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MADRAS GOVERNMENT MUSEUM.
Bulletin^ Vol. Ill, No. 3
ANTHROPOLOGY
NAYARS OF MALABAR
(WITH ELEVEN PLATES)
BY
F. FAWCETT,
SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT RAILWAY POLICE, MADRAS (RETIRED); LOCAL
CORRESPONDENT OF THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
[Reprinted from the Edition of igqi, with a Bibliography.}
MADRAS:
PRINTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT, GOVERNMENT PRESS.
1915*
PR!*FATORY NOTE.
FDR the benefit of those who have not seen the
first article of this series of notes on some of the
people of Malabar, I wish to repeat that it is an
11 attempt to describe the people as they actually
are, and not as they are supposed to be in the books
on Hinduism, which, for the most part, tell us of
Hinduism as it is not in Southern India. Books
have not been consulted or used anywhere, except
where the fact has been notified." It is a product
of original work during three years and a half spent
in Malabar. My thanks are offered to the many
gentlemen, natives of Malabar, who have in the
kindest manner helped me Mr. M. Krishnan
(Malayalam Translator to Government), Messrs,
O. Vasava Menon, C. P. Raman Menon, U. Bala-
krishnan N&yar, M, Raman Menon, T. K. Gopal
Panniker, T. Kannan, Achutan Nayar, and many
others. Also I have to thank Mr. Badcock of
Tellicherry for assistance. The proofs have been
through the hands of several Ndyars, and every
precaution has been taken to ensure accuracy of
facts.
[1901.] F. FAWCETT.
CO NTENTS.
PAGE
KIRIATTIL NAYARS 193
URALI NAYARS ... ... ... ... ... ... 199
VATTAKKAD NAYARS ... ... ... 203
SUDRA NAYARS ... ... ... ... ... ... 207
NAMBIAR NAYARS ... ... ... ... ... ... 210
PURATTU CHARNA NAYARS ... ... ... ... 214
AKATTU CHARNA NAYARS 218
KURUP NAYARS ... ... ... ... ... ... 222
MARRIAGE ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 224
BIRTH : ANTE-NATAL AND AFTER CEREMONIES ... 242
DEATH AND SUCCEEDING CEREMONIES 245
RELIGION ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 253
SERPENT WORSHIP ... ... ... ... ... 275
CUSTOMS, GAMES, FESTIVALS, ETC. ... ... ... 283
The Onam Festival ... ... ... ... ... 291
The Vishu Festival ... ... ... ... ... 297
The Thiruvathira Festival ... ... ... ... 299
HABITATIONS ... ... ... ... ... ... 303
ASTROLOGY, MAGIC, WITCHCRAFT ... ... ... 304
SPIRITS, EVIL AND BENEFICENT, HOW SUBDUED ... 314
FAMOUS MAGICIANS OF MALABAR ... ... ... 318
APPENDIX A ... ... ... ... ... ... 321
B ... 322
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... ... ... ... ... ... 323
A
THE NAYARS OF MALABAR.*
IT is likely that some of the gentle readers of this
monograph are not familiar with " The Lusiad," the epic
poetn of Luis de Camoens, the restless soldier-poet who
sailed With a detachment of the Portuguese for the West
Coast of India in 1553. Voltaire, who is not given to
redundant praise of anybody, styles him the Portuguese
Virgil. At any rate he has written a fine epic, and from
it I will quote a few lines concerning the Nayars, with
whom he came in personal contact three and-a-half
centuries ago.
% <4 Polias the labouring lower clans are named ;
' By the proud Nay res the noble rank is claimed ;
4 The toils of culture and of art they scorn,
' The warriors plumes their haughty brows adorn ;
' The shining faulchion brandish'd in the right,
* Their left arm wields the target in the fight ;
' Of danger scornful, ever armed they stand
4 Around the king, a stern barbarian band.'* f
A former Governor of Bombay, Johnathan Duncan
by name, who visited Malabar in 1792-3, has anticipated
me in quoting some of these lines, and with regard to
them he observes: "These lines contain a
good description of a Nayar, who walks along, holding
up his naked sword with the same kind of unconcern as
travellers in other countries carry in their hands a cane
or walking staff. I have observed others of them have
it fastened to their back, the hilt being stuck in their
waist band, and the blade rising up and glittering
between their shoulders." \
The Nayars, the Nareae of Pilny, (Nat. Hist. VI, 2l),
were the swordsmen, the military caste of the west coast
of India. There are some small sects or castes interven-
ing, but broadly speaking the Nayars rank after the
Nambutiris in Malabar, and they occupy the same posi-
tion in the Native States of Cochin and Travancore.
* The first article of this series was in Bulletin, Vol. Ill, No. I, where
the Nambfttiri B rah mans of Malabar were described.
f Mickle's Translation, London, 1798.
\ Logan's ".Manual of Malabar,*' page 137,
186
According to the Census Report, 1891, they numbered
377,828 in Malabar. The figures found in this useful
document offer an instance of the unreliability of
casual observation. The author of "A Manual of
Malabar Law " describes the peoples of Malabar to some
extent, and in his Introduction says: "The Nayars
constitute the major portion of the Malabar population."
One hears of Malabar as the land of the Nayars, as if
its inhabitants were all Nayars. Certainly they may be
said to form the most distinguishing feature of the
district ; but, when we seek in the spirit of accuracy, we
find the surprising fact that they number but 14*2 per
cent, of its population.
The chief immediate interest attached to them lies in
the fact of their being the best, that is the fullest, the
most complete existing example of matriarchy, or, to be
more strictly accurate, of inheritance through females.
This system, obtaining at one time amongst the Celts
and other races of Europe, was probably universal in the
sense that it existed at some period in the life history of
every race of mankind, and is now to be found here and
there in the world.
That inheritance through females was once the rule
in Southern India is fairly obvious. Amongst others the
Maravars, who are, so far as we can surmise at present,
aborigines in the sense that we know of no earlier in-
habitants in the part of the peninsula occupied by them,
to this day offer strong proof of this. I refer to the
genuine Maravars the Kondayan Kottai Maravars of
Tinnevelly and not to the offshoots settled in Trichi-
nopoly and elsewhere, who have almost entirely forsaken
all the customs of their fathers.* Amongst the Maravars
the girl on marriage joins the sept of her husband,
but she retains her own sept name, and her children
are of her sept ; not of their father's. Marriage between
persons of the same sept name is prohibited; and this
is regulated solely through the mothers. The tribe
is endogamous ; but the septs within it are exogamous.
Thus, a man or a girl cannot marry any one of the
same sept, having the same sept name (which is
inherited through their mother), and must marry some
one within the tribe but of a different sept to his or her
own of his father's sept or any other. Though property
* Most of the cigar makers of Trichinopoly are Maravars in origin.
Their names Naidu, Pillay, and so on are borrowed
from people of higher castes.
devolves through the men, the degrees between which
marriage is prohibitive are inherited through the women.*
But the circumstance that inheritance through women
was once, perhaps, the rule in Southern India cannot he
accepted as of itself proof that the Nayars are identical
with the Dravidians, as the people of Southern India are
commonly called. It is not yet time to say whether they
are or are not. To the ordinary visitor their outward
appearance, customs, habitations, mode of life generally,
are very different from what he sees in the Teliigu or
Tamil countries ; for Malabar, " the west coast," is as
unlike the rest of the Presidency as Burma. The only
other district of the Madras Presidency which resembles
Malabar, is Ganjam, more particularly the northern part
of it, where the people are almost entirely Aryan. The
resemblance between these, the Uriyas of Gumsoor and
thereabouts, a fine fighting stock, and the Nayars of
Malabar is very striking. It is not, perhaps, a mere
coincidence that in these two furthest remote corners of
the Presidency alone, the people at large are to be seen
wearing umbrella hats to protect them from the sun.
The Nayars are divided into clans, (we will call them
clans for want of a better term), many of which inter-
mingle through marriage, but some of them are endoga-
mous. The precise number of these clans cannot be
given, as it is disputed whether certain of them have a
right to belong to the cognate Nayar body. The names
of the clans which have come directly under my measur-
ing instruments are these :
Kiriyattil.
SCidra.
Kurup.
Nambiyar.
Urali.
NalliSden.
Viyytir.
Akattu Charna.
Purattu Charna.
Vattakkid.
VangilSth.
This list is not in order of priority.
Kitavu.
Pallichan.
Muppathinayiran.
Viyapari or Ravdri.
Attikkurissi.
Manavallan.
Vengfilan.
Adungadi.
Adiodi.
Amayengolam.
* An example of this custom existing in another land may be quoted
here from a modern book ' The Caroline Islands/ by F. W. Christian,
1899: "Descent is traced through the mother a custom tolerably
common amongst the Oceanic races in general. Members of the same
tipu or clan cannot marry." (Page 74.)
I-A
188
The Kurup, Nambiyar, Viyyur, Manavallan, Vengdian,
Nellioden, Adungadi, Kitavu, Adi6di, Amayengolam, all
superior clans, belong, properly speaking, to North
Malabar. The Kiriyattil, or Kiriyam, said to be derived
from the Sanskrit graham, a house (a doubtful derivation)
is the highest of all the clans in South Malabar, and is
supposed to comprise or correspond with the group of
clans just named of North Malabar. In the old days
every Nayar chief had his Charnavar, or adherents. The
Purattu Charna are the outside adherents, or the fighters,
and so on, and the Akattu CMrna are inside adherents
clerks and domestics. The clan from which the former
were drawn is superior to the latter. The Unili are said
to have been masons; the Pallichans, mancheel*
bearers.t
The Vattakkad clan, whose proper metier is producing
gingelly or cocoanut oil with the oil mill, is the lowest
of all excepting, I think, the Pallichan. Indeed, in North
Malabar, I have frequently been told by Nayars of the
superior clans that they do not admit the Vattakkad to
be Niyars, and say they have adopted the honorific affix
" Nayar " to their names quite recently. It seems rather
odd that this clan, or at any rate one sub-clan of it is
almost the tallest and has the finest nasal index, being
the only clan whose nasal index is finer than that of the
Narnbutiri.
Union by marriage, or whatever the function may be
called, is permissible between most of the other clans,
the rule which was noticed already under " Nambutiris "{
by which a woman may never unite herself with her
inferior, being always observed. That is, she may unite
herself with a man of her own clan or with a man of any
superior clan, or with a Nambutiri, an Embrantiri or
any other Brahman, or with one of the small sects coming
between the Brahmans and the Nayars, but she cannot
under any circumstances unite herself with a man of a
clan which is inferior to hers. Nor can she eat with
others of a clan inferior to hers. A man may, and does
without restriction. Her children, by an equal in race
and not only in mere social standing, but never by one
* A mancheel is a conveyance carried on men's shoulders, more like
a hammock stung on a pole, with a flat covering over it, than a palankeen.
The palankeen is unknown in Malabar.
t There is in the Cochin state a clan, Elayadan, which is practically
equal in status to the Nambutiri.
J Madras Government Museum Bulletin, Vol. Ill, No. I.
189
who is racially inferior, belong to her Tarav^d. The
children of the inferior mothers are never brought into
the Tarav^d of the superior fathers. That is, they are
never brought into it to belong to it. But they may live
there. And where they do so, they cannot enter the
Taravad kitchen or touch the women while they are
eating. Nor are they allowed to touch their father's
corpse. They may live in the Taravad, under these and
other disabilities, but they are never of it.
It will be as well to avoid here a possible error that
may have arisen from the statement that most of the
clans may intermingle. Those of the same clan name
may marry. The Nayars of North Malabar are held to
be superior all along the line, clan for clan, to those
of South Malabar, which is divided from the north by the
river Korapuzha, 7 miles north of Calicut; so that a
woman of North Malabar would not unite herself to a
man of her own clan name of South Malabar. There
will be more to say on the point when we come to
''Marriage." A Nayar woman of North Malabar cannot
pass northward beyond the frontier ; she cannot pass the
hills to the eastward ; and she cannot cross the Korapuzha
to the south. It is tabu. To the west is the sea. The
women of South Malabar are similarly confined by custom,
breach of which involves forfeiture of caste. To this
rule there is what appears to be an exception, and this
exception is now having some slight effect, since of late
years the world has come in touch with the Malayali
who now-a-days goes to the University, studies medicine
and law in the Presidency town or even in far off
England. It is that women of the relatively inferior
Akattu Charna clan are not under quite the same restric-
tions as regards residence as are those of most of the
other clans ; so in these days of free communications
when Malayalis travel and frequently reside far from
their own country, they often prefer to select wives from
this Akatta Charna clan. This may have some effect on
the status of the clan.
But the old order changeth everywhere, and now-a-
days Malayalis who are in the Government service and
obliged to reside far away from Malabar, and a few who
have taken up their abode in the Presidency town, have
wrenched themselves free of the bonds of custom, and
taken with them their wives who are of clans other than
the Akatta Charna. But this is more new fangled than
orthodox. The interdiction to travel, and the possible
exception to it in the case of the Akattu Charna women,
IQO
has been explained to me in this way. The Nayar
woman observes pollution for three days during menstru-
ation. While in her period she may not eat or drink
with any other member of the Taravad, and at the end
of it, that is on the fourth day, she must be purified.
Purification is known as "mattu" fchange), and it is
effected by the washerwoman who, in some parts of South
Malabar, is of the Mannan or Vannan caste (whose metier
it is to wash for the Nayars and Nambutiris), but who is,
as a rule, the washerwoman of the Tiyan caste, giving
her, after her bath, one of her own clean cloths to wear
(which is called mattu, change of raiment) instead of the
soiled cloth which she takes away to wash. Pollution,
which may come through a death in the family, through
child birth, or menstruation must be removed by " mattu."
There is no avoiding it.* Until it is done, and it must be
done on the fourth day, the woman is out of caste. It must
be done in the right way at the right moment under pain
of the most unpleasant social consequences. How that
the influential rural local magnate wreaks vengeance on
a Taravad by preventing the right person giving " mattu "
to the women is well known in Malabar. He could not
with all the sections of the Penal Code at his disposal
inflict deeper injury. Now the Nayar woman is said to
feel compelled to remain in Malabar, or within her own
part of it, in order to be within reach of " mattu." My
informant here tells me that the Vannan caste being
peculiar to Malabar, the Nayar women cannot go where
these are not to be found ; and that " mattu " must be
done by one of that caste. But this is not the rule. I
know from my own observation in the most truly conser-
vative localities, in Kurumbranad for instance, where the
Nayar has a relative superiority, that the washerman is
as a rule a Tiyan; and I cannot but think that the inter-
diction has other roots than those involved in " mattu."
It does not account for the superstition against crossing
water which has its counterparts elsewhere in the world.
As bearing on this point I may mention that the Nayar
women living to the east of Calicut cannot cross the
river-backwater and come into the town.
The Zamorin is the over-lord of the Akattu Charna
clan, and with the decline of his power and influence, it
may be that the women of it have latterly taken more
liberty than was formerly possible.
More will be said on this point when we come to describe the
Tlyans.
191
The Sudra clan, one of the best, supplies the women
servants in the Nambutiris' houses.
We will now pass to a consideration of the physical
measures of some of the clans men, not women unfortu-
nately. It was impossible to measure the women.
Here are given the averages of the various measures
of 1 86 Nayars
25 Kiriattil.
25 Urali.
8 Kurup.
22 Nambiyar.
25 Vattakkad.
25 Purattu Charna.
25 Akattu Charna.
25 Sfidra.
Note. Group A, a non-descript group of a few individuals of eight
different clans (see " Nambutiris "Bulletin, Vol. Ill, No, I, page 10)
is not included here for obvious reasons.
Each index given is the mean of the indices
Average of
186 Nayars.
Stature ... ... ... ... ... 165*6
Height, sitting 84*9
Do. kneeling ... ... ... ... 122*4
Span i?5'i
Chest 80-6
Shoulders ... ... ... ... ... 40^0
Left cubit ... ... ... ... ... 46*2
Left hand, length 18-5
Do. width 8-3
Left middle finger ... ... ... H-Q
Hips ... ... ... ... ... 26*0
Left foot, length 25*4
Do. width 8-8
Cephalic length ... ... ... ... 19*2
Do. width 14-1
Do. index ... ... ... ... 73*1
Bigoniac ... ... ... ... ... 10*4
Bizygomatic ... ... ... ... 13*1
Maxillo-zygomatic index 80-1
Nasal height 4-8
Do. width 3-6
Do. index 76-8
Vertex to tragus 13-1
Do. to chin 197
Middle finger to patella 10*1
The physical characteristics of each clan separately
will be given first. This table will enable us to see at a
glance how the measures of any particular clan differ
IQ2
from those of the average Nayar ; also how the averages
compare with the Nambfttiri.
But, before doing this, we will exclude the endogamous
clans the Urali (wholly endogamous) and the Vattakkad
(partly endogamous), and take the averages of all the
others. It will be observed that exclusion of these two,
who are each units apart from each other, and the first
from all the others here dealt with, leaves the averages
of all those who intermingle much the same as before,
when the Urali and Vattakkad were included. It cannot
be said that exclusion of these two bring the measures
of the others any nearer to those of the Nambutiri, whose
blood is in constant process of mixture with the others,
but not at all with the Urali and not much with the
Vattakkad. It must, however, be remembered that there
are about 39 Nayars to every Nambutiri in Malabar, and
that the latter does not waive his opportunities to
disperse his favours amongst the Nayar ladies.
The Urali and the Vattakkad are not the only clans
wholly or partly endogamous, but they are the only clans
wholly or partly endogamous which have been examined
thoroughly by me. The Attikkurissi clan is also endoga-
mous, and there may be others.
Note. Individuals in the constabulary are excluded from all the
tables, their measures being as a matter of course above the averages
for their caste or clan.
Averages of
136 Nayars,
Vattakkad
and Urali
excluded.
Stature ... ... ... ... ... 165*7
Height, sitting ... ... ... ... 85' i
Do. kneeling ... ... ... ... 122*7
Span 175-3
Chest 80-4
Shoulders ... ... ... ... ... 40*0
Left cubit ... ... ... .., ... 46*2
Left hand, length 18*6
Do. width 8'o
Left middle finger 10-9
Hips ... 25-9
Left foot, length 25-5
Do. width 8-8
Cephalic length 19*3
Do. width ... ... ... ... 14'!
Do. index ... .., .., ... 72*9
193
Bigoniac ...
Bizygomatic
Maxillo-zygomatic index
Nasal height
Do. width
Do. index
Vertex to tragus . . .
Do. to chin
Middle finger to patella
Average of
136 N^yars,
Vattakkad
and Urali
excluded.
10-4
13-0
80-0
4-8
3'7
77-6
I 3' 1
19-7
10*0
KIRIATTIL NAYARS.
Ages ranging between
22 and 52.
Maxi-
mum.
Mini-
mum.
Aver-
age
of 25.
To
stature
100.
Remarks.
Stature, height
175'2
155 1
165-3
[
Height, sitting
89-7
80-4
84*3
51*0
Do. kneeling ...
129-5
113*8
122-0
73-8
Span
186-0
160-4
174-3
105-4
Chest
87'6
75-0
78-2
47'3
Shoulders
42-8
37'7
39-4
23-8
Left cubit
47-8
427
45-9
27-8
Left hand, length ...
19-5
16*6
18-3
in
Do. width
8'6
7'6
8-2
44*3
To left hand, length
= 100.
Left middle finger ...
11-5
9'1
10-7
57-8
To left hand, length
= 100.
Hips
27-9
24-4
26-0
15-7
Left foot, length
26-8
23*2
25-3
15*3
Do. width
9'8
8'0
8*8
13*9
Cephalic length
20-1
17'5
19-0
11-5
Do. width
14-6
13'3
13-9
.. .
Do. index
80'0
69-0
73-1
...
Bigoniac
11-3
9-1
10-4
...
Bizygomatic
14-1
12'2
13-0
...
Maxillo-zygomatic
84-8
73-4
80-1
...
index.
Nasal height
5-1
4'2
4-7
...
There are 8 whose
nasal height is 5
and over.
Do. width...
4.4
3-2
3-7
...
Do. index
102'3
66-7
78-8
...
Vertex to tragus
14-4
12'0
12-9
7-8
Do. to chin
20-8
17-5
19-2
11'6
Middle finger to
14-7
5-5
9-7
5-86
patella.
,
194
Face. Supraciliary arches prominent in two. Face of
one distinctly pyramidal ; in two others it was rather so.
In one the broadest part of the head was immediately
behind the ears, low down.
Figure. Fifteen are noted slight, four as slight to
medium, five as medium. Two were marked as power-
fully built.
Hair. An oval patch of hair on the vertex remains ;
the rest of the head, the face and body are always
shaved. A moustache is never worn. The men are
always clean shaven except during mourning for a near
relative, when the razor is not used for a year. The hair
on the vertex is allowed to grow long, and well treated
with oil, looks glossy and black, is tied in a knot which
hangs over the forehead or to one side of the head at the
pleasure of the wearer. As a rule the hair on the head
is plentiful and wavy, while in a few it is very thick.
About 20 per cent, of those examined had scanty hair on
the head. The following facts were recorded :
A man of 50 had a few gray hairs.
A man of 49 had hair distinctly gray : on the face,
white when sprouting.
A man of 52 had a few white hairs on the sternum ;
not on the head.
Baldness is uncommon ; and, though old age does not
overtake them too early, it has been noted that one man
of 40 looked about 60.
Gingelly oil is commonly used for the hair, but its use
for the hair is said by some to have certain effects on
the body. One man said he used cocoanut oil because,
if he used the other, he would get boils all over his body
and suffer from headaches. It is usual to oil the head
profusely during the month Karkadagam * " in order to
cool the body."
Hair on the chest and arms. As a rule the growth is
slight to very slight in 14 out of 25, while in the remain-
ing II it is moderate.
On the legs. In 20 per cent, it was slight ; in the rest
moderate or thick.
Note. Men never shave themselves. With the exception of the oval
patch on the crown of the head, about 7i inches long and 5i inches wide
where the hair is allowed to grow long, all hair on the head, face, chest,
abdomen, armpits, wrists and about the pubes is shaved by the barber.
The back is not shaved, nor the legs : the arms sometimes, but not always,
A few do not shave the chest.
During the rains.
195
Ndyar women of all classes shave the hair about the vagina. They
shave themselves, standing, placing one foot on a bench or anything a
ctouple of feet or so from the ground, thus raising the leg. The use of
scissors for this purpose is rare, new fangled and not sanctified by custom.
In a few houses now-a-days razors of English or German manufacture are
kept for the use of the women ; but according to general custom the
barber woman pays periodical visits, and the women of the house receive
from her a razor, with which they shave themselves. The armpits, the
eyebrows and stray hairs on any other part of the body, excepting of
course the head, are shaved by the barber woman. I have it an excellent
authority that some of the elderly women possibly those who are old
and fleshy submit their entire person to the barber woman's razor. The
young women never.
In the Tamil country the women, as is well known, use a depilatory.
Possibly the Ndyar women resort to shaving in order to avoid the unpleas-
ant odour of the depilatory. The reason for shaving or destroying the
hair on that part of the body is not apparent. No reason is assigned for
it. Very likely the custom arose out of necessities for cleanliness, when
the Nayars were not the clean people they are now, and like all customs
has persisted aimlessly.
Colour of the skin. Using Broca's colour tables. The
darkest was as No. 43 (one only); the fairest, 44 to 30.
Two others were fair or very nearly so. The colour
number for 5 was 37; for 5 was 28; for 13 was 29, and
lighter. Darker than the Nambutiri. The women, who
are not so much exposed to the sun, are distinctly fair
as well as well favoured. Many are very handsome.
Colour of the eyes. Out of 20 individuals (using Broca's
colour tables for the eyes), in 13 the number corresponding
to their eyes was 2, while in ^ it was I to a little lighter.
So that the eye is, as a rule, brown ; rarely black.
Ornaments, men. Not much jewellery is worn. One
or two golden earrings called kadukkans are worn, as a
rule, in each ear by those who can afford to do so. Some
of the members of this clan who call themselves "Padi-
nfiyirattil" u one of 10,000 " doubtless a relic of the
old Nayar military system, pierce the ears, but never
wear earrings. The title of the hereditary chief of these
is Ayyayira Prabhu Karttavu. The 10,000 do not, how-
ever, all belong to this clan. I came across a man of the
Nambiyar clan who belonged to it, and he too could
not wear earrings. Rings and amulets are also worn
commonly.
One individual wore 2 golden earrings, of the pattern
called kadukkan in each ear.
One individual wore two rings made of an amalgam
of gold and copper, called " tambak " in the vernacular,
on the ring finger of the right hand* for good luck.
"Tambak " rings are lucky rings. It is a good thing to
196
wash the face with the hand on which is a " tambik "
ring. I see in my notes a record of an individual who
wore one of these rings on the second finger of the left
hand. They are common.
One individual wore two rings of the pattern called
triloham (lit: metals) on the ring finger of each hand.
Each of these rings was made during an eclipse !
One individual wore a silver bangle as a vow. It was
to be given up at the next festival to be held at a place
called Kotti&re, a famous festival in North Malabar, the
scene of it being far away in the forest under the hills.
He also wore a " tambak " ring on the ring finger of the
right hand for luck ; and a thin iron ring on the ring
finger of the left hand.
One individual wore no jewellery, but there was a
small circular tattooed spot in the centre of the forehead
over the glabella. Tattooing is not common. This indi-
vidual is the only one of those examined who was
tattooed.
Women. The style of the jewellery worn by the
women will be seen in the plate. It is altogether unlike
any other South Indian jewellery. The necklaces are
almost identical in form, shape and general character
with those of Sindh. Silver is never worn.
The lobes of the ears are dilated in childhood gene-
rally in the sixth month and in them are worn large
spiral rings of white metal or the more solid "t6da,"
really a handsome ornament, in the groove of which the
elongated ear-lobe is almost concealed. It is made of
gold. Properly speaking the t6da is an ornament worn
exclusively by the Nayar women. Several necklaces are
often worn at the same time. The Venetian sequin,
which probably first found its way hither in the days of
Vasco da Gama and Albuquerque, is one of those coins
which, having found favour with a people, is used persist-
ently in ornamentation long after it has passed out of
currency; thus illustrating the well-known thesis that
things originally made for use, by and by pass into orna-
ment. There are instances of this use of coins in Europe,
of course, as amongst the Swabian peasantry. So fond
are theMalayalis those of Malabar, Cochin and Travan-
core -of the sequin that to this day there is quite a large
trade in imitations of the coin for purposes of ornament.
Such is the persistence of its use that the trade extends
to brass and even copper imitations of the sequin. The
former, brought from Europe, are often seen to bear the
PL. VII.
i-foL^*^ } "'; f'i
AKATTU CHARNA NAYAR. FATHER A NAMBUTIRI.
197
legend "made in Austria/' The Nayars wear none but
the gold, "mounted" as they call it (the mounting being
much as the upper portion of one section of the necklace,
in the plate), strung together through the mounting just
as the necklace : a very effective ornament for the neck.
The brass imitations of the sequin are worn by the women
of the inferior races of whom we shall have some descrip-
tion hereafter. If one asks the ordinary Malayali, say a
Nayar, what persons are represented on the sequin, one
gets for answer that they are Rama and Sita; between
them a cocoanut tree !
Turkish coins, French half louis, and German 10 mark
pieces are also used in the same way, each one being
known by a distinctive vernacular name, and no corrup-
tion of its nomenclature in European coinage, so that it
is always easy to identify one of these coins by its verna-
cular name. For instance, every Malayali knows what
an "Amada "is: it is what we know to be a real or
imitation Venetian sequin.* The half louis of the empire
is known as the " pakshikkas," probably from the eagle
on the reverse. And so on.t
Ornaments are never worn on the ankles or on the
waist, as is the rule in other parts of Southern India.
Dress, men. This is very simple ; ordinarily one cloth
round the loins, the ends overlapping a foot or two in
front. It is not tucked between the legs, which is the
fashion practically all over India, but hangs straight to
the ground. It should touch the ground, or very nearly
do so. Wearing a cloth in such fashion carries with it
dignity to the wearer. A Tiyan, or a man of any inferior
* I have never heard any explanation of the word Amada in Malabar.
The following comes from Tinnevelly : ' * Amada was the consort of
Bhagavati and he suddenly appeared one day before a Shinar (the caste
devoted to climbing the palms and drawing off the juice) and demanded
food- The Sh^nar said he was a poor man with nothing to offer but toddy,
which however he gave in a palmyra leaf. Amada drank the toddy and
performing a man tram over the leaf it turned into gold coins which bore
on one side the pictures of Am&da, the Sh&nar and the tree ; and these he
gave the Sh^nar on a reward for his willingness to assist him, This
explains the two names Shanar caste (as they are called in Tinnevelly,
but where they are not very common), and AmS.da."
t It is scarcely right to say any of these coins, even the sequin, is not
current^ The value of each is known everywhere to a nicety. It must be
remembered that throughout Malabar copper coins of the English and
Dutch East India Companies, of Mysore, and of almost every former
dynasty of South India are to be found amongst the coins actually current
with the people, while in the rural parts reckoning is always in fanams :
not in annas.
198
caste, is not supposed to wear his cloth below his knees.
Now-a-days, when there is a general levelling up, the
inferior races occupying a position they never held
before, when people speak of caste as if it were a fanci-
ful arrangement of the social fabric which it would be an
excellent thing to destroy, forgetting that, fundamentally,
it rests on racial differentiation, we see those of castes
inferior to the Nayar wearing their cloths to the ground
in the towns that is, where the sway of modern officialdom
and education is felt. But," were a man of inferior caste
to wear his cloth to the ground, away out in the district
where the old order has not changed much, he would
soon be made to repent having done what is believed to
be an infringement of the privileges of the Nayar. He
would probably be well beaten, and might have his
house burnt. The single cloth (mundu) constitutes the
ordinary dress. No turban is worn. It is wrong for a
Nayar to cover his head. But he may use an umbrella,
and invariably does so when walking in the sun, for he
is very susceptible to its rays. The cloth must be fasten-
ed at the waist in a certain way. Those of every caste
tie or fasten their cloth round the loins in a certain way ;
people of no two castes tie the cloth alike.
Women. A short cloth is worn somewhat tight round
the loins, and over it is worn another cloth from the waist
to below the knee. Nothing is worn above waist. When
one sees women of the Nayar caste on the roads (they are
never to be seen in the towns), or at the festivals or other
large gatherings, they are wearing a cloth loosely cover-
ing the upper portion of the body. In Malabar, where
there is prevalent the idea that no respectable woman
covers her breast, there has crept in lately, chiefly
amongst those who have travelled, a feeling of shame in
respect of this custom of dress. Dress is, of course, a
conventional affair, and it will be matter for regret should
false ideas of shame supplant those of natural dignity
such as one sees expressed in the carriage and bearing
of the well-bred Nayar lady.
It will be most convenient to deal with the Nayars as
a body under such heads as marriage, customs, etc. Here
we are concerned mainly with physical measures and
general appearance, under which come dress and orna-
ment. What has been said about dress may be taken as
descriptive of all the clans. Before leaving the Kiriattil
Nayars it will be well to note the names of some of those
actually measured.
PL. VIII.
l?\iKMl2$t$*
AKATTU CHARNA NAYAR. FATHER A NAMBUTIRI.
199
Occupation. Age
Domestic servant ... 30
Milk seller 34
Cultivator . ... 32
Do 27
Do 35
Do 32
Servant .. .. 22
Do. . .. 25
Peon . .. 35
Cultivator .. .. 50
Do 25
Writer .. .. 24
Cultivator . ..22
Do. . .. 37
Do. . ..25
Do. . .. 36
Do 25
Peon . ... 46
Nayar is affixed as an honorific after the name. Thus
one whose name is Govindan is called Gdvindan Nayar.
Taravad name. Name.
Manj61i G6vindan ...
Kedoth ... Karunikaran
Chuliotkolodi Ithapu
Puliak6th ,. . Kelu
Kurunthal ... Narr&nan
Kazhaparambath . Shankaren
Etalakandiel ... . Kelu
Thanikat ... . Cherukutti ..
Thattatath ... Chekkunni ..
Nambidivlttil ... Kunhunni ..
Nadaviladatha ... Chandukutti
Tuthenvlttil ... Velu
Thekakamukal ... Ramuni
Kulangarathathil Kannan
Ktzhukalangot ... Gdvindan ..
Pit61i Ramuni
Puliakdth ... K6man
Edakapura ... R&rappan
There seems to be a distinct or specific name for every
garden, every acre of land in Malabar, whether in the
forest or cultivated, whether enclosed or not. We shall
hear of this again when we come to speak of the jungle
people, some of whom change their name, their house or
Taravad name, as they change their residence from one
place to another, always calling themselves after the
land on which they are at the time living. Others again
cling to the name which is that of the land whence the
family has sprung, so to speak.
That the Taravad name of the Nayar is that of the
land is tolerably evident. Contrary to the rule in
Southern India there is, in Malabar, absolute proprietor-
ship of land ; and the land, the family house built on it,
the land wherein lie the ashes of the ancestors, and the
family itself are all included in the meaning of the word
Taravid.
URALI NAYARS : ENDOGAMOUS.
Ages ranging between
20 and 45.
Maxi-
mum.
Mini-
mum.
Averages
of 25.
To
stature
= 100.
Remarks
Stature
ISO'S
152-2
163-1
Height, sitting
89'9
79-1
84*2
51'6
Do* kneeling
135'3
113-3
* 120'8
74-0
* 120-75
Span
193'0
1617
171-3
105-0
200
URALI NAYARS cant.
Ages ranging between
20 and 45.
Maxi-
mum.
Mini-
mum.
Averages
of 25.
To
stature
.-= 100.
Remarks.
Chest
88-0
77-4
81'2
49*8
Shouldars ...
43'7
36'8
39'7
24-3
Left cubit
51'4
41*6
452
27'7
Left hand length . .
20-5
17'0
17'8
10'9
Do. width ...
8'8
7-5
7.9
...
' Left middle finger
12'2
9'6
10-7
..,
i Hips
29'6
23*7
26-0
15-9
Left foot length .
28'3
23'7
24'7
15-1
Do. width .
9'8
8'2
8'7
...
Cephalic length . . .
20'4
17-5
19*2
11-8
Do. width . . .
15'0
13-4
14-0
Do. index . . .
79*0
68*2
72-9
Bigoniac ...
11-1
lO'O
10-5
Bizygomatic . . -
13*7
12'2
13-2
...
Maxillo-zygomatic index
84'8
74'1
80-6
Nasal height
* 5'3
4'1
4'8
2'94
There
Do. width
4'0
3'2
3-6
...
were 6
Do. index
84-4
65-4
75'5
of 5'0
Vertex to tragus
14'2
11'9
12'9
7*9
and
Do. to chin
21*2
18*4
19'9
12'2
over.
Middle finger to patella. .
18'7
7'1
11-5
7-05
Face. Among the descriptive notes of individuals
made when measuring them are these :
(1) Supraciliary arches, slight. Nasal notch. Chin
recedes slightly. Chin square with slight hollow in
front.
(2) Nasal bone slightly raised. Nasal notch mode-
rate. Supraciliary arches ditto. Chin pointed.
(3) Head pyramidal. Thick flabby nose. Nasal
bone slightly raised.
(4) Forehead moderately high and straight. Supra-
ciliary arches slight. Nasal notch. Nose straight ; very
slight prognathism. Chin recedes.
(5) Forehead high. Supraciliary arches marked.
Lips thick. Nasal notch. Nasal bone slightly raised.
Ears small.
(6) Protuberance over the right ear. Forehead
markedly prominent. No nasal notch.
As a rule the nose is straight, or the nasal bone is
slightly raised. In some cases the nasal notch is deep.
In one individual the broadest part of the head was
just above the ear.
201
In another, the alae of the nose appear to have become
enlarged through taking snuff. *
In another, the pointof the ear (noticed by Darwin)
in the helix \ from the top, was very marked.
One individual of 29 looked at least 40- He had
suffered severely from small-pox.
Figure. The average is slight to medium. One is
noted as stout, and another as very strongly built.
Hair. It has been noticed already (see Nambutiris.
Bulletin, Vol. HI, No. I) that the growth of hair on the
cheeks is a racial characteristic. In some of the lower
races it is entirely absent, while in the Nambutiris it is
constant. About half the Urali Niyars examined had a
regular growth of hair on the cheeks.
On the head. In all but one the hair on the head,
invariably black and glossy, was thick and wavy ; in a
few, it was very thick or fairly so; and, in the case of
three individuals, it was noted as curly. A few grey hairs
were noticed in four individuals aged respectively 25, 29,
30, 45 ; and one young fellow of 20 had a small patch of
white hair over the right eyebrow.
Hair on the chest was slight to moderate as a rule, but
in 4 individuals it was thick.
Hair on the arms was observed to be slight in 13, and
moderate or thick in 12.
In all, the hair on the legs varied between moderate
and thick, excepting that in 2 the growth was very thick.
One man had shaved his feet, and another had shaved
the backs of his hand and his wrists. In a few there
was a tolerably thick growth of hair in the small of the
back. This is common to all the N&yars.
Colour of the skin. In 22 cases in which this was
recorded the darkest was No. 43 (Broca's colour types)
and the fairest No. 40. Twelve individuals were of No.
29 or fairer, and this (a little fairer than 29) seems to be
about the average. A little darker than the Kiriattil.
Colour of the eyes 8 individuals were of No. 2 (Broca) ;
6 individuals were of No. I; 6 individuals between I
and 2.
Ornaments. A few of those examined said that men
of the clan never wore earrings, though their ears were
pierced. There may be some section of the clan who
do not; but, as a rule, earrings are worn by those who
can afford them. One man indeed said he never wore
them, fearing thieves might steal them. Another wore
202
silver earrings called kalluvechcha kadukkan which
means an earring set with stone (pushyaragam topaz).
(1) Three plain golden rings on ring finger of left
hand, the same on the little finger of the same hand, and
a thin iron ring on the ring finger of the right hand.
(2) Sandal paste patch over glabella ; four stripes
of the same on chest; three vertical stripes on each
upper arm.
(3) Three golden earrings the usual kadukkans
in each ear. An amulet in a silver cylindrical case worn
on the waist. Inside the case is a charm written on a
copper leaf. It is to protect its wearer against the
influences of the evil eye.
(4) One tambak, one plain gold ring on ring finger
of the right hand.
(5) Ears pierced. Wears no earrings as he has no
money. A dab of sandal paste over the glabella,
another over the sternum, and on each shoulder.
Prolificness.T\\e clan being endogamous, it will be
well to note here the number of children born in 1 6 fami-
lies of those examined. In all there were born 44 male
and 35 female children ; altogether 79. This gives an
average of 4*9 in each family; and of those there were
living at the time an average of 4*6 for each family. A
figure which is above the average for the Nayars as a
body, be it noted.
It is perhaps scarcely worth noting that the average
weight of four men was 119 Ib.
Names of some of those examinad.
Taravad.
Melapalli
Kanjoli
Kurundottathil...
Puthukudi
Ponmilli
Kuttakil
Payarvttil
Puvakunial
Kalathil
Korolath
Pallithotathil
Kutakkil
Thondil
Name.
Kelu Nayar...
Raman Nayar
Krishnan Nayar
Achutan Nayar
Krishnan Nayar
Raman Nayar
Aiyappen N^yar
Chathu NAyar
Shangaran N^yar
Shangunni Nayar
Gopalan Nayar
Raman Nayar
Appa Nayar
Occupation. Age.
Cooly
Writer
Do.
Trade
Do.
Cooly
Mason
Cultivator
Cooly
Do.
Nothing
Cooly
Writer
22
22
20
22
45
32
36
26
25
22
22
30
20
Thondi or Thundi was, I think, mentioned by one of
the ancient geographers as a port near where this last
man lived. This man, therefore, bears the name of the
place as it was, probably, in the days of Ptolemy,
203
VATTAKKAD NAYARS.
There is some obscurity in the sub-divisions of this
clan. To the north of Calicut, in Kurumbranad, they are
divided into the Undiatuna, or " those who pull" (to
work the oil machine by hand) and the " Muri-Vechchu-a
tune," or " those who tie or fasten bullocks " (to work
the oil machine by means of bullocks and not by hand) ;
yet farther north, Tellicherry and thereabouts there are
no known sub-divisions ; while in Ernad,tothe eastward,
these names are quite unknown, and the clan is divided
into the " Veluttatu," the White, and the " Karuttatu,"
the Black. It has been remarked already (page 82) that
the Vattakkad (those who turn round) are not always
admitted to be true Nayars. In the extreme north of
Malabar they are called Vaniyan oil monger. The
" White " have nothing to do with expression and prepa-
ration of oil, which is the hereditary occupation of the
Black. The " White " may eat with Nayars of any clan ;
the Black can eat with no others outside their own clan.
The Black sub-clan is strictly endogamous. The other,
the superior sub-clan, is not. Their woman may marry
with men of any other clan, the Pallichchan excepted.
But not vice versa. The men must marry within their
own sub-clan. I think, but am not sure a man of this
clan may marry a woman of the Pallichchan clan ; but
even if such an alliance is permissible anywhere, I do
not think it ever takes place. It may be taken as
accurate that men of the clan always marry within their
own sub-clan, and that women of the superior sub-clan
very often mate with Nayars of superior clans.
In taking the measures I made no distinction between
the sub-clans ; it was only just before completion that
the existence of the sub-clans was discovered. Had the
important fact been discovered earlier, the sub-clans
would have been separated. Though scarcely enough
for scientific accuracy, it is tolerably certain that most,
if not all, of those examined were of the superior sub-
clan, which is exogamous as regards the women. The
inferior section of the clan the Black is not to be
found north of the Korapuzha river in North Malabar.
One quarter of my subjects were measured in North
Malabar Cannanore, Tellicherry, Badagara ; and for the
rest, in some cases it is noted that the individuals are of
the superior section. This accounts pretty correctly for
rather more than half. I am tolerably certain that the
other half also belonged to it,
2-A
204
However alert one's discrimination may be, one may
fall into possible error as I did here. " What caste do
you belong to?" "I am a Nayar." "What kind of
Nayar?" "lama Nayar." It may take some time to
let in comprehension that the name of his clan is wanted,
then the answer is " I am a good Nayar " (one of a good
or superior clan). At last he will say he is a Sudra
Nayar, a Kiriyattil or whatever he may be. Again,
many claim the Kiriyattil as their clan when they really
have no right to do so, being inferior to it.
Ages ranging between 20 and 62.
Maxi-
mum.
Mini-
mum.
Aver-
ages
of 25.
To
stature
= 100.
Stature
178*6
154'3
167*0
Height, sitting
Do. kneeling
Span ... ... .. ...
92-0
131'3
190*0
78-7
112'4
164'7
84-6
122-9
177'8
50-6
73-6,
106*5
Chest
95*8
70 '6
81-3
48-7
Shoulders ...
42*8
36*9
40'3
24-1
Left cubit
Left hand, length ...
Do. width
Do. middle finger
Hips
51'4
20-5
8*9
12'6
27*8
44'3
17'0
7'6
10*4
23 '6
46-9
18-7
8-2
11-9
26'3
28-1
11-2
15-7
Left foot length
Do. width
Cephalic length
Do. width
Do. index
28'1
9'8
20'1
15'0
79'0
11*2
23-6
7*9
18'2
13'2
68-0
9-7
25-7
8-9
19-2
14-2
74-0
10-5
15-4
ii-5
Bizygomatic
Maxillo-zygomatic index
Nasal height
Do. width
Do. index
Vertex to tragns
Do. to chin
Middle finger to patella
14'0
84-4
5-3
3'9
87*5
13-9
21*5
14-5
12'3
77-0
4-0
3'0
61-2
12-3
17'3
1-8
13-1
80-1
4-9
3-5
73*1
13-1
J9-8
9*4
2'93
7 : 8
11-9
5'62
The individual, whose mid finger when standing at
" attention " to the top of his patella gives the maximum
measure, had a span which was 23*4 more than his
height. In seven, the length of the left foot was greater
than the breadth of the hips across the crests of the
ilium. In ten, the nasal length was 5 cm. and over.
The statures of the first ten measured averaged l68'2
and the nasal index 76*6 ; otherwise the correspondence
between the averages of 10 and of 25 is complete.
Perhaps mixture of subjects belonging to the two section s
205
of the clan is responsible for the rather important
differences noted.
Face. Nasal notch is noted as deep in 3 and moderate
in I ; in the others it was slight or not apparent. The
nasal bone was raised above the line of the nose in 5,
and depressed in 2. The following are brief notes of
individuals:
(1) Deep nasal notch. Forehead high. Supraciliary
arches very slight. Chin long.
(2) Forehead high. Nasal point slightly raised.
Nasal notch moderate.
(3) Nasal point depressed so that the nose has as it
were a knob at the tip.
(4) Supraciliary arches not apparent to the touch.
Slightly rounded nostrils. Teeth project forwards.
(5) Deep nasal notch. Supraciliary arches marked.
The posterior portion of the head of the individual
whose nasal index was the minimum seemed to project
uncommonly ; but his cephalic length was no more than
19*4 or a little above the average.
Figure. Two-thirds are noted as " slight, " nearly
one-third as " medium/' and two (individuals) as stout.
One was very lean.
Hair. In rather more than half the number of subjects
the hair on the head was noted as thick and wavy. In
most of the others it was moderately thick. In two only it
was thin- In two it was curly. A man aged 27 had very
slight growth of hair on the face (none on the cheeks),
but had a fairly strong growth in the small of the back.
Individuals of 40, 42 and 62 were a little grey, while one
of 45 was almost bald, and what hair he had was white.
Very few had hair on the cheeks, or anything like a full
growth thereof. It was observed in but two instances,
and in a third as slight. But it is proper to remark that,
in the earlier period of my investigations, I did not make
special notes about whiskers.
Hair on the chest is, as usual, not easy to gauge when
there obtains the custom of shaving it periodically, every
fortnight or every month. In about a quarter of the
subjects the growth is noted as moderate, and in a sixth
as thick ; in the rest as slight or very slight. In the case
of a man aged 45 the hair was white as well as thick.
Hair on the arms was moderate to thick in 13, slight
to very slight in II, and absent in I. ,
Hair on the legs was, in every case but one, moderate
or thick ; in the case of one, very thick. The exception
was in the case of a man sick and ill developed.
206
Colour of the skin (Broca's colour types). The fairest
was No. 40 (one only) ; and the two next fairest were 30
to 44 and 39 to 44. The darkest was 43. The average
seems to be a little darker than 29 but not so dark as 28.
Darker than the Kiriyattil.
Colour of the eyes (Broca). The colour of the eyes of
half the number was as No. I, and that of the other half
as No. 2. One exception was between Nos. I and 10.
The average therefore is a dark brown ; not black.
Ornaments. Ears pierced, and the usual earrings
(kadukkans) worn by those who can afford them. In one
case the earrings were set with a red stone. The orna-
ments or adornments of various individuals were as
follows :
(1) Bell metal ring on the ring finger of right hand-
(2) Two brass rings on ring finger of right hand.
A string of wool thrice round the right wrist to keep off
fever at night.
(3) Tattooed circular mark over glabella. The
operator was a woman of the Chetti caste, a travelling
tattooer, and the cost of the operation 2 pies.
(4) One gold kadukkan in each ear. Two copper
rings on ring finger of right hand. Washing the face
with a hand wearing a copper ring removes black spots
on the face, and prevents them coming. So said the
wearer.
(5) Two amulets, silver cylindrical cases containing
mantrams, worn on a string round the waist to keep off
fever and devils. Amulet cases are often worn on the
waist in the way of ornament pure and simple.
Prolificness. In 12 families the children born were 29
males and 34 females, or an average of 5*2 children to
each family.
The average weight of 4 individuals was 119* Ib.
The names of some of those examined.
Taravad.
Name.
Blathadi ...
. Govind*an
Ravari Chandil
Kclu
Paloli
Kunju
Murikolipoil
Shangaran
Kuttadath
Krishnan
Thaikandi
Appu
Thazhathadathil
Chathu,
Erankulangara
Ktttan
VSlasheri ...
Cherukoman .
Chelattumal
Kunhunni
Patavetti ...
Chathukutti .
Occupation
Age.
Cultivator
.. 40
Do.
.. 22
Do.
.. 25
Trader
.. 21
Writer
.. 20
Cooly
.. 26
Do.
.. 24
Milk seller
.. 25
Cultivator
.. 40
Cooly
.. 44
. Cultivator
.. 62
20?
SUDRA NAYARS.
We now come to the Sudra Nayars, men and women
of which clan supply the house servants in the Nambutiri
Brahmans' houses. It is only a few who are occupied in
this way, however, and of all those examined only one is
noted as a servant. The subjects were found in various
parts of South Malabar, a few from the neighbouring
Cochin Native State.
Ages ranging between 22 and 52. ^urn'
Mini-
mum.
Aver-
ages of
25.
To
stature
==100.
Stature ... ... ... ... 173'3
1511
165'9
Height, sitting 90'8
788
85'8
51-7
Do. kneeling 1283
HO'l
122'9
741
Span ... .. ... 186'0
1583
1743
1051
Chest ... 89'0
76'0
81'1
487
Shoulders 43*4
37'4
40'2
24 '2
Left cubit ... ... ... ... ; 486
4T4
46 1
27*3
Left hand, length 20 8
168
187
11-3
Do. width 8'6
73
81
...
Left middle finger .. ! 121
99
111
Hips i 279
240
260
157
Left foot, length 27
231
25'3
15'3
Do. width ... ... 103
78
8'9
...
Cephalic length , 202
177
19'2
116
Do. width ... 153
130
141
...
Do. index ... ... ... 86'4
65'0
73'8
...
Bigoniac ... ... . . ... 11 '4
94
105
Bizygomatic ... ... ,. 14 1
119
131
...
Maxillo-zygomatic index ... ...; 857
766
80'3
Nasal height | 5 '4
40
47
2*83
Do. width : 42
33
37
Do. index 891
679
79'4
. . .
Vertex to tragus ... ... ...i 14 4
12'5
133
8-0
Do. to chin i 213
177
196
ll'S
Middle finger to patella ; 15 7
70
9*9
5'97
i
Note. The individual whose cephalic index is the maximum was
measured in Palghat, where there are many Pattar (East Coast) Brahmans ;
his father was, in all probability, one of them. The index of no other
equalled 79*0. One broad headed man, whose father was known to have
been a Pattar Brahman, was excluded from the averages.
There were but three subjects whose nasal height was
5 cm. and over.
Face. Slight prognathism was noticed in one. In
another the posterior portion of the parietal was curiously
flat.
208
Some individuals were described in my notes
(1) Nasal bones wide and thick. Teeth project.
(2) Lips thick and somewhat projecting. Chin
receding. The flesh on the chin is thick, giving it a
rounded lump like appearance. Inion appears to be in a
projecting ridge round the back of the head. (Cephalic
length 197.)
(3) Supraciliary arches slight. Nasal notch. Nose
straight. Lips slightly everted. Teeth in upper jaw
project forwards. Eyes deep set. Inner corner of eyes a
trifle oblique.
The last two specimens are uncommon ; not typical.
The thick lips and projecting teeth are not usually notice-
able as in their case. The long oval face is the common
type. The fashion of wearing no hair on the face,
shaving the head at the back and at the sides and a little
over the forehead, leaving but the oval patch on the
vertex, no head covering being worn, gives the face an
appearance of length. But while the average of the
measure vertex to chin, for all the Nayars,* reduced to
stature equals 100, is 1 1 '9, the same for 21 of the 30
different castes t examined in Malabar is greater. The
Mukkuvan is as high as 13*4, while on the other hand the
Nambutiri is less, being but 117.
Figure. One out of 25 is recorded as "stout." One-
third were "slight." Nearly two-thirds were medium or
thereabouts; and this seems to represent the average.
Hair. More than half are noted as having whiskers,
that is, growth of hair on the cheeks. In two-thirds of
the subjects the hair on the head was thick and wavy ;
in a few cases it was very thick. Individuals aged re-
spectively 25, 32, and 52 were noted as being a little grey.
In one-quarter of the total number the hair was thin to
moderately thick. One individual of this clan is marked
as having hair a little grey.
Hair on the chest. Rather more than a quarter of the
whole had thick to moderately thick hair. In the case of
one man hair was thick all over the body, even on the
back : everywhere except over the ribs, the front of the
upper arm and shoulder. In another the hair on the
small of the back was thick. In the greater number of
individuals it was marked slight, and moderate, and in a
few it was absent.
* Group A included.
t Counting each clan of the NAyars separately.
209
Hair on the arms. In half the number of subjects it
varied from moderate to thick; in the other half it was
slight to very slight or (in a few) absent altogether.
Hair on the legs. In more than half it varied from
moderately thick to very thick. One was noted as " like a
bear." In one individual only it was noted as very slight.
Colour of ttie skin. The darkest (one only) was between
42 and 43 (Broca's colour types). Two others were nearly
as dark. The fairest was 44. Two others were nearly
as fair. The average is between these extremes.
Colour of the eyes. The darkest was No. I (Broca's
colour types). The lightest between 2 and 3. Rather
more than half were 2 or shades of 2, generally lighter,
while nearly one-half were No. I.
Ornaments. As a rule the ordinary earrings are worn.
A section of the clan calling themselves Ellenkiria (or
Elleng Kiria tender Kiria ?) wear no earrings, though
their ears are pierced. Some members of this section
told me they never wore earrings, while others said they
could wear them as a rule, but they could not wear them
when they went to the Kovilakam (palace) of the Zamorin.
The right nostril of one man was slit vertically as if
for insertion of a jewel. His mother miscarried in her
first pregnancy, so, according to custom, he, the child of
her second pregnancy, had had his nose slit.
Another wore a silver bangle. He had had a wound
on his arm which was long in healing, so made a vow to
the God at Tirupati (North Arcot District) that, if his arm
was healed, he would give up the bangle at the Tirupati
temple. He intended to send the bangle by a messenger,
any one going to Tirupati, when his arm was quite
healed : then only would he fulfil his vow. If this illus-
trates how a vow may be fulfilled, he had not vowed to
go himself and give the bangle up, only to give the bangle
which was meanwhile convenient as an ornament, the
man's ideas about the God at Tirupati illustrate the con-
fused ideas as to the personality and attributes of the
Gods of Modern Hinduism which obtain in Malabar. He
thought it was Baghavati whose shrine was the object of
pilgrimage to Tirupati, but was not at all sure; indeed he
was not sure whether it was a God or a Goddess. It is
scarcely necessary to say that the God at Tirupati is a
form of Vishnu.
Other individuals wore ornaments, thus
(i) Gold ring on ring-finger of the left hand. Ear-
rings with red stone. Amulet against the evil eye.
Copper sheet on which the charm was inscribed in a
silver cylindrical case. Copper ring on ring-finger, right
hand.
(2) Two copper rings on the ring-finger, right hand.
Belongs to the Ellenkiria, so wore no earrings.
(3) Brass ring, ring-finger, right hand. Also of the
Ellenkiria.
(4) Copper ring, ring-finger, right hand. Gold ear-
rings of the ordinary pattern.
(5) The ordinary gold earrings. Silver string round
the waist ; riot exclusively ornamental. He fastened his
loin cloth to it.
Vital Statistics were noted in but two cases. In one
family there were two brothers and three sisters; in
another, one brother and two sisters.
Occupation. Age.
Names, etc., of a Name*
few Taravdd.
Puthen Vltil
Krishnan
Paritbil
Achutan
Malabltil
Sivarftman
Cholale
R&man
Muthira
Narr&yanan
Kanakath
Kunhi Krishna
Mannareth
Shangaran
Kumbiyal
Kannan
Othianm&dattil
. G6vindan
Cultivator
Do.
Do.
Do.
Teacher
Unemployec
Trader
Peon
Do.
52
27
22
20
26
22
30
25
33
NAMBIYAR NAYARS,
Men of this clan affix Nambiyar to their name. Thus,
Gdvindan Nambiyir, Kelu Nambiyar.
Ages ranging between 20 and 40.
Maxi-
mum.
Mini-
mum.
Aver-
ages of
22.
To
stature
-100.
Stature
177*1
1557
1651
Height, sitting
Do. kneeling ...
Span ... ... ...
89*3
129'8
188*0
80*0
115*0
166*5
84'2
122-0
175*3
51'0
739
106*2
Chest
84*0
75 '0
80*3
48*6
Shoulders -. ... ...
42*8
37*8
40*0
424'2
Left cubit ...
50*5
j/ q
43 -g
46*0
27*9
* This individual had ' Menon ' instead of N&yar after his name, he
having been invested with the distinction by the Zamorin.
PL. IX,
NAYAR WOMEN (SOUTH MALABAR), AGED 20 AND 17.
ill
NAMBIYAR NAYARS cent.
Ages ranging between 20 and 40.
Maxi-
mum.
Mini-
mum.
Aver-
ages of
22.
To
stature
= 100.
Left hand length *.
Do. width
Do. middle finger
Hips
20'0
8'5
12*5
26*7
17'7
7'3
10'3
24*4
18-4
7*8
10-9
25*4
15*4
Left foot length
Do. width
Cephalic length
Do. width
Do. index
Higoniac ... ... . .. ..
27'2
9*2
20'6
15'4
79'3
1T5
23'6
8'0
18'3
13'2
69'4
Q'l
25*2
8*6
19*2
14*1
737
10*3
15-3
11*6
Bizygomatic
Maxillo-zygomatic index
Nasal height
Do. width
Do. index
Vertex to tragus
Do. to chin
Mid finger to patella
13*5
87'1
5'5
4*3
92*9
13'9
21*4
15'7
11-9
73'8
4*2
3'2
627
12'2
18'2
6*5
13'0
79'2
4-8
37
77'3
13-0
19'7
10'4
7*9
11-9
4*73
Note. Although the number of subjects is limited to 22, the averages
may be accepted as correct. The averages for 10 and for 25 are, as a rule,
identical ; in a few there is a trifling difference, but nowhere is the differ-
ence more than trifling.
In eight individuals the nasal height was 5 cm. or
over. This is about 36 per cent.
In four the nasal index was 90 or over, and in four it
was less than 70.
Face* Observation was recorded in but nine in-
stances.
The reason for this which seems to give examination*
of subjects a somewhat casual character, is that during
the early part of my investigations my notes as to
physical characteristics, shape of the nose, etc., were less
complete than they were later on. Very seldom, in fact
only in the case of the Irulans, was one caste examined
completely at a time. It was impossible to work on the
people caste by caste. Official duties rendered it
impossible to regulate one's peregrinations so as to do so.
Subjects were taken where and when they could be got
hold of anywhere in the district
In two cases only the supraciljary arches were rather
prominent; in the others, slight or absent
212
In four the nasal point was somewhat elevated.
Slight prognathism with projecting teeth was observed
in one individual, an unhealthy person.
Figure. Seventy-one per cent- of the subjects were
noted as "slight," 29 per cent- as "medium" and of
those but two individuals are put down as "sturdily
built."
Hair. In three individuals hairiness was conspi-
cuously apparent, there being hair nearly all over the
body, and in one of these the hair in the small of the
back was so thick that in my notes it is described as
"like a bush."
On the head. In nearly 80 per cent, of the subjects
the hair on the head was "plentiful and wavy"; in a
few of these it was " very thick," while in the remaining
20 per cent, it was " moderate." In no case was it noted
as " thin " or " slight." The number of subjects in which
growth of hair on the cheeks was noted was one-fifth of
the whole-
On the chest- In nearly a quarter, the hair on the chest
was noted as "thick."
On the arms. In most cases it varied from "very
slight " to " moderate." Rarely " thick."
On the legs. In nearly half it was " moderately thick"
to " thick "; in the remainder, slight to moderate.
Colour of the skin. It should have been noticed before
that the colour of the face of the ordinary Malayali is
invariably lighter than that of the body; possibly from
the prevailing custom of using the umbrella. Malabar is
for the most part shaded by trees and palms, and its
peoples have not that disregard for the sun's javelins
which we see in the country to the eastward. No one
starts on a journey, and rarely leaves his house, without
his umbrella the thing of cadjan now being by degrees
replaced by the cheap umbrella of European manufac-
ture. The labourer working in the field, the fisherman
in his boat on the sea, the boat-man on the backwater,
all wear a large umbrella-like hat. Women always
carry an umbrella out of doors ; or, as in North Malabar,
an umbrella hat-like thing which seems to be a curious
survival of the custom of wearing an umbrella hat, is
carried. This is, apparently, an ordinary umbrella hat,
but the central part, which appears to be made to fit the
head, as in the ordinary umbrella hat, is too small by
half to fit any head, and this hat-like umbrella is carried
in the hand to shield the head from the sun and the face
213
from the inquisitive passer-by. The fact remains that
the Nayar, of whom we are now speaking, who never or
very rarely wears any covering on the head, cannot with-
stand the effect of the direct rays of the sun without an
umbrella. 7 A few hours' walk in the midday sun where
there is little or no shade, is sufficient to bring on fever
to the ordinarily strong man.
Colour of the skin was taken generally on the right
arm just below the shoulder, the book containing the
colour types being pressed against the skin.
The fairest was No. 44 (Broca).
The darkest was No. 28 (only one of this).
More than half were 2Q and fairer, and the remainder
were still fairer, several being 44 or very nearly.
Colour of the eyes.- \\\ about three quarters of the
subjects the colour of the eyes was No. 2 (Broca) ; in
about one-quarter they were T to a trifle darker. In one
individual the colour was between 2 and 3; a light
brown.
Ornaments. One or two golden kadukkans arc
commonly worn in each ear by those who can afford them.
Ears pierced always. Though not for purposes of orna-
ment, the ears of two individuals were marked by holes
pieces cut out of the cartilage. In one there was a circular
hole 4 mm. in diameter, cut out of the cartilage of the
right ear, and in another a circular hole 6 mm. in
diameter in the left ear. In both cases the holes had
been made during childhood to prevent colic.
The ornaments worn by a few individuals were as
follows :
(1) One tambak ring on ring finger, right hand.
One iron ring on the little finger of the left hand.
(2) One gold kadukkan in each ear. One plain
gold ring on the ring linger of the right hand. Wore a
silver girdle on the waist instead of a string, to which he
fastened his lunguti.
(3) Silver cord round the waist; on it a silver
amulet case, of the usual shape, having inside it a charm
written on a gold leaf to protect the wearer against the
evil eye.
(4) One silver ring on ring finger of the left hand.
Two gold kadukkans in each ear.
Miscellaneous. One man was tested, and found to
have perfect vision. Weight was recorded in five cases
only ; the average was nearly 1 10 Ib. which is probably
not far from the general average,
214
Names, etc,, of some of those
given below :
Taravad. Name.
Pathushri Kan^ran
M^vila
Chaiayil Kandoth
Puthiotil
Chalil Kannoth
Ramath
Kalliat-panoli
Thrugandi ...
Kumdran
Chattu
Raman
Anandan
Kunhi Raman
Ramuni
Paidal
who were examined are
Occupation. Age.
... Rent Collector (for a 22
temple).
Cultivator ...
Servant
Cultivator ...
Landlord
Stamp vendor
Cultivator ...
21
22
22
25
34
30
25
PURATTU CHARNA NAYARS.
Men of this clan bear the affix Nayar after their name,
as G6vindan Nayar, Gopala Nayar.
Ages ranging between 20 and 70.
Maxi-
mum.
Mini-
mum.
Aver-
ages of
25.
To
stature
= 100.
174*8
155'0
166*1
Height, sitting
92'4
777
85*3
51*3
Do. kneeling
130*2
113*7
122'7
73'9
184*1
155*6
174*0
104*7
Chest
87'6
69*7
79*6
47*9
43'Q
33*3
39*6
23*9
~* y
49' 1
42*0
Left hand length
19*3
16*8
18*5
ll'l
Do. width
8*3
6*5
7*9
Do. middle finger
11*6
9*8
10'5
6*3
Hips
28*0
23*8
25'7
15*5
Left foot length
27*4
22*3
25*3
15*2
Do. width
9*9
7*4
8*7
Cephalic length
20*6
17*6
19*5
117
Do. width
15'5
12*9
14*5
. ,
Do. index
81-5
65*2
72'2
Bigoniac
11*1
9*3
10*3
. .
Bizygomatic
13*9
11*7
13-0
. ,
Maxillo-zygomatic index ...
88*8
73*9
79'5
. .
Nasal height
5*2
4'0
4'8
2'88
Do. width
3'9
2'9
3'6
2-17
Do. index
90*0
56*9
76*8
. . .
Vertex to tragus .
14*4
12*2
13'1
7*9
Do. to chin
21*1
17*5
19'8
11*9
Middle finger to patella
17*5
5*3
10*7
6*44
Cephalic length. In 8 individuals or 32 per cent, of the
whole, the cephalic length was 20'0 or over. The maxi-
mum cephalic width (of one individual only) is abnormal ;
the next nearest to it is 14*8. In 6 individuals the nasal
215
length was 5 cm. or over. In one individual the iliac
bone was much higher at the right side than on the left.
Face. A few individuals were noted thus
(1) Deep nasal notch. Nasal point slightly ele-
vated. Helix of ear very thin ; the Darwin's point in the
centre of the curve on the left and high up on the right.
(2) Deep nasal notch. Chin receding. Lips thick.
(3) Slight nasal notch. Supraciliary arches deve-
loped at outer edges. Chin recedes.
(4) Supraciliary arches and glabella in one marked
ridge. Nasal point somewhat raised. Nasal notch.
(5) Very deep nasal notch. Very wide and thick
eyebrows.
Fifrure. More than half are marked as slight a few
of them "very slight"; the rest "medium." None
" stout."
Hair. As a rule, to which exceptions are very few,
hair on the head is thick and wavy : curly in the case of
one individual. The hair of a man of 7 was noted as
" very thin and grey." A man of 31 also had hair which
was "thin and grey," but he was exceptional. The
growth of hair on the cheeks whiskers was observed
in almost every subject.
Hair on the chest. The average is " moderate."
On the arms. The growth of hair in half of the sub-
jects was "slight to very slight"; in the other half,
" moderate to thick."
On the legs. It was noted as " moderate " to " thick "
in more than three-fourths of those examined; in a few,
"slight."
The growth of hair of a few individuals is here speci-
fied
(1) Aged 54. Hair on the head moderately thick
and grey. Hair on the face white. Growth of hair on
the cheeks. Hair all over chest grey. Very long thick
hair on the back. Hair on the legs and arms thick.
(2) Aged 36. Hair on the head moderately thick
and wavy. Glossy black. On chest and middle line of
abdomen, moderate. On the arms and legs moderately
thick. Shaves the head (except the crown), face, chest,
abdomen, wrists and hands, about eyery 15 days.
(3) Aged 28. Hair on the head thick and wavy.
Growth of hair on cheeks ; on the chin it is very thick.
On the chest, moderate; on the arms, very slight; on
the legs, thick. Does not shave his chest, as doing so
would make him weak; on the other hand, if he does
not shave his head and face, he will become sick.
216
Shaving cannot be done on a Tuesday or a Saturday,
or on the day of an eclipse of sun or moon ; nor on the
full moon day, the new moon day, nor on the nth day of
the moon the Ekadasi. This applies to most Niyars,
but not to all.
Colour of the skin. The skin of the darkest individual
corresponded to Broca's colour type No. 43. There was
but one of this colour.
Three were of No. 28.
Seventeen were of No. 29 and lighter.
Three were of No. 37 and lighter.
One not taken.
The average colour must be nearly as fair as 37.
Colour of the eyes. The average corresponds rather to
Broca's No. 2 than to his No. I.
Nine individuals were of No- I.
Seven individuals were between I and 2.
Seven individuals were of No. 2.
Two not taken.
Ornaments. All those examined had had their ears
pierced; but most of them wore no earrings, saying it was
not proper for a Purattu Charna Nayar to wear them.
Four individuals, or nearly one-sixth of the whole, how-
ever, wore the ordinary earrings ; one indeed wore (the
only instance) one gold and one silver earring in each
ear. Rings of any kind may be worn on the fingers, and
the thin iron ring such as is usually worn, was observed
occasionally on the ring finger of the right hand, or on
the little finger of the left.
The ornaments worn by a few individuals were as
follows :
(1) Aged 23. Two rings on the ring finger of the
right hand ; one of them tambak (described already), the
other of silver and iron. The last was worn as a prophy-
lactic against fever. Said he had worn it for the previous
five days, and during that period he had had no fever !
(This individual, by the way, had been vaccinated, and
suffered from an attack of small-pox nine years after-
wards.)
(2) Aged 35. One copper ring on the ring finger of
the right hand. An amulet of tiger's teeth (as in my
collection) on a string round the waist. The amulet
contains nothing, and is worn to protect its wearer from
fever. Two silver amulet cases of the usual cylindrical
pattern worn on the waist ; each contains a mantram
written on paper for protection against evil spirits, Qi\
217
one occasion he was frightened when near water, and
subsequently was troubled by beings called Putarns,
devils of a very inferior kind which haunt water. He had
bad dreams, so consulted a Mappila priest (a Musaliar
a priest of sorts) who gave him the mantrams. Wore
also a charm "to entice the public " as he explained, so
that people will, as a rule, like him, please him, flatter
rather than annoy him. He got this too from a Mappila
priest a Mullah.
(3) Aged 24. This man had travelled. At Dva-
raka the city of Krishna, the ninth incarnation of Vishnu
(in the Kulluva peninsula), a chank above and a chakkra
below had been branded on his left upper arm, on his
right, a chank above and a lotus below. Each forearm
bore the branded mark of an indistinct seal said to re-
present Krishna, testifying to a visit to the temple at
Dharnidara. Had been to Benares and worshipped his
ancestors at Gaya (throwing their ashes into the Ganges),
an operation which at once removes all necessity to give
them any further attention.
Prolificness. In 9 families, in respect of which notes
were taken, there were born altogether 48 children, 30
male and 18 female, or about 53 children to each family.
Following the rule, or rather custom, which governs
all marital connexions amongst the Nayars, a woman of
this clan may be mated with a man of the same clan, or
with a man of the Kiriyattil clan, but with no other clan.
Consequently, a man of this clan cannot be mated with a
Kiriyattil woman, for the woman can never mate with
one who is not at least her equal.
Names of some of those examined.
Taravad. Name. Occupation. Age.
Kizbak Vellat
.. Kundu
Cultivator
42
Panoli
Konti
Do.
22
Karuthodiyil
Govindan Kutti
Head of his family
21
Vellat
Gopalan
Cultivator
24
Pudieth
Kanaran
Schoolmaster
..
23
Puttikapureth
Kelukkutti Menon* .
Writer
..
36
Karumuthil
Kandar. alias
Cultivator
..
70
Kunja Panikkar.*
Palat^ ... ... Rama Panikkar
Do.
B>
56
Kakkat Gfivindan
Do.
20
* The affix (Panikkar, Menon) is a title, not necessarily but possibly
hereditary.
Note. I find I have noted one man as Viyyar Purattu Charna, as if
Viyyur is a sub-clan, and that he marries in his own sub-clan ; but I am
not sure whether the Purattu Charnas are so sub-divided, and think not.
218
AKATTU CHARNA NAYARS.
This is one of the relatively inferior clans. It is not
one of the fighting clans, as the Purattu Charna- The
clan is divided into two sub-clans, one of which looks to
the Zamorin as their lord, and the other owns lordship to
minor lordlings, as the Tirumulpad of Nilambur. The
former are superior; and a woman of the latter may
mate with a man of the former, but not vice versa. The
men, but not the women of the two sub-clans, may eat
together. There is no distinctive name for the sub-clans.
As mentioned already, women of this clan are under no
restriction as to residence or travel as are those of the
superior clans ; hence, of late, officials in North Malabar,
officials or vakils residing in Madras, have been wiving
with these women. The women may mate with men of
their own or of any other clan or with a Nambutiri. Not
so the men, who can marry women of their own clan
only.
Ages ranging from
20 to 44.
1 Maximum.
Minimum.
Averages
of 25.
.
38
oj fH
i
^
Remarks.
Stature
179'4
154'7
165-0
Height, sitting
92-0
79.7
85-5
51'8
Do. kneeling
132-6
113'8
122-3
72-1
Span
190-4 i
161'9
175'2
106*2
Chest
890
76'6
81-0
49'0
Shoulders
42'5
37'4
40-1
24'3
Left cubit ...
51*1
42*4
45'9
27-8
Left hand length
21*2
16'9
18'4
*in
*1115
Do. width
8'8
7'3
8'0
Left middle finger
12-7
10-1
10-9
6'6
Do. hips Do.
28-4
24-1
25-9
15.7
Left foot length
28'7
22-3
f25'l
15'2
t 25 15. In one
Do. width
9'8
7.9
8-8
subject great-
Cephalic length
20'4
17'0
19'1
11-6
est length was
Do. width
15*5
13'0
13'9
...
measured to the
JDo. index
80'6
67'2
72-8
second toe.
Bigoniac
11'2
9'8
10'5
...
Bizygomatic
14'2
11-8
13-0
...
Maxillo-zygomatic
index.
85'4
78'5
81-2
.
Nasal height
5'4
40
4*7
2'84
Do. width
4*1
31
3 '6
Do. index
90*9
63-0
77'0
Vertex to tragus
13'9
il'8
12'9
7,9
Do. to chin
20'9
17'9
19'6
11-9
Middle finger to patella
13-5
3'3
9-9
5*97
219
In three the cephalic length was 20 cm. or over. In
nine the nasal height was 5 cm. or over.
Face. The notes made on a few individuals will be
set down here. In most cases the supraciliary arches
were well marked, and the nasal notch was deep. Nose
generally straight, or nasal point slightly raised. Pro-
gnathism rare. Lips, especially the lower lip, often very
thick.
(1) Very well bred looking. Eyebrows fleshy and
thickly marked. Supraciliary arches very slight. Deep
nasal notch. Nose straight ; nasal point raised very
slightly and very well shaped. In the left ear a very
small hole above the usual one in the lobe; I have not
noted why it was made.
(2) Supraciliary arches rather prominent. Upper
portion of forehead somewhat protuberant. Deep nasal
notch. Nasal point raised. Lower lip thick. This
man's father was a Nambutiri. He appears in the plate.
(3) Forehead high. Deep nasal notch. Slight
prognathism. Lower lip very thick.
(4) Supraciliary arches not marked. Nasal notch
moderate. Lips thin.
Two out of the twenty-five were deeply pitted with
small-pox, the Malabar goddess of small-pox, Bhannara-
murti, having hurt them. In one man the broadest part of
the head was above the ears, a little in front.
Figure. The number of those put down as slight and
those put clown as medium are about equal.
Hair. Worn in the usual Malay ali fashion which has
been described already and, as a rule, plentiful and wavy;
treated with gingelly oil, which is sometimes perfumed.
The number of individuals whose hair (on the head) was
noted as " very thick and wavy " is abnormally large. A
young man aged 24 had some white hairs here and there
on his head ; a man of 35 was a little grey ; a man of 39
also ; and one of 44 was quite grey. Whiskers or growth
of hair on the cheeks were observed in more than half
the number of subjects. In several there was hair, fairly
thick in some, in the small of the back, and one man had
thick hair all over the back.
Hair on the chest was " moderate " or " thick " in more
than half.
Hair on the arms was " moderate to thick " in about
half; in the other half " slight."
Hair on the legs was, as a rule, thick : rarely less than
moderately thick. The legs of one man were like those
of a bear.
3-A
220
The hair on the person of a youth aged 20 (No. I
above) was noted thus
(a) On the head very plentiful, black, glossy and
wavy ; treated with gingelly oil. Sprouting on the lip
and chin. A small patch of moderate thickness on the
sternum ; slight on the arms ; moderate on the legs.
Another, aged 25
(b) On the head very thick, and approaching the
outer edge of the eyebrows. Thick on the chest and
mid line of abdomen, although these parts have been
shaved recently, as also the arm pits. Thick hair in the
small of the back. Slight growth on the back. Moderate
on the arms ; thick on the legs.
The individual (a) said he shaved any day of the
week, and any day of the month. He was the K&rnavan
of his Taravad : a very youthful one.
Colour of the skin. The fairest was between 33 and 40
(Broca) ; the darkest was 43 (redder). The average seems
to be between 29, 37 and 44.
Colour of the eyes is a light brown. The actual numbers
are
Of colour type No. i (Broca) 5 individuals.
i to 2 6
15 99 99 2 99 7 99
99 99 99 2 ^0 3 99 5 99
(Two were not included.) So that, although the eyes
of rather more than one-fifth were dark brown, what
would ordinarily be called black, the remainder were
distinctly lighter in colour; and the number of persons
whose eyes might be called quite a light brown, equalled
those whose eyes were nearly black.
Weight of but 3 was recorded. The average is 105%
Ib.
Prolificness. In the 8 recorded instances the average
number of children in each family was 37. It will be
remembered that this clan is perhaps most of all under
process of intermixture, its women mating with men of
several higher clans (their own included) and with
Nambutiris.
Ornaments. Ears are always pierced, and the usual
Malabar earrings kadukkans are worn ; sometimes as
many as four in each ear. Individuals were noted thus
(i) Aged 24. Circular patch of sandalwood paste,
1*8 cms. in diameter over the glabella. Two stripes of
sandalwood paste on each upper arm. No ornament?.
PL. X.
JEWELLERY WORN BY NAYAR WOMEN.
221
(2) Aged 32. Four gold earrings in each ear. One
" tamMk " ring on ring finger of left hand. A ring
made of a bit of wire picked up on the road worn on the
ring finger of left hand.
(3) Two gold earrings, set with a red stone, in each
ear. Wears an amulet, contained in the ordinary cylin-
drical amulet case ; but I have not noticed what the
amulet itself actually is. He used to be much troubled
by a devil, the departed spirit of an east-country
Brahman who died by drowning. He wore the charm
to keep this gentleman off.
(4) Aged 24. A silver girdle worn, instead of a
string, to which the languti is tied. An iron ring on the
3rd toe of the left foot. Rings are very rarely worn on
the toes by any people in Malabar. All over the rest of
the Madras Presidency they are, of course, common.
(5) Aged 39. Three earrings, of the usual pattern
in each ear. A ring called an elephant's ring, made of
silver, in which is arranged circularly a piece of the hair
of an elephant's tail, worn on the ring finger of the left
hand. There is one of these rings in my collection.
Names, etc., of a few are given
Taravad. Name. Occupation. Age.
Pilathottathil ... Theyyan Menon ... Amshom Menon ... 44
or writer.
Potisheri Unikkandan ... Post runner 31
Valia parambath ... Raman ^ Peon ... 20
ChathoVitil Velappa Menon ... Servant 26
Chandrethil . ... Kuttan Do 22
Earat Krishnan ... ... Cartman 39
Kanjoli ... ... Shangara Menon ... Writer in a temple ... 34
Kolangyarath ... Chandu Cooly ... 36
This last-named individual was measured in the Can-
nanore Jail, in which institution he, a prisoner himself,
filled the office of hangman. He had hanged 10 men in
the jail, and, at the rate of 2 rupees a case, he was owed
20 rupees ; a nice little sum, which he would be given
when leaving the jail at the expiration of his sentence.
I was surprised to find a man of the Nayar caste filling
the office of hangman, so enquired the reason and was
informed he had put aside the caste scruples while in
jail. The office was in its way lucrative, and, when he
emerged into freedom, no one would be the wiser, and
he would have twenty and odd rupees in his pocket.
He did not mind violating certain principles of his caste,
doing that which is derogatory, so long as no one knew ;
but he did mind being found out
222
KURUP NAYARS;
The number examined, 8, is not, of course, enough on
which to base dependable averages. The men of this
clan are judging by the average such as it is the
tallest of all those examined. Tall, straight, well-bred
looking men they are, carrying with them an air of
independence and self-respect as one of the old fighting
clans. It will be observed that the cephalic length is
greater than the average for all the Nayars, while the
cephalic index is less, showing that they are longer
headed, and more dolichocephalic than the average
Njiyar. Again, the measure of vertex to chin is much
greater than in any other clan ; and their faces are
narrower. The index
-- gves
Vertex to chin
th
butiri one of 69.5, all the Nayars excluding the Kurups
66.2, and the Kurups 64.5.
The men are called by their clan name, Rama Kurup,
Krishna Kurup, Govinda Kurup. The name Rama seems
to be a favourite one, as four out of eight were so called.
Ages ranging between 20 and 72 *.
Maxi-
mum.
Mini-
mum.
Averages
of 8.
To
stature
100.
Stature ... ...
i
174'9
163'4
167'1
Height, sitting
Do. kneeling
88'8
130'3
184'8
82'9
120'2
173'0
85'7
124*1
178'6
51 3
74-3
106*8
Chest
89'4
78'3
82*4
49'3
42'2
38'8
40*4
24'2
I ft rnhit
51*0
451
47*5
28'4
.Left hand length .
Do. width .
Left middle finger .
Hips
20-8
8'8
12'3
28'4
18'2
7'7
10'9
24*5
19'3
8'2
11-5
26'4
11-5
6'9
15'2
Left foot length .
Do. width
Cephalic length .
Do. width .
Do. index .
28*0
95
20'6
14'6
74-6
10'9
24-9
8-0
18'9
13-4
68'9
9'6
26-4
8'8
19'5
14'0
72'0
10'3
15'2
'ii-7
Bizygomatic
Maxillo-zygomatic index
Nasal length .. ... ... ...
13-7
835
5'3
12'3
76'7
4.4
13*1
79'6
4*8
2 87
Do, width
Do. index
Vertex to tragus
Do. to chin
Middle finger to patella
3'9
84-1
14-3
21'8
13-0
3-4
64-2
12'3
19-0
3'6
3-7
76'2
)3'2
23'3
9*2
"V-9
12-1
5-51
* The man who said he was by his horoscope 72 was put down by me
as looking 58.
In two individuals (out of 8) the cephalic length was
over 20 cm. In three the nasal height was 5 cm. and
over.
Face. The notes made on two subjects are
(1) Forehead high. Supraciliary arches distinctly
developed. Very deep nasal notch. Nasal point
elevated above the line of the nose.
(2) Supraciliary arches not apparent. Nasal point
slightly elevated.
Figure. The greater number are noted as slight;
about one-third as medium to stoutly built.
Hair. Much as those of the other clans. The man
who said he was 72, but who looked 58, showed no sign
of baldness ; his hair was but moderately grey. Another,
aged 36, a very strongly-built man, was becoming bald.
Baldness at his age is, I should say, rare.
Colour of the skin. The average is a trifle darker than
29 (Broca). The fairest was fairer than 29, and the
darkest was No. 43.
Colour of the eyes. The average colour of those
examined is between I and 2 (Broca).
Ornaments call for no remark ; they are much as those
worn by other Nayars. Ears are always pierced and
earrings worn.
It would be profitless to deal separately with the
measures of the individuals comprising the group A in
the same way as the others which are more or less
complete, with the exception of the Kurup clan. As said
already in the group A consists of
2 of the Nellioden clan. , 3 of the Pallichan clan.
2 Viyyfir clan,
i ,, Vangiloth clan,
i ,, Kitavu clan.
1 ,, Muppattinayiran clan.
2 Vyapari clan.
i Attikkurissi clan.
and their measures taken collectively have been quoted.
The Attikkurissi are endogamous, and the Kitavu do not
wear earrings.
At page 60, Bulletin, Vol. Ill, No. I, where, speaking
of the Nambfitiri Brahmans, it was said that possibly it
may be found that marriage between a brother's daughter
and a sister's son may be found to produce the finest
issue ; to be the best for preservation of the race. This
kind of marriage of first cousins, but never of progeny of
sisters or of brothers, is in a general way the rule
throughout Southern India, and it obtains amongst the
224
endogamous Attikkurissi clan of the Nayars, who look
upon it as the most fitting union.
MARRIAGE.
" The haughty nobles and the vulgar race
Never must join the conjugal embrace."
The Lusiad.
The common assertion that there is no such thing as
marriage amongst the Nayars, so easily accepted in
belief that the Government has been persuaded into a
commission to examine the question and to pass an edict
entitled "The Malabar Marriage Bill" (which happily
fell dead, and is extremely unlikely to effect the customs
of the Nayars and others following the Marumakkattayam
law of inheritance), reminds one of the weary disquisition
by people who are dull enough to try and prove that
Shakespeare's plays were not written by Shakespeare,
but by another fellow of the same name. No events of
life being so realistic to man as marriage and death
(to the individual, to the tribe, to the people) shallowness
rather than sturdy hardihood of racial character is
perhaps indicated when we find any downright change
in the ceremonial of marriage, even though it be but
some ephemeral divagation and not properly speaking
radical change.
Buchanan, writing in 1800, tells us that Nayiir girls
are married before I0 2 , so that they may not be deflowered
by nature"! but tfiiejiusband never afterwards, cohabits
witETEIs" wif e. It would not "Be decent. He allows her
this and that, and sjie^ lives in her jnpther's house where
she _may adrniX a ^J^eFjorKer"3.yirn.or of a higher caste ;
the lover giving her a small present ; never a jarg.one,
which would indicate that she was influenced by merce-
nary ^motives. He says the young people vie with each
other Tor favour of the other sex, but that, should a Nayar
man have intimacy with a Tiyan (a lower caste) woman,
he is put to death and the woman is sold to the Mappilas !
In the case of the chere amie being a slave presumably
of the Cheruman or cognate tribes both are put to death.
If this be true, there were forcible means used in those
days for preventing intermixture of the people of the
higher and lower castes. Buchanan tells us also that in
North Malabar, where as a rule the lady lives in his home,
the Nayar or Nambutiri lover may put her to death f
should she be guilty of infidelity ; and he may send her
home whenever he pleases.
22$
The times have changed things a little : a little only
because after all the change is on the surface : it is not
radical. Now-a-days, when there is a penal code to deal
with persons who kill others, the Nayar cannot keep a
concubine of a caste (not a clan) lower than his own
without fear of social ex-communication. The killing,
except perhaps now and then sub rosd, is a thing of the
past.
The custom which permits the woman to cohabit with
a man, her equal or superior in caste, has been alluded to
more than once. I will now make some use of the
(Government) Report of the Malabar Marriage Commis-
sion, published in 1894, which contains much information
which is extremely valuable to the anthropologist and
the folklorist, and none the worse for being found
together with views and opinions with which he cannot
agree. One of the points to which the Commission
directed special attention was " as to the customs
connected with Hindu marriages in Malabar " and the
evidence collected respecting these may be accepted as
correct, and the delineation of existing custom may be
taken as authoritative. Now the custom which permits
the man to cohabit with a woman lower in the social scale
than himself prohibits the woman from exercising the
same liberty. "This is called the rule of Anulomam and
Pratildmam. Dr. Gundert derives Anulomiim from ami =
vtith + lomam = romam = the hair: going with the hair or
grain. So Pratilomam means " going against the hair or
grain." According to this usage a Nayar woman, con-
sortjng with a ...man of a Jiigher caste follows the h Air,
purifies' the blood,, and raises the "progeny In"" social
estimation. By- ~ehftWtaticm with a man of a lower
division Jclau). or .caste, she is guily of Pratildmam- and,
if Jfie difference of caste were admittedly great, she
would he. turned out of her family to prevent The whole
family being boy CQtted. M
A corollary of this custom is that a Nambutiri
Brahman father cannot touch his own children by his
Nayar consort without bathing afterwards to remove the
pollution. The children in the Marumakkattayam family
belong, of course, to their mother's family, clan, caste.
They are Nayars, not Nambutiris; so the Nambutiri
cannot touch them without pollution.
The rule of Anulomam and Pratilomam appears to be
observed with the utmost strictness and thoroughness;
one finds it obtaining between members of the same clan
inhabiting different parts of the country. Mention of this
226
was made on page 83, where it was said that a woman
of any clanjpf Northi^Ialabar maj^Qt.Qjpsort witlT a
rnarTof the same clan .name ; - 'B3!^nj^ing > ,to,..SQHith,. MlS" ar -
Following this principle, tjie 'man' may do so. A. woman
of South Malabar (inferior), ittatihg wifK a man of her
own clan name r bf ^<^^^^^ would be
a woman oPNoHK 3T^
being guilty of pratilomam, mate
with a man' Of her own clan name of South Malabar.
Alliances between the people of North Malabar and
South Malabar seem to be extremely rare ; partly, per-
haps, because of this custom which is all compulsive,
partly because the Nayar jwomen of Jjori^_.M^aJabar
cannot cross the river ^
ttuTTRfflT TTof, as said before, can the NSyar women of
Uhtrakkal, the northern-most portion of Malabar, cross
the river which lies between it and South Canara to the
northward. Thus, they cannot go beyond their northern
or southern boundaries. The origin of this interdiction
to cross the river southwards has been explained to me
as emanating from a command of the Kolattiri Rajah in
days gone by, when, the Arabs having come to the
country about Calicut (South Malabar), there was a
chance of the women being seized and taken as wives.
An explanation which is somewhat fanciful. The prohi-
bition to cross the river to the northwards is supposed to
have originated in much the same way, but I have not
noted precisely what it is. Again, men of the Kurup
clan of Katattanad may mate with women of the
Nambiyar clan who live in Kottayam, but they may not
mate with women of the Nambiyar clan living in
Chirakkal. The custom imputing superiority or inferi-
ority to those of a clan inhabiting a certain locality is
obscure; it has its counterpart elsewhere in Malabar.
" Except the Nambutiri, the Nayar has no other
priestly, spiritual or religious instructor; and it is for the
gratification of this Bhu-devan (earth god) that the Sudra
woman, if she has any religious instruction at all, is
taught that she was created." We have heard what
Hamilton has said about this (see Bulletin, Vol. Ill, No. I).
Though the first portion of this statement is not quite
accurate, for we have seen that the priests and religious
instructors of the Nayars are not admitted to be, strictly
speaking, Nambutiris, yet on the whole it is not far wrong,
as the Nambutiri is esteemed as a very exalted person,
and he may ply his music among the Nayar ladies with-
out very much restriction. As remarked before, the
227
custom is one which makes for improvement of the race,
bound up as it is with the Marumakkattayam system,
which, guided by the anulomam principle, has fewer hin-
drances in the way of natural selection than perhaps any
other marital custom throughout the world.
The divine commands of Sri Parasu Rama, the
imputed originator of the Marumakkattayam system
which is followed by 7 P er cent, of the people of
Malabar, are supposed to be contained in the Kerala
Mahatmyam, a work in Sanskrit verse, written on the
ordinary Malabar grantham (palm-leaf book). It pur-
ports to be a monologue " addressed by the Rishi Garga
to Yudhishthira^ the eldest of the Pandus." Chapter
XLIX relates " how certain celestial damsels were
brought from Indra's world by Parasu Rama to satisfy
the sexual cravings of the Keralam Brahmans, and it
relates how Parasu Rama at Vishabhadri (Trichur),
pronounced his commandment to the women (not being
of the Brahman caste) to satisfy the desires of Brahmans,
enjoining on them to put off chastity and the cloth which
covered their breasts, and declaring that promiscuous
intercourse with three or four men in common was void
of the least taint of sin." Unfortunately no scholar has
given his opinion as to the time when this was written.
Most likely it is not very ancient, and may be attributed
to device of the Nambutiris. But it is respected as
authoritative. " One of the foremost Nambutiris in
Malabar in respect of wealth, rank, sanctity and learn-
ing," in common with the rest of his clan, relied
absolutely on it, and informed the Commission : " The
Smiriti says the Sudras' appointed path to heaven is
serving the Brahmans." " The practice of
_ .
(Sudra) wonieius iJQ^a^
a Brahman wished to, have^sexual intercourse with a
Sudra's wife, the Sudra would be bound 'to gratif^the
wish." " ASudra cannot be_sure oflEEOfiillj^re^age
of the children born of his^wiTel Hence the Sudras
cannot follow MakklTtlay^in" inheritance in the male
line. The Zamorin Maharajah Bahadur informed the
Commission that " according to Parasu Rama ....
chastity should not be observed by non-Brahman
females." Again, the " Ettan Tamburan," one of the
senior members of the Zamorin's family, a learned
Sanscrit scholar said : " It has been ordained by Parasu
R&ma that in Kerala, Marumakkatayam women need not
be chaste ; " and he quoted a sloka in proof that there
228
should be no such thing as chastity excepting amongst
the Brahman women. And the Kolatur Variyar, a great
personage : " A woman is not forbidden from consorting
with more than one man. For the Marumakkatayam
people, who reckon their descent in the female line, there
is no objection to any cohabitation which does not conta-
minate the female element."
The opinions which have been quoted are those of
persons of the highest position, principals of the oldest
families, and give expression to the old-fashioned
Malabar custom which they would be the last to condemn.
But it must not be imagined that the goddess Lubricity
reigns supreme in Malabar. It seems perhaps to have
been indicated that she does. Such is, however, not the
case. It has been said by one whose long acquaintance
with Malabar gives him what we may call admitted right
to express authoritative opinion, that, " nowhere else is
the marriage tie more jealously guarded, and its breaches
more savagely avenged." We shall know more of the
subject presently, when we have done with all that
pertains to formal union between the sexes. As a matter
of fact lubricity has no more followers in Malabar than
elsewhere.
The ceremonies surrounding marriage and death seem
to be those in which human feelings are deepest, and
consequently in these, more than in any others, we see
relics of a long gone past ; much of the ceremonial being
now apparently meaningless, and handed on after the
manner of all ceremonial, for no obvious purpose, long
after the original signification has been forgotten.
Amongst all races of the world it is the same. These
form perhaps for the ceremonies connected with death
are interwoven with primitive religious ideas the closest
links between our earlier ancestors and ourselves. The
institution marriage itself is not easily liable to change
or even modification, and thus it is, perhaps, that it, the
product of a byegone age, is not always suited to the
wants of the age in which it is found. It is rarely up to
date. It is invariably blended with superstitions and
restraints which people believe they believe; and the
relations between the sexes are rarely natural, i.e., rarely
free from restraints which are souvenirs of the past, and
which are resented in the present. Of course amongst
primitive peoples changes in respect of marital
connexions, as also in respect of death ceremonies, are
imperceptible. They must be very small indeed in even
an immense period ; and in their case there is not that
229
unsuitability to the time in which they exist, which is
apparent amongst those societies more liable to change.
But whatever the reasons may be, the relations
between the sexes in Malabar are unusually happy.
They seem to be more than commonly natural. The
most obvious reason for their being so is that they are
less influenced by considerations of property than else-
where. The desire to maintain property within the
family is the curse of all natural relations between the
sexes. What strange customs has it not put upon
mankind ! We have some strange examples of these in
Southern India, as when a woman is married to the door-
post of the house, and the house owner begets children
on her to inherit his property ; or when a man marries
his child to a woman, and himself begets children on
her, and the individual who stands in the position of
father may be but a few years older than the son. But
we need not look farther than Europe for anomalous
customs which inhibit the working of the law of natural
selection. Malabar is fairly free from unfortunate
customs, and it is perfectly fair to say the marital
relation amongst the Nayars is more than commonly
natural.
A description of the ceremonies and formalities
connected with the marital connexion will now be
attempted. The first of these, described as " most
peculiar, distinctive, and unique/' is the Tali-kcttu-
kai^anjiu The details of this ceremony vary fn
different parts of Malabar, but the ceremony itself, in
some form, is essential, and must be performed for every
Naj^a^j^. Jbe^ puberty. ~Tali-kettu-
EaTyanam means i^^!^e.]5ylfyl^'ffie]ptn, or ceremony
of tyingJhfiJjUi, a^mairgolden ^
tfeckjthe ordinary badge of marriage amongst the Dravi-
dlan peoples.
The following account was given by M.R.Ry.
K. R. Krishna Menon, retired Sub-Judge, to the Com-
mission :
"The Tali-kettu-kalyanam is somewhat analogous to what a
Devadasi (dancing girl attached to pagodas) of other countries
undergoes before she begins her profession. Among royal
families, and those of certain Edaprabhus, a Kshatriya, and
among the Charna sect, a Nedungadi, is invited to the girl's
house at an auspicious hour appointed for the purpose, and in
the presence of friends and castemen ties tali round her neck,
and goes away after receiving a certain fee for his trouble!
Among the other sects, the horoscope of the girl is examined
230
along with those of the boys of her Enangan (a recognised mem-
ber of one's own clan) families, and the boy whose horoscope is
found to agree with hers, is marked out as a fit person to tie the
tali, and a day is fixed for the tali-tying ceremony by the astro-
loger, and information given to the Karanavan of the boy's
family. On the appointed day the boy is invited to a house
near that of the girl, where he is fed with his friends by the
head of the girl's family. The feast is called VAyj,ni TT P"/
and the boy is thenceforth called ' Manavalan ' or ' PillaiJ
bridegroom. From the house in which the Manavalan is enter-
taine3,'a'pfocession is formed, preceded by men with sword and
shield shouting a kind of war-cry. In the meantime a proces-
sion starts from the girl's house, with similar men and cries,
and headed by a member of her tarav&d, to meet the other
procession, and after meeting the Manavalan, he escorts him to
the girl's house. After entering the pandal erected for that
purpose, he is conducted to a seat of honour and there his feet
are washed by the brother of the girl, who receives a pair of
cloths on the occasion. The Manavalan is then taken to the
centre of the pandal where bamboo-mats, carpets, and white
cloths are spread, and seated there. The brother of the girl
then carries her from inside of the house, and after going round
the pandal three times, places her at the left side of the Mana-
valan, and the father of the girl then presents a new cloth tied
in a kambli to the pair, and with this new cloth (technically
called f mantravadi ') they change their dress. The wife of the
Karanavan of the girl's taravad, if she be of the same caste,
then decorates the girl by putting anklets, etc. The Purohita
called c Elayatu ' (a low class of Br&hmans) then gives the tali
to the Manavalan, and the family astrologer shouts ' Muhurtham'
(auspicious hour), and the Manavalan, putting his sword on the
lap, ties tali round the girl's neck, who is then required to hold
an arrow and a looking-glass in her hand. In rich families
a Br&hmini sings certain songs intended to bless the couple.
In ordinary families who cannot procure her presence, a certain
Nay&r who is versed in songs performs the office. The boy and
the girl are then carried by Enangans to a decorated apartment
in the inner part of the house, where they are required to remain
under a sort of pollution for three days. On the fourth day they
bathe in some neighbouring tank or river, holding each other's
hands. After changing cloths, they come home preceded by
a procession, which varies in importance according to the wealth
of the girl's family. Tom-toms and elephants usually form part
of the procession, and saffron water is sprinkled. When they
come home the doors of the house are all shut, which the
Manavalan is required to force open. He then enters the house,
and takes his seat in the northern wing thereof. The aunt
PL. XI,
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231
and other female friends of the girl then approach, and give
sweetmeats to the couple. The girl then serves food to the boy,
and after taking their meals together from the same leaf, they
proceed to the pandal, where a cloth is severed into two parts,
and each part given to the Manavalan and girl separately
in the presence of Enangans and other friends. The severing
of the cloth is supposed to constitute a divorce."
If, as* has been said, the " pattu " sung by the
Brahmani, in " Rig Vedaswaram " is in substitution for
the Vedas sung at the Nambutiri's wedding because
the Vedas cannot be used by any but Brahmans this
part of the ceremonial seems to indicate imitation of the
Nambutiris. The Brahmani is not however a " Brahman
lady " but merely represents one. In North Malabar she
is of the Nambisan caste.
The ceremony is much more analogous to that obtain-
ing in the Bellary district and round about it, through
which women, called Basivis, are, after an initiatory
ceremony of devotion to a deity, compelled (under certain
conditions) to follow no rule of chastity, but whose
children are under no degradation, than to the initiation
of the Devadasi in her career of harlotry.* It must be
said, however, that the ceremony, more especially as
modified by poor people, when the Manavalan is repre-
sented by a clay figure adorned with flowers, the handi-
work of the girl's mother, looks very like it. But what
demands consideration now is the position of Manavalan
to the bride. Does the ceremony confer on him any of
the rights of a husband ? There is much diversity of
opinion on the point. Some say it does, while some say
it does not. It seems certain that, as a rule, there can be
no cohabitation between the two as a mere corollary of
the tali-tying ceremony. Should there be three girls in a
family, i.e., in the same taravad house, aged, say, 9, 5
and 3, the ceremony is always done for all three at the
same time. The only condition as to age of the girl is
that the ceremony must be done before she reaches
puberty. The bridegroom (to call him so) is selected after
consulting agreement between his horoscope and the
girl's. He is seated beside her in the marriage pandal,
and he invests her with the tali. They eat of the same
plantain leaf (used as a plate throughout Malabar). They
are placed in the same chamber, to go through the fiction
* An account of the Basivis, their devotion to deities, etc., by the writer
will be found in the " Journal of the Anthropological Society of Bombay "
Vol. II,, 6 (1891), '
232
of cohabitation ; and on the fourth day the bridegroom
severs his connection with the girl, symbolising divorce
by cutting into two pieces the cloth (called kachai cloth)
which she wears. The tearing of the cloth is, however,
confined to South Malabar. These are the essentials of
the ceremony, an adjunct to which is that, in spite of the
divorce, the girl observes death-pollution when her
Manavalan dies. The same Manavalan may tie the tali
on any number of girls, during the same ceremony or at
any other time ; and he may be old or young. He is
often an elderly holy Brahman, who receives a small
present for his services. The ceremony is always the
occasion of feasting and jollification. The girl may
remove the tali if she likes after the fourth day.
In some parts of Malabar there is no doubt that the
man who performs the rdle of Manavalan is considered
to have some right to the girl, but in such a case it has
been already considered that he is a proper man to enter
into Sambandham with her. It will be as well to remark
here that almost invariably amongst the inferior races,
the aboriginals so to speak of Malabar, girls are married
(their marriage is consummated) before puberty. The
fuss that was made a few years ago (by the shrieking
sisterhood) about the age of consent has had no effect
there.
The tali-tying ceremony having been performed while
the girl is yet a child, the next step in the matter of
her alliance with a man is the arrangement of the
Sambandham. As the rule nothing more than the con-
sent of the girl and of her guardian, the Karanavan of
the family, is necessary. There is no religious formality.
The tali-tying ceremony dispenses with everything of the
kind. There is, however, in some parts a tendency now-
a-days "to surround the occasion of first cohabitation
with a more or less elaborate ceremonial." It is quite an
informal affair, arranged by the Karanavans of the two
families. Many a time a young fellow of 22 or 24,
answering my question whether he had contracted
Sambandham with any one, replied that the head of his
family had not yet arranged a Sambandham for him.
The wishes of the contracting parties for in great
measure it is a contract and of the heads of the families
practically settle the matter. Should the parties find
they are unsuited, they part. There is no dragging on
under a bondage intolerable to both.
The following account was given by Mr. Chandu
Menon ( a N&yar) to the Commission. He says ;
233
"The variations of the Sambandham are the Pudamuri,
Vastradanam, Uzhamporukkuka, Vitaram Kayaruka, etc., which
are local expressions hardly understood beyond the localities in
which they are used, but there would be hardly a Malayali who
would not readily understand what is meant by Sambandham
tudanguga (to begin Sambandham). The meaning of this
phrase which means " to marry " is understood throughout
Keralam in the same way, and there can be no ambiguity or
mistake about it.
" It is thus found that Sambandham is the principal word
denoting marriage among Marumakkattayam Nayars. It will
also be found on a close and careful examination of facts, that
the principal features of this Sambandham ceremony, all over
the Keralam, are in the main the same. As there are different
local names denoting marriage, so there may be found local
variations in the performance of the ceremony. But the general
features are more or less the same. For instance, the examin-
ation, prior to the betrothal, of the horoscopes of the bride and
the bridegroom to ascertain whether their stars agree astrologi-
cally -. the appointment of an auspicious day for the celebration
of the ceiemony : the usual hours at which the ceremony takes
place : the presentation of the danam (gifts) to the Brahmans
the sumptuous banquet : the meeting of the bride and the bride-
groom, are features which are invariably found in all well-
conducted Sambandhams in all parts of Keralam alike. But
here I would beg to state that I should not be understood as
saying that each and every one of the formalities above referred
to, are gone through at all Sambandhams among respectable
Nayars, and I would further say that they ought to be gone
through at every Sambandham, if the parties wish to marry
according to the custom of the country. I would now briefly
refer to the local variations to be found in the ceremony of the
Sambandham, and also the particular incidents attached to
certain forms of Sambandham in South Malabar. I shall de-
scribe the Putamuri, or Vastradanam, as celebrated in North
Malabar, and then show how the other forms of Sambandham
differ from it. Of all the forms of Sambandham I consider the
Pudamuri form the most solemn and the most fashionable in
North Malabar. Of course my description will be borne out by
the evidence that is before us. The preliminary ceremony
in every Putamuri, is the examination of the horoscopes of the
bride and the bridegroom by an astrologer. This takes place in
the house of the bride, in the presence of the relations of the
bride and bridegroom. The astrologer, after examination, writes
down the results of his calculations on a piece of palmyra leaf
with his opinion as to the fitness or otherwise of the match, and
liands it over to the bridegroom's relations, If the horoscopes
234
agree, a day is then and there fixed for the celebration of the
marriage. This date is also written down on two pieces of
cadjan, one of which is handed over to the bride's Karanavan,
and the other to the bridegroom's relations. The astrologer and
the bridegroom's party are then feasted in the bride's house, and
the former also receives presents in the shape of money or cloth ;
and this preliminary ceremony, which is invariably performed
at all Putamuris in North Malabar, is called 'Putamuri Kurikkal/
but is unknown in South Malabar.
'* Some three or four days prior to the date fixed for the
celebration of the Putamuri, the bridegroom visits his Kara-
navans and elders in caste to obtain formal leave to marry. The
bridegroom on such occasion presents his elders with betel and
nuts, and obtains their formal sanction to the wedding. -On the
day appointed the bridegroom proceeds, after sunset, to the
house of the bride, accompanied by a number of his friends.
He goes in procession, and is received at the gate of the house
by the bride's party, and is conducted with his friends to seats
provided in the tekkini, or southern hall of the house. There
the bridegroom distributes presents (danam) or money gifts to the
Brahmans assembled. After this the whole party is treated
to a sumptuous banquet. It is now time for the astrologer to
appear, and announce the auspicious hour fixed. He does it
accordingly, and receives his dues. The bridegroom is then
taken by one of his friends to the padinhatta or principal room
of the house. The bridegroom's party has, of course, brought
with them a quantity of new cloths and betel leaves and
nuts. The cloths are placed in the western room of the
house, called padinhatta, in which all religious and other import-
ant household ceremonies are usually performed. This room
will be decorated, and turned into a bed-room for the occasion,
There will be placed in the room a number of lighted lamps, and
Ashtamangaliam, which consists of eight articles symbolical of
mangaliam or marriage. These are rice, paddy, the tender leaves
of the cocoanut tree, an arrow, a looking glass, a well washed
cloth, burning fire, and a small round wooden box called
'cheppu' made in a particular fashion. These will be found
placed on the floor of the room aforesaid as the bridegroom
enters it. The bridegroom with his groom's-man enters the
room through the eastern door. The bride, dressed in rich cloth
and bedecked with jewels, enters the room through the western
door, accompanied by her aunt or some other elderly lady of her
family. The bride stands facing east with the Ashtamangaliam
and lit-up lamps in front of her. The groom's-man then hands
over to the bridegroom a few pieces of new cloth, and the bride-
groom puts them into the hands of the bride. This being done,
the elderly lady who accompanied the bride, sprinkles rice over
235
the lit-up lamps, and the head and shoulders of the bride and the
bridegroom, and the bridegroom immediately leaves the room,
as he has to perform another duty. At the tekkini or southern
hall he now presents his elders and friends with cakes, and
betel leaf and nuts. Betel and nuts are also given to all the
persons assembled at the place. After the departure of the
guests the bridegroom retires to the bed-room with the bride.
" This is an unvarnished account of a ' Putamuri.' Next
morning the Vettilakkettu or Salkaram ceremony follows, and
the bridegroom's female relations take the bride to the husband's
house, where there is a feasting, etc., in honour of the occasion.
" Uzhamporukkuka, or Vidaram Kayaral is a peculiar form
of marriage in North Malabar. It will be seen from the descrip-
tion given above, that the Putamuri is necessarily a costly
ceremony, and many people generally resort to the less costly
ceremony of Uzhamporukkuka or Vidaram Kayaral. The
features of this ceremony are to a certain extent the same as
Putamuri ; but it is celebrated on a smaller scale. There is no
cloth-giving ceremony. The toasting is confined to the relations
of the married couple. The particular incident attached to this
form of marriage is that the husband should visit the wife in her
house, and is not permitted to take her to his house, unless and
until he celebrates the regular Putamuri ceremony. This rule
is strictly adhered to in North Malabar, and instances in which
the husband and wife joined by Uzhamporukkuka, or Vidaram
Kayaral ceremony, and with grown-up children being the issue
of such marriage, undergoing the Putamuri ceremony some
15 or 20 years after Uzhamporukkuka, in order to enable the
husband to take the wife to his house, are known to me
personally.
" The Sambandham of South Malabar, and the Kidakkora-
kalyanam of Pal ghat have all or most of the incidents of
Putamuri, except the presenting of the cloths. Here money is
substituted for cloths, and the other ceremonies are more or
less the same. There is also Salkaram ceremony, wanting in
South Malabar as the wives are not at once taken to the
husband's house after marriage."
But all this formality and ceremonial is not the
rule. The Sambandham is always a matter for careful
arrangement, in which the wishes of the parties to it are
considered, and which it is expected will bring mutual
benefit to the two Taravads concerned.
In South Malabar the girl or woman never lives in her
husband's house; sJielives on in her own Taravad house
and ^ is there visited by ^ htr - '^iibalt(fr TnV ordinary
fiuggermugger, which sometimes stttltifies all pleasure in
existence, is thus avoided. In
4-A
236
lives in the house with her husband. A point to be noted
in this connection is iKat, when her husband dies, she
must leave his havise and refurfflto her own at orice,
before his body is carried out. According to the Kerala
Mah^tmyam the women in North Malabar (should) live
with but one man at a time.
We still, after the manner of children, confound words
with things, so it is not surprising that the unfortunate
Commission arrived at the conclusion that the institution
of marriage was and is entirely absent from the Maru-
makkattayam system. " The parties do not plight troth,
and do not call God to witness their union." And so
forth. But with this conclusion, suitable enough to the
high-flown moralist or to the restless beings who would
regardlessly sweep away the long results of time and
improve on the process of natural development, imposing
fanciful arrangements of their own, the anthropologist
cannot at all agree. The Sambandham, a regularly
formed, and certainly not haphazard alliance between a
man and a woman, having the full sanction of the com-
munity, is marriage in every sense of the word. If the
t&li-tying ceremony gave the girl free liberty, we might
well suspect that the Sambandham followed a ceremony,
not a marriage ceremony. But such is by no means the
case, for, should the woman who is unmarried, for whom
Sambandham has not been arranged, or whose husband,
the man with whom she had had Sambandham, is
dead there is no such thing as widowhood, bear a
child, she is disgraced, much as is the Brahman widow
under the same circumstances.
What then is the meaning of the assertions of the
exponents of the orthodox view that the woman need not
be chaste ; and so on ? The question is not an easy one
to answer, but I think we may say with confidence that
this orthodox view has been, in some measure, pro-
pounded by the Nambutiris for their own gratification.
I have myself known several tragedies arising out of
unfaithfulness, and I believe the old fashioned code of
custom admitted the right of the husband to kill his
wife's lover if he could, and also to kill his wife. No
doubt in a great many cases the pair bound together in
Sambandham lead lives ordinarily chaste. I do not,
however, think that in actuality such is the rule with
either party any more than it is in any other community,
and sexual affairs are often treated lightly. With taste
and consideration too, Hamilton, who arrived at Calicut
in 1/02, and spent some twenty odd years on the coast,
237
writes thus in speaking of the Nayars : - " When the
man visits the woman he lays down his arms at the
door ; but, if there are no arms at the door, any acquaint-
ance may visit her. To visit the house when there are
arms at the door, or remove them, is death." Now-a-days
a man leaves his shoes outside the door. Equality of the
sexes in all sexual matters, the man and woman being on
terms of equality, having equal freedom, is certainly an
uncommon merit in the Marumakkattayam system.
Either party may terminate the union even after one
night of hymeneal bliss; and those who are unsuited to
each other sexually, or in the way of temperament, in
fact in any way, may put an end to their union and turn
towards other partners. It may be thought that this
liberty induced perpetual change, so it is as well to state
here that it does nothing of the kind. Mere arbitrary
divorce is very rare. Permanent attachment is the rule.
The basis of the system seems to be that the Taravad
estate is held in trust for the support of the females and
of their descendants in the female line. This trust is
placed in the hands of the Karanavan, the senior male
member of the Taravad who is the legal guardian of
every member of it, and whose control of the Taravad
property is absolute. T^he odd feature in the Marumak-
kattayam system is that a man has his nephews about
him in the house, and not his sons. He lives fri one
house, while his wife and family liyq in another.. That
is,""ln South Malabar; in North Malabar they live
together. "* *
When we come to consider the degrees of relationship
within which marriage is prohibited, we find the rule is
that persons descended from a common female ancestor
are not at liberty to marry. Those of
^
can ae.ver intermarry ; but this^pTORTBition does not of
course extend to the children of a brother and a sister,
who are naturally of different Taravads. Again, the
principle that " no member of the Taravad of a deceased
wife or husband (is) eligible as the second wife or hus-
band is true only as far as the woman is concerned ; for
a man may marry a woman of his deceased wife's
Taravad. But he who does this is not in harmony with
social sentiment." We find this observance amongst the
forest Muppans of Wynad. In the case of a man's wife
dying, I found that a Muppan could not take another
wife from her family.
The rule does not interfere with union between the
children (or their descendants) of a brother and sister
238
feuch children belonging of course, under the Marumak-
kattayam system, to different Taravads. We have seen
already, when speaking of the Nambutiris, that this rule
of marriage^lietween tfie children of a brother and sister,
never between the children of two brothers or two sisters,
isreneral throughout Southern India. It seems to be
there are exceptions, to the Brahmans
and the peoples commonly called Dravidian, with most
of whom it is the most fitting marital union.
It will be interesting to add here a note on Samban-
dham as it is amongst the Akattu Charna, or Akathitha-
parisha Nayars (Akattu inside, parisha class),* by one of
themselves. The members of this clan being devoted to
indoor services, chiefly writing and casting accounts.
To those of the sub-clan attached to the Zamorin who
were sufficiently capable to earn it, he gave the titular
honour " Menon," to be used as an affix to the name.
The title Menon is in general hereditary, but, be it
remarked, many who now use it are not entitled to do so.
Properly speaking only those whose investiture by the
Zamorin or some other recognized chief is undisputed,
they or their descendants (in the female line of course),
may use it. Those invested pay a small fee to the
Zamorin. A man known to me was invested with the
title Menon in 1895 by the Karimpuzha chief, who in
presence of a large assembly said thrice " From this
day forward I confer on Krishnan Nayar the title of
Krishna Menon." Now-a-days be it said, the title Menon
is used by Nayars of clans other than the Akattu Charna.
Those who belong to the sub-clan who owe Lordship to
the Zamorin look to him even now to settle their caste
disputes, and for permission to perform the talikettu
and other important ceremonies. The ceremony to be
described is that of this sub-clan.
As the old order changeth giving place to new in the
distribution of the honourable affix " Menon," so top doth
it change even in such an important piece of life as
marriage, or what under another name means the same
thing amongst the Nayars. It is truly sad to read of
celebration of a Sambandham ceremony at Calicut
whereat there was cake and wine for the guests, and
(shades of all the departed !) a ring for the bride. The
departure from national and therefore rational custonj,
for adoption of that which is neither custom nor cere-
* For this note I am indebted to Mr. C. P, Raman Menon, B.A., a
prominent Police official of Calicut.
239
monial when copied meaninglessly, is surely food for
painful reflection.
The ceremony to be described is not one of cake and
wine, for the doings of people who have reached that
bathos have little interest to the anthropologist, though
they may have some to the observer of social diversions,
but the genuine ceremony as done in orthodox fashion
in South Malabar without modern adornment will now
be described. My informant says in the first place
the man should not enter into Sambandham with
a woman until he is 30. Now-a-days, when change
is running wild* the man is often much less. In
North Malabar, which is much more conservative than
the south, it was, however, my experience that Sam-
bandham was rare before 27 on the side of the
man. And now continue with the Note.* " The Kara^
navan and the women t of his household choose the
bride, and communicate their choice to the intending
bridegroom through a third party ; they may not, dare
not speak personally to him in the matter. He approves.
The bride's people arc informally consulted, and if they
agree, the astrologer is sent for and examines the horos-
copes of both parties to the intended union. As a matter
of course these are found to agree, and the astrologer fixes
a day for the Sambandham ceremony. A few days
before this takes place two or three women of the bride-
groom's house visit the bride, intimating beforehand that
they are coming. There they are well treated with food
and sweetmeats, and when on the point of leaving they
inform the senior female that the bridegroom (naming
him) wishes to have Sambandham with (naming her),
and such and such a day is auspicious for the ceremony,
the proposal is accepted with pleasure and the party
(from the bridegroom's house) returns home."
Preparations for feasting are made in the house of
the bride as well as in that of the bridegroom on the ap-
pointed day. To the former all relations are invited for
the evening, and to the latter a few friends who are
much of the same age as the bridegroom (for elders never
accompany him) are invited to partake of food at 7 or 8
P.M. and accompany him to the bride's house. After eat-
ing they escort him, servants carrying betel leaves (one or
two hundred according to the means of the Taravad),
* Of which what follows is an abstiact.
t My correspondent uses the word l< Ladies." I prefer women, a finer
word.
246
arecanuts and tobacco, to be given to the bride's house-
hold, and which are distributed to the guests. When the
bride's house is far away the bridegroom makes his pro-
cession thither from a neighbouring house. Arrived at
the bride's house they sit a while and are again serv-
ed with food, after which they are conducted to a room
where betel and other chewing stuff is placed on brass
or silver plates (called thalam). The chewing over,
sweetmeats are served, and then all go to the bridal
chamber, where the women of the house and others are
assembled with the bride, who, overcome with shyness,
hides herself behind the others. Here again the bride-
groom and his party go through more chewing while
they chat with the women. After a while the men with-
draw, wishing the couple all happiness; and then the
women, departing one by one leave the couple alone, one
of them shutting the door from the outside.
"The Patter Brahmans always collect on these occa-
sions and receive small presents (ciakshina) of 2 to 4 annas
each, with betel leaf and areca nut from the bridegroom,
sometimes from the bride. A few who are invited
receive their dakshina in the bridal chamber; the others
outside. [In a Nayar house the sleeping rooms of the
men and women are separate ; at different ends of the
house.] Those of the bridegroom's party who live far
away are given sleeping accommodation at the bride's
house, with the men. About daybreak next morning the
bridegroom leaves the house with his party, leaving
under his pillow Rs. 8, 16, 32 or 64, according to his means
but never more than 64, which are intended to cover the
expenses of the wife's household on the ceremony. The
Sambandham is now complete. The girl remains in her
own Taravad house, and her husband visits her there,
coming in the evening and leaving the next morning. A
few days after completion of the ceremony the senior
woman of the bridegroom's house sends some cloths,
including pavu mundu (superior cloths) and thorthu
mundu (towels) and some oil to the bride for her use for
six months. Every six months she does the same, and
on festivals of the Onam, Vishu, Thiruvathira she sends
besides a little money, areca nut, betel nut and tobacco.
The money sent should amount to Rs. 4, or 8, or 16, or 32,
or 64; either one of these sums. Sums of the higher
numbers are very rarely sent.
" Before long the women of the husband's house
express a longing for the girl-wife to be brought to
their house, for they have not seen her yet. Again the
astrologer is requisitioned, and, on the day he fixes, two
or three of the women go to the house of the girl-wife, the
Ammayi as they call her (literally " uncle's wife "). They
are well treated, and presently bring away the girl with
them. As she is about to enter the gate house of her
husband's Taravad, the stile of which she crosses right
leg first, two or three of the women meet her, bearing a
burning lamp and a brass plate (talam) and precede her
to the nalukattu of the house. There she is seated on a
mat, and a burning lamp and a nazhi (l measure) of rice
and some plantains are placed before her. One of the
younger women [married or not I cannot say] takes up a
plantain and puts a piece of it in the Ammayi's mouth ; a
little ceremony called Maclhuram Tital, or giving the
sweets for eating. She lives in her husband's house for
a few days and is then sent back to her own with pre-
sents, bracelets, rings or cloths, gifts of the senior
women of the house. After this she is at liberty to visit
her husband's house on any day, auspicious or inauspi-
cious.
" In a big Taravad, where there are many women, the
Ammayi does not, as a rule, disperse sympathy and
good will in the household, and if she happens to live
temporarily in her husband's house, as is sometimes
though very rarely the case in south Malabar, and to be
the wife of the Karanavan, it is observed that she
gets, more than her share of whatever good things may
be going ; hence the proverb ' Ammayi Ammaye Kallin-
mel Vechchittu Mattoru Kallu Kondu Narayana' * Place
Ammayi Amma on a stone and grind her with another
stone.' "
Yet one more extract a reference taken from my
notes. The Rev. S. Mateer, author of a well-known book
on Travancore, where he resided something over a quar-
ter of a century, I think, informed me ten years ago he
was speaking of polyandry amongst the Nayars of
Travancore that he had " known an instance of 6 bro-
thers keeping 2 women, 4 husbands to one, and 2 to the
other. In a case where 2 brothers cohabited with one
woman and one was converted to Christianity, the other
brother was indignant at the Christian's refusal to live
any longer in this condition/' I hcive not known an ad-
mitted instance of polyandry amongst the Nayars of
Malabar at the present day, but there is no doubt that if
it does not exist now (and I think it does here and there),
242
it certainly did not long ago. Polyandry exists amongst
other castes, as we shall see by and by.
We must now leave the subject of marriage, which,
simple though it is, is like most simple things extremely
difficult to describe. The marital relation of the Nayar
is a very natural and simple affair ; yet it is the point
d'appuis of that system of inheritance through women
which was once much more common than it is now.
Let us hope it will remain unchanged, and that the
Nayar will be able to say always (in his own tongue),
with more regard for concrete truth than poetic insight
" Das ewig' weibliche ziet uns hinan."
BIRTH : ANTE-NATAL AND AFTER
CEREMONIES,
The following very interesting note on the ceremonies
connected with birth, those preceding it as well as those
following it, has been very kindly given by Mr. U. Bala-
krishnan Nayar ; so I quote his own words :
" A Nayar woman has to observe certain ceremonies
during pregnancy. First, during and after the seventh
month of pregnancy, she (at least, among the well-to-do
class) bathes, and worships in the temple, every morning;
and eats before her morning meal, a small quantity of
butter over which holy mantrams have been said by the
temple priest or by Nambutiris. This is generally done
till delivery.
" Puli-kuti. Another and even more important cere-
monjT^unng pregnancy is the puli-kuti (lit., drinking
temaj^ndjauyce). This is an indispensable ceremony, per-
form eSTBy th e rich and poor alike, on a particular day in
the ninth month. The day, nay, even the very hour is
fixed by the local astrologer. The ceremony begins by
the planting of a twig of the ampasham tree, on the morn-
ing of the day of the ceremony, in the principal court-
yard (natu-muttom) of the Taravdd. At the appointed
hour or muhurtam, the pregnant woman, after having
bathed and properly attired, is conducted to a particular
portion of the house (vatakini or northern wing), where
she is seated, facing eastwards. The Ammayi or * uncle's
wife/ whose presence on the occasion is essential, goes
to the courtyard and plucking a few leaves of the plant-
ed twig, squeezes a few drops of its juice into a cup.
This she hands over to the brother, if any, of the preg-
nant woman. It is necessary that the brother should wear
a gold ring on his right-hand ring finger. Holding a
PL. XII.
243
country knife (pissan kathi) in his left hand, which he
directs towards the mouth, he pours the tamarind juice
over this knife with his right hand three times, which
dribbles down the knife into her mouth, and she drinks
it. In the absence of a brother, some other near relation
officiates. After she has swallowed the tamarind juice,
she is asked to pick one out of several packets of differ-
ent grains placed before her. The grain in the packet
she happens to select is supposed to declare the sex of
the child in her womb. The whole ceremony is wound
up by a sumptuous feast to all the relatives and friends
of the family.
" After Ceremonies. At delivery, women of the barber
caste officiate as midwives. In some localities, this duty
is performed by Vla caste women. Pollution is observ-
ed for fifteen days, and on every day, the mother wears
cloths washed and presented her by a Vannatti or woman
of the Vannan * caste. On the fifteenth day is the
purificatory ceremony. As in the case of death pollution,
a man of the Atikkurissi clan sprinkles on the woman a
liquid mixture of oil, and the five products of the cow
(pancha gavya), with gingelly seeds. Then the woman
takes a plunge-bath and sits on the ground, near the
tank or river. Some woman of the family, with a copper
vessel in her hands, takes water out of the tank or river,
and pours it on the mother's head as many as twenty-
one times. (I am not aware if this practice is universal,
though it certainly obtains in parts of South Malabar
and even in North Travancore.) This done, she again
plunges herself in the tank or river, from which she
emerges thoroughly purified.
" It may be noticed that, before the mother proceeds
to purify herself, the new-born babe has also to undergo
some rite of purification. The babe is placed on the
naked floor, and its father or uncle sprinkles a few drops
of cold water on it and takes it in his hands- The
superstitious believe that the temperament of the child
is determined by that of the person who thus sprinkles
the water. All members of the Taravad observe pollu-
tion for fifteen days immediately following the delivery!
during which period they are prohibited from entering
temples and holy places.
" First Birthday Celebration. The twenty-seventh day
after the child's birth or the first recurring day of the
star under which it was born marks the next important
, . , , .... _
* Over a great part of Malabar she would, however, be of the Tiyan
caste.
544
event. On this day, the Karnavan of the family gives to
the child a spoonful or two of milk, mixed with sugar
and slices of plantain. Then he names the child and calls
it in the ear by the name* three times. This is followed
by a feast to all friends and relatives, the expenses of
which are necessarily met by the father of the child.
" Chdrun or first Meal of Rice. As is usual with the
Nayar every event is introduced by a ceremonial. The
first meal of rice partaken by the child forms no excep-
tion to the rule. It must be remembered that the child is
not fed on rice for some time after birth ; the practice
being to give it flour of dried plantain boiled with
jaggery. There is a particular variety of plantain,
known as kunnan, used for this purpose. The staple
food of the Malayali, rice, is given the child, for the first
time, generally during the sixth month, and is attended,
of course, with some ceremonial. Necessarily, the
astrologer fixes the day ; and at the auspicious hour, the
child, bathed and adorned with ornaments (which it is
the duty of the father to provide) is brought and laid on
a plank. A plantain-leaf is spread in front of it and a
lighted brass lamp, placed near. On the leaf are t
served a small quantity of cooked rice generally a por-
tion of the rice offered to some temple divinity some
tamarind, salt, chillies, and sugar. Then the Karanavan
or the father, ceremoniously approaches and sits down
facing the child. First, he puts in the mouth of the child
a mixture of the tamarind, chillies and salt ; then some
rice ; and lastly a little sugar.
" Thenceforward, the ordinary food of the child is
rice. It is usual on this occasion for relatives (and
especially for the * bandhus* such as the Ammayi or
' uncle's wife ') to adorn the child with gold bangles,
rings and other ornaments. The chorunii or rice-giving
ceremony is, in some cases, preferably performed in
some famous temple, that at Guruvayur being a favourite
one for this purpose.
" Child-birth Position during. When a Nayar woman
is about to be delivered of a child, she is placed in a
reclining position on a low wooden couch (Kottotam),
her back supported by a companion, generally an old
woman. The kottotam is very like, if not identical with,
* In some places, the child is named only in the sixth month on the
chdrun day.
t In some places, all the curries, etc., prepared for the attendant feast
are also served.
245
the couch on which the Nayar has his oil bath. The
surface of it is sloping, the higher end being where the
head is laid, and it is scooped out so as to suit the curva-
tures of the body lying flat.* Lying on her back, her
head is raised and the thighs are stretched wide apart.
Very often she holds in each hand a rope suspended
from the ceiling, by way of support. The child is
received by a woman of the barber caste."
DEATH AND SUCCEEDING CEREMONIES.
When the dying person is about to embark for that
bourne from which no traveller returns, when the breath
is about to leave his body, the members of the house-
hold, and all friends who may be present, one by one
pour a little water, a few drops from a tiny cup made of
a leaf or two of the tulsi plant, into his mouth, holding
in the hand a piece of gold or a gold ring ; the idea being
that the water should touch gold ere it enters the mouth
of the person who is dying. If the Taravad is rich
enough to afford it, a small gold coin, (a Rasi fanam, if
one can be procured t) is placed in the mouth, and the
lips are closed. As soon as death has taken place, the
corpse is removed from the cot or bed, and carried to the
vatakkini (a room in the northern end of the house)
where it is placed on long plantain leaves spread out on
the floor ; and while it is in this room, whether by day or
by night, a lamp is kept burning, and one member of the
Taravad holds the head in his lap and another the feet
in the same way ; and here the neighbours come to take
a farewell look at the dead.
As the Malayalis believe that disposal of a corpse by
cremation or burial as soon as possible after death is con-
ducive to the happiness of the spirit of the departed, no
time is lost in setting about the funeral. The bodies of
senior members of a Taravad, male or female, are burned ;
those of children under two are buried ; so too are the
bodies of all persons who have died of cholera or small-
pox.t When preparations for the funeral have been
made, the corpse is removed to the natumuttam or
central yard of the house if there is one (there always is
* Every Nayar, and for the matter of that, every Malayali, has an oil
bath about once a week or as often as he can afford. The person is well
shampooed with gingelly oil.
t These are now rare.
\ It is the same amongst the Khonds of Ganjarn.
246
in the larger houses), and, if there is not, is taken to the
front yard where it is again laid on plantain leaves. It
is washed and anointed, the usual marks are made with
sandalwood paste and ashes as in life, and it is neatly
clothed. There is then done what is called the Pota-
vekkuka ceremony or placing new cotton cloths (koti
mundu) over the corpse by the senior member of the
(deceased's) Taravad followed by all the other members,
also sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and all relatives.
These cloths are used for tying up the corpse when being
taken to the place of burial or cremation. In some parts
of Malabar the corpse is carried on a bier made of fresh
bamboos, tied up in these cloths, while in others it is
carried (well covered in the cloths) by hand. In either
case it is carried by the relatives. Before the corpse is
removed there is done another ceremony called Para
Virakkuka (filling up paras a para is a measure nearly
as big as a gallon). All adult male members of the
Taravad take part in it under the direction of a
man of the Atikkurissi clan (who occupies the position
of director of the ceremonies during the next fifteen
days, receiving as his perquisite all the rice and other
offerings made to the deceased's spirit). It consists in
filling up three para measures with paddy, and one
edangali ( T V of a para) with raw rice. These offerings of
paddy and rice are placed very near the corpse, to-
gether with a (burning) lamp of the kind commonly used
in Malabar, called nela villaku. If the Taravad is rich
enough to afford one, a silk cloth is placed over the
corpse before removal for cremation.
As much fuel as is necessary having been got ready
at the place of cremation, a small pit about the size of
the corpse is dug, and across this are placed three long
stumps of the plantain tree, one at each end, one in the
middle ; on which as a foundation the pyre is laid. The
whole, or at least a part of the wood used should be that
of the mango tree. As the corpse is being removed to
the pyre, the senior Anandravan * who is next in age
(junior) to the deceased, tears from one of the new cloths
laid on the corpse a piece sufficient to go round his waist,
ties it round his waist, and holds in his hand, or tucks
into his cloth at the waist a piece of iron, generally a
* The eldest male member of the Malabar Taravad is called the
Karanavan, as noted already (Bulletin, Vol. Ill, No. 1) ; all male
members, brothers, nephews and so on, who are junior to him are called
Ananclravans of the Taravad.
247
long key. This individual is throughout chief among the
offerers of " pindam " (balls of rice) to the deceased.
The corpse is laid on the bier, with the head to the
south, with the fuel laid over it and a little camphor,
sandalwood and ghee, if these things are within the
means of the Taravad. Here must be stated the in-
variable rule that no member of the Taravad, male or
female, who is older than the deceased shall take any
part whatever in the ceremony, or in any subsequent
ceremony following on the cremation or burial. All
adult males junior to the deceased should be present
when the pyre is lighted. The deceased's younger
brother, or, if there is none surviving, his nephew (his
sister's eldest son), sets fire to the pyre at the head of the
corpse. If the deceased left a son, this son sets fire at
the same time to the pyre at the feet of the corpse. In the
case of the deceased being a woman, her son sets fire to
the pyre ; failing a son the next (junior) in age to her has
the right to do it. It is a matter of great importance that
the whole pyre burns at once : the greatest care is taken
that it burns as a whole, consuming every part of the
corpse. While the corpse is being consumed, all the
members of the deceased's Taravad who carried it to the
pyre go and bathe in a tank (there is always one in the
compound *or garden around every Nayar's house) : the
eldest, he who bears the piece of torn cloth and the piece
of iron (the key), carries an earthen pot of water, and all
return together to the place of cremation. It should be
said that on the news of a death the neighbours assemble,
assisting in digging the grave, preparing the pyre, and so
on, and, while the members of the Taravad go and bathe,
those remain near the corpse. By the time the relatives
return it is almost consumed by the fire, and the senior
Anandravan carries the pot of water thrice round the
pyre, letting the water leak out by making holes in the
pot as he walks round. On completing the third round,
he dashes the pot on the ground close by where the head
of the dead had been placed. A small image of the
deceased is then made out of raw rice * representing the
deceased, and to this image a few grains of rice and
gingelly seeds are offered. When this has been done
the relatives go home and the neighbours depart, bathing
before entering their houses.
* The ceremony is called Veil Unka (?).
248
When the cremation has been done by night, the duty
of Seshakriya (making offerings to the deceased's spirit)
must be begun the next day between 10 and II A.M. and
is done on seven consecutive days. In any case the time
for this ceremony is after 10 and before 1 1 and it continues
for seven days. It is performed as follows. All male
members of the Taravad younger than the deceased go
together to a tank and bathe, i.e., they souse themselves
in the water, and return to the house. The eldest of them,
the man who tore off the strip of cloth from the corpse,
has with him'the same strip of cloth and the piece of iron,
and all assemble in the central courtyard of the house,
where there has been placed ready by an Enangan (one
of the Taravad of the same clan or sub-clan as that of
the deceased : marriage must be admissible between the
two Taravads) some rice which has been half boiled, a
few grains of gingelly, a few leaves of the cherula,* some
curds, a smaller measure t of paddy, and a smaller
measure I of raw rice. These are placed in the north-east
corner with a lamp of the ordinary Malabar pattern. A
piece of palmyra leaf, about a foot or so in length and the
width of a finger, is taken, and one end of it knotted ; the
knotted end is placed in the ground, and the long end is
left sticking up. This represents the deceased. The rice
and other things are offered to this. The belief concern-
ing this piece of palmyra leaf is explained thus : There
are in the human body ten humours : Vayus ; Pranan ;
Apanan ; Samanan ; Udanan; Vyanan ; Nagan ; Kurman;
Krikalan ; Devadattan ; Dhananjayan. These are called
Dasavayu, i.e., ten airs. When cremation was done for
the first time, all these excepting the last, were destroyed
by the fire. The last one flew up and settled on a palmyra
leaf. Its existence was discovered by some Brahman
sages who, by means of mantrams'(magic), forced it down
to a piece of palmyra leaf on the earth. So it is thought
that, by making offerings to this (Dhananjayan) leaf for
seven days, the spirit of the deceased will be mollified,
should he have any anger to vent on the living members
of the Taravad.
The place where the piece of leaf is to be fixed has
been cleaned carefully, and the leaf is fixed in the centre
of this prepared surface. The offerings made to it go direct
* Atrna. lanata belonging to the natural order Acanthacese,
t An Edangali : about the size of a quart,
j A nazhi : about i a pint.
249
to the spirit of the deceased, and the peace of theTaravad
is ensured. The men who have bathed and returned have
brought with them, plucked on their way back to the
house, some grass (karuka pullu) : they kneel in front of
the piece of palmyra, with the right knee on the ground.
Some of the grass is spread on the ground near the piece
of leaf, and rings made with it are placed on the ring
finger of the right hand by each one present. The first
offerings consist of water, sandalwood paste and leaves
of the cherila : the eldest of the Anandravans leading the
way. Boys need not go through the actual performance of
offerings ; it suffices for them to touch the eldest as he is
making his offerings. The half-boiled rice is made into
balls (pindams) and each one present takes one of these
in his right hand and places it on the grass near the piece
of palmyra leaf. Some gingelly seeds are put into the
curd, which is poured so as to make three rings round the
pindams. It is poured out of a small cup made with the
leaf on which the half-boiled rice had been placed. It
should not be poured from any other kind of vessel. The
whole is then covered with this same plantain leaf, some
lighted wick is waved, and some milk is put under the
leaf. It is undisturbed for some moments, and the leaf is
tapped gently with the back of the fingers of the right
hand. The leaf is then removed and torn in two at its
midrib, one piece being placed on either side of the
pindams. The ceremony is then over for the day. The
performers rise, and remove the wet clothing they have
been wearing.
The eldest of the Anandravans should, it was omitted
to mention, be kept somewhat separated from the other
Anandravans while in the courtyard, andbefore the corpse
is removed for cremation ; a son-in-law or a daughter-in-
law, or some such kind of relation remaining, as it were,
between him and them. He has had the piece of cloth
torn from the covering of the corpse tied round his waist,
and he has had the piece of iron (usually a key) in the
folds of his cloth, or stuck in his waist during the cere-
mony which has just been described. Now, when it has
been completed, he ties the piece of cloth to the pillar of
the house nearest to the piece of palmyra leaf which has
been stuck in the ground, and puts the piece of iron in a
safe place. The piece of palmyra leaf is covered with a
basket. It is uncovered every day for seven days at the
same hour, while the same ceremony is repeated. The
balls of rice (pindams) are removed by women and girls
of the Taravad who are junior to the deceased. They
place them in the bell-metal vessel in which the rice was
boiled. The senior places the vessel on her head, and
leads the way to a tank, on the banks of which the rice is
thrown. It is hoped that crows will come and eat it ; for
if they do, the impression is received that the deceased's
spirit is pleased with the offering ; but if somehow it is
thought that the crows will not come and eat it, the rice is
thrown into the tank, Dogs are not to be allowed to eat it.
The women bathe after the rice has been thrown away.
When the ceremony which has been described has
been performed for theseventhtime, i.e., on the seventh day
after death, the piece of palmyra leaf is removed from the
ground, and thrown on the ashes of the deceased at the
place of cremation. During these seven days no member
of the Taravad goes to any other house. The house of the
dead and all its inmates are under pollution : no outsider
enters it but under ban of pollution, which is, however,
removable by bathing. A visitor entering the house of
the dead during these seven clays must bathe before he
can enter his own house. During these seven days the
Karanavan of the family receives visits of condolence
from relatives and friends to whom he is " at home " on
Monday, Wednesday or Saturday. They sit and chat,
chew betel and go home, bathing ere they enter their
houses.
It is said that in some parts of Malabar the visitors
bring with them small presents in money or kind to help
the Karanavan through the expenditure to which the
funeral rites necessarily put him.
To hark back a little, it must not be omitted that on
the third day after the death, all those who are related by
marriage to the Taravad of the deceased combine and
give a good feast to the inmates of the house and to the
neighbours, who are invited, one man or one woman from
each house. The person so invited is expected to come.
This feast is called Patni Karigi. On the seventh day a
return feast will be given by the Taravad of the deceased
to all relatives and neighbours.
Between the seventh and fourteenth day after death no
ceremony is observed ; but the members of the Taravad
remain under death pollution, and then on the fourteenth
day comes the Sanchayanam. It is the disposal of the
calcined remains ; the ashes of the deceased. The male
members of the Taravad go to the place of cremation and,
picking up the pieces of unburnt bones which they find
there, place these in an earthen pot which has been
sun-dried not burnt by fire in the usual way cover up
251
the mouth of this pot with a piece of new cloth, and, all
following the eldest who carries it, proceed to the nearest
river (it must be running water), which receives the
remains of the dead. The men then bathe and return
home. In some parts of Malabar the bones are collected
on the seventh day, but it is not orthodox to do so. Better
by far than taking the remains to the nearest river is it
to take them to some specially sacred place, Benares,
Gaya, Ramesvaram, or even to some place of sanctity
much nearer home, as to Tirunelli in Wynad, and there
dispose of them in the same manner. The bones or
ashes of any one having been taken to Gaya and there
deposited in the river, the survivors of the Taravad have
no need to continue the annual ceremony for that person.
This is called " Ashtagaya Shraddham." It puts an end
to the need for all earthly ceremonial. It is believed that
the collection and careful disposal of the ashes of the
dead gives peace to his spirit, and, what is more important,
the pacified spirit will not thereafter injure the living
members of the Taravad, cause miscarriage to the women,
possess the men (as with an evil spirit), and so on.
Then on the fifteenth day after death is the purificatory
ceremony. Until this has been done, any one touched
by any member of the Taravad should bathe before he
enters his house or partakes of any food. A man of the
Athikkurisi elan officiates. He sprinkles milk oil in
which have been put some gingelly seeds (all together)
over the persons of those under pollution. This sprinkling
and the bath which follows it removes the death pollution.
The purifier receives a fixed remuneration for his office on
this occasion, as well as when there is a birth in the
Taravad.
In the case of death of a senior member of a Taravad,
well-to-do and reckoned as of some importance, there is
the feast called Pinda Atiyantaram on the sixteenth day
after death, given to the neighbours and friends. The
word neighbours, as used here, does not mean those who
live close by, but, owing to the custom of Malabar under
which each house is in its own paramba (garden or
enclosure) which may be a large one, those of the caste
living within a considerable area round about. I am not
sure whether in connection with these ceremonies there is
mutual assistance in preparation for the funeral; or
whether there is any recognized obligation between
members of the same amsham, desamortara ; or whether
this kind of mutual obligation obtains generally between
any Taravad and those of caste round about, irrespective
252
of boundaries. With the observance of the Pinda
Atiyantaram or feast of pindams, there is involved the
Diksha, or leaving the entire body unshaved for 41 days,
or for a year. There is no variable limit between 41 days
or a year. Forty-one days is permissible as the period
for the Diksha, but a year is correct. The 41-day period
is the rule in North Malabar.
I have seen many who were under the Diksha for a
year. He who lets his hair grow may be a son or nephew
of the deceased. One member only of the Taravad bears
the mark of mourning by his growth of hair, remarkable
enough in Malabar where every one as a rule, excepting
the M&ppila Muhammadans (and they shave their heads),
shaves his face, head (except the patch on the crown)
chest and arms, or at any rate his wrists. He who is
under the Diksha offers half-boiled rice and gingelly
seeds to the spirit of the decased every morning after
his bath ; and he is under restriction from women, from
alchoholic drinks, and from chewing betel, also tobacco.
When the Diksha is observed, the ashes of the dead are
not deposited as described already (in the sun-dried
vessel) until its last day the forty-first or a year after
death. When it is carried on for a year there is observed
every month a ceremony called * Bali. It is noteworthy
that, in this monthly ceremony and for the conclusion of
the Diksha, it is not the thirtieth or three hundred and
sixty-fifth day which marks the date for the ceremonies,
but it is the day (of the month) of the star which was
presiding when the deceased met his death : the returning
day on which the star presides.
For the *Bali, a man of the Elayatu caste officiates.
It has been said already (" Nambutiri Brahmans" :
Bulletin, Vol. Ill, No. I), that the Elayatus are priests for
the Nayars. They wear the Brahman's thread, but they
are not Brahmans. They are not permitted to study the
Vedas, but to the Nayars they stand in the place of the
ordinary Purdhit. The officiating Elayatu prepares the
rice for the Veli when the deceased, represented by
Karuka grass, is offered boiled rice, curds, gingelly seeds
and some other things. The Elayatu should be paid a
rupee for his services, which are considered necessary
even when the man under Diksha himself is familiar with
the required ceremonial.
The last day of the Diksha is one of festivity. After
the * Bali the man under Diksha is shaved. All this over
PL XIII.
Q
**
h
<*
>
6
B
M
lit
253
the only thing to be done for the deceased is the annual
shraddham, or yearly funeral commemorative rite. Rice
balls (pindams) are made and given to crows. Clapping
of hands announces to these birds that the rice is being
thrown for them, and, should they come at once and eat
it, it is obvious that the spirit of the deceased is pleased
with the offering, and is not likely to be troublesome.
But, on the other hand, should they not come and eat, it
is evident that the spirit is displeased, and the Taravad
had better look out.
The ceremonial connected with the funeral rites which
have been described, illustrates the immense difference
which exists, as it does in the case of all peoples more or
less cultured, between the primitive belief of the race, and
the higher, the more abstract, religion which they believe
they believe. With races, as with children, the earliest
associations are the strongest, and persist through the life
of the race as through the life of the individual. The
higher power of reasoning which comes with higher
development does not disperse them altogether. The
people who practise these rites are good Hindus, and,
according to the theory of their Hindu religion, the spirit
which is emancipated from the body at death at once
inhabits another body, for suffering or for enjoyment
measured by the deserts of the bodily existence which
has just ceased. This is the higher religion. And yet
they admit that the spirit is connected with the shadow,
not with the breath ; and feel in their hearts that it still
lingers in the house and absorbs the essence of the
ingredients of the food offered to it; that it must be
propitiated or it will cause harm to the living. This is the
primitive religion. It is supposed that the spiiits of those
whose ashes are deposited at Benares or other place of
sanctity, and for whose sake alms are given to Brahmans,
remain at those holy spots, and become more and more
god-like. This is a mixture of both. We are here
concerned with facts rather than theories and, as much
has been said already of this side of the subject of
comparative religions, we may proceed with our facts.
The spirits of those who have committed suicide or met
death by any violent means are always particularly vicious
and troublesome to the Taravad, their spirit possessing
and rendering miserable some unfortunate member
of it. Unless pacified they will ruin the Taravld, so
Briihman priests are called in and appease them by means
of Tilahdmam, a rite in which sacrifical fire is raised, and
ghee, gingelly and other things are offered through it.
RELIGION.
It will be easier to convey a rational conception of the
religion of the Nayars, not by what is written but by
what is left out; so we will proceed on this plan. The
ceremonies connected with marriage and death go far
towards indicating what are their religious ideas in
general. The conservative character of the people of
Malabar whose country is an earthly paradise, severed
from the major portion of the Indian peninsula by the
high mountains of the Western Ghats, secure in its happy
seclusion, where Nature has lavished her gifts with the
prodigality of a Bacchante, prepares us for finding much
of the primitive element in their religion. With the more
uncultivated, the wilder races, this is almost entirely
primitive in character; no more the cult of a Siva or
Vishnu than of Sqaktktquaclt.
As has been remarked already (" Nambiitiris "
Bulletin, Vol. Ill, No. I), we see in Malabar the most
undiluted form of the highest, the most abstract religion
of Southern India, side by side with the most entirely
primitive. The Nayars have much of both.
The saying, " cleanliness is next to godliness," is one
of those which contain much more real wisdom than is
usually apprehended. The world is really divided, as
I think Mr. Havelock Ellis points out, between the dirty
and the clean; and, if I err not, the same author tells us
that clothed man cannot be truly clean. Man has
advanced far in development when he has become a clean
animal. Now the Nayars' religion is one of cleanliness,
undiminished by superabundant clothing. Men and
women can scarcely wear less than they do in compa-
tibility with the received ideas of decency and propriety,
nor can they be more scrupulous in the matter of personal
cleanliness. No Nayar, unless one utterly degraded by
the exigencies of a Government office, would eat his food
without having bathed and changed his cloth. It is a
rule seldom broken that every Nayar goes to the temple
to pray at least once a day after having bathed ; generally
twice a day. The mere approach anywhere near his
vicinity of a Cheruman, a Polayan or any inferior being,
even a Tiyan, as he walks to his house from the temple,
cleansed in body and mind, his marks newly set on his
forehead with sandalwood paste, is pollution, and he
must turn and bathe again ere he can enter his house
and eat. Buchanan tells us that in his time, about
99 years ago, the man of inferior caste thus approaching
25$
the Nayar would be cut down instantly with a sword :
there would be no words. Now that the people of India
are inconvenienced with an Arms Act which inhibits
sword play of this kind, and with a law-system under
which high and low are rated alike, the Nayar has to
content himself with an imperious grunt-like shout for
the way to be cleared for him as he stalks on unperturbed.
His arrogance is not diminished, but he cannot now show
it in quite the same way.
Doubtless the natural habit of seclusion common to
Malabar, rendered easy by the wealth of vegetation of
which those who have never visited shores somewhat
alike climatically can have no conception, has favoured
the persistence of earlier forms of belief ; but, whatever
may be the reason for it, there is much more of the
extremes of religious belief to be seen amongst the
Nayars than amongst any other people or caste of
Southern India.
It has been noticed already how that the Malayalis
have, practically, no sects such as obtain throughout the
rest of Southern India. Vishnu, Siva, Bhagavati, Rama
all these names of the Hindu theogony are meaningless
to them. They do not know one from the other except in
name. Their Hinduism is not that of the rest of South-
ern India.
It is time to come to concrete example, so I will
attempt a description of the ceremonial observed at the
Pishari kfwu the Pishari temple near Quilandy on the
coast 15 miles north of Calicut, where Bhagavati is sup-
posed in vague legend to have slain an Asura or
gigantic ogre, in commemoration of which event the
festival is held yearly to Bhagavati and her followers.
It is fairly representative. The deity of the temple
Bhagavati is spoken of as feminine in the spirit of accu-
racy, but it is extremely unlikely whether ten per cent,
of the crowd even thought of sex in connection with
Bhagavati. Sacrifice of goats as part of the ceremonial
was at first denied : it is a mystery too awful to be the
subject of conversation. At the same time, I am inclined
to think that much the weightcr reason is that the priests
who cling to this part of the ceremonial are ashamed to
let it be known to the people that they do it. They like
it to be thought that such sacrifice is appropriate to the
inferior races, but that they are above it and have nothing
to do with it !
The festival lasts for seven days. When I visited it
in 1895 the last day was on the 3ist of March. Before
256
day-break of the first day the ordinary temple priests, a
Mussad, will leave the temple after having swept up
and made it clean; and (before day-break also) five
Nambutiris will enter it, bearing with them " Sudhi
Kalasam." The Kalasam is on this occasion made of the
five products of the cow, *> (panchagavyam) together
with some water, a few leaves of the banyan tree (Arayal)
and Darbha grass, all in one vessel. Before being
brought to the temple, mantrams or magic verses will
have been said over it. The contents of the vessel are
sprinkled all about the temple, and a little is put in the
well, thus purifying the temple and the well. The
Nambutiris will then perform the usual morning worship,
and either immediately after it or very soon afterwards
they leave the temple, and the Mussad, the ordinary
priest, returns and resumes his office. The temple belongs
to four Taravads, and no sooner has it been purified than
the Karanavans of these four Taravads, virtually the
joint-owners of the temple (known as Uralas) present to
the temple servant (known as a Pisharodi) the silver flag
of the temple which has been in the custody of one of
them since the last festival. The Pisharodi receives it
and hoists it in front of the temple (to the east), thus
signifying that the festival has begun. While this is
being done, emphasis and grandeur is given to the occa-
sion by the firing off of miniature mortars such as are
common at all South Indian festivals; and, after the
flag is hoisted, there are hoisted all round the temple
small flags of coloured cloth. For the next few days
there is nothing particular to be done beyond the pro-
cession morning, noon and night ; the image of Bhaga-
vati being carried on an elephant to an orchestra of
drums, and cannonade of the little mortars. All those
who are present are supposed to be fed from the temple.
There is a large crowd. On the morning of the fifth day
a man of the washerman (he is also a tailor: Vannan)
caste will announce to the neighbours by beat of tom-tom
that there will be made a procession of Bhagavati issuing
from the gates of the temple and passing round about.
Like all those who are in any way connected with the
temple, this man's office is hereditary and he lives to a
small extent on the bounty of the temple, i.e. 9 he holds a
little land on nominal terms from the temple property, in
consideration for which he must fulfil certain require-
ments for the temple as on occasions of festivals. His
office also invests him with certain rights in the com-
piunity. The Vannan has, I believe, immense power
257
indirectly, in the matter of giving or not giving new
cloths to women after menstruation, but my information
on the point is incomplete. Each receives from the
temple daily during the festival a fixed quantity of rice,
and their families are fed. Thus the tailor, the gold-
smith, and the blacksmith, are under obligation to work
as it may be required for the temple without remuneration
in the ordinary way of labour, but for the honour only.
In the afternoon of the same day (the fifth) the Vannan
and a Manutan, the one following the other and not to-
gether, bring two umbrellas to the temple ; Vannan bring-
ing one of cloth, the other one of cadjan. I am not sure
whether the cloth umbrella has been in possession of the
Vannan, but think it has. At all events, when he now
brings it to the temple it is in thorough repair, a condi-
tion for which he is responsible. The cadjan umbrella is
a new one. Following these two as they walk solemnly,
each with his umbrella, is a large crowd. There are the
usual processions of Bhagavati on the elephant, encir-
cling the temple thrice in the morning, at noon and at
night. Nothing more is done on this day.
Early on the sixth day the headman of the Mukkuvans
(fisherman), who by virtue of his headship is called the
1 Arayan,' together with the blacksmith and the goldsmith
comes to the temple followed by an interested crowd,
but accompanied by no orchestra of drums. To the
Arayan is given half a sack of rice for himself and his
followers, a silver umbrella belonging to the temple is
handed over to him to be used when he comes to the
temple again in the evening. To the blacksmith is given
the temple sword. The goldsmith receives the silver
umbrella from the Arayan, and excutes on it any repairs
that may be needful ; and in like manner the blacksmith
looks to the sword.
In the afternoon the headman of the Tiyans called
the " Tandan," comes to the temple followed by two of
his castemen carrying slung on a pole over their should-
ers three bunches of young cocoanuts, an appropriate
offering, the Tiyans being those whose ordinary profes-
sion is climbing the cocoanut palm, drawing the toddy,
securing the cocoanuts, etc. This lime there will be loud
drumming and a large crowd with the Tandan, and
in front of him are men dancing about, imitating sword
play with sticks and shields, clanging the shields, pulling
at bows as if firing off imaginary arrows, the while
shouting and yelling madly. The sticks represent swords.
Then come the blackmith and the goldsmith with the
sword. The goldsmith has some responsibility connected
with the sword, perhaps on account of its ornamentation,
although the ordinary Malayali blacksmith is quite equal
to the ordinary work of a goldsmith as well as repairing
clocks and watches. Following comes the Arayan with
the silver umbrella to an accompaniment of very noisy
drumming; he and his umbrella in great state under
a canopy of red cloth held lengthways by two men r one
before, one behind. The procession of Bhagavati con-
tinues throughout the night, and ceases at day-break.
These six days of the festival are called Vilakku.
A word about the drumming. The number of instru-
mentalists increases as the festival goes on, and on the
last day I counted over fifty, all Nayars. The instruments
were the ordinary tom-tom, a skin stretched tight over
one side of a circular wooden band, about l% feet in
diameter and 2 or 3 inches in width, and the common
long drum much narrower at the ends than in the middle,
and there were (I think) a few of those narrow in the
middle, something like an hour-glass cut short at both
ends. They are beaten with drum-sticks, curved, not
straight, thicker at the end held in the hand. The
accuracy with which they were played on, never a wrong
stroke, was truly amazing, although the rhythm was being
changed perpetually; and their crescendo and diminuen-
do, from a perfect fury of wildness to the gentlest
pianissimo, was equally astonishing, especially when we
consider the fact that there was no visible leader of this
strange orchestra.
Early on the seventh and last day, when the morning
procession is over, there comes to the temple a man of the
Panan* caste. He carries a small cadjan umbrella
which he has made himself, adorned all round the edges
with a fringe of the young leaves of the cocoanut palm.
His approach is heralded and noised just as in the case
of the others on the previous day. The umbrella he
brings should have a long handle and with this umbrella
in his hand he performs a dance before the temple. The
Malabar umbrella has a very long handle as a rule, in
fact the correct way to carry an umbrella is with the end
of the handle resting in the hand while the arm is
straight at the side.
The temple which is figured in the plate is situated
within a hollow square enclosure, which none in caste
* Fanan, a caste numerically small, and inferior. They make
umbrellas of cadjan and perform at temples.
below the Nayar is permitted to enter. To the north,
south, east, and west, there is a level entrance into this
hollow square, and beyond this entrance no man of
inferior caste may go. The Panan receives a certain
quantity, about 10 Ib. of raw rice for his performance.
In the afternoon a small crowd of Vettuvars come to
the temple carrying with them swords, not very dangerous
ones, and about ten small baskets made of cocoanut palm
leaves, containing salt.* These baskets are carried
slung on a pole as before. These men dance and shout
in much excitement, cutting their heads with their own
swords in their frenzy. Some of them represent devils
or some kind of inferior evil spirits, and dance madly,
under the influence of these spirits which they represent.
Then comes the Arayan as on the previous day with his
little procession, and lastly comes the blacksmith with
the sword.
It is explained by the Malayalis that the individuals
of the various castes who hold the office of tailor, gold-
smith and so on to the temple, do so, not for the sake of
what they receive from the temple, but in order to mark
their position of superiority in their caste. The cere-
monial allotted to each also no doubt marks his position
in the ladder of caste.
The procession in the evening of this the seventh and
last day is a great affair. Eight elephants which kept
line beautifully, took part in this when I witnessed it.
One of them very handsomely caparisoned had on its
back a priest (Mussad) carrying a sword smothered in
garlands of red flowers representing the goddess. Up to
this time, when she is represented by a sword, it will be
remembered she has been represented by an image. The
elephant bearing the priest with the sword is bedizened
on the forehead with two golden discs, one on each side of
the forehead, and over the centre of the forehead
hangs a long golden ornament.! He bears other jewels,
and over his back is a large canopy-like red cloth richly
wrought. Before the elephant walked a Nayar carrying
in his right hand in front of him a sword of the kind
* The use of salt here is obscure as to the purpose. I remember a case
of a N^yar's house having been plundered, the idol was knocked down and
salt was put in the place where it should have stood. The act was looked
on as most insulting.
t The discs on the elephant's forehead are common in Malabar in
affairs of ceremony. The Mappila poets are very fond of comparing a
beautiful girl's breast to these cup-like discs.
260
called nandakam smeared with white (probably sandal-
wood) paste. The shape of this sword is given in the
illustration. To its edge, at intervals of a few inches,
are fastened tiny bells, so that,
when it is shaken, there is a
general jingle.
But just before the proces-
sion begins there is something
for the Tiyans to do. Four men
of this caste, having with them
Pukkalasams (flower-kalasams)
and five having with them Jan-
nakalasams ( ? ) run along the
west, north, and east, sides of
the temple (outside the enclo-
sure) shouting and making a
noise more like the barking of
dogs than anything else. The
kalasams contain arrack which
is presently given to the temple
to be used in the ceremonies.
Members of certain families
only are allowed to perform in this business, and for what
they do each man receives five edangalis of rice from the
temple and a small piece of the flesh of the goat to be
sacrificed later. These nine men eat only once a clay
during the festival ; they do no work, remaining quietly
at home unless when at the temple ; they cannot approach
any one of caste lower than their own ; they cannot
cohabit with women ; and they cannot see a women in
menstruation during these days. A crowd of Tiyans join
more or less in this, rushing about and barking like dogs,
making a hideous noise. They too have kalasams, and,
when they are tired of rushing and barking, they drink
the arrack in them. These men are always under vow.
In doing what they do, they fulfil their vow for the benefit
they have already received from the goddess cure from
sickness as a rule. To the west of the temple is a circular
pit it was called the fire-pit, but there was no fire in
it and this pit all the Tiyan women of the neighbour-
hood circumambulate, passing from west round by north,
three times, holding on the head a pewter plate on which
are a little rice, bits of plantain leaves and cocoanut, and
a burning wick. As each women completes her third
round, she stands for a moment at the western side,
facing east, and throws the contents of the plate into the
261
pit, then goes to the western gate of the enclosure, and
puts down her plate for an instant while she makes
profound salaam to the goddess ere going away.
And now the procession starts out from the temple,
issuing from the northern gate, and for a moment con-
fronts a being so strange that he demands description.
Of the many familiar demons of the Malayalis the two
most intimate are " Kuttichchattan " and "Gulikan,"
who are supposed to have assisted Kali (who is scarcely
the Kali of Brahmanism by the by) in overcoming the
Asura, and on the occasion of this festival these two
demons dance before her. " Gulikan " is represented by
the Vannan and " Kuttichchattan " by the Manutan who
have been mentioned already, and who are under like
restrictions with the nine Tiyans. I saw poor " Gulikan "
being made up, the operation occupying five or six hours
or more before his appearance. I asked who he was and
was told he was " a devil." He looked mild enough; but
then his " make up " had just begun. He was lying flat
on the ground close by the northern entrance of the
enclosure, where presently he was to dance, a man paint-
ing his face to make it hideous and frightful. This done,
his hair was dressed ; large bangles were put on his arms,
covering them almost completely from the shoulder to the
wrist ; his head and neck was swathed and decorated ; a
wooden platform arrangement from which hung a red
ornamented skirt was fastened to his hips ; there was
fastened to his back an elongated Prince of Wales's
feathers arrangement (made of plank) the top of which
reached five feet above his head; and he was made to
look like nothing human. Kuttichchattan was treated in
much the same manner.
As the procession issues from the northern gate of the
temple where it is joined by the elephants, Gulikan
stands in the northern entrance of the enclosure (which
he cannot enter), facing it, and a halt is made for three
minutes, while Gulikan dances. The poor old man who
represented this fearful being, grotesquely terrible in his
wonderful metamorphosis, must have been extremely glad
when his three minutes' dance, preparation for which
occupied all the afternoon, was concluded, for the mere
weight and uncomfortable arrangement of his parapher-
nalia must have been extremely exhausting. It was with
difficulty that he moved at all, let alone dance.
The procession passes round by east, where, at the
entrance of the enclosure, Kuttichchattan gives his dance,
262
round by south to the westward, and leaving the enclosure
proceeds to a certain banyan tree under which is a high
raised platform built up with earth and stones. Preced-
ing the procession at a distance of 50 yards are the nine
men of the Tiyan caste, mentioned already, carrying
kalasams on their heads, and a crowd of women of the
same caste, each one carrying a pewter plate larger than
the plates used when encircling the fire pit on which are
rice, etc., and the burning wick as before. The plate and
its contents on this occasion as well as before is called tala-
p61i. I could not make out that anything in particular is
done at the banyan tree, and the procession soon returns to
the temple, the nine men and the Tiyan women following,
carrying their kalasams and talapoli. On the way,
a number of cocks are given in sacrifice by people under
a vow. In the procession are a number of " devil
dancers " garlanded with white flowers of the pagoda tree
mixed with red, jumping, gesticulating, shouting, in an
avenue of the crowd in front of the elephant bearing the
sword. The person under a vow holds the cock towards
one of these " devil dancers " who (never ceasing his
gyrations, mad-like gestures and contortions), presently
seizes its head, wrings it off, and flings it high in the air.
The vows which are fulfilled by this rude decapitation of
cocks have been made in order to bring about cure for
some ailment.
The procession passes through the temple yard, the
enclosure, from west to east, and proceeds half a mile to
a banyan tree under which, like the other, there is a high
raised platform. When passing by the temple, the Tiyan
women empty the contents of their plates in the fire pit
as before, and the nine men hand over the arrack in their
kalasams to the temple servants. Let us note here as
we go along the curious distribution of this rice which is
heaped in the fire pit. Two-thirds of it go to the four
Tiyans carrying the Pu (flower) kalasams and one-third
to the five who carried the Jannakalasams. Returning
to the procession, we find it at the raised platform to the
east of the temple. On this platform have been placed
already an ordinary bamboo quart-like measure of paddy,
and one of rice, each covered with a plantain leaf. The
principal devil dancer takes a handful of rice and paddy
and flings it all around. The procession then visits in
turn the gates of the gardens of the four owners of the
temple. At each is the measure of rice and the measure of
paddy covered with plaintain leaves as before, beside them
PL. XIV.
263
a small lamp or burning wick, and the devil dancer throws
a handful towards the house. It then finds its way to the
tree to the west under which, on the platform, is now a
measure of paddy and a lamp ; some Brahmans* repeat
mantrams and the elephant, the priest on his back and
the sword in his hand, all three, are supposed to tremble
violently. Up to this time the procession has moved
leisurely, a very slow march. Now, starting suddenly, it
proceeds at a run to the temple where the priest descends
quickly from the elephant and is taken inside the temple
by the Mussad priests. He who has been carrying the
sword all this time places it on the sill of the door of the
room in which it is kept for worship, and prostrates
before it- The sword then shakes itself for 15 minutes !
until the chief priest stays its agitation by sprinkling on
it some tirtam, fluid made sacred by having been used for
anointing the image of the goddess. This done, the
chief amongst the devil dancers will with much internal
tumult as well as outward convolutions say, in the way
of oracle, whether the Devi has been pleased with the
festival in her honour, or not. As he pronounces this
oracular utterance he falls in a sort of swoon, and every
soul, excepting only the priests and the temple servants,
leaves the place as quickly as possible. The sheds which
have been erected for temporary habitation around the
temple will be quickly demolished, and search will be
made round about to make sure that no one remains near
while the mystic rite of sacrifice is about to be done.
When the whole place has been cleared, the four owners
of the temple, the senior members of the Taravads who
stand in the position of owners and who, by the way,
have stayed, hand over each a goat with a rope tied
round its neck to the chief priest ; and as soon as they
have done so they too depart. There will remain now
in the temple three Mussads, one drummer (Marayar)
and two temple servants : no others. These Mussads are
commonly called Brahmans though the Nambutiris do
not admit them to be such. The reason for all this
secrecy seems to lie in objection to let it be known
generally that any sacrifice is done. I was told again
and again that there was no such thing. It is a mystic
secret. The Mussad priests repeat mantrams over the
goats for an hour as a preliminary to the sacrifice. Then
* East Coast Brahmans (Pattar) I think : perhaps Mftssads.
264
the chief priest dons a red silk cloth and takes in his
hand a chopper-like sword in shape something like a
a small bill-hook while the goats are taken to a certain
room within the temple. This room is rather a passage
than a room as there are to it but two walls, running
north and south. The goats are made to stand in turn in
the middle of this room, facing to the south ; the.chief
priest stand to the east of a goat facing west as he cuts
off its head with the chopper. He never ceases his
mantrams and the goats never flinch, -the effect of the
mantrams ! Several cocks are then sacrified in the same
place, and over the carcasses of goats and cocks there is
sprinkled charcoal powder mixed in water (karutta
gurusi) and saffron powder and lime water (chukanna
gurusi), the flow of mantrams never ceasing the while.
The three Mussads only see the sacrifice, a part of the
rite supremely secret. Equally so is that which follows.
The carcass of one goat will be taken out of the temple
by the northern door to the north side of the temple; and
from this place one of the temple servants, who is blind-
folded, drags it three times round the temple, the Mussads
following closely repeating their mantrams, the drummer
in front beating his drum softly with his fingers. The
drummer dare not look behind him and does not know
what is being done. After the third round the drummer
and the temple servant go away and the three Mussads
cook some of the flesh of the goats and one or two of the
cocks (or a part of one) with rice. This rice when cooked
is taken to the kavu (grove), to the north of the temple,
and there the Mussads again ply their mantrams. As
each mantram is ended a handful of saffron powder is
flung on the rice, and all the time the drummer who by
this time has returned, the only one present with the
priests, keeps up an obligato pianissimo with his drum,
using his fingers : he faces the north and the priests face
the south. Presently, having done with the mantrams,
the priests run (not walk) once round the temple carrying
the cooked rice and scattering it wide as they go, repeat-
ing their mantrams. They enter the temple and remain
within until day-break. No one can leave the temple
until morning comes. Before daybreak the temple is
thoroughly swept and cleaned, and then the Mussads go
out and the five Nambutiris again enter before sunrise
and perform the ordinary worship thrice in the day. For
this one day only. The next morning the Mussad priests
return and resume their duties,
265
Men and women who have taken part in the festival
are considered to have undergone spiritual purification
each in his or her own caste, and to have marked their
position in it as well as in the social scale.
Beyond noting that the weirdness of the human
tumult busy in its religious effusion is on the last night
enhanced by fireworks, mere description of the scene of
the festival will not be attempted, and such charming
adjuncts of it as the gallery of pretty Nayar women look-
ing on from the garden fence at the seething procession
in the lane below must be left to the imagination for the
present, while we must be content with such accuracy as
we may attain on all points : neither fancy nor beauty
shall allure us from the dull path of precision, for the
mere features of the ceremonial are one real concern.
It will have been noticed that the Nambutiris hold
aloof from the festival : they purify the temple before
and after, but no more.
The importance attached to the various offices of those
who are attached to the temple by however slender a
thread, was illustrated by a rather amusing squabble
between two of the Mukkuvans (fishermen), an uncle and
nephew, as to which of them should receive the silver
umbrella from the temple and bear it to the house of the
goldsmith to be repaired. How the squabble arose, how
indeed there could have arisen a squabble on such a point
as seniority between an uncle and a nephew amongst
Mukkuvans, whose descent is reckoned from father to
son, I know not, but during the festival one of them made
a rapid journey to the Zamorin (about 50 miles distant),
paid some fees and established himself as the senior who
had the right to carry the umbrella. There are points
of resemblance between this festival and the village
festival of Southern India where the buffalo " devoted "
to the goddess of the village is sacrificed, where there is
the slaughter of the lamb by the strong teeth of a man,
the dressing up in leaves, the man naked and blindfolded
going round outside the village while cooked rice and
blood are scattered wide, the blindfolded man falling
senseless before the goddess at the end of it.*
There are many festivals in Malabar description of
which would be very interesting, but information in
detail is wanting in my notes, so I must perforce rest
content with what has been related of the festival at the
* Described at length by me in the " Journal of the Anthropological
Society of Bombay " some eight years ago.
266
Pishari Kivu which represents one of moderate im-
portance and truly one of the people, and its narration
is fairly complete. It seems to express the religion of
the Nayars as it is when not tacked on to that of the
Brahmans : as they formulate it of themselves entirely in
their own way.
An important local festival is that held near Palgfrat,
in November, in the little suburb Kalpati inhabited
entirely by Pattar Br&hmans from the east ; but it is not
a true Malayali festival and it suffices to mention its
existence for it in no way represents the religion of the
Nayar. The dragging of cars on which are placed the
images of deities, common everywhere from the temple of
Jagganath, at Puri in Orrisa, to Cape Comorin, is quite
unknown in Malabar excepting only at Kalpati which is
close to the eastern frontier of Malabar. The Kalpati
festival is the only " car festival " in Malabar.
Near Chowghat (Chavagat), about 30 miles to the
southward of Calicut, on the backwater, an arm of the
sea and separated from it by a thin strip of land between
the rivers, at a place called Guruvayur, is a very im-
portant temple the property of the Zamorin, yielding a
very handsome revenue. I visited this festival on one
occasion and saw there much which was of interest but
which must find place in the account of regions of others
than Nayars. Here purchase was made of a few offer-
ings such as are made to the temple in satisfaction of
vows. A very rude representation of an infant in silver,
a hand, a leg, an ulcer, a pair of eyes, and, most curious
of all, a silver string which represents a man the giver.
Symbolization of the offering of self is made by a silver
string as long as the giver is tall ! Goldsmiths working
in silver and gold are to be seen just outside the gate of
the temple ready to provide at a moment's notice the
object any person intends to offer, in case he is not
already in possession of his votive offering.
The subject of vows can be touched on but incidentally
here.* A vow is made by one desiring offspring, to have
his hand or leg cured, to have an ulcer cured, to fulfil any
desire whatsoever, and he decides in solemn affirmation to
himself (it is not necessary to go to a temple for the
purpose of vowing) to give a silver image of a child, a silver
* The subject of vows generally, including description of a Roman
Catholic shrine at Cochin somewhat akin to that at Guravayur, was
treated by me in an article which appeared in the ' Calcutta Review ' for
January 1899.
leg, and so on, in the event of his having fulfilment of his
desire. The offering is never an adjunct of the prayers ;
it is always something done for benefit received. The
thing to be noted is that a vow is always fulfilled ; fulfilled
as well as the vower can possibly fulfil it ; it is never
forgotten or overlooked.
11 When the devil was sick the devil a saint would be
11 When the devil was well the devil a saint was he "
is a couplet inapplicable to theNayar, or, indeed, to any
people in Southern India, where vows, of objects to be
given or animals to be sacrified, are treated always with
the utmost sacredness even by people who perhaps in no
relation of life behave for an hour with common honesty.
A true Mahiyali festival is that held at Kottior, in
North Malabar, in the forest at the foot of the Wynad
hills rising 3,000 to 5,000 feet from the sides of the little
glade where it is situated. It is held in July during the
height of the monsoon rain. The average rainfall at
Kottior in July is probably 60 inches at least, so the
devotees generally get a good ducking. Though it is a
festival for high and low these do not mix at Kottior. The
Nayars go first, and after a few days, the Nayars having
done, the Tiyans, and so on. A curious feature of it is
that people going to attend it are distinctly rowdy, feeling
they have a right to abuse in the vilest and filthiest terms
everyone they see on the way perhaps a few days'
march ; and not only do they abuse to their hearts'
content in their exhuberant excitement, but. they use per-
sonal violence to person and property all along the road.
They return like lambs.
I have not been able to ascertain with that definiteness
which would enable me to offer more than an opinion, the
connection between this violence of language and physical
force against innocent people who are met en route, and
the object of worship at Kottior, so will leave that part of
the subject alone. The other day I visited the Gangamma
festival at sacred Tirupati in North Arcot, and observed,
together with conduct the most truly religious vows being-
carried out with the strongest disregard to personal
comfort, the use of language truly filthy and obscene
towards t fie goddess herself! " Gangamma ! You have a
(using a filthy word for the vagina) as big as a basket."
"She is a whore " said another; and each one in the little
crowd of votaries, evidently from the same village, as
they approached the shrine, tried to out-do the other in
insult and vituperation of the goddess to whom they had
6-A
268
come to pay their vows for some good done them by her.
Obscenities which need not be described were done these
chiefly by people of very low caste let it be said by
people who felt that neither gesture in the dance nor
word could be gross enough to express the violence of
their feelings. Yet these people, men and women, rolled,
or were rolled, for they soon become unconscious, many
times round the temple, their arms stretched towards it,
their hair, their clothes (scanty enough) and persons
generally thick with the dust. A piteous sight. And
there were to be seen men carrying over their heads an
ornamented wooden canopy, the whole (and no light
weight) held up, fastened to the person by the ends of the
supports of the canopy, being stuck through the skin of
the back and of the chest. Nothing resting on the
shoulders or held in the hand. I saw a man who, to fulfil
a vow to this goddess who was abused so vilely, had done
this every year for over twenty years, and this year
handed on performance of the painful vow to his son, a
growing lad. The bearers of these canopies danced
continuously as if trying to make the points in their flesh
as hurtful as possible. So that, together with vituperatjon
of the goddess, there was much veneration, and there is no
hesitation in expressing this through bodily discomfort
and pain.
Content for the present with this example from another
part of the Presidency, we will return now to Kottior
yhich I visited in November 1894. One sees a temple of
Isvara, there called Perumal (or Perumal Iswara) by the
people; a low thatched building forming a hollow square,
in the centre of which was the shrine which, I was not
permitted to see. There were some Nambutiri priests who
came out and entered into conversation. Their life far
away in the forest must be a lonely one. The refresh-
ment which they offered, butter-milk and sugar, was
accepted thankfully. The Nambutiris, very unsophistica-
ted persons and much wrapped up in their personal
sanctity, placed the milk and sugar on the ground, and
invited us graciously to partake. A large piece of
cocoanut which they threw to my dog was, strange to say,
eaten greedily by the beast.
The festival is not held at the temple but in the forest
about quarter of a mile distant. This spot is deemed
extremely sacred and dreadful. There was, however, no
objection to myself and my companion visiting it : we
were simply begged not to go. There were with us a
26$
Niyar and a Kurichchan, and the faces of these men-
when we proceeded to wade through the little river, knee-
deep and about 30 yards wide, in order to reach the sacred
spot of the festival, expressed anxious wonder. They
dared not accompany us across. No one (excepting, of
course, a Muhammadan) would go near the place unless
during the few days of the festival when it is safe : at all
other times any man going to the place is destroyed
instantly. How much this belief has to do with [swara
need not be commented on ! Nothing on earth would
have persuaded either the Nayar or the Kurichchin to
cross that river. Orpheus proceeding to find his Eurydice,
Dante about to enter the Inferno had not embarked on so
fearful a journey ! About a hundred yards beyond the
stream we came upon the sacred spot, a little glade in the
forest. Why this uncomfortable place was chosen I know
not ; in the rains when the festival is held it is usually
under water, and the people have to stand in water. In the
centre of the glade is a circle of piled up stones, 12 feet
in diameter. In the middle of the pile of stones is a rude
lingam. By the same token the lingam had been broken
and displaced a few days previously by some Mappilas
searching for treasure which they thought was there.
^Running east from the circle of the lingam is a long
shed, in the middle of which is a long raised platform of
brick, used apparently as a place for cooking. Around
the lingam there were also thatched sheds in which the
people had lodged during the festival. Grass and weeds
were growing high, and the sheds were dilapidated and
looking as if they had not been used for years; but then
the rain in Malabar brings about destructive effects with
astonishing rapidity.
Pilgrims going to this festival carry with them offerings
of some kind. Tiyans take young cocoanuts. I am not
* The circle of stones is specially interesting. Near the Angadipuram-
Manjery road, between Vellila and the ferry is a monolith in the centre of
a piled up platform circled with stones, the circle 30 feet in diameter.
Apparently one of the many pre-Hindu remains in Malabar. Description
of the ancient remains in Malabar, which are specially interesting, must
be made later on. Just now let me note that stone circles are common.
And I find in my notes the following: "On the hill side just about the
Tirunelli temple (North Wynad forests), where there is a clearing in the
forest and the ground is somewhat flat, is a circle of stones 12 feet in
diameter, and filled up with earth so as to make a raised platform nearly
2 feet in height ; in the centre a small upright stone 10 inches high. To
the north-east, three flat upright stones .... and a flat place, rudely
square about 11 feet from the circle, evidently an old sacred place of some
of the jungle folk."
2/0
sure what the Niyars take ; perhaps the same. Every one
who returns brings with him a swish made of split young
leaves of the cocoanut palm.
A shrine to which the Malayalis, Nayars included,
resort is that of Subramania in Palni, in the north-west
corner of the Madura district, about a week's march from
the confines of Malabar near Palghat. Not only are vows
paid to this shrine, but men, letting their hair grow for a
year after their father's death, proceed to have it cut there.
The plate shows an ordinary Palni pilgrim- The arrange-
ment which he is carrying is called a kavadi. There
are two kinds of kavadi : a milk kavadi (one containing
milk in a pot) and a fish kavadi (one containing fish).
The vow may be made in respect of either, each being
appropriate to certain circumstances. When the time
comes near for the pilgrim to start for Palni he dresses in
reddish orange cloths, shoulders his kavadi and starts out.
Together with a man ringing a bell, and perhaps one with
a tom-tom, with ashes on his face, he assumes the role of
beggar. The well-to-do are inclined to reduce the beggar
period to the minimum ; but a beggar every votary must
be, and as a beggar he goes to Palni in all humbleness
and humiliation, and there he fulfils his vow ; leaves his
kavadi and his hair and a small sum of money.
Though the individuals about to be noticed were not
Nayars, their cases illustrate very well the religious idea
of the Nayar as expressed under certain circumstances ;
for between the Nayars and these there is in this respect
little if any difference. It was at Guruvayur in November
1895. On a high raised platform under a peepul tree were
a number of people under vows, bound for Palni. A boy
of 14 had suffered as a child from epilepsy, and seven years
ago his father vowed for him (on his behalf) that if he
were cured he would make the pilgrimage to Palni. He
wore a string of beads round his neck and a like string on
his right arm (these were in some way connected with the
vow). His head was bent and he sat motionless under his
kavadi, leaning on the bar, which when he carried it rested
on his shoulder. He could not go to Palni until it was
revealed to him in a dream when he was to start. He had
waited for this dream seven years, subsisting on roots
(yams, etc.) and milk, no rice. Now he had had the
long-looked-for dream, and he was about to start. As an
instance of the Malayali's ignorance of the Hindu theo-
gony, this youth said he was going to the god "Sri
Krishnan " in Palni. It is well known that god there is
not Krishna.
271
Another pilgrim was a man wearing an oval band of
silver over the lower portion of the forehead almost cover-
ing his eyes ; his tongue outside his teeth, kept in position
by a silver skewer through it. Had been fasting two
years. Much under the influence of the god, and whack-
ing incessantly at a drum in delirious excitement. The
skewer was put in the day before, and was to be left in
for forty days. Several of the pilgrims wore a handker-
chief tied over the mouth, they being under a vow of
silence. One poor man wore the regular instrument of
silence, the mouth-lock (a wide silver band over the
mouth, the ends reaching over the cheeks, a skewer
through both cheeks keeping the ends together * and, of
course, the mouth open) ; and he sat patiently in a nice
tent-like affair, about 3 feet high. People fed him with
milk, &c., but he made no effort to procure food, relying
merely on what was given him.
Pilgrims generally go in crowds under charge of a
priestly guide, one who, having made a certain number of
journeys to the shrine, wears a peculiar sash and other
gear. They call themselves pujaris, and are quite an fait
with all the ceremonial prior to the journey as well as
with the exigencies of the road. As I stood there, one of
these pujaris stood up amidst the recumbent crowd. He
raised his hands towards the temple a little to the west,
then spread out his hands as if invoking a blessing on the
people around him. Full of religious fervour he was
(apparently at any rate) unconscious of all but the spiri-
tual need of his flock.
The use of the mouth-lock is common with the Nayars
when they assume the pilgrims' robes and set out for
Palni, and I have often seen many of them garbed and
mouth-locked going off on a pilgrimage to that place.
Brief mention must be made of the festival held at
Kodungallur in the northernmost corner of the Cochin
State, along the coast, as it possesses some strange fea-
tures peculiar to Malabar and is much frequented by the
Nayars. Kodungallur is near Cranganore, the old Dutch
Settlement, where was, probably, the Musiris of the
Greeks. Tiruvangaikalam, close by, will probably turn
out to be the long lost site of the capital of the Chera king-
dom. I have been disappointed in obtaining particulars
* The mouth-lock is not peculiar to Malabar. A description of this
form of vow in another part of the Presidency was made by me in the
11 Journal of the Anthropological Society of Bombay ," Vol. II, No. 2 (1890),
of the festival, so make the following excerpt from
Mr. Logan's well-known " Manual of Malabar." " It takes
the people in great crowds from their homes. The whole
country near the lines of march rings with the shouts
1 Nada-a Nada-a ' of the pilgrims to the favourite shrines,
chief of which is that at Cranganore (Kodungallur) in the
Native State of Cochin. Of what takes place when the
pilgrims reach this spot perhaps the less said the better.
In their passage up to the shrine the cry of ' Nada-a
Nada-a ' (march, march away) is varied by terms of un-
measured abuse levelled at the goddess (a Bhagavati) of
the shrine. This abusive language is supposed to be
acceptable to her. On arrival at the shrine they desecrate
it in every conceivable way, believing that this too is
acceptable ; they throw stones and filth, howling volleys
of opprobrium at her house. The chief of the fisherman
caste, styled Kuli Muttatta Arayan, has the privilege of
being the first to begin the work of polluting the Bhoot
or shrine. Into other particulars it is unnecessary to
enter ; cocks are slaughtered and sacrificed. The wor-
shipper gets flowers only, and no holy water after paying
his vows. Instead of water he proceeds outside and
drinks arrack or toddy, which an attendant Nayar serves
out. All castes are free to go, including Tiyars and low
caste people. The temple was originally only a Bhoot
or holy tree with a platform. The image in the temple is
said to have been introduced only of recent years." It is
a pity Mr. Logan is so reticent. My information is that
the headman of the Mukkuvans (fisher caste) opens the
festival by solemnly making a fcecal deposit on the
image. Here again there is the same strange union of
everything that is filthy, abusive, foul and irreverent,
with every mode of expressing the deepest religious
feeling.
Leaving now the religion, expression of which may
be seen at temple festivals and during pilgrimages to
these scenes of religious fervour, we will turn to that
which we see in the house of the Nayar at home.
Plate XII shows a man standing with a sword of the
shape known as Nandakam. He is an individual called
a Velichchapp^d, and as he stood to be photographed by
me his forehead and face streamed with blood from a self-
inflicted wound on the head. The Velichchappzid is a
familiar character in Malabar. His profession illustrates
the very mixed character of the Hinduism of the Nayar,
partaking as it does of much of the lower cult, animism,
PL. XV.
273
and deification of ancestors, worship of snakes and kites,
ceremonies connected therewith, sacrifice, magic, witch-
craft and sorcery together with the purest form of Vedic
Brahmanism known in Southern India, of which there is
the highest expression in the temples attached to the
wealthy Nambutiri Illams, to which the Nayar goes daily
to pray, to purify his mind after having purified his body
by bathing. There is very little to be seen of prayer in
Southern India outside Malabar. The great mass of the
people (I exclude the Brahmans, a very minute percentage
of the whole) never dream of going to a temple daily to
pray; in fact prayer for its own sake scarcely exists.
People go in crowds to a temple on the occasion of a
festival to make obeisance to the god, and in a vague way
to pray, or they will go to fulfil a vow ; but going merely
to pray by way of self purification of spirit is certainly
rare, for this denotes a phase of religion to which the
great mass of the people of Southern India has not
reached.
Far away in, as it may be said, rural Malabar, I wit-
nessed the ceremony in which the Velichchappad exhibi-
ted his quality. It was in the courtyard of a Nayar house,
to which thronged all the neighbours (Nayars), men and
pretty women, boys and girls. The ceremony lasts about
an hour. The Nayar said it was the custom in his family
to have it done once a year, but could give no account of
how the custom had originated : most probably in a vow ;
some ancestor having vowed that if such or such benefit
be received, he will forever after have an annual perform-
ance of this ceremony in his house. It involved some
expenditure, as the Velichchappad had to be paid, and
the neighbours had to be fed. Somewhere about the
middle of the little courtyard, always as clean as a
dinner table, the Velichchappad placed a lamp (of the
Malabar pattern) having a lighted wick, a kalasam, which
he had prepared, some flowers, camphor, saffron and other
paraphernalia. Bhagavati was the deity invoked, and the
business involved offering flowers, and waving a lighted
wick around the kalasam. The Velichchappad's move-
ments became quicker, and suddenly seizing the sword
he ran round the courtyard (against the sun, as the sailors
say) shouting wildly. He is under the influence of the
deity who has been induced into him, and he gives
oracular utterance to the deity's commands. What he
said I know not, and no one else seemed to know or care
in the least, much interested though they were in the
274
performance. As he ran, every now and then he cut his
forehead with the strange misshapen sword, pressing it
against the skin and sawing (vertically) up and down.
The blood streamed all over his face. Presently he be-
came wilder and wilder, and whizzed round the lamp,
bending forward towards the kalasam. Evidently some
deity, some spirit, was present here, and spoke through
the mouth of the Velichchappad. This, I think, un-
doubtedly represents the belief of all who were present.
When he had done whizzing round the kalasam, he soon
became a normal being and stood before my camera.
The fee for this self-inflicted laceration is one rupee and
some odds and ends of rice, etc. I saw the Velich-
chappad about three days afterwards going to perform
elsewhere. The wound on his forehead had healed ! The
careful observer can always identify a Velichchappad
by the triangular-like patch over the forehead where the
hair will not grow, and where the skin is somewhat in-
durated. The Velichchappads seem to get used to cutting
their foreheads as the eels to skinning.
We shall find the oracle again when we come to the
lower races. I have seen a fine demonstration of it
amongst the Paniyans of Wynad when engaged in a re-
gular corrobboree. An extremely interesting example of
this combination of this phase of the lower Dravidian
cult which is in no way Hindu, with the Brahmanic re-
ligion, is to be seen at Mailar in the Bellary district.
There the oracle is bound up with a story about Rishis
and Asuras, an incarnation of Siva and Parvati, and
many thousands assemble yearly to hear the oracle de-
livered by a man on the top of a huge affair representing
Siva's bow, speaking the words of the god.
Before concluding the subject of religion, allusion
must be made to the worship of ancestors. Cremation of
the dead, as in the case of the N^imbutiris, is done in the
garden or compound surrounding the Taravad house, in
the south or south-west corner of it ; so the Nayar has
the ashes and spirits of his ancestors with him always.
We have seen already how that pacification of the spirits
of those who have passed from view, and who are in the
land of the shades, pervade the lives of the living. They
are worshipped every new moon day, but especially on the
new moon of Karkitakam,* of Tulam and of Kumbham
* The names of the Malayali months have been given already see
Nambutiris (Bulletin, Vol. Ill, No. 2).
275
months. The last is the day following Siva ratri, the well-
known Hindu festival. As it was told to me "Food is
offered to the ghosts " on these occasions; to all ancestors,
male and female. Food of any kind except cooked rice is
offered.* It is cooked and placed in the middle room on the
west side of the house, where are kept small images in gold
or silver of the senior members of the Taravad (in poorer
houses, a stone simply is put to represent the deceased),
and the door will be shut for about ten minutes, after
which the food will be removed and eaten by the house
people. Special worship of ancestors is often made at the
temples specially sacred, on the new moons which have
been specified, especially on the last. The plate depicts
the crowd in the bed of the Ponnani river on the day fol-
lowing Siva ratri. Men and women bathed and put on
clean cloths and, when they had done so put a little
burning camphor, sandalwood powder and some other
little accessories, on a leaf which was floated down the
river after a brief prayer. The scene of the picture adjoins
the temple at Tirunavayi, supposed to be the oldest in
Malabar.
SERPENT WORSHIP.
Description, such as is here attempted, of the Nayar's
religion is incomplete so far. There remains to say some-
thing of serpent worship and to make some allusion to
common superstitions. For description of these I would
refer the interested reader to a capital little book entitled
"Malabar and its Folk" published by Messrs. Natesan
& Co., Madras, by Mr. T. K. Gopal Panniker, B.A., himself
a Nayar as his name denotes. With this gentleman's
permission I will reproduce here chapter 12 of his book
entitled " Serpent Worship in Malabar " :
" Malabar is a country which preserves to this day primitive
institutions of a type peculiarly fascinating to the ethnologist.
Of the various kinds of primitive worship still practised in the
country that of the serpent occupies a prominent place. Here
the serpent is deified and offerings of pooja are often made to the
reptile. It has got a powerful hold upon the popular imagina-
tion. Each household has got its own serpent deity possessing
large powers for good as well as for evil. A separate spot is set
apart in the house-compound as the abode of these deities. This
reserved spot is converted into a small jungle almost circular in
* Bread made of rice flour may be offered.
shape. It is overgrown with trees of various kinds, and shrubs,
and sometimes medicinal plants also. In the middle of this
quasi-circular shrine images usually made of laterite after
specified shapes are arranged in certain established methods and
a passage is opened to the seat of these images from outside.
This spot is so scrupulously reserved, that not even domestic
animals are allowed to stray therein. No trees from the place
are to be felled down, nor any plant whatever for that matter
with any metal or more particularly iron weapons ; for these
are unholy things, the introduction alone of which inside the
sanctified area, not to say the actual cutting down of the tree, is
regarded as exceedingly distasteful to these serpent gods. They
are not to be desecrated by the touch or even by the approach of
a low-caste man. Once in every year at least poojah offerings
are made to these gods through the medium of the Numbudri
priests.
" Periodical ceremonies called Pambantullel are performed to
propitiate them. These are resorted to only on special occasions
for the purpose of averting serious visitations from the family.
The ceremony is a long complicated process. Any individual
drawn from among the Nairs themselves is capable of acting the
part of priests on these occasions. A day is fixed for the opening
of the ceremony ; and a particular plot of ground in the house
yard is cleansed and preserved for the performance of the poojahs
incidental to the ceremony. Then on the spot certain square
figures are drawn, one inside another, and these are tastefully
diversified by the interpolation of circular figures and others
inside and about them, based on geometrical principles. A
peculiar symmetry is observed in the matter of these figures.
The figures used in the drawings are usually of various colours,
red, white, black and others. Ordinary rice-flour, then again
such flour mixed with a combination of chunnam and turmeric
powder, thereby making the flour pure red, and burnt paddy husk
are chiefly employed. Then a number of other accessories are
also required for the ceremony in the shape of lamps, cocoanuts,
eatables of various sorts prepared from paddy and rice and some
other cooked things, such as rice, bread made of rice, and others.
These are properly arranged in the place and poojah is offered
by the priest with the slow recitation of mantrams, and some holy
songs or ballads in memory of these gods. Then a number of
Nair women, with perfect purity and cleanliness of person are
seated close to each other in a row or two. These women are to
preserve sanctity and purity of their persons by a total abstinence
from animal food, intoxicants and anything else of an exciting
nature for a prescribed period of time ; and it is only after the
lapse of this period that they become worthy of being admitted to
277
this ceremony. Thus having purged their bodies of all worldli-
ness they are taken into the ceremony and are seated as described
before! Now by means of the mantrams and poojah the serpent
gods are propitiated and in consequence they manifest themselves
in the bodies of these female representatives of theirs. The
entrance of the gods into their bodies is characterised by a fearful
concussion of their whole frame, gradually developing into a
ceaseless, shaking, particularly the upper parts. A few minutes
afterwards, they begin to speak one by one and their speeches are
regarded as expressions of the god's will. Sometimes the gods
appear in the bodies of all these females and sometimes only in
those of a select few or none at all. The refusal of the gods to
enter into such persons is symbolical of some want of cleanliness
and purity in them ; which contingency is looked upon as a
source of anxiety to the individual. It may also suggest the
displeasure of these gods towards the family in respect of which
the ceremony is performed. In cither case, such refusal on the
part of the gods is an index of their ill-will or dissatisfaction.
In cases where the gods refuse to appear in any one of those seated
for the purpose, the ceremony is prolonged until the gods are so
properly propitiated as to constrain them to manifest themselves.
Then after the lapse of the number of days fixed for the ceremony
and after the will of the serpent gods is duly expressed the
ceremonies close.
" One other small item of offering to these gods consists in
certain ballads sung by the Pulluvar females going about from
house to house at stated seasons of the year. They take a pretty
large pitcher, close its opening by means of a small circular piece
of thin leather which is fastened on to the vessel by means of
strings strongly tied round its neck. Another string is adjusted
to the leather cover which when played on by means of the fingers,
produces a hoarse note which is said to please the god's ears,
pacify their anger and lull them into sleep. This vessel is carried
from house to house in the day time by these Pulluvar females ;
and placing the vessel in a particular position on the ground,
and sitting in a particular fashion in relation to the vessel, they
play on the string which then produces a very pleasing musical
note. Then they sing ballads to the accompaniment of these
notes. After continuing this for sometime they stop, and getting
their customary dues from the family, go their own way. It is
believed that these notes and the ballads are peculiarly pleasing to
the serpent gods, who bless those for whose sakes the music has
been rendered. In consequence of the halo of sanctity that has
been popularly thrown round the serpent it is considered a sin of
a most heinous nature to kill one of these deified reptiles. The
killing of a cobra is regarded with the utmost concern amongst
us. In such case the carcase is taken and duly burned with all
the necessary solemn ceremonials. Sandal wood is the fuel used
sometimes. A small pit is dug which is covered with sandalwood
pieces and they are set fire to. When the flame burns intensely
the body is quietly placed in it, and reduced to ashes together
with, in some cases, incense and myrrh. This is believed to
mitigate the dangers consequent on the death of the serpent.
"The popular conception of the family cobra is thaHt is a
tiny little thing with a full developed hood, and fangs, and possess-
ing a golden tinge ; which shine brilliantly in the rays of the sun.
At the sight of human beings it gets away to its holy shrine
exhibiting a reeling motion on its way thither. It never gets far
away from its abode of which it is the perennial guardian.
" One striking phase of serpent worship in Malabar relates
to the family of Pappanmakkat Nambudris and the singular
and effective control they exercise over serpents in general. Their
powers are handed from father to son. It is said that this
Nambudri household is full of cobras which find their abode in
every nook and corner of it. The inmates can scarcely move
about without placing their feet upon any one of these serpents.
Owing to the magic influence of the family the serpents cannot
and will not injure them. The serpents are said to be always at
the beck and call of the members of this Nambudri family and
render unquestioned obedience to their commands. They watch
and protect the interests of the family in the most jealous spirit.
In short, these reptiles live, move, and have their being as freely
as if they were domesticated animals imbued with supernatural
powers.
" Cases of cobra-poison are generally taken to this Brahman
family and the headman sometimes summons before him the
identical animal which caused injury and it is said successfully
effects a cure as if by some mystic and magic influence.
" The serpent also plays a conspicuous part in contracts
between citizens. The family serpent is in old deeds the
subject-matter of sale. The sale of a house compound extends
also to the family serpent. The stipulation in these documents
invariably is that the family serpents are sold along with the
properties ; and even in cases of division of family property
amongst its several branches of members, the family-serpent is
included in the division. Such is the sacred prominence
which has been given to the serpent amongst us. Their anger
is said to manifest itself in some member of the family being
struck down with leprosy or some other loathsome disease ; while
by their propitiation they can be converted into the guardian
angels of our households, powerful enough to preserve the pros-
perity of the inmates as well as to vouchsafe their complete
immunity from the attacks of virulent diseases and sometimes
even from death,"
279
As the subject of serpent-worship is one of fascina-
ting interest, I will add to the preceding extract, which
is as interesting as it is accurate, an excerpt from the
" Report of the Census of Travancore " for 1891 (the
Malayalam year 1066), a book which is perhaps not
accessible to many. The shrine which is described
therein is in the neighbouring Native State of Travan-
core, but it is equally representative of one in Malabar :
" A serpent-kavoo in Travancore. Many places of
Hindu worship exist in Travancore under groves locally
known as kavoos. There are thousands of these in the
country. Lieutenants Ward and Conner estimated their
number at 15,000 seventy years ago. This number has, I
think, increased since then. These kavoos are all de-
dicated to minor divinities such as Nagathans, Nagarajas,
Yekshis, Gandharvas, and Sastas. Some are of great
age and repute and own enormous properties for their
maintenance. One of these a well-known sarpa-kavoo
in a village 70 miles north of Travancore will be here
described. Mythological origin for these sarpa-kavoos
is thus stated in the Keraldlpatti. When Parasurama's
first colonists found Kerala uninhabitable and unimprov-
able, they abandoned it and returned to their old country.
During the time of their absence the Nagas (serpents) of
the lower world, called in popular language Nagalokam
or Patala, took possession of the newly-reclaimed land
and settled there. The colonists returning found that the
serpents had usurped their lands, upon which a fight
ensued, and Parasurama arbitrated between his colonists
and the Nagas, wih the result that these latter were to
be given a corner of every occupied compound. Thus
arose the sarpa kavoos of Malabar which, as I have
already described in a previous chapter, is generally at
the south-west corner of every Tarvacl garden. And
Parasurama further ordained that the places allotted to
the Nagas were to be left untouched by the knife or the
spade, thus enabling the underwood trees and creepers
to grow luxuriantly therein. It is to such places that the
name of kavoo (or grove) is given. In the kavoo are
generally planted several idols of serpents on a stone
basement called chittrakoodam, and sometimes a low
wall is thrown round to prevent cattle or children
trespassing into that space. The propitiation of the
serpents is deemed essential for the well-being and pros-
perity of the householder. Offerings of noorum palum
(dough and milk) of cooked rice, lights and songs are
28o
made periodically to the serpent gods in the kavoos.
The one I am describing here is one of the most import-
ant in Travancore. This is known as Mannarsala.
Once upon a time, so says tradition, a male member of
this Illam married a girl of the Vettikkottu Illam, where
the serpents were held in great veneration. The girl's
parents being poor could give her nothing in the way of
dowry. They, therefore, gave her one of the stone idols
of the serpent, of which there were many in their house.
This stone idol the girl was counselled to take care of
and regularly worship ; subsequently it is said the girl
became a mother and brought forth a boy and a snake,
whereupon the snake-child was located in the under-
ground cellar of the house and brought up. The Illam
prospered from that day. The woman and the snake
are believed to be the cause of the affluence of the
family, and to this day to the surname of the male
members of that Illom are added, by way of distinction,
the names of the serpent god and that of the female.
Thus my informant, the present head of the family, is
called Vasaki Sridevi Krishnan Nambyadi. To this
gentleman I am indebted for the following further details
on the snake-worship at Mannarsala : He says the name
Mannarsala means the ' unburnt ground. 7 This refers to
an ancient tradition that when the great Khandava-
vanam was burnt by Agni, the god of fire, this small
oasis was spared on the prayer of the serpents, who
were the progeny of the serpent offspring of the lady of
this Illam. As the Illam could not well accommodate
the large number of the serpents that had multiplied,
they were removed to a spot on the south of the house,
where a magnificent grove has since been grown. In this
spot are stone idols put up for the king and queen of snakes
known as Nagaraja and Nagayekshi, and for various
members of the family which, according to my in-
formant, number about 3,000. There are as many stone
images in this grove now. In the cellar of the house, as
well as in the grove where the stone images are placed,
a solution of noorum palum is offered once a year, that
is, on the day following the Sivaratri in the month of
Masi. The same kind of offering is made to the Chittra-
koodom also. About I2i Edangalies of dough and milk
are mixed together and kept in the cellar. Thereafter
the door of the cellar is shut for three days, and lest any-
body pry into what passes within the cellar, the women
of the household cover the crevices and holes of the door
281
by the big cadjan umbrellas of the female inmates of the
Illam. On the third day the door is opened, and whatever
remains in the vessel of the dough and milk placed there
is thrown into a tank as unfit for human use. The
mixing up of noorum palum and the performing of the
poojahs are done by the eldest female member of the
Illam. The noorum palum is made of rice-flour, saffron
powder, cow's milk, water of the tender cocoanut, fruit of
the Kadali plantain, and ghee. In the Nalukettu of the
house, offerings of noorum palum and cooked rice, as
well as kuruthi (a red liquid composed of flour, saffron
and chunam), take place every Ayilyam (star) day.
Every morning the king and queen of serpents are
washed, and an offering of fruit and milk is made to
them ; in the noon offerings of Vellanivedyam (cooked
rice) and afterwards of fried grain (malar) follow. During
the month of Kartika, a special poojah called navakom
and offering of noorum palum are daily observed. On
the Sivaratri day, in the month of Masi, the customary
five poojahs and navakom are performed, and in the
evening of the same day sacrificial offerings to the ser-
pents and kuruti, as stated above, are made, and at the
conclusion of the day's poojahs the idols are taken in
procession round the temple. On Ayilyam (star) days,
in the months of Purattasi and Alpasi, all the serpent
idols in the grove and the temples therein are taken in
procession to the Illam, and offerings of noorum palum,
kuruti and cooked rice are made there in propitiation of
the serpent gods. The person who carries the idol of the
Nagaraja is the eldest female member of the Illam, and
the procession is conducted with great pomp and rejoic-
ings. According to my informant, the eldest female
member of the house, though married, is expected to lead
a celibate life when she becomes the oldest female in the
family. During the festive days at Mannarsala, about
5,000 people assemble to worship and propitiate the
serpent gods, and their offerings include gold and silver
coins, and gold, silver, copper or stone effigies of snakes,
grains of all kinds, pepper, salt, saffron, tender cocoanuts,
bunches of Kadali plantain, melons, oil, ghee, sandal-
wood, silk and other pilgrims. On the day previous to
the Ayilyam ceremonial, about two or three thousand
Brahmans are fed. The annual expense of this institu-
tion and worship at Mannarsala is estimated at about
2,000 rupees. The kavu has its own paddy fields and
gardens, from the revenues of which it is maintained.
282
All the land about it, measuring a mile square, is said to
belong to it. This would be enormous property, as the
taluk where this kavoo is situated is one of the richest in
Travancore. A trifle is given by the Sircar every year.
If more funds are required, the Nambiyadi is expected to
meet them from his own private income. The grove and
its temples cover an immense oblong space measuring
about 16 acres in extent. The inmates of the Illam are
the poojaries of the gods in this grove. It is believed
that whenever the poojah is not performed with the
strictest personal purity or care to small details, the
serpent gods get offended, which feeling is exhibited by
the largest cobras coming out of the grove. It should be
remembered that, as a rule, the serpents are not seen out
of their holes, though hundreds of them are known to
exist in these large groves. When any is seen, especi-
ally if a real cobra, the village astrologer is consulted,
who readily finds out the cause of the wrath of the
serpent gods, and steps are taken immediately to pacify
them by propitiatory ceremonies. The people believe in
these ceremonies most implicitly. That is not a mere
form with them. In a house in North Travancore, where
I lived some years, there used to be seen now and again
snakes of all kinds, and in answer to my request to the
servant of my ^landlord to keep the kavoo neat, he
invariably said, " Please, sir, order some lights and milk
to the kavoo/' for this man most sincerely believed that
this was the only effective way of keeping out the snakes
from view. He did not seem to believe that there was
any good in keeping the premises neat and clean.
It should here be noted that a true Hindu population
never pelt at or harm the snakes when they are
seen. They are objects of worship. One of our retired
officials told me that some years ago, when he was
young and new to the place, he was puzzled by some
of the parties present at his cutcherry telling him that the
'god was coming/ The crowd made way, and on rising,
this official was horrified to see that the god referred to
was a live cobra. This village he spoke of, even now
abounds with serpents, but strange to say, these reptiles
seldom harm man. They are evidently become domesti-
cated animals, for we seldom hear of snake-bites in that
village, though the general belief is that there are more
snakes there than rats. The people also seem to be quite
at home with them, for they do not get put out when
they see these reptiles. "
283
CUSTOMS, GAMES, FESTIVALS, ETC.
Hamilton in his " New Account of the East Indies "
published in 1744, writes :
" It was an ancient custom for the Samorin (Zamorin, then
the local potentate) to reign but twelve years and no longer.
If he died before his term was expired it saved him a trouble-
some ceremony of cutting his own throat on a public scaffold
erected for that purpose. He first made a feast for all his
nobility and gentry, who were very numerous. After the feast,
he saluted his guests, went on the scaffold, and very neatly cut his
own throat in the view of the assembly. His body was, a little
while after, burned with great pomp and ceremony, and the
grandees elected a new Samorin. Whether that custom was a
religious or a civil ceremony I know not, but it is now laid
aside, and a new custom is followed by the modern Samorin,
that a jubilee is proclaimed throughout his dominion, at the end
of twelve years, and a tent is pitched for him in a spacious plain,
and a great feast is celebrated for ten or twelve days with mirth
and jollity, guns firing night and day, so at the end of the feast
any four of the guests that have a mind to gain a crown by a
desperate action in fighting their way through 30, or 40,000 of
his guards, and kill the Samorin in his tent, he that kills him
succeeds to him in his empire. In Anno 1695 one f these
jubilees happened and the tent pitched near Ponnany (Ponani)
a seaport of his about 16 leagues to the southward of Calicut.
There were but three men that would venture on that desperate
action, who fell on, with sword and target, among the guards,
and after they had killed and wounded many were themselves
killed. One of the Desperadoes had a nephew of fifteen or
sixteen years of age, that kept close by his uncle in the attack
on the guards, and when he saw him fall, the youth got through
the guards into the tent and made a stroke at his majesty's head
and had certainly dispatched him, if a large brass lamp which
was burning over his head, had not marred the blow ; but before
he could make another, he was killed by the guards ; and I
believe the same Samorin reigns yet. I chanced to come that
time along the coast and heard the guns for two or three days
and nights successively."
Here must be made an excerpt from the " Malabar
Manual" as its author Mr. Logan, while Collector (chief
administrative officer) of Malabar, made excellent use of
his opportunities to delve into the ancient archives of the
district.
" The Kerala Mahatmya so far corroborates Hamilton's
story, that it declares the king used to be deposed at this
festival, but there is no mention of self-immolation,
although it is quite possible the deposed kings may have
7-A
284
occasionally adopted this mode of escape from the cha-
grin of not being re-elected by their adherents." He
goes on to say what Mr. Jonathan Duncan wrote about
this festival, of which his account appears in the first
volume of the Transactions of the Bombay Literary Society.
The festival was held last in 1743.
lt Those who acknowledged the Zamorin's suzerainty sent
flags in token of fealty ; and the places where these flags used to
be hoisted at festival times are still pointed out. The Valluva-
nad Raja, who is still represented in the management of the
Tirunavayi temple by one of the four Brahman Karalars, instead
of sending a flag used to send men called Chdvers (men who have
elected to die) whose office it was to endeavour to cut their way
through the Zamorin's guards to his throne in a manner presently
to be described. If they had succeeded in killing him as on the
occasion cited by Hamilton, whose statement except as to date,
is moreover corroborated by tradition it is uncertain what
would have happened ; but probably if a capable Raja had been
ruling in Valluvanad at such a time, popular opinion would
have endowed him with suzerainty, for the Nayar militia were
very fickle, and flocked to the standard of the man who was fittest
to command and who treated them the most considerately.
" With the kind assistance of the present Zamorin, Maharaja
Bahadur, the records of his family have been examined and
a complete account obtained of the events attending the festival
held in 1683 A.D., the festival next preceding that alluded to
by Hamilton.
" The festival used to continue for twenty-eight days every
twelfth year when the planet Jupiter was in retrograde motion
in the sign of Karkadagam or Cancer or the Crab, and at the
time of the eighth lunar asterism in the month of Makaram
the festival used to culminate.
(< On the occasion in question the Zamorin some months
beforehand sent orders for the preparation of the necessary
timber and bamboos for the temporary buildings required at
Tirunavayi and the materials were floated down stream from the
Aliparamba Chirakkal lands.
" Then exactly two months before the opening day he sent
out a circular to his followers worded as follows :
* Royal writing to the Akampati Janam (body-guards).
' On the 5th Makaram 858 is Mahdmakha Talpuyam (time of
the eighth lunar asterism in the festival season), and the Lokars
(chief people of each locality) are required to attend at Tiruna-
vayi as in olden times.
* Mangatt Raman and Tinayancheri are sent to collect and
bring you in regular order for the Mahamakham.'
" The Zamorin timed himself to arrive at Tirunavayi on the
day after that appointed for the arrival of his followers, and the
285
lucky moment for the setting out on this particular occasion on
the last day's stage of the journey was at the rising of the
constellation of Aquarius.
" The Tirunavayi temple stands on the north bank of the
Ponnani river close to the present line of railway. Passengers
by train can catch a glimpse of it by looking across the level
expanse of paddy-fields which lie south of the sixth telegraph
post on the three hundred and eighty-second mile of the rail-
way. There is a modest clump of trees on the river bank hiding
the temple, the western gateway of which faces a perfectly
straight piece of road a little over half a mile in length stretch-
ing from the temple gateway westwards to the elevated ridge
hemming in the paddy-fields on the west. This road is but
little raised above the level of the paddy flat. Directly facing
this straight piece of road as the elevated ridge is reached there
are three or perhaps four terraces, the outlines of which may
still be traced in the face of the precipitous bank.
*' A little to one side of the upper terrace are the ruins of a
strongly built powder magazine, and on the flat ground above
and on both sides of the line avenue shading the public road at
this place is ample space for the erection of temporary houses.
" In a neighbouring enclosure under cultivation is a disused
well of fine proportions and of most solid construction.
" From the upper terrace alluded to a commanding view
is obtained facing eastwards of the level rice-plain at foot, of
the broad placid river on the right backed by low hills, of
higher flat-topped laterite plateaus on the left, their lower slopes
bosomed in trees, and, in the far distance, of the great chain of
Western Gh&ts with vhe Nilgiris in the extreme left front hardly
distinguishable in their proverbial colour from the .sky above
them. It was on this spot, on a smooth plateau of hard laterite
rock, raised some 3oto4o feet above the plain, that the Zamorin
used several times in the course of the festival to take his stand
with the sword of Cheraman Perumal, the last emperor, in his
hand.
" The sword is and has been for centuries, slowly rusting
away in its scabbard, but it is not alone on it that the Zamorin
depends for his safety, for the plain below him is covered with
the 30,000 Nayars of Ernad, the 10,000 of Polanad and number-
less petty dependent chieftains, each counting his fighting men
by the hundred or the thousand or by thousands. Away on
the right across the river are the camps of the second prince of
the Zamorin's family and of the dependent Punnattur Raja ; the
third, fourth, fifth, and sixth princes' camps too are close at
hand in the left front behind the temple, and behind the terrace
itself is the Zamorin's camp.
" The whole scene is being made gay with flags as an
elephant is being formally caparisoned with a chain of solid gold
with * one hundred and fourteen small links and one clasp,
making in all one hundred and fifteen ' as the record specifi-
cally testifies and with golden bosses and other ornaments too
numerous to be detailed. But this part of the ceremonies is not
to be permitted to pass unchallenged, for it signifies in a formal
manner the Zamorin's intention to assume the role of Raksha-
purashan or protector of the festivities and of the people there
assembled. On the instant, therefore, there is a stir among the
crowd assembled near the western gate of the temple directly
facing at half a mile distance the Zamorin's standing-place on
the upper terrace.
" From this post, running due east in a perfectly straight line
to the western gate of the temple, is the straight piece of road
already described, but the road itself is clear and the armed
crowd on the plain, it is seen, are hemmed in by barrel pali-
sadings running the full length of the road on both sides. Two
spears' length apart the palisades are placed, and the armed
crowd on either hand, consisting on this occasion of the thirty
thousand Ernad Nayars, it is seen, are all carrying spears. The
spearmen may not enter that narrow lane, and by the mere
weight of their bodies present an impossible obstacle to the free
passage of the foemen now bent on cutting down the Zamorin in
his pride of place.
" Amid much din and firing of guns the morihtri^ the Chaver
Nayars, the elect of four Nayar houses in Valluvanad, step forth
from the crowd and receive the last blessings and farewells of
their friends and relatives. They have just taken of the last
meal they are to eat on earth at the house of the temple
representative of their chieftain ; they are decked with garlands
and smeared with ashes. On this particular occasion it is one of
the houses of Putumanna Panikkar who heads the fray. He is
joined by seventeen of his friends Nayar or Mappilla or other
arms-bearing caste men for all who so wish may fall in with
sword and target in support of the men whe have elected to die.
*' Armed with swords and targets alone they rush at the
spearmen thronging the palisades ; they 4 winde and turn their
Bodies, as if they had no Bones, casting them forward and back-
ward, high and low, even to the Astonishment of the Beholders/
as worthy Master Johnson describes them in a passage already
quoted (page 137). But notwithstanding the suppleness of
their limbs, notwithstanding their delight and skill and dexterity
in their weapons, the result is inevitable and is prosaically
recorded in the chronicle thus : ' The number of Chavers who
came and died early morning the next day after the elephant
began to be adorned with gold trappings being Putumanna
Kautur Menon and followers were 18.
"At various times during the ten last days of the festival
the same thing is repeated. Whenever the Zamorin takes his
28 7
stand on the terrace, assumes the sword and shakes it, men rush
forth from the crowd at the west temple gate only to be impaled
on the spears of the guardsmen who relieve each other from
day to day. The turns for this duty are specifically mentioned
in the chronicle thus : * on the day the golden ornaments are
begun to be used the body-guard consists of the thirty thousand;
of Ellaya Vakkayil Vellodi (and his men) the second day, of
Netiyiruppu,* Muttarati Tirumulpad (and his men) the third
day of Ittaturnadif Nambiyatiri Tirumulpad (and his men) the
fourth day, of Ernad Munamkur,J Nambiyatiri Tirumulpad
(and his men) the fifth day, of Ernad, Elankur Nambiyattiri
Tirumalpad (and his men) the sixth day, and of the ten thou-
sand, || the Calicut Talachanna Nayar and Ernad Men on the
seventh day/
" The chronicle is silent as to the turns for this duty on the
eighth, ninth and tenth clays. On the eleventh day, before the
assembly broke up and after the final assault of the Chdvers had
been delivered, the Ernad Elankur Nambiyatiri Tirumalpad
(the Zamorin next in succession) and the Tirumanisseri Nambu-
tiri were conveyed in palanquins to the eastern end of the
narrow palisaded lane, and thence they advanced on foot,
prostrating themselves four times towards the Zamorin, once at
the eastern end of the lane, twice in the middle, and once at
the foot of the terraces. And after due permission was obtained
they took their places on the Zamorin's right hand.
11 After this, so the chronicle runs, it was the duty of the
men who have formed the body guard to march up with music
and pomp to make obeisance. On this occasion, however, a
large portion of the body-guard seems to have been displeased,
for they left without fulfilling this duty, and this story corrobo-
rates in a marked way the facts already set forth (page 132)
regarding the independence and important political influence
possessed by the Nayars as a body.
" The Ernad Mcnon and the Calicut Talachanna Nayar
with their followers were the only chiefs who made obeisance
in due form to the Zamorin on this occasion, and possibly by
the time of the next festival (1695 A.D.), of which Hamilton
wrote, the dissatisfaction might have increased among his
followers and the Zamorin's life even may have been endangered
* The fifth Prince of the Zamorin's family,
t The fourth Prince of the Zamorin's family.
I The third Prince of the Zamorin's family.
8 The second Prince and heir apparent of the Zamorin's family.
II The ten thousand of Polanad, the district round about Calicut,
formed the Zamorin's own immediate body-guard Conf. the account
contained in the Iftralolpatti of how these men were originally selected
Chapter III, section (a).
as Hamilton alleges, probably through lack of men to guard
him. Tradition asserts that the Chaver who managed on one
occasion to get through the guards and up to the Zamorin's seat
belonged to the family of the Chandrattil Panikkar.
" The chronicle winds up with a list of the Chdvers slain on
this occasion, viz. :
When the Zamorin was taking his stand on
the terrace apparently at the commence-
ment of festivities ... ... ... 5
On the day the elephant was adorned as
already stated ... ... ... ... 18
" The next day of Chandrattil Panikkar
and followers, the number who came and
died ... ... ... ... ... ii
' Of Verkot Panikkar and followers the
number that came and died the third day. 12
1 The number who came to Vakkayur and
died in the four days ... ... ... 4
1 The number of Chdvers who were arrested
at the place where Kalattal Itti Karuna-
kara Menon was, and brought tied to
Vakkayur and put to death ... ... i
1 The number of Chavers arrested on the
day of the sacrifice, when all the men
together made the obeisance below Vak-
kayur at the time when the Zamorin was
taking his stand, and left tied to the bars,
and who were afterwards brought to Vak-
kayur and after the ceremony was over
and the Zamorin had returned to the
palace were put to the sword ... ... 4
Total ... 55
11 The chronicle does not mention the fact, but a current
tradition states that the corpses of the slain were customarily
kicked by elephants as far as the brink of the fine well, of which
mention has been made, and into which they were tumbled
promiscuously. The well itself is nearly filled up with debris
of sorts, and a search made at the spot would probably elicit
conclusive evidence of the truth of this tradition.
" The martial spirit of the Nayais was in former days kept
alive by such desperate enterprises as the above, but in every-
day-life the Nayar used to be prepared and ready to take
vengeance on any who affronted him, for he invariably carried
weapons, and when a man was slain it was incumbent on his
289
family to compass the death of a member of the slayer's family.
This custom was called kudippaka (literally, house feud), or in an
abbreviated form, kuduppu. One curious fact connected with
this custom was that the chieftain of the district intervened
when a man was slain, and the body of the deceased was by
him taken to his enemy's house, and the corpse and the house
were burnt together. It is understood that an out-house was
usually selected for this purpose, but it was a common phrase
to say
1 the slain rests in the yard of the slayer.'
11 Again when mortal offence was given by one man to
another, a solemn contract used to be entered into before the
chieftain of the locality to fight a duel, the chieftain himself
being the umpire. Large sums (up to a thousand fanams or
two hundred and fifty rupees) used to be deposited as the battle-
wager, and these sums formed one source (ank&m) of the chief-
tain's revenue, and the right to levy them was sometimes
transferred along with other privileges appertaining to the
tenure of the soil. A preparation and training (it is said) for
twelve years preceded the battle in order to qualify the com-
batants in the use of their weapons. The men who fought
were not necessarily the principals in the quarrel they were
generally their champions. It was essential that one should
fall, and so both men settled all their worldly affair before the
day of combat/'
The origin of the duo-decimal period is obscure, but
to this day it obtains in Malabar (and in Malabar only)
in relation to all agricultural affairs. The land, in
contradistinction to the rest of the Presidency (as a rule),
is the absolute property of the landholders the whole
of Malabar is ; the landholders let out their land under
certain conditions for periods of twelve years. This is
the ordinary period of tenure; now a days, much of the
land is leased informally on a yearly tenure. Tenants
must renew their right to possession of their land every
twelve years. The subject of land tenure in Malabar is
a very extensive one, and we will not discuss it, resting
satisfied with having noted the observance of the twelve
yearly cycle in connection with it. It is supposed to be
governed by the cycle of Jupiter.*
* Friar Jordanus, Bishop of Quilon in the 14th century, said that
people make a vow, and to fulfil it cut off their o\vn head before an idol.
" Barbosa says that the king of Quilacne or Coliacaud (Calicut;. . .
after reigning 12 years, always sacrificed himself to an idol in thisxvay."
11 Madras Manual of Administration," vol. iii, page 643.
2QO
The month Karkkatakam, when the Malayalis say
"the body is cool," is the time when, according to
custom, the Nayar youths practise physical exercises.
At Pay61i in North Malabar, when I was there in August
1895, the local instructor of athletics was a Paravan, a
mason by caste. As he had the adjunct ' Kurup ' to his
name it took some time to discover the fact. Teachers
of his ilk are invariably of the Paravan caste, and when
they are believed to be properly accomplished they are
given the honorific ' Kurup. ' So carefully are things
regulated that no other person was permitted to teach
athletics within the amshom (a local area, a small
county): and his women folk had privileges, they only
being the midwives who could attend on the Nayar
women of the amshom. His fee for a course of exercises
for the month was ten rupees. He and some of his
pupils gave an exhibition of their quality.
Besides bodily contortions and somer-
saults (practised in a long low-roofed shed
having a sandy floor) there is play with
the following instruments : " Watta " (as
in the illustration) "cheruvadi," a short
stick, and a stick like a quarter staff
called a sariravadi " stick the length of
one's body." The watta is held in the
right hand as a dagger; it is used to stab
or strike and, in some ingenious way turn
over an opponent. The total length of
the watta is two feet, and of the cheru-
vadi about three feet. The latter is
squared at the ends and is but a short
staff.
It is held in the right hand a few
inches from the end, and is used for
striking and guarding only. The sarira-
vadi is held at or near one end by one or by both hands ;
the distance between the hands is altered constantly,
and so is the end of the stick, which is grasped now by
one now by another end by either hand as occasion may
require; sometimes it is grasped in the middle. The
performance with these simple things was astonishing.
I should say the watta and the cheruvadi represented
swords, or rather that they were used for initiation or
practice in swordmanship when the Nayars were the
2Q1
military element in Malabar. The opponents who
faced each other with the sariravadi or quarter staff,
stood 30 feet apart, and, as if under the same stimulus,
each kicked one leg high in the air, a la cancan,
gave several lively bounds in the air, held their staff
horizontally in front with outstretched arms, came down
slowly oa the haunches, placed the staff on the ground,
bent over and touched it with the forehead. With a
sudden bound they were again on their feet, and after
some preliminary pirouetting went for each other tooth
and nail.
The sword play which one sees during festive cere-^
monies, a marriage or the like, done
by the hereditary retainers who tight
imaginary foes and destroy and van-
quish opponents with much contortion
of body, always indulge in much of
this preliminary overture to their per-
formance. There is always, by way of
preliminary, a high kick in the air,
followed by squatting on the haunches,
bounding high, turning, twisting,
pirouetting, and all the time swinging
the sword unceasingly above, below,
behind the back, under the arm or
legs in ever so many impossible
ways.
Nayar swords and shields are
figured in the illustration. The shields
are made of wood covered with leather,
usually coloured bright reel Within
the boss are some hard seeds, or metal
balls loose in a small space, so that
there is a jingling sound like that
of the small bells on the ankles of
the dancer, when the shield is
oscillated or shaken in the hand.
The swords are those which were used
ordinarily for fighting. There are also
swords of many patterns for proces-
sional and other purposes, more or less
ornamented about the handle and half
way up the blade ; but the one which
is figured will suffice to show what
the Nayar fighting sword was like.
The smaller shields are now used in
play.
2Q2
THE ONAM FESTIVAL.
A
The popular festival of Malabar is the Onam, occur-
ring in the last days of August or early in September.
It is the great occasion for general rejoicing, when every
one gives and receives presents, when the children are
to be seen roaming everywhere gathering flowers, to
make the flower carpets which are a distinctive feature
of this happy season. For the Onam is not merely a one-
day festival. It lasts three days at least, and the ten
days preceding it are occupied in preparations and in
games Onam games. A writer (a Malayali evidently),
in the " Calcutta Review " for January 1899, thus describes
the Onam season :
" There are a great many of these Onam ballads*; but *most
of them are of a piece with the specimen given. It is a delight
to hear them chanted in the early morning hours by bands of
light-hearted children with clear bell-like voices ;
Chcmbil house maiden, little maiden,
What did he give you who yesterday came ?
A new dress he gave me, a small dress he gave me,
A lounge likewise on which to recline,
A tank to disport in, a well to draw water from, a compound
To gambol in, a big field to sing in.
Freshen up flowers, oh freshen for me.
On the south and the north shore, in the compound of
Kannan, there grew up and flourished a thumba flower
plant.
Out of this plant were fifty boats gotten ; at the head of each
boat a banyan tree grew.
From the banyan there grew a tiny little babe, and a drum
and a stick for the baby to play with.
The drum and the drum-stick, the household domestic, all
together they flew away and they vanished.
Freshen up, flowers, oh freshen for me.
A measure and a half measure, and elephant's chains and
earrings, who goes under the flower tree beneath which the
elephant passes ?
It is no one at all, it is no one at all ; it is the Kuttikat baby
god ; when we went forth to pluck of ripe fruit, a mis-
chievous urchin sprang up and bit us.
With bitten foot when we went to the Brahmin's, the Brahmin
lady, we found, had been injured.
With bitten foot then we went to the house of Edathil, whose
lady with fever lay stricken.
Freshen up, flowers, oh freshen for me.
293
At noon of Attam day a bamboo fresh sprouted, and there-
with we made us a good fish trap.
And when to the tank a fishing we went, we baited a
minnow.
By its tail did we hold it, on the bund did we dash it, and of
cocoanuts, with milk full, eighteen we ground.
With elephant pepper we dressed it ; with asafoetida we
filled it, right up to the elephant's head.
Freshen up, flowers, oh freshen for me.
Having set out at dawn to gather blossoms, the little children
return with their beautiful spoils by 9 or 10 A.M. ; and then the
daily decorations begin. The chief decoration consists of a
carpet made out of the gathered blossoms, the smaller ones
being used in their entirety, while the large flowers and one or
two varieties of foliage of differing tints are pinched up into
little pieces to serve the decorator's purpose. This flower carpet
is invariably made in the centre of the clean strip of yard in
front of the neat house. Often it is a beautiful work of art
accomplished with a delicate touch and a highly artistic sense of
tone and blending. Among the flowers that contribute to the
exquisite design may be named the common red, as well as the
rarer variegated, lantana, the large red shoe flower (Hibiscus rosa
sifiensis) an indispensable feature of the cultivated vegetation in
a Malayali's homestead, the yellow marigold, the yellow aster,
the scarlet button flower, the sacred tttlsl (Ocimum sanctum), the
wee, modest thumbcr (a vermifugal member of the Nepetre tribe),
the common tagara (yellow wild Cassia), the beautiful bluebell,
and another common species of Cassia which the natives call
A
the " Onam flower," In addition, various little violet and purple
wi Idlings that adorn the margins of rice fields, and beautiful
specimens of the lily and allied orders of tropical plants are
requisitioned by the weavers of these remarkably handsome, but,
alas, quickly perishable, carpets. The carpet completed, a
miniature pandal, hung with little festoons, is erected over it,
and at all hours of the day neighbours look in, to admire and
criticise the beautiful handiwork. This object is peculiar to the
naturally well favoured province of Kcralam; and it serves to
remind us that the people who possess the refined taste to pro-
duce such a pretty work of art must have long enjoyed a very
high order of civilisation."
It has been noticed already under description of
Nambutiri Brahmans (Bulletin, Vol. Ill, No. l), that the
cloths given as " Onam presents " are yellow, or some
part of them is yellow. There must be at least a yellow
stripe or a small patch of yellow in a corner, which sug-
gests a relic of sunworship in a form more pronounced
than that which obtains at present. It is a harvest
294
festival, about the time when the first crop of paddy is
harvested. As a rule the Onam season is one of
bright sunshine following the almost continuous rain of
June, July and August.
I once witnessed a very interesting game called eitu
(eiththu), played by the Nayars in the Southern portion
A
of Kurumbranad during the ten days preceding Onam
Curiously, the locality and the period are, so to speak,
fixed. There is a semi-circular stop-butt, about two feet
in the highest part, the centre, and sloping to the ground
at each side. The players stand 25 to 30 yards before
the concave side of it, one side of the players to the right,
the other to the left. There is no restriction of numbers
as to " sides." Each player is armed with a little bow
made of bamboo about 18 inches in length, and artows
or what answer for arrows, these being no more than
pieces of the midrib of the cocoanut palm leaf, roughly
broken off, leaving a little bit of the leaf at one end to
take the place of the feather. In the centre of the stop-
butt, on the ground, is placed the target, a piece of the
heart of the plantain tree, about 3
inches in diameter, pointed at the
top, in which is stuck a small stick
convenient for lifting the " cheppu"
as the mark which is the immediate
objective of the players is called.
They shoot indiscriminately at the
mark, and he who hits it (the little
arrows shoot straight and stick in
readily) carries of all the arrows
lying on the ground. Each " side "
strives to secure all the arrows and
to deprive the other side of theirs.
A sort of " beggar my neighbour."
He who hits the mark last takes all
the arrows; that is, he who hits it,
and runs and touches the mark before any one else hits it.
As I stood watching, it happened several times that as
many as four arrows hit the mark, while the youth who
had hit it first was running the 25 yards to touch the
" cheppu." Before he could touch it, as many as four
other arrows had struck it; and, of course, he wjio hit
it last and touched the mark secured all the arrows for
his side. The game is accompanied by much shouting,
gesticulation, and laughter. Those returning after
securing a large number of arrows turned somersaults,
and in saltatory motions expressed their joy.
295
In the south-east of Malabar, in the neighbourhood of
Palghat, the Onam games are of a rougher character, the
tenants of certain jenmis (landlords) turning out each
under their own leader, and engaging in sham fights in
which there is much rough play. Here, too, is to be seen
a kind of boxing which would seem to be a relic of the
days of the Roman pugiles using the cestus in combat.
The position taken up by the combatants is much the
same as that of the pugiles. The Romans were familiar
with Malabar from about 30 B.C. to the decline of their
power. We may safely assume that the "3,000 Ibs. of
pepper " which Alarie demanded as part of the ransom
of Rome when he besieged the city in the fifth century,
came from Malabar.*
Before ending this very incomplete account of customs
of the Nayars, mention must be made of two more of
these, both odd. Ever since Charaman Perumal departed
from the west coast of Tndia in A.D. 825, setting sail for
Arabia and Mecca, having divided up his kingdom,
His Highness the Maharajah of Travancore when ascend-
ing his throne says: "I ascend the musnud, and will
rule until my uncle returns." The "uncle " is Charaman
Perumal, the last sovereign of the west coast, who,
having embraced the Muhammadan religion which was
brought to his shores by Arab traders, proceeded to
carry out a wild idea so goes the legend of receiving
instruction from the Prophet himself ! He never
returned. To one princeling was given the territory
now known as Travancore, and his surviving successor
(through the female line of course) is the present
Maharajah of Travancore. To another he gave Cochin,
the ruler of which State also inherits through the
female line. To the ancestor of the Zamorin of Calicut
the Perumal gave no territory, as to the others, but
he gave him his sword (it is still in existence) with the
advice " to die and kill and annex." That he annexed
is quite clear, as he was the sovereign not only of
Calicut but of the country round about when modern
Europeans first visited the west coast of India. Like the
Maharajah of Travancore, the Zamorin repeats the
formula that he rules until his uncle returns, but in his
case it forms part of an elaborate and costly ceremony.
The fort, which was the official residence of the Zamorin,
* See Madras Government Museum Catalogue No. 2, Roman Coins
by Mr. Edgar Thurston, Superintendent of the Museum.
2Q6
was in Calicut,* and it has always been necessary for
the new Zamorin to come to this fort in Calicut in a very
formal manner. The residences, the kovilagams of the
various branches of the family, lie far to the eastward.
The heir to the Zamorinship must make his formal entry
into Calicut, for until he does so he is not, strictly
speaking, the Zamorin. There is much obscurity as to
details of the ceremonial, and I have not been able to
note these satisfactorily, so will state merely so much as
is undoubtedly correct. The new Zamorin comes to the
bank of the Kallai river adjoining Calicut. There he is
asked some questions, and he crosses this river in a
boat not over the bridge. Arrived on the Calicut side
he must partake of some betel-leaf from a Mappila man
dressed as a (Mappila) woman, or, as some say, from a
Mappila womant and he says that he assumes the title of
Zamorin and rules until his uncle returns. The betel-
leaf, received from a (Muhammadan) Mappila, which he
chews, defiles him. He has lost his status in the caste,
and he is supposed to be henceforth celibate. It would
seem that this old world ceremony is likely to follow the
track along which so much of what is interesting in
India is disappearing. The late Zamorin never went
through it, and he was therefore never, properly speaking,
the Zamorin. He held the title perfunctorily, and he
was the karnavan of the immense property of the family ;
but he could not go " in procession" as Zamorin. J
There are three unpleasant concomitants to the ceremony.
It costs much money. It involves degradation in caste.
It compels chastity.
The other odd custom is not one affecting merely an
individual and a few with him, but it is a sexual one, and
* There is now no sign of it, though the site is known.
t Those who say that a woman gives the betel-leaf say, very reason-
ably, that a MAppila man would never for any consideration or purpose
wear a woman's garb. But, on the other hand, it is said the person in and
must be a man, and that he dresses for this occasion only, as a woman.
J The Zamorin was in Calicut but once since he became Zamorin
on the occasion of his visit to His Excellency the Governor of Madras in
1896, and then infringed custom by coming to Calicut without previously
undergoing the ceremony. Owing to a death in the family he was under
pollution and therefore unable to undertake the ceremony at that time, so
he came by train. These old-fashioned customs, written or unwritten,
take no count of trains. For example, the modern pilgrims from Northern
India find the train very convenient when they wish to visit Rameshvaram.
The penance of a life is reduced to a few days in a train. What would
the old sages say ! So the Zamorin came by train. But he could not go
"in procession" along the road as Zamorin, and was obliged to make his
visit as an ordinary grandee.
297
therefore one belonging to the community at large in
South Malabar, at any rate. The system of inheritance
through females as it obtains amongst the Niyars,
relieves the woman from that undignified position which
she occupies throughout the civilized world as the
personal chattel of her husband. It gives her a relative
superiority, and she carries this elsewhere. Coitus haud
ita fit ut supina mulier viro morem gerat, immo etiam
supino viro insidens ilia, facie in eum conversa geni-
busgue hie atqus illic dispositis negotium illud perficere
solet. Hanc veneris figuram feminis ineundiorem, atque
idcirco ab iis vindicatam esse perhibent periti. The
well-known jape by which lago hoped to arouse
Brabantio into activity would be altogether inapplicable
here.
Two more excerpts from Mr. Gopal Panniker's little
book will be made, with his permission, descriptive of
the other two most important national or popular festivals
of Malabar.
"THE VISHU FESTIVAL.
" Vishu, like the Onam and the Thiruvathira Festivals, is a
remarkable event amongst us. Its duration is limited to one
day. The ist of Metam (someday in April) is the unchange-
able day on which it falls. It is practically the Astronomical
New Year's Day.* This was one of the periods when in olden
days the subjects of ruling princes or authorities in Malabar
under whom their lots were cast, were expected to bring their
New Year's offerings to such princes. Failure to comply with
the said customary and time-conscerated demands was visited
with royal displeasure resulting in manifold varieties of
oppression. The British Government finding this was a great
burden gressing rather heavily upon the people, obtained as far
back as 1790, a binding promise from those Native Princes
that such exactions of presents from the people should be
discontinued thereafter. Consequently it is now shorn of much
of its ancient sanctity and splendour. But suggestive survivals
of the same are still to be found in the presents (explained
further on) which tenants and dependants bring to leading
families on the day previous to the Vishu.
" Being thus the commencement pf a New Year, native
superstition surrounds it with a peculiar solemn importance. It
is believed that a man's whole prosperity in life depends upon
* See Madras Museum Bulletin, Vol. Ill, No. 1. pp. 57 and 58.
8
298
the nature, auspicious or otherwise, of the first things that he
happens to fix his eyes upon on this particular morning.
According to Nair and even general Hindu Mythology there
are certain objects which possess an inherent inauspicious
character. For instance ashes, firewood, oil and a lot of similar
objects are inauspicious ones which will render him who chances
to notice them first fare badly in life for the whole year, and
their obnoxious effects will be removed only on his seeing holy
things, such as, reigning princes, oxen, cows, gold and such like
ones on the morning of the next New Year. Whereas whole-
some and favourable consequences can be produced by the
sight of auspicious objects like those just enumerated. The
effects of the sight of these various materials are said to apply
even to the attainment of objects by a man starting on a special
errand who happens for the first time to look at them after
starting. However, with this view, almost every family reli-
giously takes care to prepare the most sight-worthy objects on
the New Year morning. Therefore, on the previous night they
prepare what is' known, in native phraseology, as a kanL A
small circular bell-metal vessel is taken and some holy objects
are systematically arranged inside it. A Grandha or old book
made of palmyra leaves, a gold ornament, a new-washed clothe,
some " unprofitably gay " flowers of the Konna tree, a measure
of rice, a so-called looking-glass made of bell-metal, and a few
other things, are all tastefully arranged in the vessel and placed
in a prominent room inside the house. On either side of this
vessel two brass or bell-metal lamps filled with cocoanut oil
" clear as diamond sparks " are kept intensely burning and a
small plank of wood or some other seat is placed in front of it.
At about 5 o'clock in the morning of the day some one who has
got up first wakes up the inmates, both male and female, of the
house and takes them blindfolded so that they may not gaze at
anything else, to the seat near the Kani. The members are
seated one after another in the seat and are then and not till then
asked to open their eyes and carefully look at this Kani. Then
each is made to look at some venerable member of the house or
sometimes a stranger even. This over, the little playful urchins
of the house begin to fire small crackers which they have bought
and stored for the occasion. The Kani is then taken round the
place from house to house for the benefit of the poor families,
which cannot afford to prepare such a costly adornment. With
the close of the carelessly confused noise of the crackers the
morning breaks and preparations are begun for the morning
meal. This meal is in some parts confined to rice-kanji with a
grand appendage of other eatable substances and in others to
ordinary rice and its accompaniments, but in either case on
grand scales.
299
" Immediately the day dawns the heads of the families give
to almost all the junior members and servants of the household
and to wives and children, money-presents varying from 4 as. to
a rupee or two. Children preserve these presents to serve as
their pocket money. In the more numerically large families
similar presents are also made by the heads of particular
branches of the same family to their juniors, children, wives and
servants. These presents are intended to be the forerunners of
incomes to them more splendid all the year round.
" But one other item connected with the festival deserves
mention. On the evening of the previous day, about four or
five o'clock most well-to-do families distribute paddy or rice,
as the case may be, in varying quantities with some other
accessories to the family-workmen, whether they live on the
family-estates or not. In return for this, these labourers bring
with them for presentation the fruits of their own labours such
as vegetables of divers sorts, cocoanut oil, jaggery, plantains,
pumpkins, cucumbers, brinjals, &c., in ways such as their
respective circumstances might permit.
" With the close of the noon-meal the festival practically
concludes, and nothing remains of it for the next day or for the
same evening, for that matter. In some families after the
noon-meals are over, dancing and games of various kinds are
carried on, which contribute to the enhancement of the pleasan-
tries incidental to the festival. As on other prominent
occasions, card-playing and other games are also resorted to."
"THE THIRUVATHIRA FESTIVAL.
<4 Thiruvathira is one of the three great national occasions
of Malabar. It generally comes off in the Malayalam month of
Dhanu (December or January) on the day called the Thiruva-
thira day. It is essentially a festival in which females are
almost exclusively concerned and lasts for but a single day.
The popular conception of it is that it is in commemoration of the
death of Kamadevan, the Cupid of our national mythology. As
recorded in the old Puranas, Kamadevan was destroyed in the
burning fire of the third eye of Siva, one of the chief members of
our Divine Trinity. Hence he is now supposed as having only
an ideal or rather spiritual existence, and thus he exerts a power-
ful influence upon the lower passions of human nature. The
memory of this unhappy tragedy is still kept alive amongst us,
particularly the female section, by means of the annual celebra-
tion of this important festival. About a week before the day,
the festival practically opens. At about 4 in the morning every
young female member of Nair families with pretensions to decen-
cy, gets out of her bed and takes her bath in a tank. Usually, a
fairly large number of these young ladies collect themselves in
8-A
300
the tank for the purpose. Then all or almost all of these plunge
in the water and begin to take part in the singing that is pre-
sently to follow. One of these then leads off by means of a
peculiar rhythmic song chiefly pertaining to Cupid. This singing
is simultaneously accompanied by a Curious sound produced
with her hand on the water. The palm of the left hand is closed
and kept immediately underneath the surface of the water. Then
the palm of the other is forcibly brought down in a slanting
direction and struck against its surface. So that the water is
completely ruffled and is splashed in all directions producing a
loud deep noise. This process is continuously prolonged
together with the singing. One stanza is now over along with
the sound and then the leader stops a while for the others to
follow her in her wake. This being likewise over, she caps her
first stanza, with another at the same time beating on the water
and so on until the conclusion of the song. Then all of them
make a long pause and then begin another. The process goes on
until the peep of dawn when they rub themselves dry and come
home to dress themselves in the neatest and grandest possible
attire. They also darken tbe fringes of their eyelids with a sticky
preparation of soot mixed up with a little oil or ghee ; and
sometimes with a superficial coating of antimony powder. They
also wear white, black, or red marks lower down the middle of
their foreheads close to the part where the two eyebrows near one
another. They also chew betel and thus redden their mouths
and lips. Then they proceed to the enjoyment of another
prominent item of pleasure, viz., swinging to and fro, on what is
usually known as an Uzhinjal.*
" On the festival day after the morning bath is over, they
take a light meal and in the noon the family-dinner is voraciously
attacked ; the essential and almost universal ingredients of which
being ordinary ripe plantain fruits and a delicious preparation
of arrow-root powder purified and mixed with jaggery or sugar
and also cocoanut. Then till evening dancing and merry-making
are ceaselessly indulged in.
" The husband population are inexcusably required to be
present in the wives' houses before evening as they are bound
to do on the Onam and Vishu occasions ; failure to do which is
looked upon as a step or rather the first step on the part of the
defaulting husband towards a final separation or divorce from the
wife. Despite the rigour of the bleak December season during
which commonly the festival falls, heightened inevitably by the
constant blowing of the cold east wind upon their moistened
frames, these lusty maidens derive considerable pleasure from
their early baths and their frolics in water. The biting cold of
* A swing made of bamboo.
3oi
the season which makes their persons shiver and quiver like
aspen-leaves before the breeze, becomes to them in the midst of
all their ecstatic frolics an additional source of pleasure. In
short, all these merely tend to brace them up to an extent the
like of which they can scarcely find anywhere else.
" The two items described above, viz., the swinging process
and the beating on the water, have each its own distinctive signifi-
cance. The former typifies the attempt which these maidens
make in order to hang themselves on these instruments and
destroy their lives in consequence of the lamented demise of
their sexual deity, Kamadevan. It is but natural that depth of
sorrow will lead men to extreme courses of action. The beating
on the water symbolizes their beating their chests in expression
of their deep-felt sorrow caused by their Cupid's death. Such
in brief is the description of a Nair festival which plays a
conspicuous part in the social history of Malabar."
Mr. Gopal Pannikar's chapter on " Local Traditions
and Superstitions "(" Malabar and its Folk") has special
value, for in it he recounts existing popular belief. He
tells us that to demon labourers are attributed the exis-
tence of old dilapidated wells and buildings, demons who
perform Herculean tasks under orders of a chief. One
day these demons having finished their task disturbed
their chief when he was playing a game of chess, coming
to ask for more work, so he told them to count the waves
of the sea ; and this is why they are still at work. He
tells us why the crow has a long life and the fowl a short
one, and how that the former has but one eye, rolling in
a socket ; how it is that the common squirrel is marked
on the back by the fingers of Vishnu ; and much that is
of interest about the screech owl, the lizard, the crocodile,
and many other things. He recalls to my mind the
popular belief accounting for the unluckiness which will
follow should one see the moon on the Chadurti night,
which I have heard in North Malabar. My note was
somehow mislaid. It is that the big-bellied god Ganapati
was once upon a time returning home in the moonlight
after a repast so generous that his person was much
distended, and unable to see his feet, he tripped and
stumbled. He looked around to see whether any one had
observed his discomfiture. There was no one but the
moon. The moon laughed, whereupon he cursed the
moon. Hence the belief that whoever sees the moon on
that night will be unlucky, probably defamed. Mr. Gopal
Panniker, a native of South Malabar, does not mention
it, but in North Malabar women are scrupulously careful
not to see the moon or be for a moment in the moonlight
during that night for fear of calumny. There, the men
do not care much. We will now bid adieu to Mr. Gopal
Pannikar, but not without thanking him for all he has
told us about his own people.
Uchal (Uchaval) is the term used for the first three
days of the Malayalam month Makaram, usually falling
between the 1 5th and 20th January. All over Malabar,
with the exception of Wynad, above the ghats, there are
two crops of rice every year, one with the south-west, one
with the north-east monsoon. Elsewhere in Southern
India rice land is always irrigated, but in Malabar there
is no such thing, practically, as irrigation, the heavy
rainfall rendering it unnecessary, and the earth goddess
Bhumi Devi brings forth her fruit under the stimulus of
the rain from heaven. She produces the crops as a
female produces her children, and from the 1st of the
month Makaram, she rests until the cultivator again
begins to disturb her, three months later, when the
showers preceding the south-west monsoon fall. Uchal
is the period of three days when the earth goddess mens-
truates. Granaries and all receptacles of grain are closed
during Uchal they are not even visited. Paddy is not
sold. No implement of cultivation is touched. The rice
to be used during the three days is pounded out before-
hand and kept separate. But it is no season of gloom ;
rather is it one of festivity. As particular forms of food
partaken on specific occasions have an interest of their
own, we must not omit description of the Uchal cake
the Pala Ata. (Pala spathe of the areca-palm, Ata
cake). A paste is made of rice flour and water and
spread thickly (about an inch thick) on one side of two
pieces of the spathe of the areca-palm, each piece being
from 2 to 3 feet in length and about 8 inches wide.
Powdered jaggery, scraped cocoanut, powdered ginger, a
little garlic and other condiments, are then put in small
quantities on the paste. The two pieces of the spathe
are then placed together, and they are stitched all round
the edges. The whole is covered over with soft red mud
and put into a fire where it is kept until the mud covering
cracks. The cake is then cooked and ready for eating.
It is cut and distributed to members of the family and
friends.
In parts of Malabar the Tiyan tenants present these
cakes to their Nayar landlords as a token of allegiance
or submission. Rice is the only article of food which if
prepared by a Tiyan the Nayar cannot eat ; so the Nayar
has no caste scruples about eating the PSla Ata prepared
303
for him by the Tiyan at Uchal. I recollect a case of
murder which arose out of nothing more or less than a
Tiyan tenant's refusal to present his Nayar landlord with
a Pala Ata at Uchal. I once tried to preserve one of
these cakes, but the results were too disastrous for
description.*
HABITATIONS.
A house may face east or west ; never north or south.
As a rule the Nayar's house faces the east. Every
garden is enclosed by a bank, a hedge, or a fencing of
some kind, and entrance is to be made at one point only,
the east, where there is a gate-house, or, as in the case of
of the poorest houses a small portico, or open doorway
roofed over. One never walks straight through this;
there is always a kind of stile to surmount. It is the
same everywhere in Malabar, and not only amongst the
Nayars. The following is a plan of a nalupura or four-
sided house, which may be taken as representative of the
houses of the rich :
N.
W.
Verandah all round.
Kitchen store
room.
Dining
hall.
Kitchen.
C
B
8
A.
1
Courtyard.
7
2
6
5
4
3
s.
Numbers 6 and 7 are rooms which are used generally
for storing grain.
At A is a staircase leading to the room of the upper
story occupied by the female members of the family.
At B is a staircase to the rooms of the upper story
*For much of the information regarding Uchal I am indebted to Mr. M.
Raman Menon.
304
Occupied by the male members. There is no connection
between the portions allotted to the men and that of the
women. No, 8 is for the family gods. The K^irnavans
and old women of the family are perpetuated in images
of gold or silver, or, more commonly, brass. Poor people,
who cannot afford to make these images, substitute
simply a stone. Offerings are made to these images (or
to the stones) at every full moon. The throat of a fowl
will be cut outside, and the bird is then taken inside
and offered.
The entrance is at C.
N.
w.
Upper
story.
E
E
E
E
*
E
*
#
*
E
E
*
*
E
Tekkini. A large ball
occupied by the men.
S.
Windows at * ' * * *
E. Rooms occupied by women and children.
It may be noticed that the apartment, where the men
sleep, has no windows on the side of the house which is
occupied by the women. The latter are relatively free
from control by the men as to who may visit them. We
saw, when speaking of funeral ceremonies, that a house
was supposed to have a central courtyard; and of course
it has this only when there are four sides to the house.
The nalupura, or four-sided house, is the proper one for
in this alone can all ceremonial be observed in orthodox
fashion. But it is not the ordinary Nayar's house that
one sees all over Malabar. The ordinary
house is, roughly, of the shape here indi-
cated. Invariably there is an upper story.
w There are no doors but only a few tiny
windows opening to the west. Men sleep
I in one end, women in the other, each
~$ having their own staircase. Around the
house there is always shade from many
trees and palms. Every house is in its own seclusion.
N.
30$
ASTROLOGY, MAGIC,* WITCHCRAFT.
Astrology. The ordinary astrologer of Malabar is a
man of the Kanisan or Panikkar t caste, a community
relatively low in the social scale, therefore carrying
pollution to those of the higher caste. A curious posi-
tion in society for people of a learned profession to
occupy. The Panikkar is also, very often, the school-
master. He is in request in connection with every social
function, religious or other, and of course, at every birth.
His astrology, he will tell you, is divided into three
parts :
(1) Ganita, which treats of the constellations ;
(2) Samkita, which explains the origin of the constella-
tions, comets, falling stars, earthquakes ;
(3) Hora, by which the fate of man is explained.
The Panikkar, who follows in the foot-steps of his
forefathers, should have a thorough knowledge of astro-
logy and of mathematics, and be learned in the Vedas.
He should be sound in mind and body, truthful and
patient. .He should look well after his family, and he
should worship regularly the nine planets : Suryan
the Sun ; Chandran Moon ; Chovva Mars ; Budhan
Mercury; Vyazham, or Guru, or Brihaspati Jupiter;
Sukran, or Sani Venus ; Rahu andKetu. The two last,
though not visible, are, oddly enough, classed as planets
by the Panikkar. They are said to be two parts of an
A
Asura who was cut in two by Vishnu.
I here reproduce a diagram made for me by a Panikkar
showing the relative positions of the planets on the 7th
of April 1895 :
Suryan, Budhan.
Sukkran.
Chovva.
Brihaspati.
Rhu.
Ketu.
Sani.
Chandran.
W.B* Chandran remains 2J days in each of the 12 rasis or celestial
chambers.
* What was said under ' ' Magic and sorcery " when describing
Nambutiri Brahmans, Bulletin, Vol. Ill, No. I, applies also to the Nayar.
t This is not to be confounded with the honorific Panikkar affixed to
the name of a Ndyar.
366
The Panikkars dabble also in magic. In Plates XVI,
XVII are figured four yantrams, selected from a number
in my possession as representative, presented to me by
a Panikkar. They should be written on a thin gold,
silver or copper plate (a yantram written on gold is the
most effective), and worn on the person. As a rule, the
yantram is placed in a little cylindrical case made of
silver, fastened to a string tied round the waist. Many
of these are often worn by the same person. The yan-
tram is sometimes written on cadjan or paper. I have
one of this kind in my collection taken from the neck of
a goat. It is common to see them worn on the arm, or
round the neck.
No. L Aksharamdla. Fifty-one letters. Used in con-
nection with every other yantram. Each letter has its
own meaning, and does not represent any word. In itself
this yantram is powerless ; but it gives life to all others.
It must be written on the same plate as the other yan-
tram.
No. II. Sulini. For protection against sorcery, or
devils. This is to invoke the goddess and secure her
aid. The ceremony brings a blessing to the receiver of
the charm.
No. III. Mdha Sulini. To be used to prevent all kinds
of harm through devils, chief of whom is Pulatini he
who eats infants. May be used also as protective
against enemies. Women wear it to avert miscarriage.
The letter in the middle, Hum Maha Sulini. That in the
rim is Om.
No. IV. Kola Bhdiravi. Represents the goddess. The
goddess must be pleased first by worship. No sacrifice,
which is rather odd, as this terrible goddess is generally
represented in Southern India as loving blood. The
letters do not form any mantram. Each letter has life in
itself. Prevents all harm from enemies, and attack by
devils.
Other yantrams to be used in much the same way as
these are :
The Ganapati yantram. To increase knowledge. To
put away fear and shyness.
The Sarasvati yantram. To enable its possessor to
please his listeners, and increase his knowledge.
The Panchakshari yantram, a square containing 8l
smaller squares, in each a mystic letter ; the whole repre-
senting Siva. For persons on whom medicines have no
effect. Also against evil spirits. A person out of whom
an evil spirit has been driven is perfectly safe ever after
with this carried on his person.
PL XVI
eJD
to
61
orujO
No. 1423 A 24
fir
ft. mi
Reg: No. 1425 & 26
Copies 200
Zinco.,. purvey Office, Madras,
1915
The Santana gopalam yantram. As a whole, it repre-
sents Sri Krishna. The letters in it (there are lOl) put
together in a certain Way form a mantram. It is used by
barren women so that they may bear children. It may
be traced on a metal plate and worn in the usual way, or
on a slab of butter which is then eaten. When the
latter method is adopted it is repeated on 41 successive
days, during which the woman as well as the Panikkar
may not have sexual connection.
The Sri Sukra yantram is another used by childless
men and women in order to obtain offspring. The others
are prophylactic against evil spirits (chiefly), to defeat
enemies, to succeed in all undertakings and prevent loss
of property by theft, to win over the good feeling of
others, and so on. The Sudarsana yantram not only
relieves sickness, but when drawn in 5 colours on the
ground and worshipped while repeating a mantram (too
long to quote) wards off the evil influence caused through
black magic ! Another, the Navva yantram, drawn in
ashes of cowdung on a new cloth which is then tied round
the waist, relieves a women in labour. Yet another, the
Asvdrudha yantram (Asva, horse ; arudha, to climb) would
also be useful to some people, as a person wearing it is
able to cover long distances easily on horseback ; and he
may make the nVost refractory horse amenable by tying
it round its neck. It will also help to cure sick cattle.
In some the letters or syllables form a distinct mantram,
while in others each has its own mystic meaning.
Let me hasten to assure any one desirous of applying
one of these charms to himself that they are entirely
inoperative unless accompanied in the first place with the
mystic rite which is the secret of the Panikkar.
Magic The Evil Eye. One day as I reached my camp
in the Kottayam taluk, North Malabar, my ears were
assailed by the din of incessant drumming hard by. In
the evening I was able to see and converse with the
drummer, Chatu by name, aged 23, by caste Malayan.
The Malayans are hereditary professional magicians,
few in number, inferior in the social scale. They are
not the only magicians. We have seen already (Bulletin,
Volume III, No. I, page 50) that some of the Nambutiri
Brahmans practise magic ; but to the Malayan the Nayar
appears as often as to any other kind of mantram-man.
Chatu was delightfully communicative. He had
been putting away the effects of the evil eye from one of
his clientele ; hence the din. In effect he said : certain
308
persons have the evil eye by nature. Potta Kannu, blind
eye it is called. A person having the evil eye may,
while thinking evil, infect man, woman or child by simply
looking at them. Those who have the evil eye are
generally women : men rarely. The cause is in the eye
itself. No evil spirit is in any way connected with it. A
woman may affect her own child. A person having the
evil eye, looking at a beautiful or a healthy child, will
affect it without intending to do so. The injury done
through the eye is often unintentional. The power of
the eye to do mischief is altogether beyond the volition
of its possessor; but it is excessively virulent when
mischief is really intended. Colour of the eye matters
nothing. Nor is possession of the evil eye confined to
any caste. He knew a Nambutiri who had it. The effect
of it on a child is that it becomes lean, feverish, loses its
well-favoured appearance, and cries in its sleep. Men
and women suffer from headaches and pains in the limbs.
Animals are disposed to lassitude and eat little. Cows
will not give milk.
The Malayan drives away all these unpleasant ail-
ments by invoking an evil spirit Vudikandan by name:
male, having no wife. By means of magic he forces
Vudikandan to do what he requires of him. But how ?
The process he would not tell. It is secret. That is, all
but the drumming. No one outside the Malayan caste
may be initiated into the fearsome mysteries. The spirit
Vudikandan is used for no other rite. The Malayan also
drives out evil spirits.
Chatu presented me with a mantram, a magic verse,
written with a style on a cadjan leaf, the common
stationery of Malabar, and told me that whenever any
part of my person becomes affected by the evil eye, I
should whisper the mantram over a piece of string and
tie the string round my leg, or other limb or part of
the body which suffers, and cure will take place
instantaneously.
He works by day : never by night. A whole day is
occupied in driving away injury through the evil eye in a
bad case. He need not be starving ; in fact has a good
meal before he begins. The generous Chatu presented
me also with a couple of mantrams such as would cure
an easy case of harm through the evil eye, and explained
their use. A
(l) "Om: Namo: Bhagavat6rn Sriparamesvaranum
Sri Parvati yum Palliveta Nayatinnai Ezhunellumpdl Sri
309
Parvati k kanneru ddsam undai Sri Paramesvaran Sri
Parvati ute kanneru d6semTirtatup61eTirnupoka Svami
en guruvinana."
(I prostrate myself to Bhagavati. When Sri Paramesvaran
and Sri Parvati went hunting, Sri Parvati was under the
influence of the evil eye ; Sri Paramesvaran then put away this
influence. I swear by my guru.)
(2) " 6m Peputi V6rrup6ti Yerrika Swaha Yen Guru
Vinana."
The meaning of this is not clear. "6m"=I.
" Yerrika ''burnt. " Swaha " (used as a verb)=devour.
"Guru Vinftna"=by the guru or teacher. But in
mantrams the word guru invariably means the deity.
Mantram (l) is whispered on sixteen grains of rice :
on each grain separately, not on all together. As the
mantram is whispered on each grain, the grain is placed
in oil. When the sixteen grains have been placed thus
in the oil, it is stirred .while the mantram (2) is repeated
sixteen times. The magician then hands this oil in
silence to the person who has been injured by the evil
eye. The person receives it also in silence, and rubs it
over his head. No word is spoken until he has finished.
Fear of harm from the evil eye is very general. At
the corner of the upper story of almost every Nayar house
near a road or path is suspended some object, often a
doll-like hideous figure, on which may rest the eye of the
passerby. And of course in every field some object is
erected for the same purpose.
Magic such as is practised by the Malayan, or the
Panikkar, is quite fair and above-board. It is, as a rule,
.all for good : never for harm. Nearly every misfortune,
bodily ill or ailment, and even death is caused by some
malignant spirit or through its agency, and the warlock
has business everywhere relieving people from their
oppression. I feel perfectly safe in saying that every
Nayar believes in magic through and through. No matter
what his collegiate course has been, no matter how full of
knowledge such as the West can give him, no matter
how thrilled he may be by the higher Hinduism which
condemns it altogether, he believes in magic as the
cause of ills, and he believes in magic for removal of
these. It is the last resource always, and the most
powerful means in the hands of man. What are
medicines, what is all our western science compared to
it ! The Nayar will not, I trust, be offended by these
remarks, which after all mean nothing more than that he
is truly human. Belief in magic and witchcraft, symbolic
hurts and cures, and the like, are very deep in human
nature ; reason and culture do not efface it. It is one of
the earliest heirlooms of the human family, and it will in
all probability persist to the end. We cannot think of
man as being without it* Hence the interest in investi-
gating it.
But now, as Patelin's Judge said to the draper, let
us return a nos motitons. There is nothing secret about
the profession of the Panikkar. His rites are secret of
course. They are his secret. But his profession is an
honourable one. He is not ashamed of it, nor will he
deny it. That is, so long as he confines his talents to the
practice of good magic.
With the professor of the more lucrative black magic,
it is quite another thing. No one will ever admit
publicly that he practises black magic.
Black magic. It would never do to avoid altogether
the subject of black magic, which is cultivated and
practised to a much greater extent in Malabar than else-
where in the Southern Presidency. I hope to have more
to say about it later on when we come to description
of some of the lower races, and for the present we must
be content with a rather bare description of it. We
have seen already that a few Nambutiri Brahmans
practise it. A few Nayars also do so. But as a rule the
man who really works in black magic is the Parayan.
The old story. It is always the man of inferior race who
is superior in black magic. The Parayans of Malabar
are not, I think, identical with the Pariahs (Parayas) of
Southern India. There are obvious differences in
physique. In parts of rural Malabar one may see a
Parayan's little hut far away on the hill side, but one
tries in vain to see and speak to its inmates, who flee
into the jungle. The Parayans are complete out-
castes, and their presence carries pollution to one of
any superior caste within about a furlong. It is not
too much to say that, as a rule, they are abhorred as
the lowest of the low. They eat "beef, and are there-
fore quite outside the pale of Hinduism. I have
heard of fairly well authenticated cases of their stealing
children of Nayars, hiding them away in the forest and
* The reader who has not given much attention to the subject of
Folklore, may be surprised by the evidence of the persistence of these
beliefs in England, available in the publications of the Folklore Society,
Condon. See " County Folklore," chapters on Witchcraft, etc..
bringing them up as their own. The belief that they will
steal children helps to some extent to make them dreaded
as well as abhorred, but it is as skilled professors of
black magic that they are really feared. 6di is the name
of the cult, and those who follow it, Parayans as a rule,
are able to do many wonderful things t The ordeals to
be gone through by the apprentice in the 6di cult are
rather trying. Some are so utterly filthy and abomina-
ble, eating human excreta being a detail, that even
amongst the Parayans, themselves dirty to a degree and
accustomed to anything but a high class diet, very few
are able to undergo them. Many try, and are unable to
proceed. But the man who has gone through them all
is a terror. He can make himself invisible, and he can
turn himself at will into any animal in order to accom-
plish his desires. There occurs now and then the death
of a woman a Nayar or other enceinte for the first
time, the foetus having been removed for use in black
magic *
The Parayan magician, or Odiyan as he is sometimes
called, being a pastmaster in Odi, is credited with power
to render himself invisible, using such a foetus; and even
without it, he may force a woman to leave her house at
midnight and meet him. There would seem to be some
connection, however obscure, with hypnotism and this
latter. The Parayan, who turns himself into a bullock,
m such guise, circumambulates a house thrice; then, still
by means of magic, he compels a certain woman of the
household to come out to him. If we follow up popular
belief, we find that the Nayar woman so drawn out of
her house is bound to die within three days. But as
it is well in a description of this kind, to proceed by
illustration when possible, I will quote an authenticated
story of a woman having been compelled to leave her
house by night. The "walking the dsesil" by the
bullock, one of those imaginative performances difficult
to account for in human belief, must be left out of the
story as no one is said to have seen it.
A Nayar noticed that, for some days, his wife, who
was (contrary to the usual custom, as we have seen it to
be) living in his house, appeared to be under some occult
influence ; and under a premonition that something was
R,J! ^ Ot T y lon *? ago there was a case of this kind > not far from
Palghat, and not only was the foetus removed but a wisp of straw was
fi U eH ^ n m i tS P a f ; appar ently with an idea that * if the s Pace were
(ailed up somehow, the wretched woman would not die !
312
going to happen he slept across the doorway, so that she
could not without waking him leave the house. The
door was closed and fastened, he sleeping inside. In the
early hours of the morning he awoke, and, fearing some-
thing unpleasant had taken place as the door was open,
he called his brother who .was sleeping upstairs.
Together they searched for the woman, and found her
lying outside in the yard, unconscious. When she
recovered her senses, she said that for some nights
previous she felt as if she was being called outside, and
she tried hard to resist the impulse to go out of the house
into the night. At last she could resist no longer and,
altogether against her will, unfastened the door and went
out. What happened then she knew not. There was
neither removal of a foetus nor death in this case. Such
is the story. It is quite possible that stories of the kind
are inculcated by wary husbands to keep the women
indoors and prevent their being crowned with horns. At
any rate the story is one of the kind such as every Nayar
believes. It is, I may say, quite plainly to be seen that,
when the Nayar constructs his house, he takes care that
there are certain conveniences, so that the women need
never leave the house at night. My narrator was a
native gentleman in a position of authority, living at the
scene of this strange story when the events related in it
occurred not long ago. The persons were named, but I
did not question them, as there is much objection to
speak of such things to a stranger.
The Odi cult. The Parayan adepts in the magic Odi
cult are to some extent hereditary functionaries.* They
form one of those hierarchies, common enough in this
country, of which Europeans know so little ; of which
the people themselves know but little as nothing connec-
ted with them or with their system is written. It is
custom pure and simple custom which is the most
difficult of all to approach and define within accuracy.
We will put down what is known, in the way of popular
belief of course, as may be free from error.
Those who belong to it, born into it so to speak, go
through a certain novitiate, not easy ; but those who
wish to join it from outside the fraternity of the cult are
required to prove themselves worthy to join it ; and it is
their trials as novices, terrifying and utterly filthy, which
* For much of this which follows I am indebted to Mr. U. Bala-
krishna N&yar, who has kindly obtained for me matter which is in a
general way, unobtainable to the European*
313
are truly difficult. Members of the brotherhood are
bound to secrecy by solemn oaths, and the secrets of
their craft are not allowed lightly to pass to any out-
sider. A member of the brotherhood may have one or
more disciples or apprentices who are in the first place
bound to strict obedience. These apprentices fill vacan-
cies in the brotherhood.
He who would be a member of the O<Ji cult falls at
the feet of him whom he would have as master, and
begs for initiation into the mysteries. The master tries
to dissuade him, but the would-be Odiyan persists; and
then, when assent is given, comes the trial. He follows
his master to a lonely place by night. The master
disappears in mist, and then re-appears as some terrible
beast, now standing still, now rushing furiously towards
the novice as if to tear him in pieces. If he stands still
and unperturbed the novice is considered to have fulfilled
that test. He is then required to pass the night alone in
the forest, which he is made to believe is peopled with
strange beings howling horribly. When he has satisfied
the master that he is not afraid, he is subjected to other
tests, and he is eventually accepted as a novice. He is
introduced formally to the brotherhood on a certain
selected day, when, having invited them to a feast, puja
is made to the dread spirit worshipped by them Nili of
Kalladikod or Kalla<Jikocl Nili, as she is called (Kalladi-
kod is the place name), through whose aid the Ocjiyan
works his devilment. Flesh and liquor are consumed,
and the novice is taught how to procure the magical
Pitta thilum (infant oil).
The principal ingredient to be used in preparing this
is a foetus of some 6 or 7 months' growth. The Odiyan
fixes his eye on some woman, who may be of any caste
other than his own, in her first pregnancy. Then, on a
selected day, usually a Friday, he proceeds to her house
at midnight, provided, that is, he meets with no inauspi-
cious omen on the way. I am not sure what omens are
auspicious or the contrary ; but at any rate the Odiyan
returns home should he meet with an omen which is
unfavourable, and starts out again some other night.
Transforming himself into a dog, a bullock, a cat or some
other quadruped, he walks thrice round the house,
shaking vigorously a cocoanut-shell containing^wms/, a
compound of turmeric water, lime and other substances,
the colour of which is red. The woman whose appear-
ance is desired comes out. She cannot help herself. If
locked in she bangs her head against the wall, and yells
9
3U
until she is allowed to go out. Once out, she rushes like
a mad thing into the arms of the 6<3iyan. He takes her
by the hand and leads her to the courtyard or outside it.
At once she is stripped naked. The choru kindi (blood
vessel: the shell) being placed near it, the womb
expands, and the foetus is easily removed in a moment.
A few leaves of the mailosika plant (Polycarpaea
spadicea*) are placed as was the other instrument of
magic, and the womb contracts to the normal dimen-
sions.
No wonder the Odiyan is feared. By means of this
pitta thilum he may render himself invisible ; in fact he is
able to do anything, according to popular belief.
SPIRITS, EVIL AND BENEFICENT, HOW
SUBDUED.!
A regular working magician tells us something more
of these. The most important of the evil spirits (Dur
murti) are
Karinkutti.
Kuttichchattan (we have
met him before).
Maranakutti.
Kallati mtittam.
Parakkutti.
Otfikkutti.
Bhairavan.
Vanni bhairavan.
Chotala bhadra kali.
Dumapati.
Narasihmamfirti.
Kala bhairavan.
Ocji bhairavan.
Kuttu bhairavan.
Nearly every man, woman and child in Malabar
wears some protective charm against evil spirits. Such
charms are also very commonly tied round the necks of
cattle, goats and even dogs.
Here follows the recipe for subjection of the spirit
Karinkutti into one's service. Of course each spirit is
treated always in a totally different way. First you bury
a dead black or reddish buffalo. You must not catch
your buffalo and kill him. You must find him dead. If
you say this is far from easy, I can only remark that the
subjection of an evil spirit is not an easy matter. Having
buried your buffalo assuming for the moment that you
are a magician, such as the instructions are intended for
you bathe, and while your cloths are wet and clinging to
your body, draw the figure chakram, which corresponds to
a magic circle, on the ground over the buried buffalo. The
* I am not sure that the correct name is here given for this plant.
It may be Alpinia Allughas, the aromatic rhizomes of which are used by
natives medicinally.
t For this note, too, I thank Mr. Balakrishna Nayar.
315
ground is then plastered over with cowdung. Then you
mark out with rice flour an eight-cornered chakram, in the
centre of which you place a small piece of cadjan leaf,
and you place a similar piece at four corners. You sit
with your back to the chakram, facing eastwards in the
morning and westwards in the evening while performing
puja. This puja is, I think, addressed to Karinkutti : not
in any way to the sun God who is not then visible. For
the puja you must be supplied with fried grain, beaten
rice, rice bran, a fowl, toddy, arrack, some flowers of
three colours one of them the tulsi (Ocimum sanctum)
sandalwood-paste, camphor, incense. (Note the use of
the sacred tulsi in this diabolical incantation!) While
the puja, which I am unfortunately unable to describe
(leaving my directions rather lame) is being performed
the mula mantram of Karinkutti is to be repeated 101
times.
In order to do all this you must bathe 7i nazhikas
(about 2| hours) before dawn, and complete the piija
before dawn arrives. But even before this you must stand
up to your chest in water and repeat the mula mantram
IOI times. And you must repeat the whole thing da capo
in the evening. The mantram is thus repeated 404 times
in the day. You are not done yet, in fact this is only the
beginning. The whole thing is done every day for 21
consecutive days ; and then you will have the evil spirit
Karinkutti entirely at your disposal. The person who
remains continent, eats but once a day, cooking his own
food, may it is saicl bring the spirit into obedience in less
than 21 days.
Subjection of Vanni Bhairavan is a much more diffi-
cult matter, involving much more elaborate ceremonial,
details of which may well be spared the reader as the
example which has been given is quite adequate.
And the good spirits
Bhagavati.
Bbadra kali.
H ami man.
Ganapati.
Mukami.
Virabhadran.
Mohini.
Sarabha Mtirti.
Subrahmanyan .
The evil and the good spirits are truly a strange collec-
tion of beings ! Their names help to illustrate what has
been said already, that the Hinduism of the west coast is
a strange medley of the higher Hinduism with the lower
cult of the country. Bhairava or Kala Bhairava (Bhaira-
van of the Telugu country) is elsewhere the object of
adoration of what is almost a distinct cult, a kind of
316
mixture of Hinduism with Buddhism, the klpalika reli-
gion or cult, the novice in which is " taught how to
worship Bhairi devam (Kala Bhairava) with human blood,
by human sacrifice, by drinking liquor from a Brahman's
skull, and by wearing wooden earrings called Kamakshi
kundala, symbols of the female principle." * The licen-
tious portion of the programme I will leave out, as we can
but glance at the Bhairavan of other parts of Southern
India. There, Bhairava, or by whatever equivalent he
may be called, is a male entity ; in Malabar, where sex
in deities is not of very much moment, Bhairava is female.
Bhadra Kali, and even Vishnu under another name, is
dragged into the category of evil spirits !
The first five of the good spirits are of course, well
known. It is odd to find the terrible Bhadra Kali bracket-
ed with the genial Ganapati and reckoned as a good
spirit. Some of the others are local spirits though rated
along with emanations of Hinduism.
A point to be noticed here is that the magic which has
been described is of that kind which is intimately
connected with religion, in that the aid of spiritual
beings is sought, and mischief is wrought by their means.
But there is, of course, another side of magic ; the sym-
pathetic, which deals in symbolic hurts and cures ; of quite
another character, being nothing more than a " mis-
development of natural philosophy."
These divisions of magic, though tolerably distinct,
are not therefore always separated. They are sometimes
blended.
It was my good fortune, not very long ago, to acquire
possession of a couple of grandhas, or palm leaf books,
the subject of which is ordinary magic and black magic.
Like all works of the kind (these are in the Malayalam
character) they are written in such a manner as to be quite
unintelligible to the ordinary reader. Letters, symbols,
syllables belonging to no known word are employed to
express occult meaning. In fact it is more a memoran-
dum than anything else. One of the grandhas is so
obscure that translation of it is next to hopeless, for the
few who can do so are altogether unwilling to help one
to decipher it. The other is composed of Sanscrit and
Malayalam words, spelled abominably ; but though rela-
tively clear for a book out of a " Mantravadis" (Warlock's
Magicians) library, it, too, contains many blank spaces
which can only be filled up by the professional dealer in
* From an article by the writer in the "Journal of the Anthropo-
logical Society of Bombay," Vol. I, No. 7, 1889,
317
magic. Fortunately, by the kindness of Mr. U. Bala-
krishnan Nayar, these blanks have been filled up in the
translation which he has obtained for me from one who
knows.
I will give here an excerpt from it, which is fairly
representative of the sympathetic side of magic such as
is common in Malabar. It is not, I think, concerned with
sympathetic or symbolic magic exclusively, as, unless I
am much mistaken, an evil spirit is here also invoked.
It is within the domain of black magic, in which, I think,
an evil spirit is always made to help if not to work the
evil.
It describes how to cause certain pains in the body of
another. A mantram is written (here, I think, an evil
spirit is called up, though such does not appear to be
said), on the stem of the kaitha plant. The stem should
be the length of eight fingers. A figure representing the
person to be injured is (also) drawn on the stem. A hole
is bored to represent the navel. The mantram is repeated,
and at each repetition a certain thorn (kara mollu) is fixed
into the limbs of the figure. The name of the person
and of the star under which he was born are written on
a piece of cadjan leaf, which is stuck into the hole re-
presenting the navel. The thorns are stuck in 21 times ;
that is, removed and replaced 21 times. Two magic
circles are drawn below the nipple on the figure. The
stem is then hung up in the smoke of the kitchen. A
pot of toddy and some other accessories are procured,
and with these certain rites are performed by the warlock.
When he has concluded them, he moves three steps
backwards. He shouts aloud thrice, fixing in again the
thorns, thinking all the while of the particular mischief
with which he would afflict the person to be injured.
When all this has been done, the person whose figure
has been drawn on the stem and pricked with thorns,
feels pain as if he were being pricked with thorns.
The grandha describes also how an enemy may be
stuck dumb. The head of a dark coloured fowl is cut off.
The head is then split, and a piece of cadjan on which
are written a mantram, the name of the person to be
injured, and the name of the star under which he was
born, is stuck into the split head which is then sewn up,
taking care to stitch the tongue to the beak. The head
is then inserted in a certain fruit, which, after being tied
up with a withe of a certain creeper nine spans in length,
is deposited under the enemy's gateway.
In it, too, we are told how to win over a man, or a
quarrelsome husband ; how to quiet refractory cows which
10
object to be milked; how to cure a headache ; to prevent
bad dreams, and so on.
N.B. A mantram must bespoken, breathed, whispered with extreme
accuracy. There must be no omission or false accent. Anything of the
kind, or wrong pronunciation, destroys its efficacy at once.
FAMOUS MAGICIANS OF MALABAR.
We will close this chapter on magic which, though
painfully inadequate, is already rather too long for its
purpose, by mention of some of the famous workers in the
art. Those who are familiar with the west coast will at
once recall to mind the names of three Brahman
families whose scions are famed throughout the land as
possessors of stores of magic, and at the same time so
interwoven is magic with religion! revered for their
saintliness. The eldest member of one of these is said
to be " an honoured -guest throughout the length and
breadth of Kerala ; and on certain State occasions in
Trevandrum and elsewhere, his presence is indispen-
sable/' A well-known tradition relates how that magic
came, so to speak, into the family. (It is not necessary to
give the family name, even though it is a household word
on the west coast).
Long ago in the days of the Perumals, a Brahman and
his friend were belated in the Yakshi paramba (yakshi
female demon, paramba garden) near Trichur.* The
place was dreary ; nothing but palms around. Suddenly
they were accosted by lovely damsels who asked them to
pass the night under their roof, and soon they were
lodged in a sumptuous house, each in a separate chamber.
But in the night, the damsels who had, Lorelei fashion,
attracted the travellers, resumed their demoniacal forms
and ate the Brahman. His friend they could not touch
as he had on his person a grandha sacred to Bhagavati ;
but in the morning he found himself perched on the top
of a palm tree underneath which lay the bones of his
friend, the Brahman.
The Brahman's widow gave birth to a son soon after
the strange death of her husband. When the boy was
eleven years of age, she related to him how he had been
made fatherless. He vowed vengeance on the Yakshis
and Gandharvas (male demons) and, like a sensible boy,
set about preparation for his life-task. It was not long
before he had mastered the Vedas and all learning, and
having done so he retired to the jungle, where he was
* To this day people avoid this place at night.
319
engaged in prayer and meditation for seven years. His
devotion so pleased Surya, the sun god, that he appeared
before him in human form and handed him a grandah,
which is to this day the greatest work on magic in
existence. The kind attention of the sun god accounts
for the prefix " Surya " to the family name.
Now well equipped, he made war on the Yakshis and
Gandharvas, and compelled the Yakshi who had devour-
ed his father to appear before him. She begged for
mercy, offering to serve him faithfully. But he would
have none of her and made her enter the sacrificial fire,
and she was consumed. Then her Gandharva lover
turned up, most inconveniently, and cursed the Brahman
magician to suffer death on the forty-first following day.
It was now the magician's turn to beg for mercy, and the
Gandharva, more merciful than the Brahman had been
to the Yakshi, extended it to him. On one condition,
however, that on the forty-first clay he would worship at
the Alangat Tiruvalore temple in expiation. Naturally,
he went to fulfil it, and preparatory to worshipping,
descended into the temple tank to bathe. All at once he
was seized with delirium and raved like a maniac, biting
the wooden beams of the bathing shed. He died after
enduring frightful agonies. The marks of his teeth are to
be seen to this day ! Moral Don't meddle with magic.
Another famous magician was by caste a Ravuthan
(a class of Tamil Muhammadans of which there are a
few on the west coast) who died about 30 years ago.
The story is that having been turned out of his father's
house, he was in sad plight, when, awaking from sleep
under a tree, a white-bearded Rishi * confronted him
and presented him with a grandha of magic, which he
put to such good use that he died a very wealthy man.
Here are two authenticated stories from the families of
Nayars of good position whom he assisted in each case.
(1) A Nayar lady, having lost several children in
infancy, sought the magician. He came to her house,
and asked for a common mud pot, a fowl, some rice and
some pepper. With what formality is not said, but the
fowl (alive ?), the rice and the pepper were put into the
pot, which was buried in the ground under the lady's cot.
Every day, she ate some of the rice and pepper, and in
due time produced a daughter who is now living.
(2) Nearly every young Nayar woman wears a talis-
man, protective against evil spirits. The Ravuthan
* It is rather comical, a Rishi appearing to a Muhammadan ! Again
the queer mixture of religious ideas*
320
magician was called in to prepare one of these. Placing
an ordinary style and a small sheet of copper in a box,
he closed it. Presently a noise was heard inside the
box ; and in a few moments a sound as of the style
falling. The box was opened and magic figures were
found to be inscribed on the copper sheet. The lady
wears the talisman now ! The magician must have been
in a favourable mood on the occasion, as he is said to
have given an additional performance on his own
account. When he had placed the style and the tiny
sheet of copper in the box, taking two young cocoanuts
in his hands, he kept on throwing them in the air and
catching them. "What will you have in each?" he
asked. " Honey in one and boiled milk in the other"
was the answer. Of course these were found in the
cocoanuts when they were opened by the magician, but
it was somewhat gross of the Nayar gentleman to test
the quality of the milk by turning it into curds the next
day. Wonderful stories are told of this man who used
to be seen at night carried in a mancheel by invisible
bearers, whose weary chant could be heard, but whose
bodily presence was beyond the reach of human eye.
The last and the chief of this trio is the once famous
Kandeth Nayar who departed this life about a hundred
years ago. Every one knows about the Kandeth Nayar,
and any one now-a-days who wants to injure another
invokes his aid, and resorts to his tomb to fulfil his vow.
I understand that sacrifices at his tomb are common, and
that his power reaches from the land of shades in almost
the same strength as when he lived.
The rather incoherent way in which the terms
warlock, magician, have been used seems to demand
some explanation. Strictly speaking, the Parayan
(VJiyan is the only warlock. Magician is scarcely the
correct term for the ordinary worker in magic. Neverthe-
less, it is scarcely possible to avoid a somewhat
indiscriminate use of these terms on account of the way
in which the functions of the warlock, the magician, the
astrologer, and even the priest are really interwoven one
with the other. The professed magician is often also
the warlock and vice versa. The vernacular word, which
is as catholic as that which stands for " Religion," is
" mantravadi " mantram man; he who is sought every
day of the year by hundreds of the people of Kerala, to
relieve them of their physical troubles and infirmities, to
cure their cattle, to injure their enemies, aye, even to
destroy them.
321
APPENDIX A.
The account of the funeral ceremonies which has been given
is not, of course, full and accurate as regards all the clans ; but
it is precise as regards one, and suffices for the present to give
a clear idea of the ceremonies as performed by all. There are
many interesting features in the ceremonies as performed by the
Kiriattil clan. Want of space forbids more than the briefest
mention of some of these.
Those who carry the corpse to the pyre are dressed as
women, their cloths being wet, and each carries a knife on his
person. Two junior male members of the Taravad thrust pieces
of mango wood into the southern end of the burning pyre, and,
when they are well lighted, throw them over their shoulders to
the southwards without looking round. Close to the northern
end of the pyre two small sticks are fixed in the ground, and
tied together with a cloth, over which water is poured thrice.
All members of the Taravad prostrate to the ground before the
pyre. They follow the Enangru carrying the pot of water round
the pyre, and go home without looking round.
They pass to the northern side of the house under an arch
made by two men, standing east and west, holding at arms
length, and touching at the points, the spade that was used to
dig the pit under the pyre, and the axe with which the wood for
the pyre was cut or felled.
After this is done the " kodali karma " ceremony, using
the spade, the axe and a big knife. These are placed on the
leaves where the corpse had lain. Then follows circumambula-
tion and prostration by all ; and the leaves are committed to the
burning pyre.
322
APPENDIX B.
At the last moment I have received from Dr. E. Hultzsch,
th.D., the Government Epigraphist, the following excerpt from
the number of the Epigraphia Indica which is now under
publication, and which with his permission I add to this mono-
graph. It is interesting evidence of the old martial spirit of
the Nayars :
4< According to an inscription of the i4th year of his reign
(^A.D. 1083-84) the Chola King Kuluttunga I. * conquered
Kudamalai-natfu, /.*., the Western hill country (Malabar),
whose warriors, the ancestors of the Nayars of the present day,
perished to the last man in defending their independence/
South-Indian Inscriptions y Vol. Ill, p. 130.
TRANSLATION OF AN INSCRIPTION OF THE 14 YEAR OF
KULOTTUNGA I. AT TlRUKKALUKKUNRAM.
Line 27. ' While all the heroes T in the Western hill-country
(Kucjamalai-nacju) ascended voluntarily to heaven/ etc. South
Indian Inscriptions, Vol. Ill, p. 147.
i In Malayalam chdver (Tamil saver it) means ' one who has
elected to die, moriturusS
323
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