musalmaus,  50,  51  ; 
besieged  by  the  ilarathas,  53  ;  tribute 
exacted  by  Zulfikar  Khan  from,  54 ; 
besieged  by  Mys6ro,  54-5  ;  cannon  from 
Travancore  mounted  on  the  ramparts  of, 
55;  taken  by  Chanda  Sahib,  57  ;  and  by 
the  Marathas,  59  ;  fighting  at,  61  ;  work 
of  Robert  de'  Nobili  in,  76  ;  Bishopric 
uf,  77  ;  demand  for  lace  in,  148  ;  tobacco 
formerly  sent  to,  149  ;  Provincial  Court 
at,  214. 

Triennial  leases,  188,  191,  201. 

Troops,  196,  267,  288. 

Tufnell's  ilirifa  to  Coin-collectnrs.ii'irxoie, 
28  note,  31  note. 

Tumbichi  Nayakkan,  43,  .328. 
Tuppu-ki'li,  90. 

Turmeric,  4. 

Turnbull,    Mr.,    on    Kalians,    88,    95  ;  on 

Tottiyans,  106,  107. 
Turnbull    and    Kej'S,    Survey  Account  of 
Messrs.,  on  depredations   of  elephant*, 


231 ;  on  Dindigul,  238,  234,  235  ;  Eriy<5du, 
238  ;  Kannivadi,  238  ;  Tavahimadai,  243 
note;  and  v^dasandnr,  243  ;  attack  on 
Nilakk6ttai  fort,  295  ;  and  Vattilagnndu 
fort,  299  ;  Uvadig  to  Palni,  307. 
Turner.  Mr.  E..  164,  294. 


U 


Udaiyar,  300. 

Udayachandra,  30. 

Ugra-peru-valuti,  27,  175. 

Dmaiyandan  kovil,  280. 

Umbrella  tree,  137. 

Vmiri  plant,  147. 

Union  Club,  263,  205. 

Unions,  109,171,  220. 

Unsettled  palaiyams,  194. 

Upper  Palnis,  described,  5  ;  woodcock  on, 
22;  Nilgiri  ibex  found  on,  23  ;  Paliyans 
of,  105  ;  forests  on,  138  ;  garlic  exported 
from,  151. 

Upper  secondary  schools,  177. 

Uppiliyans,  151. 

Uraiytir,  35. 

Usilampatti  (-De),  market  at,  152  ;  rainfall 
at,  160;  hospital  at,  172  ;  deputy  tah- 
sildar  at,  200 ;  sub-registrar  at,  215; 
union,  220  ;  described,  330. 

Uttamapalaiyam  (Se),  brass  vessels  made 
at,  151 ;  bridge  across  the  Suruli  at, 
157  ;  proposed  railway  to,  159;  rainfall 
at,  100  ;  hospital  at,  172  ;  lower  second- 
ary scliool  at,  178  ;  former  taluW,  184; 
deputy  tahsildar  at,  200  ;  eub-regiatrar 
at,  215  ;  union,  220  ;  poligar  of,  236  ; 
described,  321. 

TIttamfittu  anient.  125. 

Uttappanayakkanur  {Dd).  195,  320,  330. 


Vaccination,  169. 

Vadakdda  {Dc\  311. 

V^adakarai  {Cd),  history  of  the  palaiyam, 
70,  183,  185,  315  ;  school  maintained  by 
the  holder  of,  178  ;  village  munsifs  of, 
246  ;  Vellagavi  fortified  by  the  poligara 
of,  250  ;  hamlet  of  Periyakulam  town, 
321  ;  described,  322. 

Vadakarai  cliannel,  128, 130. 

Vadamadura  {Kc),  84. 

Vadamalai  Tiruvanada  .SundaradusaTi^var, 
326. 

Vadipatti,  86. 

Vadivdsal,  80. 

Vadugapatti,  146. 

Vahni  Valaiyans,  97. 

Vaigai  river,  sources  of,  6  ;  described,  11  ; 
irrigation  from,  122,  124,  125,  126; 
Periyar  water  supplied  to,  128  ;  bridge 
at  Madura  across,  156,  158,  222,  258  ; 
freshes  in,  IGO,  167  ;  tributaries  of,  313. 

Vaigai  valley,  168. 


S$3 


I  NDB  X 


Vftigai  vallwy  railvraj,  246. 

Vaigakaraiy^r,  80. 

Vairavan^r,  128. 

Vairavankovil,  100. 

Valaiyans,  97,  150,  210,  216. 

Valasu  Iilaiyans,  96. 

Valattn  ValaivanB,  97. 

Vallam,  43,  oO'. 

Vallanadi  sub-division  of  Gantamanayak- 
kandr  estate,  317- 

VdllAritadi,  Kalian  caste  weapon,  9S,  95. 

Van  Allen  hospital,  171. 

Vandikaliamma,  8G,  230. 

Vangiru  Tiruinala  Nayakkan,  56-50,  322, 

Vaniyambadi,  150. 

Viniyans,  150. 

Vanjankinal,  139. 

Vannins,  101. 

Vannathiparai,  140. 

Vdnpayir  assessments  abolished,  193. 

'  Vans  Agoew'a  estate  ',  8,  150. 

Varadamanadi,  124, 125. 

Varagu,  83, 113,  114,  118,  119. 

Varah.8giris,3. 

Varahanadi  river,  12,  124,  125,  220. 

Varattar,  124,  125. 

Varnshanid,  hills,  fi.  15,  136  ;  valley,  6, 11, 
105,  139,  3  i 81;  village,  318. 

Vasuvftoha  Rama  Kavundan,  279. 

Vattilagnndu  river,  12. 

Vattilagundu  village  {Dd),  American  Miss- 
ion work  in,  78  ;  irrigation,  minor  basin 
at,  124,  125;  weaving  at,  146;  road 
through,  155;  proposed  railway  through, 
169  ;  dispensary  at,  173  ;  former  taluk, 
184  ;  union,  220 ;  attacked  by  Haidar, 
236  ;  bought  by  Nilakkdttai  poligar,  296  ; 
plundered  by  Sandaiyur  poligar,  296 ; 
described,  29*8. 

Vaughan,  Mr.,  263. 

V6dans,  94,  243. 

Vedasanddr  ^Db),  grass  grown  near,  20; 
dry  cultivation  near,  118;  rfwpa'is  made 
near,  145  ;  market  at,152  ;  rainfall  at,  1 60 ; 
dispensary  at,  173  ;  deputy  tahsildar  at, 
206;  sub-registrar  at,  215  ;  union,  220  ; 
described,  243  ;  once  included  in  Amma- 
yandyakkandr  estate.  292. 

Vekhali,  138. 

V^lampatti  (Fd),  288. 

Velaugudi,  100. 

Velankorabai,  140. 

V^layudha  Nayakkan,  307. 

Vellagavi  (Cd),  250. 

Vellaikurichi,  60. 

Yell£lans,  93,  103.  152,  296,   329-330.     See 

also  Karakkat  Vellalans. 
Vellakvatti(F(i),  88,  89. 
Velliyakundam.  195,  196,  281. 
\  ellore,  44. 
V61ur  {Cc),  195,  196,  309. 

VeMlam,  134. 

Vemb4di  Shola  hill  (Bd),  4, 

Vengai,  133,  13G,  137,  138. 
Venk&ji,  51,  52,  161. 
VenkammW,  290 


Veukata  Rao,   Biiki,  69,  181,  236  ;  Chinta- 

mani,  241. 
7enkatappa,  69,  70,  236. 
Venkatappa  Nayakkan,  183. 
Venkatarama  Nayakkan,  304. 
Venkayya,  Rai  Bahadur  V..  25  note,  241. 
Verri-v6r-cheliyan,  27. 
Veterinary  dispensary,  265, 
Vibart's    History   of  Madrat    Engineers,  67 

note,  262  note. 
Vicariate    Apostolic,    of  the     Coromandel 

Coast,  77  ;  of  Madura,  77. 
Vijaya  Raghuuatha,  88. 
Vija\a    Ranga    Chokkanitha     Nayakkan, 

42,  56. 
Vijayanagar  dominion,  38-40,  41,  44,  46. 
Vikkiramangalani  {Dd),  330. 
Vikrama-Pandya,  34. 
Village  forests,  scheme  of,  135. 
Village  munsifs,  215. 
Villages,  80. 

Vilpatti,  5,  156,  246,  253. 
Virapudavu  cave,  257. 
Virakals,  319. 
Vira.K6ralam,  32, 
Virali  leaves,  115. 
Viralippatti  (Ec),  25. 
Virapandi  (Be),  157,  324. 
Vira-J'andya  (three   rulers  of  that  name), 

31,  33,  34,  35,  324. 
Vira-Raj6ndra  I,  32- 
Virudupatti,  79,  119. 
Virdpakshi    (Cc),     waterfalls     near,     11  ; 

Kalians  invited  by  the    poligar   of,   94 ; 

Kunnnvans    helped    by    the  poligar  of, 

103  ;  market  at,   152  ;  resumed  by  Tipn 

but    restored    by    the      English,    183 ; 

relations  with  Kannivadi,  185,  238,  239  ; 

rebellious  attitude  of  the   poligar,  185  ; 

estate     forfeited     for     rebellion,    194; 

conspires    to    reinstate    Palni    poligar, 

308 ;  described,  309. 
Visvakarm  !j  99. 
Visvanatha    N&vakkan  I,  41,  43  ;    estates 

granted  by,  237,  239,  292,   301,  302,  308, 

310. 
Visvan&tha  Nayakkan  II,  42. 
Visvanatha  Nayakkan  III,  42. 
Visvappa  Nayakkan,  42. 
Vital  statistics,  171. 
Vitet  altissima,  138. 
VitthalaRaja,  40,  41. 
Viveash,  Mr.  Henry,  192,  201. 
Viv^^a  Bhdnu,   178. 
Vows,  85,  86,  307. 
Vyapuri  Nayakkan,  308. 
VyApuri  tank,  226,  304. 


w 


Walker,  Colonel  Campbell,  134,  140. 
Wallajahbad,  148. 
Warangal.  38. 


INDEX 


353 


Ward's   Survey    Account  on,    GantaraanA- 
yakkanur,  317  ;  Gddaliir,  318  ;  Kalians, 
88  note,  95  note  ;  Madura    churcb,    260 
M61lir   fort,  288  ;   Paini  hills,   247,  250 
Periy4r   project,   126;   Pulaiyans,    105 
Tirumala.      Nayalckan's      palace,    276 
Virap^udi,  324  ;  Virlipakshi,  310,  311. 

Wassaf,  Persian  historian,  87. 

Waterfalls  of  the,  Surnli,  11,  140  ; 
Nanganji,  11,  309;  Pamb^r,  12,  248; 
Manjalar,  12,  316 ;  Parappir  and  its 
branch,  248  ;  Mavdttu,317. 

Water-supply  echemes,  222-227. 

Wax-printing,  148. 

Weavers,  165. 

Weaving,  144-148. 

Weights  and  measures,  152. 

Weir,  Mr.  Thomas,  275. 

Wells,  irrigation  from,  121,  122. 

Wenlock,  Lord,  128,  177. 

Wet  assessment,  122. 

Wet  cultivation,  114. 

Wheat,  5,  114. 

Wight,  Dr.  Robert,  15,  19,  250. 

Wilks'  History  of  Mysore,  54,  67,  283, 
236. 

Wilson  &  Co.,  Messrs.,  169. 

Wilson,  Lieutenant  Thomas,  234. 

Wind  velocity,  13,  14. 

Woddahs,  21G. 

Women  and  childt-en,  hospital  and  dispeu- 
sarj  for,  171,  172. 


Wood,  Colonel,  286. 
Wood-carving,  150. 
Woodcock,  22. 
Wool,  weaving  of,  145. 
Working-plans  for  forests,  141. 
Wrangliam,  Mr.   John,  184. 
Wrightifi  (inctoria,  142. 
Wroughton,  Mr,  J.  C,  250. 
Wynoh,  Mr.  George,  185,  237,  240. 


Xavier,  Francis,  75. 


Ynle,  (Colonel  Henry,  2,  168. 
Ydsuf  Kh£n,  157,  199. 


Zamindaris,    112.     See  Chapters   XI    ana 

XV  passim. 
Zeno,  26  note. 
Zilla  Court,  214,  216. 
Zilla  school,  177. 
Zulfikar  Khan,  64. 


V' 


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